1. Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take

After a twisted plan left the life of his girlfriend Elena linked to that of his best friend Bonnie, Damon is forced to navigate his new reality without the love of his life. A newly empowered Bonnie has decided that she will be Damon's moral compass and keeps a close eye on him as he, in turn, cautiously keeps tabs on Alaric, following the loss of his fiancée Jo. Meanwhile, as he waits for Caroline to sort out her emotions, Stefan takes an active role in protecting the town from Lily and her family of Heretics, who have wasted no time wreaking havoc in Mystic Falls. Elsewhere, Enzo struggles to find his place in Lily's new life, and is quickly forced to decide where his true loyalties lie. Finally, with the stakes higher than ever, Matt, who has recently completed his deputy training program, teams up with Stefan and Caroline to put a stop to the Heretics, but an unexpected turn of events leaves one of them in a dangerous position.

Plot summary and ending

Spoilers ahead. Coverage follows the scope labeled below.

Complete story — includes the ending

Damon, Bonnie and Alaric have been spending the summer in Europe to get over their grief, while Stefan, Caroline and Matt make a deal with Lily and her Heretics after failing to defeat them. Caroline and Bonnie miss Elena deeply and each day are writing in a diary everything that occurs so that when Elena wakes up it’ll be like she never missed anything. Stefan and Caroline evacuate the whole town to protect them from the Heretics, but agree that anyone who passes the border will be at the mercy of the Heretics. Alaric consults psychics about his dead wife, with no luck. Damon rescues Bonnie from a car accident at the last moment. When the trio get back in town, they learn about the deal with the Heretics. Damon and Bonnie make their own plan and kill a Heretic. When Lily learns about the death, she attains revenge by kidnapping Caroline with the help of Enzo. Flashforward: Three years into the future, Stefan is seen rushing into a storage unit, opening a casket containing a desiccated Damon. After reviving Damon against his wishes, Stefan proceeds to tell him that his scar opened up which means that "she's back," right as they are attacked by an old (yet unknown) foe.

Sources and content license

Source and revision history · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Vampire Diaries season 7. HTML formatting and reference markers removed. · Content license