On tonight's episode of The Vampire Diaries, Damon will escort Elena at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant; while Stefan will continue to battle with his human blood-induced demons.

As always, TV Fanatic will recap and review the installment in depth, encouraging readers to sound off on what they liked and disliked about the latest hour.

But let's look a bit farther down the line.

As the television season enters May Sweeps, shows across the dial will ramp up the drama, suspense and storytelling. The Vampire Diaries is no different, as viewers can expect the following developments to take place over the next few weeks:

• Stefan and Damon finally reveal to Elena how they became vampires.
• Damon and Alaric partner up to stop Jonathan Gilbert, who is headed for a confrontation with Pearl.
• Elena's first meeting with her birth mother doesn't end well.
• As detailed by a CW press release: On the season finale, "Johnathan Gilbert sets a plan in motion that brings Founder’s Day to an end amid chaos, destruction and death."

This photo of Elena and Stefan is courtesy of the show's season finale. What is causing them such shock? Theorize away now!

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