Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episodes 1 Best • Essential

We meet Elena writing in her diary (a device the show would eventually outgrow, but essential here). She is established as the "sad girl"—beautiful, popular, but grieving the loss of her parents in a car accident she survived. Dobrev’s performance is grounded; she isn’t just a damsel in distress, but a young woman seeking an escape from her grief. She wants to feel something other than pain.

The scene then shifts to the picturesque, small-town setting of Mystic Falls, Virginia. We are introduced to Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), a popular high school student struggling to navigate the "new normal" of her life. It has been four months since a tragic car accident killed her parents, and she and her angsty younger brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), are being raised by their well-meaning but overwhelmed aunt, Jenna Sommers (Sara Canning). vampire diaries season 1 episodes 1