Warning! Contains Spoilers!

Has everyone underestimated Katherine?

Last night’s episode of The Vampire Diaries was a mixture of secrets revealed, connections made and lost, and surprising outcomes.

The episode opens with Dr. Maxfield (Rick Cosnet) in his lab on the campus of Whitmore College. He has had a weak, hungry Jesse (Kendrick Sampson), now a new vampire, strapped down to an examination table for three days. Maxfield wakes him up using a Petri dish of blood but doesn’t let him eat. He records Jesse’s reaction to light, dilation of pupils, his focus on hunger, and the position of his upper cusped’s after blood stimulus is removed (they go back to being normal). All the while, Jesse has no idea what is happening to him and asks what Maxwfield is doing to him, but he’s ignored. Maxfield then concludes that Jesse is the perfect candidate. (For what? Breeding vampires?)

Elena (Nina Dobrev) is back on campus and reflects on her sadness over Bonnie’s death and her new distraction, Dr. Maxfield. She’s determined to find out why he covered up her roommate’s death. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) appears and confronts her as to why she is avoiding him. Elena tells him she’s busy studying and in class. She invites Damon and he agrees to attend the Historical Ball with her that evening.

Meanwhile, in Caroline’s dorm room, her and Tylor (Michael Trevino) are catching up. Caroline (Candice Accola) confronts him about not calling her for while, and he tells her the wolf pack he’s helping is not where they have cell phone reception. She asks him to go to the Historical Ball as a way to make things up to her. He waffles, but she insists they go to the costume party as Bonnie and Clyde. And says she’s invited Stefan and he’s going. (Twist his arm!)

On her way to class, Elena spots a guy at her ex-roommate, Megan’s memorial. She tries to strike up a conversation with him, but he slyly brushes off her inquisitiveness. He doesn’t give her his name as he walks away, but he does hint that he knew Megan well, suggesting that Elena buy Megan sunflowers for her memorial site.

Silas (Paul Wesley) calls Nadia (Olga Fonda) and reiterates that he wants Katherine. Nadia tells him he’ll have to wait until she’s ready to hand her over. After some verbal sparring, he tells Nadia he’s well versed in cell phone tracking, and she hangs up. Katherine warns her about dealing with diabolical ones like Silas. Nadia tells her not to give up to them so easily. She reminds Katherine that Silas needs every last drop of her blood to cure himself, and Katherine realizes that will mean death for her. Nadia eludes to her not knowing the whole story, and pacifies a hungry Katherine with a promise of food and the story, as she takes her on a road trip to avoid Silas.

Damon proposes a plan to Jeremy to kill Silas get Bonnie back to the land of the living. (He fails to mention he’s already struck a deal with Silas, earlier). He asks Jeremy not to mention this plan to Elena, however. The plan is to get Silas back to human status,
making him a witch, get him to bring Bonnie back, and then kill him. Then Silas will be stuck on the other side forever.

Bonnie, however, (unseen in the room by Damon), says that maybe Silas has a Plan B, to destroy the other side completely. She explains that powerful spells are bound by other powerful things such as a comet, the moon, or a doppelganger. She thinks Tessa (Sila’s ex-fiance) bound the other side to something that would last just as long.

Cut to Silas explaining to Damon in their earlier meeting, that Tessa bound a mystical anchor to the other side, and he wants to destroy this anchor. He says she’s the only person who knows where it is hidden and she’ll be at the Historical Ball.

Back to Jeremy’s place. Damon asks Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) if it’s possible that after Silas destroys the other side, cures himself and becomes a witch, could he do a spell that would swap Bonnie’s life for his, once he kills himself. Bonnie (Katerina Graham) says it’s possible but is against it because she doesn’t trust Silas and there will be consequences. She says no to the plan, but to her dismay, Jeremy tells Damon, she’ll go along with it. Cut back to Damon and Silas. Silas agrees to their deal to resurrect Bonnie, but in return he wants Damon to kill Stefan.

Sitting in a restaurant, Nadia tells Katherine reveals she turned herself into a vampire so she could track her for the past 500 years. All Katherine has to do is answer some questions and then she’ll let her go. (Don’t fall for that line!). She asks if Katherine remembers killing her mother in 1645 when she was running from one of the Originals, Klaus. Katherine doesn’t, but realizing Nadia won’t free her, she stabs her with a customer’s cane, and flees the restaurant. (Amazing that no one calls for help; they all stare at Nadia withering in pain!).

When Caroline and Tylor arrive at the Historical Ball, a buzzed Stefan (Paul Wesley) dressed as James Dean, grabs Caroline for a dance. Damon and Elena arrive as Henry VIII and Anne Bolin. Damon texts Silas that Stefan is at the party.

