The fallout from killing Connor Jordan arrives, in the form of his spectre haunting Elena and urging her to kill herself. Klaus offers up the info that killing a Hunter drives you mad through a series of delusions and visions designed to make the vampire responsible end his or her own life. Klaus, having experienced the consequences firsthand centuries ago, tells Elena of a chilling half century plus spent in psychological torment before locking her away in a "safe room" for her own protection.

Professor Shane is in town for an occult expo, creating a convenient gathering place for Bonnie and Damon to track him down and press him for info on the Brotherhood. Following their research tete-a-tete, and Stefan's ill-fated attempt to "rescue" Elena that resulted in her stabbing him in the midst of a hallucination and running away, it is revealed that to break the curse of one Hunter's death you must "activate" the next hunter-in-waiting; cue the need for Jeremy to kill a vampire. But where to find one ...

Klaus provides the vampire sacrifice in the form of one of his hybrids. Jeremy does the deed and the curse is broken, moments before Elena was going to end her life by meeting the sun. Unfortunately, the hybrid sacrificed was a friend to Hayley and Tyler, who doesn't take kindly to Caroline's role in the matter.

Following this eventful series of happenings, Elena confesses to Stefan that her feelings for Damon have grown stronger since her transition, and the couple appear to break up.

POINTS OF INTEREST
1. Elena's new-found willingness to admit her feelings for Damon. Will this change of heart last, and will this lead to a romantic relationship between them?

2. Professor Shane's soliloquy regarding the ancient sorcerer "Silas"; anyone care to lay odds that he *is* Silas?

3. The re-drawing of loyalty lines in the wake of the vampire sacrifice needed to save Elena; how long before the differences and resentments between Caroline and Tyler will be too great to ignore?

WHAT WORKED
Jeremy being on board with whatever it took to save Elena. Hopefully, this is a permanent resolution to the intermittent, weird vampire-related tension/resentment coming from Gilbert the younger this season.

Klaus being more patient and tolerant with Caroline's interference and subterfuge than you would expect him to be; Klaus may be crazy and a little evil, but his affection and almost pining for Caroline remain a constant.

Damon's on-going practice of ordering a drink for Alaric; flippant he may be, but Damon misses Ric.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK
Elena being so influenced by the spectres of Jordan and Katherine urging her to kill herself and telling her she was a monster; why would she care so much what a stranger and an enemy thought of her?

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
"The Vampire Diaries" is based on L.J. Smith's book series of the same name and stars Nina Dobrev (Elena), Paul Wesley (Stefan), Ian Somerhalder (Damon), Kat Graham (Bonnie), Zach Roerig (Matt), Candice Accola (Caroline), Michael Trevino (Tyler), Joseph Morgan (Klaus), Steven R. McQueen (Jeremy). "We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes" guest-starred Todd Williams (Connor Jordan), Grace Phipps (April Young), Phoebe Tonkin (Haley) and David Alpay (Professor Shane).

"The Vampire Diaries" airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.