You guys, I usually try to make these recaps light and snarky, but I'm not in a light and snarky mood. Caroline's dad dies in this episode, and it happens that I watched it on the anniversary of my father's death and it's rough.

We pick up just where we left off last time, with a stunned Klaus facing a revived Elijah. Elijah starts putting a beatdown on Klaus, who's more concerned about wrecking his newly-renovated house. He notes that he kept his promise to reunite Elijah with the family, although the “with a magic dagger through your heart” part of the promise was unspoken. Klaus pulls a dagger out of another immobilized relative and makes to impale Elijah with it until Elijah notes that the relative, Cole, will be a lot more pissed off.

Klaus informs Elijah of Mikael's death and Elijah demands to know why the family remains daggered. Klaus blames it on Stefan, because he still holds the mystery coffin. As he re-daggers Cole, Klaus reminds Elijah of the loyalty oath he swore. “Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again.”

At the Gilbert place, Alaric is hung over again and admits with chagrin to Elena that he drunk-dialed Meredith Fell in the wee hours. The doorbell rings; it's Sheriff Liz Forbes, who has the weapon that killed Brian the medical examiner with her. Alaric recognizes it as part of a set of stakes she keeps at the lake house. The only prints on the stake are Elena's. Why are Elena's prints in the system, I wonder?

Elena and Alaric call Damon, who suggests that Meredith is the killer. Elena refuses to believe it, not for any rational reason but because she can't believe Alaric has that bad of luck with women. Damon then decides it's Klaus messing with them while Elena floats the idea that Stefan did it in his Beige Angel phase.

Damon hangs up because he's meeting with Elijah, for whom he'd left a mash note while undaggering him. He wants to enlist Elijah in the plot against Damon and asks Elijah what might be in the sealed coffin.

Stefan's wondering the same thing as he leads Bonnie down to the Owl Cave to try to open it. Bonnie's mom Abby is already there. She reminds Stefan that she has no powers. He notes that it's only a matter of time before Klaus recalls his hot hybrid minions to locate the coffin so she needs to scrape up her residual mojo and open the casket.

As he departs Elena is there to confront him over whether he killed the ME. He deflects the question without actually denying it.

Caroline's at the hospital to spring her dad. Meredith tells her that Bill's been threatening to have her medical license revoked for using vampire blood to heal him. And she commiserates with Caroline about having a father who “hates the one thing you can't change about yourself”, establishing that she knows Caroline is a vampire. Caroline wonders if she can take her dad home and Meredith tells her that she discharged him last night.

Caroline wanders back to where Elena is waiting for her and gives her initial impression of Meredith, which is pretty much “no a psycho”. She calls her dad and hears his phone ringing nearby with her vampionic hearing. She track the sound to a store room where she and Elena find Bill with a huge knife sticking out of his gut. Caroline pulls the knife out as Elena reminds her that Bill died with vampire blood in his system. Caroline doesn't immediately grasp the significance until Bill revives with a gasp.

At the Owl Cave Bonnie is searching through Abby's grimoire for a way to open the coffin. Abby wonders about the glyphs covering the walls and Bonnie tells her they're the story of a mother who didn't abandon her offspring unlike present company. Abby points out a spell that Bonnie dismisses as a sealing spell. Abby directs her to the drawing of a “blood knot” in the page's margin and suggests it means that the two of them, representing two generations of a blood line, need to work together to break the coffin's seal. Which...you were already doing, I thought?

Stefan flashes some skin and Damon tells him to get dressed for a get-together with the Original brothers. Stefan wants no part of it, thinking that trusting Elijah to betray Klaus is a stupid idea. But his real trust issues are with Damon, because he kissed Elena. Damon's all, we'll deal with this later, for right now we have to pretend to negotiate a truce with Klaus to buy the witches time to open the coffin.

Back at the hospital Bill is suffering the effects of transitioning. Elena asks if he saw his attacker but he says the person came up from behind. And stabbed you in the stomach? The girls wonder about getting him some blood to complete the transition but Bill refuses. They point out that if he doesn't feed he'll die. Which is what he intends to do. And that's when the lump forms in my throat.

Elena takes the knife to Alaric at his loft. He recognizes it as one he had secreted under a floorboard in his foyer, meaning Meredith knew where it was. Elena points out that it makes no sense that Meredith would have killed Bill after saving him but Alaric says they can't dismiss any possibilities. He decides to take the knife to the police while Elena goes back to be with Caroline.

The Salvatore Brothers arrive at Klaus's fixer-upper for dinner and a summit meeting. As they dine (on people food which I don't get) Klaus pokes the Elena beehive and the Original brothers reveal the story of the Original Doppelganger. When their family first settled in the area there was a girl named Tatia. Klaus and Elijah both loved her despite her having a child by another man. Their mother wanted to end Klaus and Elijah's feud over Tatia so she “took her away” whatever that means. It was Tatia's blood that the Originals drank when they were turned. The Original brothers still feuded but eventually decided that it was Original Bros Before Hos and made up.

