It's happened, people: that was the very last Vampire Diaries season premiere ever. And we're off to quite the start! The season eight premiere gave us plenty of wonderful, shipper-friendly moments, plenty of nods to the show's roots, and a brand new mythology.
The unspeakable evil that's possessed Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Enzo (Michael Malarkey)? It's some variation of the siren myth, straight from Greek mythology (and Homer's classic Odyssey that you likely read in English class). And it's also terrifying.
So terrifying, in fact, that Damon has turned off his humanity so as not to allow the evil spirit to find out what he cared about—hey, if you don't care about anything or anyone, none of your loved ones are in danger. Meanwhile, Enzo was leaving clues for Bonnie (Kat Graham) to potentially figure out what's going on—and lend a hand. (Though personally, it felt like he was warning her to stay away, but since no one can stay out of anyone else's business on this show it's kind of a moot point.)
Want to learn more about what our favorite vampires and witches (and incredibly knowledgeable humans) are up against this season? Read on.
But first, a quick update on your favorite couples:
Delena: Damon might have his humanity switch off, but it's clear Elena (Nina Dobrev) will play a huge role in bringing him back. While Nina didn't return for the premiere, we did see old footage of her when Damon interpreted new meaning from the flashback of their first meeting (which we saw way back in season three).
Steroline: These two lovebirds have been going strong in the several months since the season seven finale, and at the end of the episode, they decided to move in together.
Alaroline: Was this ever their ship name? Doesn't matter—they're dunzo. Caroline (Candice King) avoided taking things to the next level with Stefan (Paul Wesley) so as to avoid hurting Alaric's feelings, but it was Alaric (Matt Davis) who called her out for it and told her she should move in with the guy, already.
Bonenzo: Is this their ship name? Sorry, behind on the official portmanteau. Obviously they can't be together thanks to the siren that's taken over Enzo's entire being, but we did see adorable flashbacks to happier times—including Enzo reading Homer's Odyssey to Bonnie, and thus planting the seeds for the clues he continued to leave her. Damon encouraged Enzo to switch off his humanity too, but he still holds a torch for Bonnie.
And as for the Greek mythology of it all:
Sirens are typically depicted as beautiful women who lured sailors toward their island with their irresistible, enchanting songs, and are found in many ancient Greek stories—most notably in Homer's Odyssey.
At the end of the premiere, we saw that the creature had apparently finished feeding on the souls of the evil people Damon and Enzo had been Dexter-ing for her, and emerged, nude but for the blood covering her entire body, presumably to cause some havoc.
"Sirens use mind control to lead their victims to the death," Alaric told Bonnie, who suspected that's what Enzo was warning her about. We'll see next week!
The Vampire Diaries airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.