The episode was not outstanding, but it set up the story for the spin-off very well. It was definitely one of the better backdoor pilots in recent memory.

We finally got some insight on how the Mikaelsons became the original vampires. It was heartbreaking but pretty great.

Jeremy Gilbert died and the only way for Elena to fully process what happened was to turn her humanity off. Oh, we can't forget that she also decided to burn the house down with Jeremy's body on the couch. Hey, they needed a plausible reason to kill off Jeremy.

Katherine made her presence felt in Mystic Falls and helped Caroline evolve by turning her into the vampire we all know and love today. This episode also marked the beginning of the moon stone plot. Yes, that meant bringing in Taylor Kinney as Tyler's uncle.

Everyone gathered at the Salvatore Boarding house to play drinking games about how much they hated Katherine, thinking she was dying. However, she had one last trick up her sleeve when she became a passenger in Elena's body.

Vicki Donovan was turned into a vampire and swiftly killed off because she could not stop killing people. It was the first significant death for the show. She's also one of few characters who stayed dead. The episode was packed with emotional drama and solid performances from all of the stars.

The heretics descended on Mystic Falls and the show proved that it could go on with Elena.

Elena becomes a vampire... with Damon's blood in her system!

"Hello John, goodbye John," said Katherine Pierce as she chopped John Gilbert's fingers off, giving viewers the moment they had been waiting all season long for.

Damon made the ultimate sacrifice, choosing himself to die over Elena and Stefan. It proved Damon was not as selfish as we had been led to believe. The episode also dropped the bomb that Katherine Pierce was the Queen of Hell after Stefan murdered Cade.

Elena and Rebekah joined forces to find Katherine, who had compelled an entire town to like her. Oh, she also had the cure and was hitting bone town with Elijah.

Klaus returned to Mystic Falls for his pretty little doppelgänger. This also involved him compelling Stefan to feed on her. Yes, it was one of the best.

Klaus continued to inhabit Alaric's body and caused a lot of drama for the characters. Poor Bonnie had to fake her death to escape from the hour alive. Hands up if you thought Bon-Bon was gone-gone?

Nina Dobrev's farewell to the series was a real tearjerker. Kai had one last trick up his sleeve and linked Elena and Bonnie together. It was a horrible situation, but it gave the actors great material to work with.

Watching the two brothers attempt to take Katherine out of the equation was great. The only issue was that her life was linked to Elena's. Sheesh. Just when everything seemed to be okay, Elena was kidnapped.