Usually a bubble episode, one taking place in a single location, is a show’s way to be extra creative and also save money for a change. So leave it to The Vampire Diaries then to make it into one of their best episodes ever.

I know I said that two weeks ago with “The End of the Affair”, but I swear guys, “The Reckoning” is just as good or better. This is shaping up to be quite the season.

Bonnie: Where are you going?
Elena: To super glue Alaric’s desk shut. I’m making memories.

Number one reason this episode was indeed awesome: It has every one of our main characters, yes even Matt, doing something important. Do you understand how much of a feat this is for a show to include so many characters and have them all be compelling and get their own story arc? Besides, it’s been so long since we’ve seen them all together as one big happy family. And the fact they’re all together for senior prank night at the school, even if it ends up being short-lived, just makes it even better.

Of course, that happiness doesn’t last long with Klaus, Stefan, and Rebekah back in town. I really thought it’d take longer for Klaus to find everyone and events to be set in motion, but by the end of the first act Klaus and Rebekah realize Elena’s still alive (“So this is the latest doppelganger? The original one was much prettier.”), Tyler’s on his way to becoming a hybrid, and Bonnie and Matt need to figure out how to save Tyler before he dies like all the other hybrids. This show works fast.

Bonnie’s plan is to use Jeremy’s new connection with the dead to contact the witches that cut her off and find out what they know. It’s too bad then that Jeremy’s already been kidnapped by Katherine and Damon for a very similar purpose. (I love that we’re seeing Jeremy used a lot more this season.) Instead, Katherine wants Jeremy to get ghost Anna to tell them what Pearl knew about Mikael, the vampire who’s a vampire-hunter. I can’t help but feel like releasing Mikael for Klaus is a lot like setting off a bomb just to kill one man. Not good.

Matt: Elena is dating a vampire. You’re a witch. My sister’s a ghost. And I’m just a guy whose wondering how his life got so screwed up.

Without Jeremy, Bonnie and Matt have to find their own way to contact the dead. Matt’s brilliant idea is to drown himself and ask his sister Vicki for help, then have Bonnie bring him back to life using CPR. This plan ranks up there as one of the craziest any of them has ever had. Thankfully it works, but Matt doesn’t even get any good information out of Vicki. The fact Elena has to die to create hybrids is old news at this point and later only useful to Klaus, which I guess was the point anyway.

Klaus: The only thing stronger than your craving for blood is your love for this one girl.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, Elena has to heartbreakingly watch Stefan completely lose his soul. (Yes, there’s a comparison to BtVS‘ Angel I could make right now, but I just choose not to.) And that’s after she has to watch him follow Klaus’ orders to kill fan favorite Dana and random guy Chad. It’s all because Stefan wants to prove to Klaus he’ll do anything for him, anything, of course, except harm the woman he loves, Elena. That particular thing Klaus ends up having to compel him to do. (“Turn it off!”)

Many fans thought this season would be the end of the Stefan and Elena storyline, but his love for her is still going strong. It takes Klaus compelling Stefan over and over before, and essentially wiping him of everything human, before he finally gives in. For a second, I thought I was being all smart when I thought of Caroline’s dad teaching Stefan to fight off compulsion, but as usual the show was one up on me when Elena herself mentioned it. I wonder if that’s the road they’ll end up taking for poor Stefan further down the line.

Because now there’s really nothing left of the compassionate vampire we knew. If there’s one good thing that comes out of all this though, it’s that Klaus then tasks Stefan to stay in Mystic Falls and watch over Elena while he runs from Mikael. Could the old Stefan still be in there somewhere? Will being around Elena allow him to resurface and maybe fall in love all over again? It’s kind of like the show has been rebooted now with Stefan as Damon and vice versa.

Klaus ends up figuring out that the information from Vicki, about Elena needing to be dead, means the original witch was trying to have him kill the one thing he actually needed. Once he gives Elena’s blood to Tyler to drink, the hybrid’s transformation is complete. Elsewhere, Katherine and Jeremy open the tomb for Mikael.

Notes and Quotes:

We still don’t know why Elena’s necklace or a doppelganger is important.

Anyone else find it amusing that Damon gave Elena bourbon to drink after she lost a lot of blood?

So is Anna or Vicki the good guy now?

Klaus is creating hybrids because he doesn’t want to be alone?

Next week:

Everything’s back to normal now. Oh, except for one little thing…