In last night’s episode of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ deceit and dead vampires were on the menu in “Dinner Party.” Missed it? Don’t fret…we’ve got the latest scoop on what’s been happening in Mystic Falls.

Still at the lake house, Stefan tells Elena about a dark time in his history and how his old friend Lexi influenced him to be a better, more civilized vampire. Filled with fascinating flashbacks, we witness Stefan arbitrarily slaughtering founding families to seek revenge for the death of Catherine. Damon walks out of the house for fear Stefan’s wild actions will get them both killed. Not long after Lexi enters the scene and helps mold Stefan into the kinder, gentler vampire he is today. His hope is to convince Elena to fight for her life instead of giving herself up as a sacrifice to Elijah.

In the meantime, Elijah and Jenna take a walk through the woods surveying the history of the area. Though it’s not completely clear, it seems as though he’s looking for a specific place where a group of witches were burned at the stake. This may or may not be the place where the doppelganger needs to be sacrificed. It’s implied but never officially confirmed.

Sometime afterward Andie invites Elijah, Alaric and Jenna over for a dinner party. Damon agrees in their presence and they all accept the offer. It is then that Damon decides he’ll move against Elijah at the party. The only other person to know about this plan is Stefan.

Damon receives confirmation from Catherine that a specific dagger dipped in the ash of an ancient white oak is enough to kill Elijah. She begs him not to do it, telling him that she’ll be trapped in the crypt forever but Damon is determined and will not listen.

It’s soon discovered in John Gilbert’s diary that a vampire cannot wield the dagger because it will take the lives of both of them, so Stefan calls Alaric to warn Damon. Once Elijah is off guard, Alaric plunges the knife deeply into Elijah, killing him. He removes the knife and they bring his body downstairs in the basement so Jenna won’t suspect anything. However, upon further reading of the diary Elena discovers that the dagger must remain in the body in order for Elijah to stay dead. When the boys run downstairs, Elijah is gone and already stalking Elena.

Before arriving he makes a quick stop to Jonas’ house and demands he find out where Elena is hiding. Jonas, now infuriated that his plans to rescue his daughter from Clause are in danger, storms into Elena’s house. He pins Jeremy against the wall and drains Bonnie’s powers from her.

Once he arrives he tells Elena and Stefan that he’ll wait outside until they emerge since he’s not invited to enter. Elena threatens to stab herself with a knife if he doesn’t keep the original deal. Elijah calls her bluff saying that Stefan will save her with his blood – and she agrees that while this is true, she’ll kill herself and become a vampire herself. Elijah still won’t agree so she plunges a dagger deep into her stomach. He screams and tries to enter the house and while distracted Elijah is once again killed with the magic dagger that (surprise!) Damon brought with him when he rushed over just in the nick of time. This time they keep it in place. Stefan quickly feeds Elena his blood and she recovers quickly.

Jenna confronts Alaric and wants to know what he’s hiding, but he’s not volunteering any information. Johnathan Gilbert tells him that he can make this whole thing go away about his first wife if he’d give back his ring. Alaric reluctantly agrees.

Afterward Damon sees a female figure in the shower and assumes it’s Andie, but it’s actually Catherine. She knew that once Elijah was killed she’d be released, so by begging Damon not to do it she won her freedom once again.

Stay tuned for next week’s episode. In “The House Guest,” Katherine’s mind games are getting on everyone’s nerves, but Damon, Stefan and Elena realize that her knowledge of Mystic Falls’ history will help them stay alive.
Frustrated with her relationship with Matt, Caroline finds a new way to get his attention. Alaric makes a surprising confession to Jenna, and Katherine makes a different kind of confession to Damon. Stefan and Bonnie try to convince Jonas and Luka that they should all be working together, but Jonas’ lack of trust leads to a violent and fiery confrontation.