‘The Vampire Diaries’ season 6, episode 5 review: Did Damon return; what did Alaric learn?

Were you thrilled with “The Vampire Diaries” tonight? We have to say that after a few episodes that felt a little like there wasn’t enough happening, tonight’s new season 6 episode more than made up for things in the matter of a few short minutes.

We have to start here with something that is not burying the lede at all: Damon is back in the real world after a heck of a journey, and his embrace with Stefan was one of the sweeter moments we’ve seen on the show so far. Paul Wesley’s character had just admitted that he actually missed his brother, and was therefore having a nice little moment when he showed up. Damon’s return changes almost everything with these characters, and we’re glad that he showed up for Stefan in this case rather than Elena. It was a nice tribute to their century-plus history.

As for what we qualify to be the night’s other big shockers, they include Tyler and Liv getting closer (while Liv established herself as a killer), learning a few more things about how terrible a person Tripp is, and Alaric realizing that there is something very interesting about Jo: She cannot be compelled.

In the end, this was a pretty great hour of TV, and one that “Vampire Diaries” fans can remember as one of the best that the show has put on the air this season. We’re also pretty thrilled that the show kept Damon away for five episodes, but they’ve now decided that this is the right time to bring him back into the fold. Grade: B+.

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