I was absolutely bowled over as well. Like you, I utter at least one "holy s***" per episode, but this one had about three. The shooting of Jeremy was one of the most shocking and tragic moments I've ever seen on a TV series; it was brilliantly staged (with Damon suddenly moving sideways in vamp hyper-speed to reveal Jeremy). But this tragic mistake proved to be the only way Caroline's mother could get over her vampire-phobia, allowing for her relationship with Caroline to develop in a positive direction. This troubled relationship was, for me, the most compelling storyline of the season. But even more brilliant is the fact that Caroline's mother will now have to deal with the demand to resolve the "vampire situation" that Tyler's mother has imposed on her (which is code for "kill them all," of course). Caroline's mom will have a very interesting Season 3.

Paul Wesley will ROCK as a bad ass. The episodes that had him dealing with his addiction to human blood were his best. And I don't know if anyone watched "Wolf Creek" from 2007, but Wesley was really good playing a semi-bad ass teenager in that short-lived show.

Ian Somerhalder . . . my god, he got to show every side of Damon in this episode (including the 19th century version, which is my favorite), and then some. Only good things can come out of Damon's relationship with Elena, no matter what direction it goes in, as their scenes together are always electric.

The killing (yet again) of Elijah was (yet again) a total shocker, but it looks like the possibility of his return (yet again) remains, as that same dagger-of-temporary-death thing is still operative. (That's correct, isn't it?) I love that actor and character, so I hope he returns (yet again).

The more Alaric the better, as far as I'm concerned.

The writers do have to ease up on characters dying and coming back to life--they're running out of ways to do it, and now it's just a question of which actors they're willing to sacrifice.

The return of Vicki and Anna? We were told there would be "consequences" to bringing Jeremy back to life. But Vicki's death in Season 1 was so heartbreaking, and her status as the loser of the family and slut of the school was what made her so interesting. I'm less interested in her as a specter . . . same with Anna. Both actresses are rather awkward too. But despite his stiffness (both the actor and the character), there's something so compelling about Jeremy, so I think the development of his story/character could be a very good thing.

I'm glad they didn't kill off Katerina, she's becoming more empathetic and interesting. Having her forced to watch Stephan turn bad, and see her dismay rather than glee, was fascinating. Nina Dobrev is getting better and better at distinguishing the two characters. This could go in any number of fascinating directions.

A brilliant end to a brilliant season of a brilliant show!

I was absolutely bowled over as well. Like you, I utter at least one "holy s***" per episode, but this one had about three. The shooting of Jeremy was one of the most shocking and tragic moments I've ever seen on a TV series; it was brilliantly staged (with Damon suddenly moving sideways in vamp hyper-speed to reveal Jeremy). But this tragic mistake proved to be the only way Caroline's mother could get over her vampire-phobia, allowing for her relationship with Caroline to develop in a positive direction. This troubled relationship was, for me, the most compelling storyline of the season. But even more brilliant is the fact that Caroline's mother will now have to deal with the demand to resolve the "vampire situation" that Tyler's mother has imposed on her (which is code for "kill them all," of course). Caroline's mom will have a very interesting Season 3.

Paul Wesley will ROCK as a bad ass. The episodes that had him dealing with his addiction to human blood were his best. And I don't know if anyone watched "Wolf Creek" from 2007, but Wesley was really good playing a semi-bad ass teenager in that short-lived show.

Ian Somerhalder . . . my god, he got to show every side of Damon in this episode (including the 19th century version, which is my favorite), and then some. Only good things can come out of Damon's relationship with Elena, no matter what direction it goes in, as their scenes together are always electric.

The killing (yet again) of Elijah was (yet again) a total shocker, but it looks like the possibility of his return (yet again) remains, as that same dagger-of-temporary-death thing is still operative. (That's correct, isn't it?) I love that actor and character, so I hope he returns (yet again).

The writers do have to ease up on characters dying and coming back to life--they're running out of ways to do it, and now it's just a question of which actors they're willing to sacrifice.

The return of Vicki and Anna? We were told there would be "consequences" to bringing Jeremy back to life. But Vicki's death in Season 1 was so heartbreaking, and her status as the family and school slut/loser was what made her so interesting. I'm less interested in her as a spectre . . . same with Anna. Both actresses are rather awkward too. But despite his stiffness (both the actor and the character), there's something so compelling about Jeremy, so I think the development of his story/character could be a very good thing.

I'm glad they didn't kill off Katerina, she's becoming more empathetic and interesting. Having her forced to watch Stephan turn bad, and see her dismay rather than glee, was fascinating. Nina Dobrev is getting better and better at distinguishing the two characters. This could go in any number of fascinating directions.

A brilliant end to a brilliant season of a brilliant show!

That whole "Bad" Stephan thing reeks of Angel vs. Angeles but at least Angeles was known for his evil-ness and was totally bad-azz. No one's telling stories about the evil Stephan so for Klaus to all of the sudden want him on his side like he's more bad azz than any other bad vamp was just a little much IMO.

Jer sees dead people now? *groan*

I'm interested in seeing the dynamic between Damon and Elena next season. I'm team Damon and I thought they'd get to spend time together when Stephan was stuck in the cave but that didn't work out so I finally get to see them together for a while w/o Stephan. That outta be interesting.

Caroline's mom joining the anti-heroes? I don't see that working out well as she's proven how incompetent she is during this whole episode! She'd be more of a hindrance than help!

"--Is Alaric now the Gilbert family Charles in Charge?" - LOL! I was thinking the same thing like um, is he taking them in now??

Wow! Every week I think I can't be more surprised from the previous episode, but once again, my jaw dropped! The best show on TV!!

It's antidote, not anecdote. And OMG, what is going on with Jeremy and the ghosts of girlfriends past?! Is he just seeing things and slowly going crazy, or does he have some sort of supernatural powers now and can see ghosts? 'Cause Vicki and Anna can't really be back...can they? Not physically, anyway...right? Hot damn, I love this show!

Damon is my favorite Salvatore too! I would be on Team Damon, but I am realizing Elena is too vanilla for him as well (although it would be great & I would enjoy that development). The new directions (ghosts of girlfriends' past & Stefan going super-Ripper) are intriguing, but I am most excited about the possibility of Sheriff Liz joining our team of anti-heroes. Hehe.