4 Reasons To Tune Into Season Five Of The Vampire Diaries

As season 5 of The Vampire Diaries gets set to air on a television (or computer) screen near you, there's a few things that fans can look forward to that we haven't seen before. The show started to feel a little stale midway through last season with the long-winded, and frankly lackluster, search for the cure, but the season finale left us gasping for answers and an entire summer to ponder them. There are some changes coming that will set this season apart from anything else they've tried. From eliminating main characters to bringing little brothers back from the dead, season 5 of The Vampire Diaries is setting itself up to be the most exciting one yet. Although many of you may still be mourning the loss of Bonnie (Kat Graham) - who will be returning at least in spirit-form - and going through separation anxiety over all the characters moving to the Big Easy for the The Vampire Diaries spin-off, The Originals, there are plenty of reasons to keep watching this fall. Check out what we think are some of the top reasons to tune in when The Vampire Diaries returns to The CW on October 3rd. Continue reading on the next page to see what they are… 4. Human Katherine One of the biggest - because there were many - shockers that fans were delivered during The Vampire Diaries season four finale last May was watching Elena (Nina Dobrev) shove the cure for vampirism down Katherine's (also Dobrev) throat. Since both actresses are played by the same actress, we first have to applause the amazing choreography and editing that went into pulling that off. Second, we need to acknowledge that going into season five, Katherine is now a fragile, compulsion-lacking, human being. What does this mean for Katherine? Well, clearly she will be going through an adjustment period - which lucky for us, we will get to witness first hand. Since she's the only vampire to ever be "cured," it's hard to tell how long/hard that will be. At least she can look forward to enjoying pizza for probably the first time ever when she comes around to accepting her new bloodless diet. Even before she became a vampire, Katherine had a tenacity for putting herself before others - and unfortunately, that probably won't change. However, she has spent the last 500 years building a growing list of enemies that she was able to conveniently elude with the help of her supernatural talents. Now that she's lacking any special abilities, she will have to rely on the generosity of others - none of whom are card-carrying members of her fan club - to keep her safe. Either that, or live under a very secure rock. 3. No More Originals The threat that was Klaus (Joseph Morgan) started forming in season 1 and evolved to an entire, often unstable, Original family taking up residence - in varying degrees - in Mystic Falls. As we head into season 5, all the Originals are either dust or have recently relocated to New Orleans. This will be the first time that Mystic Falls, and are favorite semi-destructible vampires, will be free of the constant pressure that having several vampires who are impervious to death (er, unless you have a white oak stake handy) as your neighbors produces. This means a few things for our remaining characters. The most obvious character affected by this is Caroline (Candice Accola). Klaus has tormented, well, pretty much everyone, during his time in Mystic Falls - and Caroline is no exception. Nonetheless, she was the only soft spot that Klaus developed during his stay. He already had a sort of love/hate relationship with Stefan (Paul Wesley) from their days in Chicago during the 20s, and although he had several impromptu truces with other characters, there was no one that struck him the same way as Caroline. The Klaroline/Tyler love triangle dominated in season 4, and many fans are still crossing their fingers that Klaroline will make it happen despite Tyler's (Michael Trevino) return. Another resident of Mystic Falls that might not be completely thrilled by The Vampire Diaries becoming an Original-free zone is Matt (Zach Roerig). You might remember that the last time we saw him, he was getting ready to spend his summer being pampered around the world by Rebekah (Claire Holt). Matt usually holds the crown for living in reality, but after everything he's been through this was definitely something that he can file as well-deserved. Even though he knew from the beginning that it was just a 'summer fling,' it can't be easy to go back to being his regular self after that adventure. Everyone else was pretty hit-or-miss when it came to any positive emotions regarding the Originals. They need Klaus alive to stay alive themselves, but other than that, they would probably prefer him to hibernate somewhere far off in the distance - out of sight, out of mind. With the minor exception of Katherine, who now not only has to adapt to being human, also has the added bonus of a broken heart courtesy of Elijah (Daniel Gillies) to whine over. Continue reading on the next page… 2. Stefan and His Very Own Doppelgänger Stefan's summer probably lacked the pizazz of yours or mine being stuck at the bottom of a very large lake and all, but he does now get to boast that Elena isn't the only one with her very own look-a-like. The last scene of season 4 left us speechless when Silas's real face was revealed, and it looked exactly like someone that we've become very familiar with - Stefan. The entire time I expected his face to be some deformed version of his former glorious self, instead he was the picture of broody perfection. With the real Stefan locked under thousands of gallons of water, Silas is left with an entire town to harass and no one the wiser. The last thing anyone in Mystic Falls knew was that Stefan was disposing of a stone-encrusted Silas. Who would suspect that things didn't go as planned when Silas is parading around as a perfect replica of his young doppelgänger? Desiccating at the bottom of a lake, replaced by an evil, self-serving version of yourself, not being the one that Elena picked - this is a rough summer for Stefan by any standards. 1. Damon and Elena..Finally! While Stefan was sinking into his involuntary summer (hopefully) home, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena were renewing their non-sire bond love. Elena has had more than one occasion over the past few seasons to make a decision regarding her extended love triangle with the Salvatore brothers, and this time around she chose Damon. In case your memory is a bit foggy, at the end of season 3 Elena was content letting Damon die alone in order to be reunited with Stefan for one last, brief moment. A year later, Elena has changed her tune completely and is now ready to dance into forever - possibly literally - with Damon. A love that has apparently survived the suggestion of her sire bond with him - a point that was in contention for most of last season. It's hard to say whether the couple will last, but given their rocky romantic history already, I'm a little exhausted with the idea of it being anything other then smooth sailing for at least the immediate future. The chance to see Delena in full-bloom? Priceless. Let us know why you'll be tuning in for the new season of The Vampire Diaries in the comment section below!