Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 926 minutes
After a sizzling summer with Damon, Elena leaves Mystic Falls and moves into a dorm with her roomie Caroline, ready for new adventures and new friends. But dark thoughts gnaw at Elena, and soon familiar faces are back in the girls’ lives. There’s Stefan with his shadow self Silas, plus Katherine, with a diabolical agenda and a jaw-dropping transformation. As the Doppelgangers test destiny, tearing lovers apart and pitting the Salvatore brothers against each other, the student body count rises, evidence of powerful forces on campus. Anchors, Rippers, Passengers and Travelers struggle to survive alongside witches and werewolves, teaching our favorite vampires painful lessons along the way. Sink your teeth into all 22 bloodthirsty episodes on 5 Discs of this passionate, heart-ripping, supernatural series.
Season five? What can I say? This season was awesome! Even though the doppelganger drama dragged on, I enjoyed every single episode of this season. Okay, there were a handful of episodes that were a bit slow for me but aside from that, this season rocked! It was fun following Elena and Caroline in college. It was exciting getting to see both new and familiar faces all throughout the season… because death doesn’t mean it’s the end of anyone’s run on this show. Through flashbacks and other revelations, it’s always rewarding when we’re given even more about not just the characters’s pasts, like Damon’s for example but it’s also so rewarding learning more about the history Mystic Falls and its people holds.
No while at first, I wasn’t buying or crazy about the long lost daughter Nadia story line, I was won over in time. This show has that kind of hold on me. Even when I don’t like something, I know that the story is building up to something and the pay off will be out of this world phenomenal. It always is. Though perhaps the most stressful (in a good way) story line for me was the threat of Katherine staying in Elena’s body forever. I also loved, loved, loved the use of Matt this season. And of course don’t know what to think about the season finale with the possible loss of not one but two of our most beloved characters. With such disastrous change on the other side, it’s unclear what has become of the afterlife and where that leaves all of those we’ve lost over the years. I’m nervous for sure about what this means for Bonnie and Damon but like I said, I’m sure the pay off will be worth it because it always is.
“…I might have nipped her a little.” – Tyler
This season has everything you’d hope for from this show… lies and traps, broken promises, consequences, characters leveraging all sorts of things for help. Sacrifice. Love. I’ve also always loved the tone of this show. It’s dark but has just the right amount of humor and romance.
No matter which Salvatore brother Elena is with, she is greatly loved. And not just by the boys. I love that this show’s friendships and family relationships are just as important and given just as much justice as the romantic relationships. That’s definitely a conscious decision and it is one of the many reasons why I love this show so much.
From every aspect of the show. Characters and friendships. Worldbuilding, storytelling, and story resonance. What a season. What a show. I am so proud that this show surpassed 100 episodes. What a huge victory! Not many shows get to this milestone! And that 100th episode was killer! I was tweeting up a storm this season (see here, here, here, and here) and you know I’ll be doing the same as soon as season six premieres in October. We’ve seen this show hit the mark and then reveal a load of even more important ones that have already been hit so bravo on a killer season five and here’s to an even more incredible season six.
Finally, it must be mentioned that the packaging for the Blu-ray DVD Combo Pack is so compact and lovely! If you’re going to purchase The Vampire Diaries The Complete Fifth Season, I’d suggest getting the combo pack.
Bonus Features:
2013 Comic-Con Panel (30 minutes) – I love that this panel was edited and not just thrown onto the Blu-ray/DVD as is because some panels really do need to be condensed or edited in other ways to make the viewing experience more enjoyable all around. Even though most of the questions are dated since this panel occurred before season five premiered, it’s still worth the watch.r
Appearing on the Panel:
Panel Moderator & Editor in Chief of TV Guide Magazine, Debra Birnbaum
Executive Producers, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries
Cast Members, Kat Graham, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Candice Accola
I Know What You Did… In the Last 100 Episodes (10 minutes) – If there’s one feature to watch, it’s this one! This feature not only takes us to the 100th Episode Celebration Party but gives us a fun trivia game among the cast and crew which was so much fun to watch! My favorite question and answer? The question was “Why did Matt commit suicide in season three?” and Zach Roerig answered, “Because he hates his life and has no storyline.” I also can’t forget to mention the split screen of the main cast from the Pilot episode to the 100th episode. I wish this hadn’t gone by so quick but from the looks of it, Zach Roerig has made the most notable transition of them all, from boy to man. The feature ends with a collective thank you which is very much appreciated, right back at you all of you hard working cast and crew members!
Appearing in this Feature:
Executive Producers, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries
Cast Members, Zach Roerig, Joseph Morgan, Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Daniel Gillies, Paul Wesley, Claire Holt, Candice Accola, Kat Graham, Steven R. McQueen
The Vampire Diaries: To the Other Side and Back (10 minutes) – In this feature, the cast and crew share their personal beliefs and experiences with the afterlife while also explaining the Other Side in the world of The Vampire Diaries and how certain ghost scenes are shot. It’s a fun feature to watch and since this wasn’t cut and diced into say, a two or three minute feature, it’s actually worth a watch.
Appearing in this Feature:
Executive Producers, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries
Cast Members, Kat Graham, Paul Wesley, Olga Fonda, Michael Trevino, Arielle Kebbel, Candice Accola, Nina Dobrev, Steven R. McQueen, Rick Cosnett
A Day in the Afterlife with Kat Graham (6 minutes) – It’s always cool seeing an actor around set, at home, preparing for a day’s work that we know will absolutely blow us away and this little feature is no different. We follow Kat Graham to the hair and makeup department and her dressing room mainly, as well as on location during one windy scene in particular. This isn’t a must see feature but it’s definitely something the fans appreciate.
Appearing in this Feature:
Hair Stylist, Maurice Beaman
Makeup Artist, Amber Crowe
Unaired Scenes (Approx. 16 minutes) – Unfortunately, there is no option to play individually/all so you have to watch them all by episode. There is one unaired scene each from the episodes, “The Devil Inside” and “Resident Evil.” First, a brief exchange between Nadia and Katherine. Then, relationship drama between Bonnie and Jeremy. Uh oh. The latter is worth watching. There are two unaired scenes from each of the following episodes: “True Lies,” “Dead Man on Campus,” the 100th episode, “500 Years of Solitude,” and “No Exit.” I love the tone of the first unaired scene from “Dead Man on Campus” and would consider it worth watching. For some reason, I expected more unaired episodes for “500 Years of Solitude.” Then again, maybe I just wanted as much awesome 100th episode footage as possible. Okay, guilty. Finally, there are four unaired scenes from the episode, “Monster’s Ball” and all of these scenes are definitely worth watching!
* Gag Reel (5 minutes)