The Vampire Diaries 8×01 “Hello, Brother” REVIEW

The Beginning of the End Has Damon and Enzo Working to Feed the Beast from the Vault & in a Dark Place

The season eight premiere of The Vampire Diaries is the beginning of the end for the beloved supernatural series. The last premiere of the final season, you betcha fans are in for an emotional ride all season long. The episode picks up right where we left off at the end of season seven, three months after Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Enzo (Michael Malarkey) were overcome by whatever evil was inside The Armory vault. The others continue to look for a way to out what the hell has got ahold of them and bring them back to humanity and Mystic Falls. Alaric (Matt Davis) and Caroline (Candice King) are living in her childhood home in Mystic Falls, where she and Alaric co-parent the twins. Alaric is the director of The Armory and along with a team, interns is learning all they can about the vault hoping to free Damon and Enzo. And Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Bonnie (Kat Graham) follow missing person reports and strange cases looking for a connection to and find Damon and Enzo. While Caroline uses her resources at the news station to find out what Virginia St. John (Aisha Duran) knows about the vault., but comes face-to-face with her when she shows up at her house looking for the twins. She warns Caroline what was trapped in the vault wants her twins, but Virginia bites out her own tongue before Caroline finds out why.

Meanwhile, Damon and Enzo, are unwilling employees, as they put it, to whatever is controlling them and their job is to bring the worst of humanity to the slaughterhouse. Damon seems ok with killing people to feed to their beast., but Enzo is still holding onto his humanity. Elsewhere, searching for Damon and Enzo, Stefan and Bonnie follow a lead to the latest crime scene and discover a body was left behind for the first time. They’re led to a nearby slaughterhouse and finally find Damon and Enzo, but things don’t go as they would’ve hoped. Stefan sees his brother has flipped his switch after they refusing to leave, Damon and Enzo resort to a life or death threat forcing them. Then as Damon rests, we see he’s not completely gone as a remembers when he first met Elena (Nina Dobrev) all those years ago in the middle of the road. Singing then fills the slaughterhouse just then as a naked woman emerges from the pit covered in blood standing in front of Damon and Enzo. And back home, Bonnie pieces together clues Enzo had left leading her to believe he and Damon might be held captive by a siren. Whoa! A lot went down the season eight premiere. Let’s not waste any more time and discuss!

TVD Memory Lane

Fans can assume we are all in for quite an emotional ride given the season eight premiere kicks off the final season of TVD. The episode gets all those feels churning with some subtle and not so subtle nods to moments from seasons prior. The episode’s opening, a young couple driving in the fog and Damon lying in the middle of the road, mirrors the pilot’s opening. As in season one, they swerve to miss him, get out to check on Damon and he’s now standing in the middle of the road. This time around Enzo is with him. While the way Enzo stages the crime scene and the police referring to such an obviously twisted scene as a mountain lion attack has season one written all over it.

Aptly titled “Hello, Brother,” the episode perfectly recreates the scene in the pilot when we’re first introduced to Damon Salvatore. And whoa does it get all the feels going, but more on that in a bit. Viewers can’t help but be reminded of season three when Stefan calls Elena as Enzo urges Stefan and Bonnie to go. His face softens much like Stefan’s did leading the audience to believe his humanity isn’t completely gone. And later we learn Damon’s humanity isn’t completely gone either as he’d like for everyone to believe. As he rests in the car he envisions Elena and when they first officially met. It’s the same thing Stefan did to get through in season five when Silas trapped him in the vault and tossed him in the quarry. Viewers get a double dose of Delena feels reliving with Damon the first time he saw Elena in the road mistaking her for Katherine. Grab the tissues because surely the season is going to be filled with many more moments bringing out even, more nostalgia.

“I need you, Elena. I don’t know how much longer I can fight.” - Damon.

A Little History Repeating

Years ago, his brother’s return to Mystic Falls years ago was the worst thing Stefan could imagine. Viewers see just how broken the brothers’ relationship truly is. My things have changed and the Salvatores have definitely come a long way since Damon first stepped into Stefan’s room. Now, Stefan wants to desperately save the brother he once despised and get him back from whatever was in the vault. Coming face-to-face for the first time in months, this time their roles are somewhat reversed. Stefan is the one trying to reason with his brother and Damon isn’t wanting to hear anything he’s trying to get him to understand. The entire fandom lets out a loud gasp as Damon takes a low blow that opens an old wound reminding Stefan that he was the one who forced him to become a vampire. And that was why Damon promised him in the pilot ‘an eternity of misery.’

