Whether or not Jeremy is away from The Vampire Diaries for an extended period of time - following Elena's decision to compel him this week, which we debate in our latest Round Table - this much is certain:

He'll appear on next Thursday's new episode, "Our Town."

Elena will give Bonnie a chance to say goodbye to her ex, in fact, as depicted in the following sneak peek. Watch as the latter reacts to this unexpected news, which interrupts her talk of how the group will celebrate Caroline's 18th birthday:

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