Tonight on Vampire Diaries and Supernatural

Thursday’s are killing me. In addition to the big Fringe winter finale, there’s also a huge episode of Supernatural and a great guest star on Vampire Diaries.

Looking back at the past seems to be the theme of the night. First up on Vampire Diaries: “Children of the Damned,” Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) recall the long-ago actions taken by townspeople including their father, Guiseppe Salvatore (guest star James Remar, “Dexter”), and Pearl (guest star Kelly Hu), leading to the devastating events that caused the rift in their relationship.

In the present, Bonnie’s (Katerina Graham) date with Ben (guest star Sean Faris) takes a frightening turn. Elena (Nina Dobrev) helps Stefan as he and Damon race to find the missing journal that belonged to Elena’s ancestor. Stefan learns the reason behind Alaric’s (Matt Davis) interest in both the journal and the town’s history. Damon discovers that an old acquaintance has returned to town with an agenda he understands. (Photo: Quantrell Colbert/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.)

Then, we go back to the seventies to visit with a young John and Mary Winchester again in Supernatural: “The Song Remains the Same.” I got an early look at the episode, so you can click here to read that. Some spoilers, obviously, but I don’t give much away. What I didn’t mention there is that in addition to Anna, John and Mary, another old friend pays Sam and Dean a visit. . . I wonder who that could be. . .(Photo: David Gray/The CW)

It all begins tonight at 8:00 on The CW.