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Do you know how many days need to tick by before I see Elena again? 22,916 days, and that's assuming you get some old person's disease. I haven't even began to approach rock bottom.
Damon to Bonnie

Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take is the first episode of the seventh season of The Vampire Diaries and the one hundred and thirty-fourth episode of the series overall.

Summary[]

LIFE WITHOUT ELENA — 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[]

The episode starts three years from now in Brooklyn, NY. Stefan opens up what seems to be a garage door to reveal 2 coffins. He's clearly injured and opens up one of the coffins, which reveals a desiccated Damon He feeds him and yells at him to wake up.

It's now normal time and Caroline is writing a diary for Elena when she wakes up. She reveals that Damon is away at Europe with Alaric to cheer him up with Bonnie. Matt is also graduating to become a deputy and there's a memory bench for her mother. Stefan shows up and says he's looking for whoever stole blood bags from the hospital, who he thinks might be Lillian Salvatore. They then drift off and start to talk about their feelings for each other and settle with wanting to be friends.

Another girl's perspective is shown, she is also writing a diary and writes about how much she hates living at Mystic Falls. On her way home while scrolling through her phone, she's hit by a car. Two teens rush and the girl says she wants to call the ambulance but the boy convinces her that if they do that, they'll up in jail - they drive off. The girl, Valerie then wakes up, revealing she's a vampire and a part of Lily's group, saying that she's making it hard for them to live by telling them to try and fit in. Nora and Mary Louise complain to Lily. Beau is also a part of her group but he is mute, along with Malcolm, whose shown to be the more civilised of them all and appears to be Lily's favorite.

Bonnie is writing in her diary for Elena. She gets up to go cycling, leaving Alaric and Damon. Alaric tells him he doesn't need a babysitter but he says that he's only here because it helps him to take his mind off Elena.

Lily is about to leave and tells them to behave and not go anywhere. They're upset and Mary-Louise complains that they're fine how they are. Lily reminds them that they're way of living got them locked up in a prison for a hundred years and that it didn't work. Nora reminds her that Oscar's been gone for days and that he's probably not just running errands. Valerie charges in angrily, yelling at Lily that two teenagers ran her over and left her to die, Mary-Louise and Nora make fun of her. She says that this is happening because of Lily and that she couldn't stand up for herself, Mary-Louise and Nora comfort her but Lily says that they are learning.

The 3 sisters show up at where the two teenagers are working and go after the girl. Valerie kills her, but worries that Lily might find out. Nora tells her she won't and that vampires aren't supposed to co-exist with humans. Stefan shows up to find the bodies of the 2 and starts investigating into it. He rules out Lily as a suspect and calls Damon for help. He's found out where the Heretics are living and asks Alaric to help him kill them. Bonnie tells Damon that he needs to live his life and be happy because that's what Elena would want - but he says she doesn't get to say that.

Alaric is with a psychic, trying to talk to Jo. First he brings out a stone and asks him if he's ever seen it before, the psychic says he hadn't. He then gives him their 'wedding ring' and asks him to help them talk. He claims she says she's telling him that she loves him, making Alaric furious. He says the ring is a fake and so is the psychic. He says she's better off dead, making Alaric angrier and violent.

Lily meets up with Enzo. She takes out a picture of a stone, the same one Alaric was holding, and asks him to help her find it as it's an important possession. When asked why, she refuses to say, saying it's a family matter. He's offended and says that he was with her when her own sons abandoned her, they both agree that they hate the two. She asks him to help her and he leaves, telling her to find it herself and he's not an errand boy.

Stefan's got together an explosive to blow up their house. He's with Caroline, who goes to the Heretic's house, posing to be their happy-cheery neighbor, there to welcome them. They don't let her in but the barges through anyway. Matt quickly sneaks in while the door is open to plant the device. She puts her plant pot down but Matt makes a noise while putting it down so she drops a vase on the table as a distraction. Nora tells Caroline she loves her jacket. Matt shows up and tries to get her out, but Nora compels her to give it to her, she plays along. Valerie says she smells something, but she runs out before it explodes. Stefan calls Lily and tells them that her family's dead. She tells him to run, the Heretics are survivors.

Damon is with Bonnie while she's talking. A car is coming from behind and Damon has a 5-second thought before whisking her to the side in super speed. She thanks him until she realizes that he hesitated since he saw it coming before. She's deeply hurt by this and he justifies it by saying that Elena would be here if Bonnie wasn't.

The awarding ceremony to promote youngsters into deputies. Nora and Mary Louise are standing behind everyone as it goes on. Valerie comes in and tells them to work on their revenge. They start chanting a spell, which appears to only start the sprinklers from the sides, making the three giggle. Their true intention starts when Valerie sets the whole place on fire and start killing everyone inside. Half the people are dead and the 3 and Stefan and Caroline fight until Lily comes in and breaks them up. She's furious with them all for killing the civilians and says that they've jeopardized their existence by doing this.

