With The Vampire Diaries set to return with new episodes on January 5, fans have a number of questions they hope to have answered.

Almost each one is based on the state of mind that each character will be in when we meet him/her again in a week. Can Elena and Damon accept that Stefan will never be the man they previously knew? How will Klaus react to the abduction of his relatives?

In an interview with TV Guide, producer Julie Plec offered a few teases/updates regarding where various key players stand and what decisions they will face moving forward. Excerpts are below...

STEFAN WILL BE "acting from a place of [aggression] and not completely rational," Plec said, adding that "revenge" toward Klaus will be his "priority."

ELENA WILL CONSIDER Damon as a love interest, as the tension that has been building between her and this Salvatore sibling may "come out and play" with Stefan out of the picture.

"The question of 'Does Elena love Damon [and] has she been fully falling for him all along?' is going to be very much a part of the season," Plec says.

But Elena will also question what it might take to protect those she loves. Might she need to become more like her doppelgänger? Look for this conflicted young lady to look deep within herself and realize that "sometimes a dark choice needs to be made, a violent act needs to be enacted."

KLAUS WILL GROW more vulnerable, Plec teases, but certainly won't become warm and/or cuddly, as the character becomes "madder and madder and more violent and more evil" as the season progresses.

We. Cannot. Wait.