Love You To Death

The Unofficial Companion to the Vampire Diaries

• Publisher: Ecw Press Digital
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781554908530
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Television

The only book that takes readers deep into the heart of Mystic Falls with an episode-by-episode guide to the first season. Featuring bios of the cast, the story behind the creation of the show, the bestselling book series by L.J. Smith that first introduced Elena and the Salvatore brothers, as well as background details on the rich history and mythology, Love You To Death is the essential fan bible for The Vampire Diaries.

Season One

Recurring cast: David Anders (Uncle John Gilbert), Benjamin Ayres (Coach Tanner), Dillon Casey (Noah), Melinda Clarke (Kelly Donovan), Sean Faris (Ben McKittrick), Jasmine Guy (Sheila Bennett), Kelly Hu (Pearl), Chris Johnson (Logan Fell), Malese Jow (Anna), Mia Kirshner (Isobel Flemming), Bianca Lawson (Emily Bennett), Marguerite MacIntyre (Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes), Chris William Martin (Zach Salvatore), Tiffany Morgan (Ms. Gibbons), Robert Pralgo (Mayor Richard Lockwood), Sterling Sulieman (Harper), Susan Walters (Carol Lockwood)

Bonnie: . . . I have this feeling.

Elena: Bonnie, what?

Bonnie: That it’s just the beginning.

1.01 Pilot

Original air date: September 10, 2009

Written by: Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec

Directed by: Marcos Siega

Guest cast: Steve Belford (Darren Malloy), Cindy Busby (Brooke Fenton), Marci T. House (Mrs. Clarke)

Elena and Jeremy Gilbert return to Mystic Falls High School after their parents’ death the previous spring, and there’s a new student — Stefan Salvatore — whose real identity is even more astonishing than his extraordinary knowledge of the town’s Civil War history.

Before the title card for the first episode of The Vampire Diaries, we see a happy couple murdered. That brutality stands in stark contrast with the scenes that follow it: a grieving teenage girl writes in her diary, hoping she can get through her first day back at school. The pilot of any TV series has a lot of backstory to explain in short order, and The Vampire Diaries manages to give us the gist of the show in those few scenes: love, loss, bloodshed, and the supernatural. Without wasting any time, the episode introduces the cast of characters and their relationships; establishes the tone, look, and setting of the show; gives viewers a hint of what’s to come in terms of plot; and, of course, sucks us in deep enough so we’ll tune in again next week and give up another hour of our time. The opening scene, which feels plucked straight out of a Kevin Williamson horror movie, gives another hint of what’s to come: first impressions can be deceiving — as it was for the couple tricked and murdered by a vampire, so it is for the The Vampire Diaries viewer as the plot hurtles forward at vampire speed with unexpected twists and turns along the way.

The writers open up the world of Mystic Falls to the viewers on a day of fresh starts for its characters. Elena Gilbert is determined to “be someone new” on her first day back to school, a day that, every September, promises a new beginning but rarely delivers. Elena’s grief has consumed her since her parents’ death in the spring, and it’s no different for her younger brother, Jeremy. The Gilbert children are struggling to hold it together, as is their grad-school-student guardian, Aunt Jenna, who seems less organized than her niece. Elena’s coping mechanism has been to withdraw into herself, write in her journal, and hang out in the place designed for quiet contemplation of grief: at the foot of her parents’ tombstone in the cemetery. Jeremy, on the other hand, is acting out in a stereotypical way: smoking up, drinking, and sleeping with Vicki Donovan, an older girl who doesn’t want their hook-ups to be public knowledge. Summer is over and Vicki’s looking for a fresh start, too — with grade-A jerk Tyler Lockwood.

It’s hopeless for Elena to shake off the past and pretend that everything’s fine, especially as she worries about her little brother. Hard-ass history teacher Mr. Tanner promises Elena that the leniency period is over, and, at the party by the falls, she echoes his speech to Jeremy. Their grief is far from over, but no one else really cares anymore. The siblings face the harsh fact that, eventually, grief becomes private, not public, as the community refocuses on living and expects the grieving to pick up where their lives left off. Unfortunately for Jeremy and Elena, they’ve lost the two people who could best guide them through this, their mom and dad. The writers use this honest emotional moment to highlight what is one of the show’s crucial concerns: how we battle our demons. The Vampire Diaries may be a supernatural soap with an incredibly good-looking cast and frequent shirtlessness, but human struggles and emotions, however ugly or difficult, are at its heart. And also . . . hot vampires!

