'The Vampire Diaries' Recap: Season 7 Premiere EP 1, 'Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take'

The wait is over for fans of The Vampire Diaries. In episode one, "Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take," the season seven premiere kicks off with the Heretics who want Mystic Falls for themselves.

Damon is living a life without the woman he loves, Elena. He now has to figure out how to come to terms with the fact that as long as Bonnie is alive he won't be able to be with his love. The relationship between Stefan and Caroline or "Steroline" as the fan shippers say, is still rocking as Caroline still seems to be dealing with her own emotions. Stefan said that he would wait for her in the season six finale and that's exactly what he's doing.

Mystic Falls still isn't safe and Lily and the Heretics are doing all they possibly can to ensure that the town is theres for the taking. With Damon in his current state it leaves, Caroline, Stefan, Bonnie, Alaric and Matt with all of the work.

While Enzo may be on board with Lily and her Heretics he is still finding it difficult to fully become a part of her family. The Heretics consist of Valerie, Nora, Mary Louise, Malcolm, Beau and Oscar.

The episode begins in the future, three years from present day. Stefan is hurt and he is feeding his brother blood to wake him up. In present day Caroline is writing down everything in a diary for Elena when she wakes up. She tells Elena that Damon and Alaric are on a guys getaway with Bonnie who is the chaperone. Matt is going to become deputy and Caroline's mom has her own town bench.

She writes that she doesn't think she can heal and move on any time soon. Stefan approaches and Caroline seems surprised. Stefan is going to check on some missing blood bags.

Things are a bit awkward and Stefan sits down to address the weirdness.

Caroline stumbles on her word and admits that she was trying to fill the awkward silence with conversation about his brother. Stefan says until she heals, they can be friends and she agrees.

Someone else is writing in a diary. It's one of the Heretics who is not loving the new world. The Heretic named Valerie is hit by two teens in a car who leave her in the middle of the road. It's all good because she wakes up and continues to vent about how much she hates her situation.

The rest of the Heretics are having tea and don't like that they're being limited to a certain amount of blood a day. Bonnie is writing in her diary while she, Alaric and Damon are in Amsterdam.

Damon keeps joking about Bonnie dying so he can see Elena again. Damon is using Alaric as a way to escape from his misery and Alaric tells him that he's glad to have him there.

Lily is leaving the Heretics to visit Enzo in New York and they are not happy about not being able to explore the world. Valerie walks in and complains about being hit by the teens and left for dead. At first she is mocked by nora and Mary Louise but they understand how she feels after.

Lily is trying to calm Valerie down by telling her how proud she is that she resisted the urge to kill.

However, Valerie, Nora and Mary Louise set out for revenge and unleash an attack on the teens. They used powers and super vampire abilities to kill the teens and hang them upside down and they loved it.

Stefan and Matt stumble upon the bodies and call Damon to let him know that Lily's Heretics might be up to something. Stefan asks Alaric to teach him how to make a bomb and Alaric leaves the public setting.

Bonnie and Damon or Bamon are sitting down to have a chat while Alaric leaves and she tells Damon he needs to live his life but he tells her she doesn't get to play the "what would Elena do" game.

Alaric is seeking to connect with Jo through a strange red stone and a fake wedding ring. Alaric set the psychic to expose him and then used his anger to beat him up, unleashing his built up aggression.

Lily meets up with Enzo who seems to be enjoying his time away. Lily says she is trying to teach the Heretics how to behave and Enzo living in Mystic Falls freely would be a bad influence.

Meanwhile Lily seems to be looking for the stone that Alaric has however, when Enzo asks what the stone does she is reluctant to tell him.

She just tells him he could be in danger if anyone found out he was looking for the stone. Enzo is offended that she didn't trust him and tells her to find her own rock.

Caroline and Stefan are setting up the bomb so that she can deliver it as a welcoming present to the Heretics. The two continue to have awkward moments and it seems as if she might be warming up to the idea of them being together.

She barges into the Heretic filled house to be a distraction while Matt slips the bomb in.

Matt gets the job done but Caroline is in a bit of trouble when the Heretics demand her jacket and refuse to let her leave before she gives it up.

Caroline manages to get her and Matt out of the house before the bomb explodes.

In Amsterdam Bonnie and Damon are looking for Alaric and when Bonnie stops to ask Damon what the plan is he saves her from a truck that was coming down the road. They get a little close and there is a strange look between the two of them. She realizes that he hesitated to save her life and she doesn't appreciate him resenting her because she's alive and Elena isn't.

