(Screencap Credit: Vampire Diaries Web)

For the record, this is will be an epically massive recap. Just so’s you know. My apologies for that…

With television – like most things in life – as much as you’d like to think otherwise, you can only ever prepare for what you think is going to happen. When it came to this episode – our first one back after that hideous lapse in viewing networks call a hiatus – this is exactly what I did.

Stupidly.

In reality, I really should have known better.

In quite possibly the most compelling episode to date, there were a number of twists in Plan B that even the most clairvoyant of viewers would have had a crazy hard time emotionally surviving, let alone predicting.

And so it was that we were reminded of that most epic of contributing factors that makes this show great: the creative prowess of Julie Plec & Kevin Williamson, and their innate ability to leave you feeling like you’ve had your heart pulled out of your nose, by pulling a plot stunt (or ten) so wild, so breathtaking, that you get to the end of it wondering how on earth you aren’t dead.

With that in mind, here’s my take on the moments that had us all put our fingers on the speed dial for a paramedic for one reason or another, just in case.

Did It Just Get Hotter In Here?: Making Out For Lost Time

Romantically speaking, the Stefan versus Katherine element of this season is as much about love versus lust as it is about revenge. Not content to tease us all with scenes fraught with more sexual tension than Twilight and True Blood put together, the episode opened with a smack between the eyes view of the private lives of these two former lovers.

Stefan and Elena wake up together in her bed, still caught up in the mildly delicious nature of their secret encounters with each other under the guise of their belief that they have fooled Katherine into thinking they’ve split.

But more importantly, it’s clear that they are as utterly in love with- and soul-bound to each other than ever. The happy but edgy intensity of their relationship can’t help but shine through their frustration at the Katherine dilemma…shining through loud enough for Aunt Jenna to get a bit of an earful a couple rooms down first thing in the morning, as she reveals to Stefan later.

Elsewhere at a little bed & breakfast nearby, Mason and Katherine are spending the same morning nigh on about to devour each other. Their passion is different to Stefan & Elena’s: it’s wild, heady and if we’re being honest, even a bit violent, but for all Mason’s alpha male tendencies it’s clear from the outset that it’s very much Katherine who’s dictating the terms of their relationship.

Either way, oh my stars.

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