ALL ALONE ON CHRISTMAS - With the holidays approaching, Bonnie (Kat Graham) attempts to replicate her favorite traditions, while reminiscing about happier times with her friends. Not able to return home to Mystic Falls for her favorite time of the year, Caroline (Candice Accola) is surprised when Sheriff Forbes (guest star Marguerite MacIntyre) brings the holidays to her at Whitmore College. Meanwhile, after discovering that Jo (guest star Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) has gone missing, Alaric (Matt Davis) turns to Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) for help, while Liv (guest star Penelope Mitchell) and Luke (guest star Chris Brochu) find themselves at odds when Tyler (Michael Trevino) approaches them with a risky plan. Elsewhere, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) helps Matt (Zach Roerig) carry out a plan to take down Enzo (Michael Malarkey) but grows concerned when Matt takes things too far. Lastly, Stefan (Paul Wesley) is forced to break some devastating news to Caroline. Michael Allowitz directed the episode written by Caroline Dries (#610).
After a big time jump, the premiere opens with Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) still gone. While their whereabouts will be revealed quickly, the question of what happened while they were there will be a season-long arc. Elena (Nina Dobrev) will be grieving over the loss of Damon by making some surprising choices and bonding with Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Alaric (Matt Davis), who does some bonding of his own with a woman he meets. Get ready for a handful of new faces, including a militia leader (Colin Ferguson) and a tough doctor at the university hospital (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). Matt (Zach Roerig) will be thriving as he gets involved in the new magic-less community, while Tyler (Michael Trevino), now back to a human with the werewolf gene, will return to his testosterone-filled, hard-headed personality. Will he reconnect with Caroline (Candice Accola), whom executive producer Julie Plec says will take the loss of Bonnie and Damon "in a weird way the hardest"?
The Vampire Diaries features:
Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert/Katherine Pierce
Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore
Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert
Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett
Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood
Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman
Michael Malarkey as Enzo
The Vampire Diaries returns December 11