She tells him that he is stuck with her and he could either resent her or love her.

Stefan calls Lily to tell her that they bombed the house and killed the Heretics. Instead of being worried, Lily offers him some motherly advice and tells Stefan to run.

Mary Louise and Nora are overlooking Matt's Deputization Ceremony and it looks like they are an item. Mary Louise is nervous about holding hands in public but Nora tells her that these times are different. Valerie shows up to mock them and tells them they all need to get on with seeking revenge.

They begin reciting a spell and Stefan arrives to tell Caroline that they may have a problem.

The three Heretics set the entire ceremony on fire and Malcolm and Beau joined in to wreak havoc as they continuously feed on the innocent.

Caroline is attacked by Nora and Stefan is attacked by Beau but Lily shows up just in time to stop further destruction.

Lily gives them all a speech about finding a way for them to coexist in the world and tells everyone that the bloodshed ends now. Matt looks around and sees terror on what's supposed to be a happy day. Stefan and Caroline look around with worry on their face. They return to the mansion and Caroline is freaking out and telling Stefan that everyone is dead but he is fidgeting with a splinter in his neck.

Caroline gives him a little help and says that Lily is insane if she thinks she can control all five Heretics. Caroline, Stefan and Matt are continuing to tell a Elena a story of how they evacuated all of the residence from Mystic Falls and formed a truce with Lily.

Stefan gave Lily the Salvatore mansion and he, Caroline and Matt have to coexist with the Heretics.

Caroline walks over to Enzo who says he is trying to save her mother's bench. Caroline tells Enzo to pick a side and also says that she doesn't trust him.

Stefan is at the bar having a beer when Damon calls. Damon asks if there is anything he needs to know about and Stefan says it can wait until he gets back. Little did he know, Damon was right outside the door.

Damon announces himself and asks Stefan if he wants to tell him who's living in their house. Damon is not happy with Stefan's deal with Lily but Stefan tells him not to mess it up.

Damon blames the decision on Caroline and it causes Stefan to bring up Elena and asks Damon if she woke up and everyone she cared about was dead would be something she wanted.

Stefan says he is doing it for Damon.

Bonnie meets with Matt who is happy to see her. He fills her in on what's going on and sets out to patrol a desolate and abandoned Mystic Falls. Damon is watching over the town and has no choice but to settle in at Whitmore.

He is in Elena's old dorm and Bonnie walks in on him. He tells Bonnie he has nowhere to go and she brings up the fact that he hesitated to save her.

Damon admits that in the three seconds he thought about Elena, thought about kissing her and remembered that Bonnie is his best friend and he would lose his mind without her.

They both agree on the fact that they want to take the town back and Bonnie says she wants to fight.

Bonnie catches Malcolm devouring an innocent victim and tries to use her power to stop him but it backfires. He begins to attack Bonnie but Damon is there to rip his heart out. One Heretic down? Stefan and Caroline are back at her house and she asks if they are making a mistake with the truce. Stefan asks what her mother would do and when Caroline thinks about it she realizes they aren't.

Caroline tells Stefan that she thought she could move on but she will always miss her mother. Stefan gives her some pretty heartfelt advice and leaves to board up the doors.

Before he goes Caroline tells him that he makes her happy when she's with him. Stefan and Caroline kiss passionately and the fans now have Steroline right where they always wanted them, together.

Alaric visits the coroner and asks to see Jo. He intends on bringing her back to life. He asks once more to see her and the coroner takes him to a freezer. At the Salvatore mansion the girls bring Malcolm home to Lily who is completely distraught when she sees him dead.

She asks who took him from them and the Heretics look around with revenge on their faces. Caroline is trying to write in her diary but she was interrupted by Enzo who tells her that someone killed Malcolm.

Enzo then says that he chooses Lily's side and drugs Caroline. The episode breaks back into present day and someone is hunting Stefan and Damon.

"Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take" was a bit fun to watch. There are clearly going to be a number of shifts in character especially when it comes to Damon Salvatore. Fans will be looking to see more from Steroline as they are now the focal couple of the show.

It will also be interesting to see how Bonnie and Damon's relationship develops in season seven.

The show does seem strange without Elena but this new storyline is engaging and helps keep your mind off of the fact that Nina Dobrev is no longer a part of the cast.

Fans who can't get enough will have to tune in next week to see what The CW hit has in store or head over to the shows main page.

Photos that sum up tonights episode.