Thanks to the good folks at The CW, I was fortunate enough to ring in 2012 by watching a screener of this Thursday's new episode of The Vampire Diaries.

So, what will be the deal with "The New Deal?" You'll need to wait until 8 p.m. on January 5 to find out, but I'll be teasing one spoiler over each of the next five days until then. Whet your appetite for the blood-sucking goodness to come below...

Teaser #1: Someone leaves Mystic Falls.

Forever? I doubt it, but the set up makes perfect sense and doesn't really leave a door open for this individual to return. Yes, it's a key character and, yes, tears are shed during his/her goodbye.

Let the guessing games begin!

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.