By Tegan O’Rourke,

Ric turned into the ultimate Vampire Hunter? Is there anyone on this show who will not be turned at some point?

There needs to be some humans left in Mystic Falls otherwise there will be no one to protect. I rather see Elena be a vampire. When is that going to happen? She becomes a vampire in the book series.

Anyway the show opens with Esther in Rebecca’s body, who is doing a good job of fooling Klaus. She hands him a fake white oak stake and he tosses it into the fireplace where it burns his problems away or so he thinks.

He tells her now they can take Elena his doppelganger and leave town, Esther as Rebecca convinces him to stay for awhile since she wants to go the Decade Dance.  She teases that Caroline will be there. Klaus puts his evil plans aside for the chance to woo Caroline one last time.

Ric calls lost bromance love Damon, to let him know he is leaving town to clear his head and hopefully stop killing people. He assures Damon he has a ton of Bonnie’s magic herbs to curb his killer instinct. He gets off the phone and sure enough he is hanging with Esther at the O Mansion. She hands him a stake and he shoves it into Rebecca’s body so Esther‘s essence can re enter her own body.

Caroline is back in her element organizing the school dance and ditching the chandeliers Rebecca had wanted to hang from the gym ceiling. Speaking of hanging, Matt and Jeremy are bromancing it up hanging stars together from the ceiling.

Caroline tells Elena that she needs a date for the dance after all Bonnie is bringing Jamie, the hot guy her mom raised while she wasn’t raising her, it shouldn’t be awkward. Caroline suggests Stefan, but Elena thinks it’s weird since she tongued his brother at a sleazy motel just a few days prior.

“I didn’t tell you that so you could torture me with it.” She tells Caroline after Caroline mentions the whole kiss at the sleazy motel.

Caroline assures her it’s time to switch brothers and give Stefan a call. Stefan of course agrees to go with her and since Damon overheard the call you know he’ll show up too.

Esther has big plans for the evil new Alaric. She wants to turn him into the ultimate Vampire Hating Vampire Hunter.  Somehow I think our gang will find away to bring back the old good Alaric, but not until the season finale of course.

Anyway Esther takes him to the woods to the spot where she claims Klaus ripped out her heart a thousand years ago. The spot also happens to the home of the Salvatore Family Crypt. Sometimes the coincidences almost jump the shark. But luckily fans love this show too much to care.

She asks for his magic I can’t die ring, and he begrudgingly give it to her. She explains she needs to bind the magic in Ric’s ring to the stake since it will burn up on the first Original kill without it. Esther melts the ring in a fiery spell which melds it with the white oak ash stake and creates “The ultimate weapon for the ultimate hunter.”

Stefan shows up to get Elena and sparks fly right away as they exchange longing glances as he pins her corsage. He asks, “Given our dangerous dance karma are you up for this?”

Elena responds “Getting out of bed is dangerous these days.”

Back at the school dance, Caroline tells Matt that one way or another Elena is spoken for.  Matt tells her he’s just looking out for his friend. Caroline reminds him sometimes Elena’s friends get caught in the crossfire.

Tyler shows up for Caroline, guess he’s a forgiver. Oh no, wait he’s just jealous and wants to keep Caroline away from Klaus. Caroline tells him he shouldn’t be there, it’s dangerous.

“What’s he going to do draw you another picture?” Tyler responds.

How he knows or thinks Klaus would show up puzzled me, but then again his hybrid instincts were right on as Klaus makes an entrance.

Elena and Stefan hit the dance floor then the music goes slow and they end up in each other’s arms where Elena tries to tell Stefan about what happened in Denver with Damon, but he doesn’t want to know. They are sharing a nice intimate moment like old times until sure enough Damon comes barging in to tell them Ric lied to him and may be back to his old serial killing ways.

Jer sees them going into the hall and bumps into Bonnie and her new beau on the way.  Bonnie asks Jeremy why he is still wearing his ring, does he not know about Alaric.

“When my sister stops hanging out with vampires I’ll take it off.” Jeremy tells her.

Elena and the Salvatores talk in the hall where Damon who has chased Alaric around like a love sick puppy for most of the season, suggest they kill him. Wow, Elena better watch out if she doesn’t choose him.

Jeremy overhears and refuses to let them kill Alaric who has watched over them in between trying to kill everyone they know.  He runs out in a huff and Elena follows.

Elena tries to assure Jer that Ric will not be harmed, when Esther shows up. She asks Elena to come with her if she wants to help Alaric. Elena ponders the absurdity of it, while Jeremy runs to get Damon and Stefan. But Esther tells her she can come willingly or by force but either way she’s going. So Elena as usual voluntarily walks into the tornado.