Stefan and Caroline bicker about the failed plan, she's upset about the innocent people who died. Stefan has another plan: Matt uses his position as deputy to make a story of a gas leak to evacuate the whole of Mystic Falls. Stefan negotiates a deal with Lily to let them live with him. Anyone who trespassed was 'fair game for the Heretics'. They close and seal off the borders of Mystic Falls. This sends almost all of the population out of the town, most compelled by Caroline to leave.

Enzo is taking the plaque off Caroline's mom's bench and she tells him to pick a side.

Damon also comes back and isn't happy with Lily and the Heretics living in their house. He makes fun of him for doing this for Caroline but he says that he's doing it for Damon. If Elena wakes up and sees what's happened to her town and people, she won't be happy either. Bonnie also meets up with Matt and says that evacuating the town isn't a good idea. He says it's the only way, since she was the one who betrayed Kai, who then let them out. He says it isn't her fault though.

Damon goes to visit Bonnie. He complains to her about the Heretics and says he has nowhere else to go. He says it was only 3 seconds but she reminds him that that's a long time in a life and death. He says she's her best friend and that he wouldn't forgive himself for doing that. She says she wants to fight against the Heretics with Damon. Malcolm is feeding off a trespasser in the town, since that's the rule. Bonnie shows up and attacks him with a spell, he retaliates by taking her magic but Damon rips his heart out from behind.

Alaric goes to visit the morgue to see his wife. The doctor reminds him that he can only keep the body for 30 days but he says that's why he's bribing him. He 'jokes' that he's going to bring her back.

Nora and Mary-Louise bring in a dead Malcolm, the 4 try to hide him but Lily shows up and cries over his death. She demands to know who did it.

Caroline is writing in her diary and Enzo shows up. He says he's picked his side like she said, indicating he's with them, but he vervains her, saying he's chosen Lily.

The episode ends with it being back to 3 years in the future. Damon says he didn't want to be awoken until Elena was. Stefan tells him he needs help. just then, arrows and bullets start flying towards them and they run to hide. Damon says "she's back," and that she won't stop until Stefan's dead. Her identity isn't revealed.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Special Guest Star[]

Guest Cast[]

Co-Starring[]

Trivia[]

  • Antagonist: Valerie, Nora, Malcolm, Beau and Mary Louise.
  • This episode is revealed to be only a few weeks after the events in I'm Thinking Of You All The While. It can be no more than two months judging by Alaric's conversation with the medical examiner.
  • This is the first flash forward episode in the series to 2016, 3 years into the future of the series current timeline of 2013.
  • This is the first episode of the series overall to not feature its central character, Elena Gilbert.
    • For the first time, Elena Gilbert didn't appear in a season premiere in the series history or to be involved in the story. She was mentioned by other characters during the episode.
  • Beau is the first mute vampire seen in the series. Thus he can't use compulsion.
  • Stefan tells Caroline he's a little concerned about Damon as he waits for Elena to wake up. He reminds of her about him waiting 145 years for Katherine Pierce as seen in the first season.
  • Both Bonnie and Caroline are keeping their promise to Elena by writing down everything she's missing while she's asleep.
  • To protect Mystic Falls from the Heretics after their attack on Matt's graduation in revenge for Stefan and Caroline's attempt to kill them by blowing them up, the town is evacuated with the story of a mine fire to cover the deaths. Stefan and Caroline go door to door and compel the residents to leave. The deal with Lily is that she and her heretic family can kill any human that comes into town (mostly homeless people) afterward and move into Salvatore Boarding House.
  • The Heretics are protected by their magic but can be killed like normal vampires. Malcolm is killed by Damon by heart extraction.
  • Bonnie blames herself for what happened to Elena as she tells Damon if she hadn't left Kai trapped in 1903 prison and also that the Heretics would still be trapped in their prison world instead of Lily being reunited with them after hearing they are in Mystic Falls.
  • Though Matt reveals that he also blames her for both what happened to Elena and for the Heretics being brought back by Kai before he takes it back not long after implying it.
  • Oscar is running errands for Lily outside of Mystic Falls.
  • Alaric has the object that Lily asked Enzo to help her find.
  • Alaric has been trying to contact Jo but has come across fake mediums, one of them stole Jo's wedding ring. He's been having her body stored in the Whitmore Hospital morgue past the 30 day by paying the person in charge. The reason he's keeping Jo in cold storage is that he plans on resurrecting her.
  • Damon says to Bonnie he'll to wait for Elena for 22,916 days which is roughly 62 years and 9 months, if she's lives a full life and doesn't get an old persons disease.
  • This is the fourth episode title of the series to have numbers in it, with Season One's 162 Candles being the first, Season Three's 1912 being the second & Season Five's 500 Years of Solitude being the third.
  • In a flashforward to 2016, Stefan arrives wounded in New York where he resurrects a desiccated Damon who planned on waiting for Elena as such until she woke. As Stefan awakes Damon, a mysterious woman armed with vampire-killing weapons arrives and shoots at them. Stefan tells his brother that she has returned and that he knew because of a cross scar on his heart which started bleeding that morning. Damon comments that they must run because she won't stop until Stefan is dead.

