Damon and Elena face a new threat from Klaus

After a long and somewhat torturous hiatus (the suspense is just killing me), The Vampire Diaries is coming back to grace our screens. On January 5th, the show returns with “The New Deal” (3.10). The episode deals with the fallout from Stefan’s bold move against Klaus — he stole Klaus’ family (well, dead bodies in coffins, but pish-posh), and now the original Hybrid is out for blood. It seems Stefan prophesied correctly when he said: “You know what never gets old? Revenge.”

So while you and Team Elena sit around, trying to figure out what new and creative ways Klaus will come up with to torture the scooby-gang, here are five things I cannot wait to see in the upcoming episode(s)!

(Let me warn you beforehand, there may be some spoilers in sight. Proceed with caution!)

1) Damon and Elena

I think this one goes without saying, but just in case, here goes: these two have been dancing around each other for two and half seasons now. Their relationship began with a mutual understanding, extended to friendship, reverted to hate (Jeremy neck snap incident seemed to be a bump in the road), and then magically, in the second half of season two, and especially over the first half of season 3, Damon and Elena’s (“delena”) relationship blossomed into something entirely new: a romance. Damon declared his love for her in season 2 finale and Elena, touched by his words, kissed him (read: “the deathbed-kissy-thing”). And as they spent the next few months searching the country for Stefan and fighting to bring his humanity back, they seem to have grown even closer. The most significant development this season has been Elena’s growing bond with Damon, and an increasingly obvious attraction towards him.

So, we already know he loves her. But can she love him? That’s the question I (and no doubt, countless other fans) will be looking forward to being answered in the second half of this season. For a “couple” that’s never even had a proper kiss, Delena seem to be doing more than fine in the hot and sexy department, but Julie Plec promises us that things are only going to get hotter for these two, especially now that Elena has decided to “let go” of Stefan and move on. But will Damon be receptive of her newfound interest in him? Don’t be so sure! JP also let it slip that after finding out that Stefan saved his life yet again, Damon might have second thoughts about acting on his feelings for Elena. Uh-oh.

2) Stefan Salvatore

Hell hath no fury like a vampire wronged?

I admit, I’ve love love loved seeing Stefan go bad and dark this season. It’s not really the killings or the fact that he is FINALLY acting like a real vampire. It’s his attitude. The dry, sarcastic humour, quick wit, and careless attitude he has adapted recently has made me love Stefan more than I thought was possible. It seems to me that once Stefan let go of his guilt – of his broody self-hatred – he began to enjoy life. When Damon took him to that bar in 3.08 and showed him how to live life securely on the edge, I saw Stefan rediscovering himself. I saw him getting a taste of what life could be like, and actually liking it. So, suffice it to say, I don’t want this funny, sarcastic Stefan going anywhere. He kicks ass and he is awesome. But somewhere in 3.09, between Stefan sabotaging Team Elena’s plan to save his brother, and running away from Mystic Falls with Katherine (of all people), I felt a tug at my heart. No, Stefan couldn’t be whole without being the sweet Stefan he’s always been. He has to be both because… he IS both. He just doesn’t know how to reconcile those two parts of him yet. So how’s he going to do that? Well, he’s going to start with revenge.

The mid-season finale ended with Stefan (with Katherine’s help, no doubt) stealing Klaus’ coffins as payback for ruining his life. Naturally, Klaus threatened him with his friends’ lives, but Stefan seemed unperturbed. So far. If there’s one thing we know about Klaus is that he hates disloyalty, and he will go to any lengths to make people pay (the man killed his own parents. He’s not kidding around). So, when Klaus starts hurting people left and right, I wonder how long it will take Stefan to either give up the coffins or start undaggering the Originals for ammunition. My money’s on the latter. Not unlike Elena and Rebekah’s face-off in episode 8, this is Klefan’s very own “mean-girl power struggle”, and neither of them seems to be willing to give up.

And while Stefan wages his war against Klaus, he will have some tough questions to answer when he finally comes face-to-face with his brother and ex-girlfriend. As far as Damon and Elena know, he’s betrayed them for no good reason. Elena is super-mad at Stefan (as she will be telling Bonnie in the upcoming episode), and Damon is just plain depressed at losing his best-bro (best friend and brother, for the uninitiated). So, when they finally see him, it’s going to be one hell of a situation. JP says that Damon will not take kindly to his brother, and will even go as far as beating him up. Stefan and Elena fans can looked forward to “emotionally draining” scenes between the two, Nina Dobrev reveals. Basically, his war against Klaus is going to alienate Stefan from everyone. Let’s hope he makes up with his brother, at least. Defan are stronger together than apart.

3) Bonnie’s mom comes to town

Bonnie Bennett is probably the most underused main character on this show, second only to Matt. Actually, scratch that. At least we’ve met Matt’s deadbeat mother, and screw-up sister (no love for Vickie here), but outside of Grams, we know absolutely nothing about Bonnie’s family! Does the girl even have a bedroom?! Well, seems like TVD producers are tackling this lack of a backstory head-on. Bonnie’s mother is coming to town this season, and bringing a whole lot of teenage angst with her. Persia White has been cast in the role of Abbey, a troubled woman who abandoned Bonnie at a young age. Only, things are never as simple as they seem in Mystic Falls, so we naturally hope that she’ll have some deep-rooted connections and secrets that will not only blow our minds like TVD does on a weekly basis, but also help our heroes come one step closer to defeating Klaus  – or cure him of his evil, whichever. I have no problem with Klaus drinking puppy blood and making merry with Stefan every… nevermind. Anyway, I’m really excited to see Bonnie finally have a substantial storyline. Katarina Graham is an excellent actress and one can only hope that this arc will give her a chance to show off her acting chops. This mother-daughter reunion should be explosive, to say the least.

