The Ripper Returns

Thursday night has come and gone but not without the return of The Vampire Diaries (finally). It was an intense hour as the episode opens up a few months after Stefan disappeared with Klaus and began his rampage. The show begins with Stefan and Klaus at a home in Tenneseee (which we later find out is a household of werewolves) where they compel a girl who lives there to show them inside. Both her and her other friend that lives there are threaten into telling Klaus were a man named Ray is located. Once he has his answers, Klaus orders Stefan to dispose of the bodies and he'll be waiting in the car. Stefan, with no hesitation, obeys. 

It is also the night of Elena's eighteenth birthday and Caroline is throwing a party for her at the Salvatore boardinghouse. Damon and Elena have been tracking Stefan since he vanished and have been tracing down what Damon calls "half leads." At least until Elena finds out that both Damon and Alaric have been following Stefan without her knowledge. Damon explains to Alaric about Stefan's "signature" Ripper moves as they enter the home of the two girls recently murdered. The two girls (massacred) are sitting serenely on the couch just covered in a little blood until Damon touches one of them and her head falls off. Damon clarifies that after Stefan's bloodlust blackout he feels remorse and puts the bodies back together. 

Klaus, we learn, is trying create more hybrid creatures like himself and our noble Stefan is seen torturing Rey (the werewolf) so they can find the rest of his pack. Then Klaus turns him and orders Stefan to get Damon off their trail. Stefan ends up kidnapping Andie Starr and murdering her so he can get Damon to hate him and leave him alone. 

Other little tidbits: Caroline and Tyler hook up, Jeremy continues to see Anna and Vicki, Matt gets high, and Carol Lockwood subdues Caroline with vervain darts as she is attempting to sneak out of Lockwood Manor (which I was extremely angry about). Can't the circle (who are completely idiotic by the way) leave the vampires alone? Eventually they are going to lose so why even bother? Just saying. 

And a quick tally-->

Damon: Katherine--> Rose-->Elena-->Andie
Jeremy: Parents-->Vicki-->Anna


*Two of our favorite boys are not so lucky in the women department. Damon continually gets hurt and Jeremy is now haunted by his dead girlfriends. *

But what I was really concerned about was the fact the Stefan was committing these murders with no act of mercy or remorse and I was beginning to wonder whether the real Stefan was gone for good, especially when he lost control last time, he at least tried to hesitate when he murdered. But then a tear-jerker moment wiped away my concerns. Stefan tells Klaus, "I don't care about anything anymore," to which Klaus replies, "You never stop caring about family do you Stefan?" At the end of the episode Stefan calls Elena and begins to cry silently and take into account exactly what he's done and how inescapable it is. Is there any hope for Stefan? 

Consequences if Stefan abandons Klaus.... not only will Klaus return and kill Damon but he will also find out that Elena is still alive and kill her then he will torture and murder Stefan for lying to him. I think we all crave for the day when Stefan can return to Mystic Falls and say, "Hello, brother," in a completely different context--but how? Ideas??