After a long winter hiatus, Season 7 of "The Vampire Diaries" -- now airing on Fridays -- will return to The CW this week with more shocking twists and revelations involving the supernatural gang in Mystic Falls.

A newly released sneak peek of the upcoming episode, which is titled "Hell is Other People," shows Damon (Ian Somerhalder) waking up as a soldier during The Civil War. Apparently, before waking, he had accomplished some honorable act because a fellow soldier calls him a "hero" in the video.

"Hi there, hero," he says. "You've been out a long time."

Damon then reads a grave letter from his brother Stefan (Paul Wesley) bearing bad news. Not only has Valerie left him, but their father is drinking and he really misses his brother, Stefan writes.

Another sneak peek from the midseason premiere shows Damon in utter shock after he is resurrected from the dead and realizes that he has been unconscious for three months. In the clip, which was published by Zap2It, Bonnie (Kat Graham) uses a spell to revive Damon, who was trapped in the Phoenix stone for months.

Meanwhile, the synopsis for the episode suggests that Damon will confront a traumatic experience from his past while still trapped in the stone.

"After finding himself on the wrong end of Julian's (guest star Todd Lasance) plan to avenge Lily's (guest star Annie Wersching) death, Damon awakens to find himself trapped inside the Phoenix stone, tormented by a traumatic experience from his time in the Civil War and forced to face his darkest demon in order to get out. On the outside, Bonnie is in a race against the clock to get Damon out before the effects of the Phoenix stone take over and leave him changed forever," the summary reads, according to CarterMatt.

"The Vampire Diaries" returns with "Hell Is Other People" on Friday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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