Stefan and Damon run out to Elena but find themselves trapped by a line of magical salt, that Esther must have spread all around the school I’m assuming, not just one entrance?

Damon interrupts Bonnie’s Seven Minutes in Heaven with Jamie by telling her they have a problem.

Over at the Crypt Esther explains to Elena that she is going to dip into the dark magic one last time to create the ultimate vampire hunter to kill her kids.

Back at the dance, Klaus asserts his authority to get a dance with Caroline. She asks Klaus why he always has to be the alpha male.  “I don’t have to prove anything love, I am the alpha male. C’mon one dance I won’t bite.” How could a girl resist lines like that?

Klaus still trying to woo Caroline tells her, “One day, maybe in a year or even in a century, you’ll turn up at my door and allow me to show you what the world has to offer.” She rebuffs him and he tells her that a small town boy and a small town life won’t be enough for her.  And I believe him. He then exits but is also trapped by the salt.

While Bonnie tries to break Esther’s spell. Klaus of course gets impatient and threatens to hurt Jamie. Stefan steps in and tells him hurting someone she cares about will not bring her to his side.

Over at the Crypt, Esther forces Elena to give her doppelganger blood to seal her spell. She gives Ric a drink, stabs him and he begins to turn into a Vampire/Vampire Hunting machine.

At the school, Damon gets some of Jeremy’s blood to help Bonnie with a locator spell. Damon apologizes for being forced to turn her mother into a vampire to save Elena in his own half snarky half he seemed to mean it kind of way.

Bonnie doesn’t give a damn of course and moves on with the spell, but realizes Esther is blocking her and she must be at a hotspot.

Klaus knows where she is, the old cemetery.  They send Matt and Jeremy since only mortals can get out of the school.

In the gym Caroline and Tyler have a heart to heart, where Tyler brings up the fact that it may be the best thing if Esther kills Klaus even if it means he’ll die too.

Elena tries to tell Esther that what she is doing is just as evil as what her kids have done.

” I desire a world where you and your loved ones will not suffer at the hands of vampires like your Aunt Jenna did.”

She tells Elena that Jenna is at peace on the other side, even as a vampire she remained pure. Just the mention of Jenna makes me think we will see her in the season finale.

Matt and Jer show up at the crypt all weaponed up but Esther forces them to point the weapons at each other and it looks like they are goners until Ric stakes Esther from behind.

The good Alaric is back at least until he makes his transition. Esther’s death beaks the boundary spell and the vamps are able to leave the school. Stefan thanks Bonnie for her help. She tells him she didn’t do it for him.

Alaric tells Jer he has chosen not to make the transition to vampire. Jeremy doesn’t take it well and tells him not to give him a crap speech about how he needs to be the man of the house. Ric agrees not to and they embrace.

Elena tells Ric this is all her fault, and he confides that taking care of her and Jer is the closest he’s ever come to the life he wanted. He walks her out of the crypt so he can die alone and they walk out to find the whole gang even Dr. Fell all with sullen faces and heavy hearts.

Back at O Manor, Klaus unstakes Rebecca and dares dead Esther to come after him again. He tells her he will build a huge army of hybrids and his survival will haunt her through eternity.

Jamie takes Bonnie home and offers to stay with her since her Dad is out of town, when are we ever going to meet this father of hers? He seems to be out of town a lot.

Matt and Jer have an underage drink at the Grill in honor of Alaric while Elena goes back to the school to clean out Alaric’s locker so no one finds out the history teacher was a vampire hunter.

Stefan tries to stop her and calm her down. He takes her to the gym where he tells her after that night in the gym when he was forced to bite her he never wanted to feel again. But Elena was the one who told him it was okay to feel again and never to lose hope.

She cries and tells him she doesn’t have anyone anymore, which is absurd since everyone in this town is continually willing to die for her. He assures her she has him.

Dr. Fell tells Damon not to leave Alaric alone in the crypt.  Damon realizes she is right that Ric probably doesn’t really want to die alone.

Ric jokes with Damon “Is this the part where you give me a dream?” That would have been fun. But alas no, they share a drink while Alaric drifts off.

Esther shows up at Bonnie’s bedroom and scares her awake. Jamie calms her and she lies back down or so Jamie thinks. She shows up at the crypt and Damon asks her what she is doing there so she gives him one of her vampire headaches and heads inside. She cuts herself and gives Ric her blood he wakes up and feeds on her. Fade to Black.

Predictions: Sara Canning will be back as Aunt Jenna. Caroline may realize there is something there between her and Klaus. Elena chooses Damon! Elena ditches both brothers and goes back to Matt. Anything can happen!