“My life is over. My life has been over for a century and a half, Stefan … since you took it from me.” - Damon.

Both Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley do an amazing job as Damon and Stefan throughout the episode but are exceptionally great in this scene. Their expressions are spot on to perfectly recreate the ‘Hello, Brother’ scene. Stefan’s expression is serious airing on the side of caution as he looks for Damon inside the slaughterhouse. The audience can see he’s unsure of how Damon is going to react or what state of mind he might find him. We know exactly when Stefan sets eyes on his brother. He stops in his tracks, brow furrows and stays focused on Damon because he quickly sees he’s flipped his humanity switch. Damon is done with a hero’s life. He does his best to convince Stefan he’s not worth saving using an angry tone and resorts to several low blows. Damon pacing and his use of exaggerated gestures prove he’s on edge, even after Elena’s mention. But the hurt in his eyes he cannot hide and viewers can see just how much it pains him to think of the awful things he’s done or worse, a future without Elena. From the music to the framing of the moment when the brothers reunite and down to their facial expressions the scene in this episode is a perfect mirror to the series premiere.

New Season and A New Big Bad

Finally, viewers are officially introduced to the beast that was locked in The Armory’s vault and has taken a hold over Damon and Enzo. Well, sort of… We now know at least what supernatural entity that was inside the vault and what she looks like. Damon and Enzo worked for months gathering the world’s worst of the worst people and toss them into an ominous blood pool to satisfy it, so it can take form. Throughout the episode, the audience is given clues and learns more about it. Back at The Armory, Alaric and his interns discover a hidden room inside the vault with a bunch of ancient artifacts that are somehow perfectly preserved. There’s also a tunnel behind the hidden door, which viewers can assume might be how Damon and Enzo just vanished once inside the vault. While Caroline focuses on tracking down Virginia, she’s shocked as well as the audience when Virginia comes looking for the twins. And viewers see Care kick into Mama Bear mode demanding Virginia tell her why. Grossing us all out, Virginia bites out her own tongue and the only information before she bleeds out is whatever was locked in The Armory vault is that “it” has come for her daughters. Not those adorable little girls, but let’s not forget the girls are siphons and the only remaining members of the Gemini coven.

“Sirens use mind control to lead their victims to the death.”- Alaric.

Enzo’s clues he leaves for Bonnie at the crime scene triggers her memories of the time the spent together at the cabin. The wax and someone strapped to the mast of a ship, just like how Enzo the way he left a female victim on the front of a car reminds Bonnie of The Odyssey. A story Enzo read to her, which includes all these things is a story about sirens. Ric also thinks Bonnie’s theory about what is controlling Enzo and Damon is a siren could definitely be possible. Especially, since sirens use mind control to lure victims to death and are considered messengers of the devil. Upon hearing mysterious singing in the slaughterhouse, Damon and Enzo’s eyes widen and their expressions bewildered. Viewers hold breath waiting what has emerged from the pit of blood. The beast or siren is finally full and taken form. A naked woman covered in blood stands in the slaughterhouse… now what? What horrible things are Damon and Enzo going to be tasked with next?

FINAL VERDICT

The season eight premiere of The Vampire Diaries 8×01, “Hello, Brother” marks the last season premiere of the series ever and the beginning of the supernatural series’ finale season. Co-creators and executive producers, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, penned an episode that takes viewers on an emotional trip down memory lane while it cleverly parallels the series’ pilot and tells an entirely new story years later. The dialogue in the episode opening is ironic and fun. First, there’s the couple talking about the end of the vampire craze. And then Damon’s discussion on how maybe it’s time to say goodbye to the stand in the middle of the road bit. An interesting way for the writers to make light of the series ending and it very well might be the last time viewers see Damon use his favorite trick.