Meanwhile, Elena has cornered the student she saw earlier. He is still elusive so she compels him to tell her if he killed Megan, to which he says no. She asks why he’s so shady and he replies that everyone, his family and friends around him dies, like it’s a curse. He says he has survivor’s guilt. Elena compels him to forget she questioned him. He does give her his name, which is Aaron.

Tessa (Janina Gavankar) arrives at the party dressed like Cleopatra and bumps into Stefan at the bar, thinking he’s Silas. However, she soon discovers he’s Stefan and apologizes for wiping his memories. Before she can buy him a drink, Damon intervenes and whisks Stefan away to a back room where Silas greets them and Damon breaks Stefan’s neck. “Killing” Stefan severed the link between him and Silas, who now has his mind control ability back. Silas instructs Damon to keep Stefan “dead” until he can get out of Tessa where the anchor is.

Silas works on Tessa with compliments and drinks. They share a dance where he flirts with her. He compels her to tell him where the anchor is after she realizes he’s Silas. She says the Travelers have it and move it constantly to hide it from her (Is it the knife that Matt has?) She tells Silas she’s at the party to retrieve her pendant that will give her the power to do a locater spell to find the anchor. He then compels her to get going on it and forget what she told him. She takes leave and Stefan collapses in pain — Stefan has woken up. Stefan tells Damon that proving to Elena he’s a trusty boyfriend isn’t worth it. Damon responds by breaking his neck again (I think I’m getting whiplash now) and Silas recovers. Damon texts him to hurry up.

Meanwhile, Katherine finds Nadia in an alley, with the stake in her chest. It has only nicked her heart, because Katherine wants her alive. She wants to know out why Nadia made up the story about her killing Nadia’s mother. Nadia reveals she is Nadia Petrova and that in England in 1498, Katherine killed her mother by hanging her and breaking her neck, in their home. However, when Katherine asks her who she is, Nadia says, your mother. (Huh? How can she kill her mother and be her mother?)

Back at the party, Tylor tells Caroline he won’t be joining her at college. He’s off to find and destroy Klaus’ life because he killed his mother. He came to say goodbye to her. Carolyn storms off after telling Taylor he sounds a lot like Klaus.

During a dance with Elena, Dr. Maxfield responds to her questions about his cover-up of Megan’s death, saying that maybe a vampire killed her. He gives her a warning to leave college, take her friends, and go back to Mystic Falls before people start asking questions about them.

In a exhibit room at the party, Tessa finds her pendant among a historical jewelry display.
She begins the locator spell to find the anchor. Silas, pretending to be Stefan, walks into the room. Silas uses mind control to find out where the anchor is, but before Tessa can tell him, the link is broken and Silas ends up in pain on the floor. In another room, Stefan fakes being asleep and ambushes Damon, breaking his neck. Cut back to Tessa who realizes this is Silas. She casts a spell to stop his heart and his blood flow. He turns grey and collapses on the floor. (Is he really dead?)

Aaron is leaving the party when he’s stopped by Dr. Maxfield. He asks for his car keys and gives him money for a cab. Turns out Maxfield is his legal guardian in charge of his trust fund. He warns Aaron to stay away from Elena. (Is it Maxfield that kills off Aaron’s friends and loved ones?)

Elena and Damon find Silas where Tess left him. Damon realizes his plan may be in jeopardy.

In a hotel room, Katherine tells Nadia that Silas won’t need her until he figures out how to destroy the other side. If he cures himself before then, he’ll be a witch and if he dies, he’ll be stuck in supernatural purgatory. She tells Nadia that in 1498 she did try to locate her in Bulgaria after she escaped the people who were after her. Katherine tells her it’s nice to finally meet her daughter.

Caroline finds Tyler back at the dorm room, packing his things. Tyler tells her he can’t stay with her and ignore what Klaus did. She says if he walks away, then they’re done for good. Tyler walks out of the room and it appears, out of her life.

At the Salvatore house, Elena and Damon have Silas laid out on the couch. The doorbell rings and Damon says this is his Plan B. In waltzes Katherine, unaware Silas is there. She screams she doesn’t want to die as Damon rips her neck. Silas holds on to her head as he drinks her blood. She finally collapses on the floor and Silas is looking better. A few seconds later, Elena and Damon can’t believe they hear her heartbeat. Katherine opens her eyes and asks if she’s in hell. (What? Did the cure made her immortal?)

Wow, lots of interesting things going on this week! The big question of course, is Katherine immortal? Did the cure do this to her or is she Amara’s doppelganger? Will Silas hold up his end of the deal to bring Bonnie back? Is Dr. Maxwell an evil, mad scientist with a fascination for vampires? Does he have something to do with Aaron’s “curse”? Where is Stefan? Where did he go after “killing” Damon and leaving the party? What is going to happen with Jesse? What is he a perfect candidate for? Is Caroline and Tyler’s relationship really be over?

What did you think of this week’s episode?