4) The Originals are everywhere!

Klaus has an evil plan, Rebekah is back for revenge, two new brothers join the brood, but where the hell is Elijah?

That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind lately. While there has been no definite word on the specific date of return of Elijah and his magnificent hair, the show has cast two new actors to play Original brothers Finn (Caspar Zafar) & Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic). Both of them are going to be P.O’d at Klaus for locking them away in coffins for centuries, and will no doubt be looking to get even. Rebekah stabbed Klaus in the stomach the first time she saw him after 90 years in the coffin. These brothers – who’ve probably been in there for much longer – might even want to kill him. Might. As we’ve learned on this show time and time again, family is everything, and no matter how much they seem to want to kill each other, they somehow never do. Finn is also supposed to share a past with Katherine. I guess when you live for over 500 years, a girl does get around. Rebekah – so tragically stabbed in the back by Elena in the last episode – will rise from the “dead” with revenge on her mind. Well, she did warn Elena about her temper. So, that’s a girl-fight waiting to happen. I just hope Elena’s Buffy-training will come in handy here. We need to see the girl in action! (and not just mutually groping Damon during practice). Finally, Klaus is as Klaus does – he’s done playing games, and he means business. Word is, he visits the Salvatore abode to demand that Damon control his brother and bring back the coffins. True to form, he uses violence to make his point. “It seems you people respond best to displays of violence,” he says. I kind of agree.

5) Caroline and Tyler

One step Forwood, ten steps back…

Like every teen girl longs to, Vampire Barbie is turning 18 this year. Only, she isn’t. Turned at the ripe young age of 17, her 18th birthday serves as a harsh reminder to Caroline that she forever be stuck in a “filler year”. JP previews a mid-teen crisis for Care-bear and adds: “She’s just starting to question what her life is gonna be as a vampire and kinda mourning the loss of her relationship with Tyler and feeling kind of unsettled and a little sad.” Losing out on your 18th birthday and breaking up with your one-in-a-million immortal hybrid boyfriend is a blow too hard for even Caroline to take. She becomes so depressed that Elena, Bonnie and Matt (aka what I imagine to be the worst party-planning committee there ever could be) decide to throw a birthday bash to cheer her up. And nothing bad will happen at this party. They promise.

Speaking of, Caroline’s other half Tyler is going to have his work cut out for him trying to convince everyone, including the girl he loves cares about that he is not evil. Just because he’s sired to Klaus does not mean he has lost all free will, he argues. And I’m inclined to agree with him. However shocking, his actions in 3.09 were to protect Caroline. He can’t outright refuse to do what Klaus asks of him, but Tyler has shown that he has enough self-control to try and save Caroline and his friends from whatever Klaus has planned. And since he is currently one of the only “comrades” Klaus has left, Team Elena better keep a close eye on him – he’s going to have valuable information!

I’m not sure where I see Forwood going this season. They haven’t had a love-declaration yet, and I suspect Tyler might be leaving the canvas again (there’s a rumour floating around of a main-character departure), so I really hope this relationship gets some kind of resolution before the season’s end. Caroline’s sudden complete lack of faith in Tyler is kind of disheartening, especially since she has forgiven him for doing worse things (Jules-vervain-torture, anyone?). For her to abandon him over something that he has no control over, especially when he has stood by her during her parental issues is just plain sad. As a fan of both of these characters, I really hope they get to resolve their issues, and maybe even find their way back to each other. One can hope.

Honorable mentions

Torrey DeVitto (Melissa, Pretty Little Liars) is coming over to TVD to play Mary Fell, doctor who becomes curious about Alaric after noticing his super-healing abilities (I suspect some Damon!Blood cure). DeVitto is said to be around for the rest of the season, and will become romantically entangled with our favourite history teacher. I love her work in PLL, so I can’t wait to see her work her magic in Mystic Falls. Hopefully, Dr. Fell will be nicer than her previous mean girl character, and more long-lived than Alaric’s previous girlfriends – after all he’s been through, the poor guy needs it!

Jeremy is supposed to be getting an attitude adjustment – for better or for worse – but I’m excited to see him break out of his shell a little. For too long, he’s just been “Elena’s little brother”. He’s a capable young man with an eternity ring. He needs to be doing something more!

Lastly, but certainly not the least, any Dalaric action = good action, in my book. I love Ian Somerhalder and Matt Davis’ on-screen chemistry, and the upcoming accident that Alaric seems to be involved in (and magically recover from) is sure to give us even more Dalaric fodder. “Damon’s continued evolution from villain to hero”, as JP put it in one interview, is the delectable cherry on top!

All of this, and the tantalizing prospect of an upcoming “epic kiss” that E!Online has teased is going to have me glued to my TV screen 8-9PM every Thursday for the next few months. And I hope you’ll be watching right along with me.

What are you looking forward to?

[spoiler sources: one, two, three, four]