Writers, Plec and Williamson’s, method leading up to the episode’s big reveal it is a siren that has a hold over Damon and Enzo is quite clever. Enzo leaving clues at the crime scene triggers Bonnie’s memories of their time together and allow for new flashback scenes of them. And interestingly enough, it is these clues that lead Bonnie to The Odyssey, which so happens to be about sirens and neatly tie together. Episode director, Michael Allowitz, does a great job distinguishing the present day scenes from the flashbacks for viewers. The use of a special camera lens gives an antique-style photo feel, a warmer tone.

Allowitz is directorial perfection recreating of the infamous ‘Hello, Brother’ scene between Damon and Stefan. Coupled with terrific acting from both Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, Allowitz precisely times shots of each of their faces enhances the emotion of the scene. The camera angles are spot on to the brothers’ reunion in season one and the use of shadows and light is exceptional. Stefan stands with the light on him and reinforces the good he trying to do by helping save Damon from the evil controlling of him. While Damon stands in shadows as he is in a dark place emotionally and literally being controlled by darkness. The scene amazing from all aspects. And can we please talk about the build up of the siren emerging from the blood pool? Allowitz does a phenomenal job adding to the reveal’s suspense. He zooms in on her foot as she steps on the ladder, then transitions to her leg coming out of the water and pans out to her back to show her slowly getting out of the pool. Just wow.

“All I can do is hope that there is one small piece of his mind tucked away some place safe.” - Stefan.

Bonenzo isn’t the only relationship giving viewers all kinds of feels this episode. The flashbacks of Bonnie and Enzo tying into the episode’s big reveal is a compelling way to fulfill the Bonenzo cravings despite them being apart. Stefan and Caroline don’t have too much time together, but when they are we get all kinds of Steroline feels. Episode director, Allowitz, makes great use of camera angles and lighting in their scenes adding more emotion. His decision to slowly zoom in as Caroline and Stefan’s foreheads meet before sharing a kiss when she talks about them moving in together is done beautifully. Add in the warm lighting in the background makes it so romantic. Williamson and Plec also make sure we even get a Delena fix too. Keeping the theme of firsts, Damon re-living the first time he and Elena met in his mind not only satisfies the Delena cravings but shows Damon’s humanity isn’t completely gone and also parallels season five. Ian Somerhalder is fantastic in the scene on the road and Allowitz does a wonderful job capturing the emotion on Damon’s face. And the musical selection, Sleeping Wolf’s “The Wreck of Our Hearts,” from music supervisor, Chris Mollere, is perfection. Bring on the waterworks..I love how the writers chose to continue the journal entries to Elena like last season. It’s a great way to keep her presence alive especially because she’s such an integral part of the series. Surely, each episode is going to be filled with even more TVD nostalgia bringing out all kinds of bittersweet memories. And I can’t wait to see what the next episode brings. Now that we know a siren has control over Damon and Enzo it’s going to be fun learning more about the mythology behind it. And what she wants with Damon and Enzo now or why she’s come for the twins.

I love how the writers chose to continue the journal entries to Elena like last season. It’s a great way to keep her presence alive especially because she’s such an integral part of the series. Surely, each episode is going to be filled with even more TVD nostalgia bringing out all kinds of bittersweet memories. And I can’t wait to see what the next episode brings. Now that we know a siren has control over Damon and Enzo it’s going to be fun learning more about the mythology behind it. And what she wants with Damon and Enzo now or why she’s come for the twins.

COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS:

• Glad to see everyone is back living in Mystic Falls.
• I miss Matty Blue Eyes. Wonder what he’s up to out on the road away from Mystic Falls.
• Alaric has the new director of The Armory fits him perfectly. Loved seeing him nerd out over the ancient artifacts hidden in the vault.
• Super sad that Alaric is ‘closed for business,’ but we’ll see how long that lasts.
• Honestly, Caroline’s whole jealous rant about the nanny to Stefan was kind of uncomfortable.
• Cannot wait to see the twins use their Gemini powers. Maybe they’re the key to saving Damon and Enzo.
• Speaking of powers, can Bonnie have her magic back? Poor trying is always losing her magic, but super interested to see how she gets it back this time.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 8×02 airs FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 at 8|9c. on The CW