‘The Vampire Diaries’ season 8 premiere review: Siren song

If there’s a word that we would use to describe the season 8 premiere of “The Vampire Diaries” on Friday night, it would be “nostalgic.” This was a chance to reflect on the past just as much as it was a chance to look towards the future. Elena was mentioned multiple times, even if one of them was Damon claiming that he didn’t care about her anymore. Meanwhile, we also heard about he diaries, and we’re seeing a more brutal, violent side of Damon that feels much more appropriate for the first season of the show.

Let’s face it: Violent Damon is fun Damon, and the stuff that he and Enzo did in this episode was entertaining in all the worst ways. We also learned that it is apparently a siren who is behind this. She’s someone who could be very persuasive, and having a character like this almost from the jump this season could be effective. If you have an interesting villain, why wait?

At the end of the day, we feel like much of this show is about immortals trying to figure out your humanity, and it was exceptional how many different ways it showcased that in this episode. For example, we saw Stefan and Caroline move in together, a sign that they are trying to actually be human themselves in a way. They actually may have relationships figured out more so than Alaric, a character who’s spent more time as a human over the course of the series than either one of them.

This episode was by and large straightforward: We saw a team-up as so many characters looked to find Damon and Enzo; unfortunately, they weren’t quite capable of being able to help themselves. They’ve got a psychological struggle, and it should be all sorts of delicious to watch.

Grade: B+. This was a really solid premiere for the show, and one of the most exciting ones we’ve seen in years. Sure, we do miss Elena, but we feel like the effort is still being made to give us an exciting show.

Next week – Head over here to get some other news regarding what lies ahead! (Photo: The CW.)