The CW has released the first official poster for The Vampire Diaries Season 5 and, simply put, it's totally awesome.

The image, first posted by TV Guide, depicts both Elena and Katherine. It also gives us a look at a muscle-bound Paul Wesley as Silas, with what we can only presume is an image of Stefan reflected in the water.

There's Ian Somerhalder in a mostly transparent top... a returning Tyler standing near Caroline... Bonnie in the background with Jeremy kneeling in front of his ghostly girlfriend … and Matt, half shirtless, seemingly caught between two worlds.

Stare for as long as you'd like and prepare for The Vampire Diaries Season 5 premiere on October 3.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.