Carla Shinall

In the season premiere, Damon is forced to navigate his new reality without the love of his life. Stefan takes an active role in protecting the town from Lily (ANNIE WERSCHING).

It’s Alaric and Jo’s (recurring guest star Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) wedding day and Elena and Bonnie do their best to help a stressed-out Jo with the last-minute preparations. After uncovering some life-changing news that Damon has been keeping from him, Stefan takes his brother on a road trip to give him some perspective on his future with Elena. Elsewhere, when Caroline returns to Mystic Falls after dealing with the fallout of her humanity-free rampage, she begins making amends with her friends and comes to a realization about her and Stefan’s prospects of being together. Finally, when Bonnie begins having vivid nightmares that Lily (recurring guest star Annie Wersching) is coming after her, she enlists Matt’s help in taking Lily down.

After assigning tasks to each of her friends, Caroline attempts to deal with her current situation as reality begins to set in around her. Elena spends a day with Caroline and grows concerned when she starts noticing a strange change in Caroline’s behavior. Meanwhile, Alaric becomes wary when Kai (recurring guest star Chris Wood), who has begun experiencing unexpected consequences from the merge, turns to Jo (recurring guest star Jodi Lyn O’Keefe), desperate for her help. Elsewhere, while Bonnie finds herself in an unfamiliar situation, Matt and Tyler contemplate a major life change. And when Damon offers Caroline advice on how to cope with everything going on around her, it forces him to revisit painful memories involving his own mother.