The Vampire Diaries Review: Hello, Brother (Season 8 Episode 1)

Welcome back to The Vampire Diaries, everyone!

As the series embarks on its final season, sometimes it’s nice for callbacks to the beginning. Thankfully, Julie Plec has promised a return to horror roots, as well as episode titles that will be named after memorable lines from Season 1.

So it’s only appropriate that the premiere should be titled “Hello, Brother.” Not only was this the first line Damon spoke on the show, but that particular moment was recreated in this episode.

Before we get to Damon and Stefan’s reunion, let’s discuss the murder spree. Whatever it is freed from the Armory has taken ahold of Damon’s and Enzo’s minds and doesn’t seem intent on letting them go.

The most curious aspect to this creature is that it needs to feed on people with stained souls. Whether the person stole and sold pills from their nana, or killed someone and used their blood in their paintings, the sins range on the evil spectrum.

Now that the creature has come out of her pool of blood and dead bodies, will she continue to feed on tainted people?

Enzo: What is it with middle-America and evil?

As Enzo’s clues to Bonnie would have us believe, this mysterious evil is a siren. Sirens are written about in various different mythologies and folklore.

The mythology on The Vampire Diaries has always had the element of surprise. However, those surprises tend to leave a mythology that has never really been concrete. The rules are changed when need be, and most of the main characters have escaped death far too many times to count.

The writers will have a hard time selling us a villain that is truly the embodiment of evil. Why is this woman going be the biggest foe our heroes have come up against?

A twist to consider is that she’s not the true evil they will face. As Alaric stated, sirens are said to be messengers for the Devil. It’s entirely possible she may be the calm before the real storm.

Damon has turned off his humanity, but it appears he has done so in order to protect the people he cares about. The siren (I think it’s safe for us to call her that until she has a name) seems to have the ability to get inside their minds. If she sees the people they love, she could go after them.

It’s a little disappointing that Damon wouldn’t fight harder to keep some semblance of control, but his decision is perfectly in line with his character. Damon does what he thinks is best to protect everyone, even when his decisions are not popular.

Damon’s decision to rip the switch off the wall led to an encounter with Stefan that nearly broke his baby brother. Stefan has been searching for Damon for months, and no matter what evil creature took control over him, it’s clear Stefan never expected to find his brother with such a dark, nihilistic outlook.

Damon: Every drop of blood I ever spilled, every body I’ve ever drained, every bad decision I’ve ever made sealed my fate.

A point of contention throughout Damon and Stefan’s relationship has always been the fact that Stefan forced Damon to become a vampire. It’s an act that Stefan will feel guilty about for the rest of his existence.

The Salvatore brothers’ reunion didn’t end in a hug. Instead, Stefan and Bonnie had to walk away. On the bright side, Bonnie is now convinced Enzo has been leaving her clues.

Enzo and Damon are very similar, but their approach to survival couldn’t be more different. While Damon’s way of protecting everyone means flipping the switch, Enzo is determined to find a way back to Bonnie.

His approach was creative, but I don’t know how Bonnie was able to figure out the clues so easily. The Odyssey seems a bit of a stretch for her to connect them to…unless the night he read it to her became one of those moments in a relationship you remember forever.

Seeing Enzo leave a trail of breadcrumbs for Bonnie gives her the hope she was sorely lacking at the beginning of the episode. Hope is critical because without it, what are they fighting for? Stefan was urging Bonnie to have hope, and now it looks like she’ll need to make sure he still has some left.

Other Thoughts and Observations

• Elena is definitely going to be a major presence this season. Despite turning off his humanity, there’s still a place Damon goes to in his mind to be with her.
• Alaric taking over the Armory is random, but it’s a good fit. He looks at home surrounded by mysterious caves and ancient artifacts.
• Alaric’s intern was definitely coming on strong with the flirtatious comments, but after watching him spend a season trying to hold onto a sexless relationship with Caroline, it’s about time Alaric found someone interested him.
• Sorry, but the twins aren’t really adding anything to the show. Their presence just forces Caroline to have to worry about them all the time. Did that seem harsh? I swear I love children!
• Speaking of Caroline, why all the hate for the nanny? It just made Caroline seem petty and jealous…for no reason.

Overall, this is a good start to the final season. The tone is a lot darker, which is much needed.

There aren’t a lot of questions that need answering right now. What we have is uncertainty. There’s no telling how this journey will end. All we can do is hang on for the ride.

What did you think of the season premiere of The Vampire Diaries? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Vampire Diaries airs Fridays at 8/7c on The CW.