Trama

It's a winter wonderland in Mystic Falls. Plus, Professor Shane (DAVID ALPAY) reveals a piece of ancient history that leaves everyone speechless.

Now that the hybrids have finally excruciatingly completed their siring therapy, Tyler takes goodbyes, being prepared to sacrifice the coming year or so as 'host' body for Klaus to be locked in and buried. Conflict threatens as Stefan demands the plan be at least postponed until Klaus has helped him with the vampirism antidote for Elena. That proves void as Caroline thinks of using Rebekah's secretly stored corpse as host and Professor Atticus demonstrates he can get the cure even faster, knowing which male witch must be dug up for it. Atticus's method to control Jeremy's vampire-chaser instinct fails because his love for Elena isn't unconditional enough, but Damon solves that by using Bonnie. Damon cancels his sire hold on Elena, despite her hesitation, but Stefan just learned about and and gets lividly furious. Klaus crosses all vampire and hybrid plans by carrying out a bloody ritualistic deal struck with Atticus and April.—KGF Vissers

As the town hosts a winter wonderland party, Stefan and Caroline find themselves at odds with Tyler over his plans for Klaus and his hybrids, when Caroline proposes a solution to their problem, Hayley finds a dramatic way to make it clear that she is not on board, meanwhile, Elena and Damon retreat to the Gilbert lake house to help Jeremy conquer some dangerous inner demons.—snowflakeaudrey

Elena and Damon wake up in bed together -- fully clothed. "I was being a gentleman," Damon insists. She's not ready to let go of what she feels for him, even if it's because of the sire bond. Damon promised Stefan he'd let her go, but neither of them feel like following through.

Elena has to meet with Bonnie, she's teaching Jeremy how not to kill Elena. She invites Damon.

Klaus summons Adrian his hybrid to take the painting he just completed to the Grill for the Winter Fair. Adrian is annoyed to be bossed around.

Stefan wants to find the cure more than ever now that Elena turns out to be sired to Damon, but they need Jeremy to keep killing vampires who are not his friends.

Stefan asks for proof that Klaus brought the sword back from Italy. Klaus opens his safe and shows him.

Down in the cave, Adrian vents to Kim and Tyler about having to pretend to do Klaus' bidding. Hayley brings news that she found the witch who will save them. "You guys did your part by breaking your sire bond, now Hayley and I are going to do ours," Tyler says.

Caroline is not a fan of the plan when he explains to her that a witch will do the body transport spell on him and he'll be encased in concrete long enough to let the hybrids get away.

Out at the cabin, Jeremy chops wood and holds onto his ax a little too tightly when Damon and Elena drive up. Bonnie tells him they're there to help. So is Professor Shane, Elena invited him.

She waits outside the door for Jeremy to invite her in. He lets her in, but then immediately attacks her. She fends him off.

Caroline calls Stefan, freaking out about Tyler. He explains that the sword decodes Jeremy's hunter mark. Caroline thinks they need to get their hands on the sword today, before the hybrids take out Klaus tonight.

At the Winter Wonderland fair, Caroline admires Klaus' "lonely" snowflake painting. She accepts his offer of champagne and texts Stefan.

Back at Klaus' gets Caroline's all clear and opens the safe, but the sword is gone. He finds old letters instead. He calls Damon for ideas, but all of his ideas involve killing Tyler or letting Klaus kill Tyler.

When Stefan asks how Elena took it when Damon let her go, he doesn't mention he chickened out.

In the cabin, Shane explains that reprogramming Jeremy's subconscious will help him fight the vampire-killing urge. He hypnotizes him, to help Jeremy's subconscious have time to make a choice when he sees Elena instead of instantly wanting to kill her.

Shane encourages Elena to talk to him. She remembers coming to the lake cabin with their parents and says they would have wanted them to stick together.

It doesn't appear to work on Jeremy. He says: "She ruined our lives. She's not even my real sister, she's just the reason that everyone I've ever loved has died. She means nothing to me, I will kill her."

It didn't work.

Stefan tells Caroline that Tyler needs to delay his Klaus plan so they can find the sword. Tyler shows up and is angry at Caroline for telling Stefan what he's been planning. Tyler doesn't owe Stefan anything. Stefan steps to Tyler and tells him he can't let him go forward with it.

But then Caroline and Stefan see they're completely surrounded by hybrids.

Damon brings Elena a drink on the dock. "I shouldn't have put so much hope into reprogramming someone's mind. If it were that easy then you and I wouldn't be in this situation, right?" she says.

Damon has another suggestion.

Tyler and the hybrids take Caroline to the cellar and prepare to lock them up if necessary. As a hybrid Tyler couldn't care less about the cure, since it would turn him back into a werewolf that turns every full moon.

Back at the cabin, Damon presents an alternative. "Professor Shane has been dipping into the magical herbs a little too much if he thinks using a vampire to suppress the need to kill another one is going to work on a hunter. It's like dangling a cheeseburger in front of someone on a master cleanse," he says.

He suggests Jeremy find someone else to attach his positive vibes to. Jeremy looks at Bonnie.

Out on the dock, Shane tells Elena that his wife and young child died years ago. When Damon comes out threatening him with an ax, Shane also mentions he can tell them how to find the cure -- he's already been there.

