‘The Vampire Diaries’ season 5 spoilers: First look at Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev in 100th episode

Are you ready to see “The Vampire Diaries” back on the air? Clearly, the bad news is that the show will not be returning to The CW until Thursday, January 23 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. On the flip side, the good news here is that we already have a few details concerning just what will be coming up for the series’ landmark 100th episode.

The first thing to recall is the title in “500 Years of Solitude,” which is in itself a clear reference to Katherine. The entire episode feels like it is largely about the character on some level, as many of the characters (as evidenced in the attached photo) are going to gather to see what becomes of Nina Dobrev’s at-times-evil “other” vampire character. Ian Somerhalder’s Damon for whatever reason seems to be in a rather celebratory mood, while the others are more just sitting around and waiting to see what transpires next.

Already, Sara Canning has been confirmed to be returning as Aunt Jenna for this episode, and we would not be surprised to see some other familiar faces, as well. Specifically, it would be terrible if there was not another spot from Matt Davis as Alaric, whose exit during season 3 remains to us one of the most powerful moments of the entire series. We still wish that he was a part of the show, mostly since he brought a different energy and perspective to things. Given that there are not too many series on The CW that make it to this milestone, we imagine that everyone involved is going to be pulling out all the stops.

What do you think is going on in this photo? Be sure to share your thoughts below.