Damon offers a proposal: They return Klaus's coffin in exchange for the Original Family leaving Mystic Falls forever. Klaus declines, noting his need for Elena's blood to make more hot hybrids Klaus counters with a guarantee of Elena's future happiness and safety which Stefan notes will have the effect of continuing Elena's bloodline and producing future Doppelgangers. Stefan declines and snaps Stefan's leg and roasts his hand in the fireplace. He demands the coffin or he'll burn Stefan completely.

Elena comforts Caroline on the Forbes porch. Caroline says that her mom and dad are inside together, the longest time that they've been in a room together since Caroline was ten. She wants to force him to feed but Elena tells her that all Bill has left is his choice not to. Caroline says she hated her father so much for what he did to her; I wonder whether she means torturing her earlier this season or leaving the family because he's gay. But now, all she wants to do is save him. She asks Elena what the hardest part of losing her dad was. She responds that it's not having him there for all the “dad things” she needed him for. There's still “dad things” I want my dad here for. Matt arrives and gives Caroline an embrace.

At the Owl Cave Bonnie and Abby are having no success. Abby suggests that “the spirits” are blocking her from having any power for leaving Bonnie but Bonnie calls her out, saying she thinks Abby is resisting opening up. Bonnie tells her that no one talked about Abby and she has no memories of her so she used to pretend Abby was dead. It was easier than wondering why she never came back. Abby says there's no way he can apologize for abandoning her; Bonnie says she can help open the coffin. They try again and the coffin lid jars open and re-seals. Bonnie heads out of the cave to let Damon know they're getting closer. Abby is alone when the candles flare and the coffin lid bursts open.

Matt walks Elena home. Elena flips a light switch to discover the power is out. They head for the kitchen to grab flashlights and Elena spots a pool of blood on the floor. They arm themselves with kitchen knives and follow a bloody trail to discover Alaric with a knife in his gut. He doesn't know who attacked him, so Alaric tells Elena that she has to kill him to ensure his death is at the hands of a supernatural being. She plunges her knife into his chest.

Caroline finds her dad in her room, looking at her cheerleading trophies. She was scared to try out for the squad but Bill tells her she was stronger than any of the other girls. Bill weakens and sits on her bed. Caroline asks if he wants anything or if she can call “Stephen” for him. He says they haven't spoken in a while and asks her to call him “after the dust settles”.

Caroline tells him it isn't too late to change his mind, that he's strong enough to handle being a vampire. He tells her his strength comes from his beliefs and that turning would violate everything he believes in Anger flares in Caroline as she demands to know how he can hate who she is so much. He assures her that he loves her. She is strong and beautiful and good and despite everything that's happened to her she's exactly who her mother and he hoped she would be. Tears stream down Caroline's face as she begs him in a small voice, “Please don't leave me, daddy.” Liz is in the doorway, her face a mask of grief, as Bill comforts their daughter. “Children aren't supposed to outlive their children,” he tells her. “This is what it means to be human.”

Back at the failed dinner party summit, Stefan tells Klaus to go ahead and kill him, since he's going to kill him anyway once he gets his coffin back. Klaus wonders where Stefan's “fire” has gone? “Where's the Ripper?” Elijah and Damon re-enter. Elijah says “we forgot dessert” and uncovers a tray bearing two daggers. Elijah tells him he's learned not to trust his “vulgar promises” as an undaggered Cole enters the dining room, followed by another undaggered brother, Finn, who stabs Klaus through the hand with a dagger. Klaus tries to flee but finds his way blocked by Rebekkah, who stabs him in the gut. As the Original Family restrains Klaus, Elijah tells the Salvatores they can go. “This is family business.”

Caroline sits on her bed, holding her father's hand. Rest in peace, Bill Forbes.

Matt comforts Elena as she waits for Alaric to revive.

The Salvatore brothers walk together in the woods. Stefan thanks Damon for saving him from Klaus and admits he still loves Elena. Stefan responds, “So do I.” They arrive at the Owl Cave to find Bonnie and Abby unconscious and the coffin empty.

Sheriff Forbes calls Elena to inform her that Meredith has been in surgery for several hours so has an alibi for Ric's attack.

At Klaus's fixer-upper, the revived Originals tell Klaus that they are leaving him alone forever. He threatens to hunt them down; they tell him that means he'll become his father, the thing he hated most. Klaus snarls that he has nothing to fear from any of them, then they hear the door open. In strides Mother, the Original Witch. She asks Klaus, “Do you know why I'm here?” “You're here to kill me.” “Niklaus, you are my son. I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again.”

Dedicated to the memory of my father, Milford Maurice Cain, died February 2, 2008.