In case you spent the last year in a coffin and needed a Vampire Diaries refresher, here is what happened last season: Sheriff Forbes died. Jo died. Liv died. That other twin died. Kai died. (RIP all, except Kai.) Tyler left. Jeremy went somewhere. Stefan and Caroline are a thing (Steroline). Witch vampires called heretics are a thing. Oh, and Elena Gilbert is taking a very long nap. Now, let’s get to season 7! Stefan is in a storage unit that has two coffins in it. Caroline kicks off the diary action, telling us/Elena that Damon is grieving her by helping Alaric, who’s grieving Jo. They are traveling across Europe while damaging their lives.

And then there’s Stefan. He approaches Caroline as she’s furiously writing. They have an awkward conversation and then talk about how it’s not awkward, even though it is. But then Caroline goes back to writing about how things are just peachy keen in Mystic Falls. It actually ends with a flash-forward to where we started: three years in the future in Brooklyn. Damon wakes to yell at Stefan, “I told you not to bother me until Elena is awake.” And then a woman in the shadows starts shooting arrows at them. The big question is, can the series go on without Elena Gilbert? Well, the answer is…definitely yes! I’m dying to know about everything that has happened so far in episode one. How did they end up in Brooklyn? Will Jo come back? What is the pink stone? Why would Enzo choose Lilly’s side? Who’s the “she” that’s “back”? Wow.