The Vampire Diaries has finally returned after a much too long hiatus, with the first episode of season 4, “Growing Pains.” What did you think of the episode?!

In the much-anticipated premiere of season 4, Elena woke up to the cold reality that she was in transition. Despite everything she had been through over the past three seasons to avoid this moment, she was now on the way to becoming a vampire.

But not if Stefan and Bonnie could help it! Stefan was intent on finding a way to reverse the process and keep Elena’s humanity intact, and Bonnie even did a spell to bring back Elena’s soul from the other side… but of course it was not to be.

As Damon said, the choice was simple: you feed or you die. And so Elena fed, and we are now ready to truly start the season! Elena is a vampire, and although there are hardships and struggles ahead, she’s going to be kickass once she comes into her own power!

But what will Bonnie think of all this? And how about Jeremy? Will Stefan and Elena manage to stay together, despite the fact that Elena has arguably lost the thing that Stefan loved most about her?

And what about those scary new vampire hunters in town?

So much is about to go down, and we can’t wait for next week’s episode, entitled “Memorial”! Check out the official episode images here.

What did you think about the returning episode of The Vampire Diaries? Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!

Don’t forget that Hypable’s podcast Vampire Hype will be discussing “Growing Pains” on the next episode, which will be out early next week. Leave your feedback for the show and point out anything you’d like us to discuss here in the comments or on Twitter @VampireHype.

Check out the promo for the second episode of season 4, “Memorial”:

And here’s the extended version: