Teases for the October 3 season premiere of The CW's The Vampire Diaries

We just were able to see the Season 5 premiere of The Vampire Diaries two weeks early — the episode itself airs Thursday, October 3, preceding the series premiere of The Originals — and we’re happy to report, after a Season 4 that disappointed at times, the show is back to form and fun… at least, for those people who aren’t buried underwater, and those who don’t get to face certain other dangers.

Obviously there are things that we’re not allowed to talk about, but for the spoiler-hungry, here are a few drops of blood:

– People smile! The last time I ever saw someone smile on The Vampire Diaries, was, admittedly not too long ago, in the Season 4 finale. But a big reason for that smiling was that certain very cool dead people (Alaric and Lexi) were back. Alaric and Lexi aren’t back anymore. But people are still happy. Elena and Caroline, in particular, are headed to college, and of course Elena and Damon had a fun summer together. Even more beleaguered Matt Donovan got to have some fun over the summertime with Rebekah.

I also like this because I felt in Season 4 everyone was so supernatural that they became hard to identify with. But now, Elena seems pretty cool, on a Caroline type level, again. Finally. It’s nice to have an Elena that I don’t want someone to stake.

– Speaking of Elena… As I mentioned, she’s pretty well adjusted in the premiere. It’s interesting to me that she is wanting to be human at a time when Katherine wants anything but that. How bad-ass is Katherine when she’s not all powerful? You’ll have to see what drama she creates.

– Paul Wesley as Silas: Especially when compared to Damon, Stefan can sometimes be a stick in the mud. With that said, Paul Wesley looks like he’s having a fun being a bit of an @$$ playing Silas while he, as Stefan, drowns and has dreams.

– “Royals” – The temporary music track for this episode, at least, includes the song “Royals.” CW, you guys aren’t saving that one for Reign in a few weeks?

– Twisting the knife: Remember the brief bit with Alaric in TVD #4.2, with the “I miss you too, buddy?” The Vampire Diaries twists the knife again in the season premiere… perhaps more than once.

– Damon the dad: Also really amusing in this episode is Damon taking on a bit of a fatherly role to Jeremy… complete with that “don’t tell Mom about that” type attitude. By the way, we do find out what the world thinks happened when Jeremy “died” pretty quickly.

– Meet Your New Roomie: Elena and Caroline have a new roommate who totally gives off an “Imogen Moreno” vibe, for any Degrassi fans in the house. Meaning, she’s quirky and a little too nice. Something’s weird about her…

– And finally: There is a very funny line about how to spell certain words in Vampire Diaries lore.

….And that’s probably all I’m allowed to say, beyond this: I’m happy to say that The Vampire Diaries I enjoyed most is back. Caroline Dries wrote a great script and Lance Anderson did a great job on the direction. If Season 5 maintains this tone — and the great cliffhangers, which this one has (of course) – Season 5 should be a good year.

The Vampire Diaries season premiere airs Thursday, October 3 on The CW. Take a look at some preview images!