Body Count[]

Continuity[]

Locations[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Cultural References[]

Quotes[]

Damon: "You want to tell me who the hell's living in our house?"
Stefan: "The deal has been made: We don't mess with them. They don't mess with us."
Caroline: "Are we making a huge mistake in handing over our home town to a bunch of supernatural terrorists?"
Stefan: "Yeah probably."
Heretic: "Mystic Falls is ours now. So is any human who steps inside of it."
Damon: "Well there's a lunatic."
Lily: "I thought we had a deal."
Damon: "Bad deal."
Bonnie: "We need to stop them!"
Enzo: "God I hate whiners."
Lily (to Stefan): "If I may offer you some motherly advice? Run."
Stefan: "I need you to teach me how to make a bomb."
Bonnie (to Alaric): "There's something evil. We have to destroy it."
Damon: "About how long do we have before this evil engulfs the world? Just trying to plan my week."

Alaric: "I can't....feel my cheeks. What are we drinking?"
Damon: "No idea. Can you read German?"
Alaric: "That's uh...actually Dutch."
Damon: "Oh. Wait. Where are we?"
Bonnie: "Amsterdam. Dear Elena, Yep. Halfway across Europe and they're still...drunk."
Alaric: "Is that really necessary?"
Bonnie: "Elena told me to keep a journal of everything of everything she's missing. When she wakes up in sixty some years and finds out Ric died from alcohol poisoning, she's gonna want to know what happened."
Damon: "Unless you tragically choke to death on those cocktail peanuts, then I can tell her myself!"
Bonnie: "Oh! So sweet. I'm going to go rent a bike, see the city like a normal tourist."
Damon: "FYI. They don't wear helmets here."
Bonnie: "Keeps getting funnier."
Damon: "Hey! Riding the tram tracks? Don't look both ways!"
Bonnie: "Got it!"

Stefan: "Whatcha writing?"
Caroline: "Stefan! What are you doing here?"
Stefan: "Matt reported some blood bags missing from the hospital so I'd thought I'd check it out."
Caroline: "Do you think it's your mom?"
Stefan: "If it's not, then she has quite literally dropped off the face of the earth. I'm still deciding if that's...good thing or bad thing."
Caroline: "So...how's Damon."
Stefan: "Well...if the last time he sat around waiting decades for a girl taught us anything, then I am worried."
Caroline: "Well if you're worried, then I'm terrified."
Stefan: "I made this...ugh...a thing, didn't I?"
Caroline: "You made what a thing?"
Stefan: "Why I told you how I felt about you and now it's...it's weird."
Caroline: "No! It's not...weird, Stefan..."
Stefan: "You just asked about my brother who you hate to fill awkward silence."
Caroline: "Okay I don't hate Damon. I'm just...obviously...you know...scrambling to fill the awkward silence!"
Stefan: "Right..."
Caroline: "Okay, it's a thing! You made it a thing. Congratulations."
Stefan: "Alright, how about this? New rule: You live your life. You heal and in the meantime, we're friends."
Caroline: "I like that rule."
Stefan: "Good."
Caroline: "Okay."
Stefan: "Happy writing."
Caroline: "Thank you!"

Damon (to Bonnie): "You know how many days need to tick by before I see Elena again? Twenty-Two thousand nine hundred and sixteen days and that's assuming you get some old person's disease. I haven't even begun to approach rock bottom."
Valerie (to Mary Louise and Nora): "Could we focus on revenge please?"
Damon (to Stefan): "Reception went a little fuzzy brother. Sounds like you said mom got her family of crazies back?"
Stefan (to Alaric): "I need you to teach me how to make a bomb."
Alaric: "Okay, great. Well the party's over."
Caroline (to Enzo): "Just pick a side, Enzo! Us or them!"
Lily (to Enzo): "What happened to that sick boy I met on the boat? The boy abandoned at the workhouse at the age of four. The boy who never knew kindness until the day I saved his life."
Stefan (to Caroline): "I understand if you need time to heal and to live your life without me. I'll wait and when you're ready for me I will be ready for you."
Stefan: "I made this...ugh...a thing, didn't I?"
Caroline: "Okay, it's a thing! You made it a thing. Congratulations."

Multimedia[]

Soundtrack[]

Last.fm_play.png "Dreams" – Beck
Last.fm_play.png "Beauty & De Brains" – Nielson
Last.fm_play.png "Bend" – Chet Faker
Last.fm_play.png "What Went Down" – Foals
Last.fm_play.png "Until The Levee" – Joy Williams
Last.fm_play.png "Elevator Song" – Keaton Heston ft. Ren Ford
Last.fm_play.png "Redeeming Love" – Amy Stroup

Videos[]

Pictures[]

References[]

See also[]

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