How the Heretics Made The Vampire Diaries Great Again

The loss of star Nina Dobrev combined with the fact that seven seasons is basically geriatric for a TV show these days put increased pressure on the CW staple to remain relevant.

Yet The Vampire Diaries beat the odds and has delivered one of its best seasons in years, all by completely upending the status quo.

Sure, there are still a few burgeoning love triangles, but the things that defined the show since its inception - Elena's Salvatore romances and the struggle for normalcy within a supernatural world - are nowhere to be found.

Having grown up in the restrictive 19th century and then being trapped in a prison world for over a century, the Heretics' arrival in Mystic Falls coincides with the first time Valerie, Mary Louise and Nora have ever had autonomy over their own lives.

[...] while their arrival in Mystic Falls kicks off a turf war with Damon (Ian Somerhalder), Bonnie (Kat Graham) and the gang, it also begins a coming of age story for the Heretics, who maintain extremely childlike approaches to navigating their places in the modern world.

[...] they make for utterly fabulous TV.

Nora and Mary Louise, The Vampire Diaries's first gay couple, are faced with discovering what their relationship looks like when they're living out in the open, a task they're adjusting to at varying rates.