Back at the Winter Wonderland fair, Carol Lockwood gives April her Miss Mystic Falls duties.

Tyler finds his mom and tells her his plan. She tells him his dad would be proud and he should do what he has to do.

Shane shows Elena and Damon his really old rock and tells them the story of Silas the witch and his best friend witch who made themselves immortal. But then Silas' best friend got jealous and killed Silas' girlfriend. Silas found a way to reverse the immortality spell, but before he could take it, his best friend buried him, leaving him and the cure to rot.

"You dig up Silas and you've got your cure," Shane says.

In the cellar, the hybrids get jumpy when Stefan takes a call from Damon. "Don't ask how or why or who, but I just found the answer to your Tyler problem," Damon says. They don't need the sword.

Shane explains the drawing of the hunter's mark, including the mark of the Five and a depiction of a murder of a girl by a witch. When the mark is complete it will have the spell to dig up Silas. Damon asks where it is. "You've threatened to kill me, what, three times already this week? The location's how I'm going to survive your bad moods," Shane says.

Shane says he's just in it for the history of finding Silas.

Caroline explains to Tyler again how dumb his plan is, and she has an alternative body for Klaus: Rebekah, currently staked in a coffin in the cellar. Tyler thinks it's brilliant, but Hayley senses a problem.

She texts Shane that the plan is falling apart. He texts her to fix it.

In the ladies room at the Grill, Caroline calls Bonnie to run the plan by her. She thinks it'll work. Bonnie mentions that Damon and Elena are both there. Caroline is annoyed, but doesn't have time to deal with it.

Caroline relays Bonnie's message to Hayley, who promptly snaps Caroline's neck.

At the cabin, Elena says she trusts Shane, so Damon tells her his theory that Shane was involved in the Pastor Young explosion. Shane says he was just counseling Young.

Jeremy and Bonnie announce they've had a break-through. Bonnie tells Elena not to move. Jeremy is holding a stake. He pauses, then hands it over to Damon. Jeremy hugs Elena.

Shane checks his phone. He has a text from Hayley saying she'll fix it and he'll get his 12.

At the Winter Wonderland fair, Klaus asks Stefan what he's been up to. Stefan confesses he broke into the safe looking for the sword. Stefan says he found Klaus' letters. Klaus claims they're from his victims and relates to Stefan as a lonely killer.

April Young goes into the ladies room and finds Caroline dead on the floor. Caroline pops up and leaves Stefan a message telling him Hayley has lost her mind and he needs to go check to make sure Rebekah's body is still in the cellar.

Caroline compels April to forget what just happened.

Back in the Grill, Matt tells Caroline that Stefan is looking for her; Adrian's leading Klaus to the cellar. She mentions April and Matt tells her April is wearing Jeremy's vervain bracelet and can't be compelled.

Tyler goes back out into the fair and leaves his mom a message saying everything is going to be fine. He's surprised to see Hayley there, she's supposed to be leading the witch to the cellar.

"There is no witch, Tyler. I made it up," she says. Hayley explains what's happening as it happens out in the woods.

The hybrids wait for the witch. Adrian shows up, but his heart is promptly ripped out -- by Klaus.

Hayley says she needed the hybrids for the sacrifice because she made a deal with someone who could help her find her family.

Out in the woods, Klaus goes ninja commando hybrid and slaughters his hybrids one by one with his new sword.

Kim runs away into the cellar but is trapped by the gate. Klaus asks where Tyler is. Kim doesn't know, so he cuts off her head.

Back at the cabin, Jeremy, Elena and Bonnie go through their old Christmas decorations. Elena beckons Damon to join them and when he doesn't, she takes mistletoe out to him. But he says he can't.

"Damon, you can't keep telling me that this isn't real. I know how I feel and that you feel it, too. So stop fighting it," Elena says.

He wants her to have a normal life again. He feels guilty for not doing the right thing by her and Stefan. He tells her to go home, he'll help Jeremy complete the mark. "I'm setting you free Elena, this is what will make me happy," he says.

Back at the Salvatores', Caroline reports that Matt can't find April and she can't reach Tyler. They both feel a little guilty for setting Klaus up to be killed.

Stefan says they've all done horrible things, the only thing that makes them better than Klaus is that they have family they can trust.

Caroline agrees that trust is everything and tells him Damon and Elena are together.

"How together are they?" Stefan asks. When she doesn't answer, he understands what it means.

At the cabin, Jeremy says good-bye to Bonnie and Damon says good-bye to Elena. "I was ready to fight you on this, but suddenly every part of my body is telling me that I need to get in this car and leave you," Elena says. She kisses Damon and gets in the car.

Stefan goes on an angry mini-rampage at home.

Tyler checks out the hybrid carnage in the woods and cellar. April Young hides in the cellar, seeing everything, including the closed coffin.

After Tyler leaves, she opens it and sees staked Rebekah inside.

Carol Lockwood leaves Tyler a tipsy message. Klaus strolls up, covered in blood, also looking for Tyler. She begs him not to hurt Tyler since he's all she has. "And you're all he has, there's a beautiful symmetry in that, don't you think?" Klaus says. Then he grabs hold of Carol and drowns her in the town fountain.