by Gema Luna, Assistant Editor

You know the story: Vampire falls for girl, and girl falls for him. Then she meets the other handsome vampire and she gets torn. Welcome back to Mystic Falls, where every supernatural being you can think of has some sort of residence. Meet Elena (Nina Dodrev, Degrassi: The Next Generation), a newly turned vampire that is torn between the two Salvatore brothers: Damon (Ian Somerhalder, Lost) and Stefan (Paul Wesley, 24, Army Wives). The fifth season story centers on Silas (also played by Paul Wesley) and the story of his past, his tribe, and his curse. We meet a greater enemy in the Travelers and their leader, Markos (Raffi Barsoumian, NCIS). Now you can own The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fifth Season on Blu-ray!

Episode Highlights

I Know What You Did Last Summer: I had to mention this episode, not because it was great, but because it’s a cliché. In this episode, Elena goes to college! We meet the quirky new by-mistake roommate of Elena and Caroline (Candice Accola, Dating Rules from My Future Self). Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, Everwood) gets into trouble and surrogate big brother Damon goes in for the rescue. We still don’t know where Stefan is, but Silas makes his entrance with his original face, which, we found out last season, is Stefan’s. Finally, we meet a recurring character this season Nadia (Olga Fonda, Real Steel). This episode reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s first day of college.

Original Sin: In this episode, we find the origin of Silas’ curse: Qetsiyah, aka Tessa (Janina Gavankar, The League). Tessa is the creator of “The Other Side”, the place where supernatural beings go to stay after they die. We have a lot of flashbacks, and we learn the other side of the story of why Silas got cursed. We find out why there are so many Stefan and Elena doppelgangers and why Damon may be in a disadvantage. The cure is still in Katherine’s veins, so Silas wants her alive more than ever. And we finally get Stefan back… well, sort of.

Resident Evil: I chose this episode because Paul Wesley directed it. It is the classic ‘what if?’ episode, where Elena and Stefan have visions about an alternate life, Vampire Diaries style. Needleless to say the visions are weirding them out but at the same time they are happy in them, uniting them a bit. People are still being possessed by travelers (The original Silas tribe) and nobody knows who to trust anymore. “The other side” is not quite right according to Bonnie’s (Kat Graham, 17 Again) grandma.

Home: The season finale is always a must. Some people die, some live. It is your classic Vampire Diaries kind of finale, where there are more questions than answers about the whole season. If you are a fan of the show you know what I am talking about. If not, here it goes: Bonnie dies again, Damon sort of dies by staying trapped in “the other side”, Stefan is sad, and Elena is devastated. Oh, and Alaric (Matthew Davis, What About Brian, Legally Blonde) is back!!

 Special Features

• Join the cast in the 2013 Comic-Con Panel and see what juicy secrets they reveal.
• Check out the 100 episodes featurette of Mystic Falls, Gilberts and Salvatore Brothers!
• Join Kat Graham as she takes you to a day in the Afterlife
• Laugh out loud with the gag reel and see never before aired scenes

Overall

Throughout television history, at least for me, season 5 is what determines how long a show is going to survive. We have seen many shows go travel down a dark path once it gets to this point: Lost, Alias, Dawson’s Creek. I hope this one is not one of those shows, however the storylines are getting a bit tiresome. How many times and ways can you kill Bonnie? And how many times can you bring her back? I felt that the show is going a predictable way, and has lost some of the elements I so loved. In this season Damon was filled with insecurities and there was almost no trace of the bad-ass that I so adore. Stefan is still broody, but now it is almost to the point of pathetic. I hope next season does get better, and hopefully a little less cliché.

Don’t miss the new (and hopefully better) season on October 2 at 8:00 PM on The CW.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fifth Season 3 out of 5 stakes.

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