It seemed like such a finite number for an infinite amount of pain. But looking at Damon—seeing the century of memories behind his eyes—she realized that numbers didn't tell stories. People did.

The woman, Elena—no, it was Sarah, a descendant of the Salvatore line who had come to Mystic Falls to understand her heritage—looked up. Her eyes were wide with the particular kind of exhaustion that came from immersing oneself in the history of this town.

He leaned forward. "Do you want the breakdown? Because each one carries a scar."

He walked over to Sarah and knelt so he was eye-level with her.

Damon smiled, a sad, curve of his lips. "I was getting there."

"," he began. "That was the beginning. The fury. The football games and the fog. We were just two brothers fighting over a girl in a cemetery. It was simple then. Deadly, but simple. That was the Season of the Tomb."

Damon Salvatore stopped, swirling the bourbon in his tumbler. He looked at the young woman sitting cross-legged on the velvet sofa, a leather-bound journal open in her lap. She wasn't reading; she was counting on her fingers, a frown creasing her forehead.

Most seasons followed the standard network format of 22 episodes, though the final season was shortened. Number of Episodes 22 Episodes Season 2 22 Episodes Season 3 22 Episodes Season 4 23 Episodes Season 5 22 Episodes Season 6 22 Episodes Season 7 22 Episodes Season 8 16 Episodes Total 171 Episodes Series Overview