The school has a new guidance counselor...who everyone accepts having been there all along. Also, the school throws a musical based on the Salvatore stories.
Tropes
- Bait-and-Switch: It looks like Puck is pulling these tricks to turn the students on each other...but in reality, every one of his moves (even injuries) is all meant to help the students overcome issues and bond further.
- Big Damn Kiss: After Hope finishes singing the final song of the play "Always and Tomorrow" she and Landon promptly run into each others arms and kiss.
- Breather Episode: The episode is a lighthearted reprieve set between Raf's emotional goodbye and (
the originally intended) Season Finale. - The Bus Came Back: Jade returns after being conspicuously absent for the past five episode. Though she doesn't stay long and tells Josie that she intends to move away and start her life again
- Cassandra Truth: Puck just comes out and tells Milton he's the monster as he also puts a charm on him preventing Milton from saying anything but gibberish and then forgetting all about it until Puck tells him again.
- Hidden Depths: Surprisingly Jed is the only student who is interested in playing Stefan seeing him as the anchor of the story.
- Internal Reveal: While many of the students knew Hope's father was "The Great Evil", their reactions to the scene of Klaus giving Caroline the money to start the school indicate none of them knew he was responsible for it existing through his funding.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The musical obviously has plenty of shots at both The Vampire Diaries and its fandom.
- Mood Whiplash: The episode is mostly a lighthearted affair with some interpersonal drama added in between the cast. However things take a turn for the serious at the end of the episode when MG tries to save Alyssa from the Necromancer only for her to knock him out so the two of them can use his blood as past of the spell to resurrect Malivore.
- Musical Episode: The main thrust of the episode is based around a musical Puck sets up about the Salvatore Schools founding with plenty of songs written for the episode.
- Relationship Upgrade: At the end of the episode Ric goes to Mac's house and tells her that he wants to take the plunge with her if she will have him. She promptly drags Ric inside.
- Remember the New Guy?: A great meta example as Puck inserts Fake Memories to make everyone believe he's been at the school from the start and he and Ric are old friends.
- Self-Deprecation: The episode has fun poking fun at its predecessor show's often overly convoluted plots and some of the decisions that its characters make. That said it also clearly comes from a place of love and the episode is just as much a celebration of The Vampire Diaries.
- The Cameo: Candice Accola voices Caroline's letter to Lizzie telling her that it's okay for her to be unsure of herself and that she is not broken.
- Ship Sinking: Jade decides to leave the Salvatore School and she and Josie acknowledge that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to start seeing each other. Though they do decide to give each other a goodbye kiss before they go.
- The Trickster: Puck to a T. He lampshades how the Necromancer wanted him to cause chaos and hurt the kids but he realized he just couldn't go through with it and instead uses his tricks to help bring the kids closer together.
