'The Vampire Diaries' Recap: Stefan Is Finally Free In 'Original Sin'

This was the first really plot heavy episode of the season and the showrunners are obviously teeing themselves up for some great drama later on in the season (even if the amnesia angle is just a little bit cliché).
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Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 5, Episode 3 of The CW's "The Vampire Diaries," titled "Original Sin."

This week on "The Vampire Diaries": Stefan finally emerges from his watery prison in the quarry and Silas' backstory is revealed.

The episode opens with Stefan stumbling into a bar and quickly feeding off the blonde spiky-haired waitress, but, never fear, "Ripper Stefan" is not back, because the starved vampire quickly comes to his senses and tells the waitress to "run," before staggering back outside. Unfortunately, he's missing his daylight ring and Stefan sinks to his knees as he begins to burn.

Oh, never mind -- Elena's just dreaming again, but so is Katherine. Since these crazy Stefan fever dreams aren't subsiding, the girls decide to finally follow up on these shared premonitions and they head off with Damon to find this bar in the hopes of tracking down Stefan.

Silas is back on the scene and dealing with the traveler Nadia. The two strike up some kind of mysterious deal whereby Nadia agrees to find Katherine and kill Matt. However, Silas only pushes for Matt's death because Matt is being possessed (but only part-time, which means poor Matt is going to have some blackouts) by Nadia's partner, Gregory, whom Nadia just killed to show her commitment to Silas.

Stefan is really rescued though, sort of. That crazy stuff that Elena and Katherine were dreaming about did happen, but Stefan is okay, thanks to Silas' ex - the über powerful witch Qetsiyah.

Qetsiyah then proceeds to give Stefan a history lesson and provides some insight into Silas' background. Qetsiyah and Silas were both travelers and they were once engaged to be married. Silas told Qetsiyah that he was so in love with her that he did not wish to ever be separated from her, even by death. Therefore, he convinced the witch to create an immortality potion that they would both take on their wedding day. However, Silas the Betrayer was not seeking immortality for him and Qetsiyah, but rather for him and his true love -- Qetsiyah's handmaiden Amara, who just so happens to be a dead-ringer for Elena. Remember when Nina Dobrev only had to play two characters on this show?

Qetsiyah reveals that Amara and Silas were the original versions and that the resultant doppelgängers exist as an effect of the immortality potion that Amara and Silas took, which is why Silas keeps creepily referring to Stefan as his "shadow-self."

When Qetsiyah figures out what Silas did, she exacts her revenge by creating the infamous "cure" for immortality and forcing Amara to take one of the two doses, saving the second dose for Silas, before brutally slitting Amara's throat and cutting her heart out - just for good measure. However, Silas never took his dose of the cure and he was obviously able to evade her.

So 2,000 years later, Qetsiyah, who now wants to go by "Tessa," is not quite over this betrayal and she intends to link Stefan to Silas, in order to weaken Silas so she can force him to take the cure.

Qetsiyah manages to link Stefan to Silas before Damon arrives to rescue his brother and Qetsiyah reveals to Damon that Elena and Stefan, the doppelgängers, will always be fated to be together. Basically, Elena and Damon are doomed. Thanks a bundle, writers.

Qetsiyah also reveals that she's been the one planting the dreams in Katherine and Elena's heads since they are so closely tied to their soulmate doppelgänger.

Meanwhile, Nadia managed to kidnap Katherine, but she has not turned her over to the newly-weakened, no longer psychic Silas yet. Silas and Qetsiyah are now both after Katherine, but more specifically, the cure that courses through Katherine's veins.

With Stefan rescued, Damon proceeds to give Elena essentially the best "I love you" speech yet on this show and the two share an intimate moment before Stefan wakes up, but instead of thanking them for finally rescuing him he appears to have contracted amnesia, "I'm sorry, I have no idea who you people are," Stefan says. Credits roll.

This was the first really plot heavy episode of the season and the showrunners are obviously teeing themselves up for some great drama later on in the season (even if the amnesia angle is just a little bit cliché).

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

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