Move over, Shondaland, because there’s another Thursday night series hoping to take a big bite out of those impressive ratings. That’s right, folks — we are now mere hours away from The Vampire Diaries ’ Season 6 premiere, which means fans will finally get some answers to the questions that have been plaguing them all summer long. (Like, for the love of Silas, explain what has happened to Damon?!) There’s no doubt that TVD ’s Season 5 finale — which resulted in Damon and Bonnie disappearing into oblivion along with everything else on the Other Side — left viewers with a very bad taste in their mouths as we all completely freaked out about what this could all mean for the beloved residents (and ex-residents) of Mystic Falls. Which is what makes TVD ’s premiere episode “I’ll Remember” feel all the more compelling.
What exactly are fans supposed to take away from a title like that? First of all, who is doing the remembering? And second of all, what are they remembering about? On the one hand, “I’ll Remember” could imply someone’s recollection of a fond memory. Perhaps this refers to how Elena is coping with Damon’s departure. The TVD Season 6 trailer showed a devastated Elena nostalgically looking through old photographs of the two of them as a couple. It could be that focusing on their happy past is the best and only way she’s able to deal with the present situation. And while I’m sure she’s probably taking it to an unhealthy, obsessive level, on the plus side, it’s definitely a step up from burning houses down. So there’s that.
Of course, there’s a much darker (and probably more accurate) way of looking at this. We are talking about TVD, after all. What if we treat the phrase “I’ll Remember” as less nostalgic and more like a threat? A lot of crazy stuff has gone down this past season, so it’s not really a stretch to think that some supernaturals would be out for blood — and not just because they’re vampires and that’s kinda what they do. You may have been too busy crying in a fetal position to really focus on who's to blame for Damon's "death," but it's actually Luke. After all, he was the one who forced Liv to close the gateway to the Other Side, thereby sealing Damon and Bonnie’s fates.
Granted, he was doing this to protect his sister, who was on the brink of death herself because witchy powers on this show really pack a strong punch. But still. Someone's gotta find out about that, right? And when they do, it’ll be a betrayal the gang won’t soon forget. (In other words, they’ll remember… and want payback.) As the Season 6 premiere photos indicate, Luke and Tyler aren’t exactly getting along so great. Is this because Tyler finally finds out what Luke did? It seems entirely possible.
Then there’s the fact that Tyler was once possessed by the now-deceased traveler, Julian. As of now, Tyler appears to have no recollection of what he did or said during the times Julian took over his body. However, I'm not so sure that means he isn't capable of taping into those memories. Not that I'm really familiar with Traveler possession, but you’d think that Tyler would be privy to some sort of access to all of Julian’s thoughts. They were, after all, taking up residence in the same body. Maybe Tyler will attempt to hack into some suppressed memories from his brain-bunking days, hoping to remember something that could give supernaturals access once again to the town.
Of course, there’s always the chance the title is simply referencing the fall of our Steroline hopes and dreams. Perhaps Caroline promises herself to remember what a first-rate jerk Stefan is being and vows to never let a boy get to her like that in the future.
A threat we all know is never going to stick.
Images: Frank Ockenfels 3/The CW; elenagilbertrpg.skyrock; Annette Brown/The CW; Giphy