In voiceover, Stefan Salvatore confesses he is a vampire and is taking on the risk of reentering human society because he has to know Elena. The question Stefan faces is common for any teenager — where does he belong? Uncle Zach insists it’s not in Mystic Falls. Can Stefan fit in at Mystic Falls High? The girls are on his side instantly — small town, cute new guy — and he wins over other fellow students by outsmarting Tanner. But it is his connection to Elena that most fascinates us — and him. From their first run-in outside the boys’ room to the double entendre line “we have history together,” the chemistry between Stefan and Elena is palpable, making us root for this vampire-human pairing. As they talk on the bridge about passion, it’s clear these two won’t lack in that department. They share a seriousness, thoughtfulness, intensity, and love of journaling that sets them apart from their classmates (and makes them more than a little bit broody). Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley already seem to own their characters. Stefan feels compelled to be with Elena, but already, on day one, he’s had trouble hiding his vampirism as he tries to live in a human world.

And just as Elena’s past — her ex-boyfriend and the loss of her parents — complicates her potential happiness, Stefan’s fresh start in Mystic Falls quickly runs foul in the form of his bloodthirsty, wise-cracking older brother, Damon. Portrayed by Ian Somerhalder, who clearly delights in the role, Damon lets the audience in on what Stefan hasn’t told Elena: she’s a “dead ringer for Katherine,” a girl who met a bad end and whom Stefan still cares enough about to keep a photograph dating from 1864. Who was she to Stefan? Why are she and Elena doppelgängers? And why did Damon promise his brother “an eternity of misery”? With Damon come the fog, the fangs, and the fun as his character simultaneously lightens up and darkens the mood of the episode.

Elena’s friends also help to balance the episode and make Mystic Falls come alive. Like you’d see in any well-written TV show, these characters are set up with narrative economy so viewers get the basics in an instant, but TVD isn’t interested in trotting out stock characters. Matt, the athletic ex-boyfriend, makes a generous gesture by officially welcoming Stefan, shaking his hand and introducing himself, as the new guy arrives at the Grill with Elena. And yet Matt’s still in love with Elena. In that one move, Matt’s revealed to be a gracious guy, as he puts others’ happiness and comfort ahead of his own feelings. After a seemingly superficial display of sympathy in the hallway, Caroline morphs from a one-dimensional, cookie-cutter character to interesting and nuanced thanks to the vulnerability she shares with Bonnie, drunk after the party. (Why does everyone pick Elena? Because she doesn’t try.) We meet Bonnie as the bubbly bestie trying to reassure Elena that everything will get better, but after she gets a shockingly real and haunting feeling from her playful “crystal ball,” it looks like Bonnie has her own dark journey ahead of her.

Between the scares, the romantic complications, the sibling dynamics, the questions about the Salvatore brothers’ past, the threat of Damon exposing Stefan’s true nature, Bonnie’s psychic abilities, Caroline smirking at Damon, and Vicki waking up in the hospital with one word — vampire — on her lips, the pilot delivers more than enough juicy reasons to return for the next episode. Its strengths overshadow the moments of cheesiness, like the “dear diary” duet that closes the hour. Intrigued by the inhabitants of Mystic Falls, the viewer is left, as Elena writes in her journal, “ready for the good.”

Compelling Moment: The brothers facing off for the first time in 15 years, letting the viewer know this series has a sense of humor about itself.

Circle of Knowledge:

• The opening sequence is reminiscent of Kevin Williamson’s I Know What You Did Last Summer: a lonely road at night and a car hitting a man who comes back to kill the car’s occupants.
• Lots of pop culture references are packed into this episode; President Obama, Heath Ledger, Pete Wentz, Carson Daly, and soft-rock band Air Supply all get shout-outs.
• Stefan has a Mac computer and an old-fashioned typewriter on his desk, but he handwrites his journal.
• Bonnie called it when she g...