This week's episode of The Vampire Diaries opens with Alaric leading Elena to the Owl Cave. Damonpops out of the shadows and gives Elena a little scare, because he's 14. Alaric encourages her to ignore him, like he does. Yeah right, Ric. Damon's still mystically barred from the cave so Alaric leads Elena in, showing her the walls covered with pictograms and names in runic script. I used to be able to read runic and from what I remember it looks like the show did its homework on getting the names right. Runes are from the Vikings, so the symbols pre-date the founding of Mystic Falls by about a millennium.

A quick flashback shows Rebekah carving her name on the wall while a massively bewigged Klausteases her about how a woman shouldn't handle a blade and how a woman's place is in the kitchen (because there are no knives in cooking or anything). She passes him the knife, blade first, cutting his palm (my old Scoutmaster would be appalled) and teases him back about not liking the sight of blood (irony!).

Back in the present, Elena's assumes that the carvings are Klaus's fakery until Ric shines his light on another name, Mikael's. Not really sure why that convinces Elena the carvings are genuine but it does. Damon tries to give the scene a dramatic payoff by referring to Mikael as “Papa Original” and, no. We will not be calling him “Papa Original” Damon. The judges may accept “Vampapa” but for now let's just stick with “Mikael,” m'kay?

Alaric photographs the drawings and studies them back at Chez Salvatore while Elena and Damon flirt-fight in the background. Alaric figures that deciphering the symbols may lead to a weapon to kill Klaus, so Elena goes to the source, Rebekah, who's at cheerleading practice. Elena shows Rebekah a photo of her name on the wall and Rebekah's initially all whatevs until Elena plays the Mikael card. Rebekah warns her not to wake Mikael but won't say why.

As she heads back to practice, Rebekah flashes back to pre-Mystic Falls. She and younger brotherHeinrich watch Klaus and Elijah (who looks like a brunette elf in that wig) sword fight (sadly, not a euphemism). Klaus cuts off Elijah's belt, sparking my brief hope that his shirt will be next, until Daddy Buzzkill Mikael breaks it up. He beats Klaus down in short order and makes to put a sword through his windpipe, or at least scar him up a little, until Mom (who we later learn is named Esther) calls him off.

Elena gives Damon an update by phone while Damon checks up on Stefan. After a chat during which Damon decides Stefan has really given up on his humanity, Damon frees him and invites him to go out for drinks.

Elena gets a text from Rebekah inviting her over for a convo at Chez Salvatore. She arrives thinking they'll be talking about Mikael but Rebekah just wants her help choosing a homecoming dress from among the six she's compelled six girls to model. Elena's all I'm not here to help you shop and Rebekah's all OK then I'll start ripping out these girls' throats and Elena's all fine then, the red one. Rebekah warns Elena not to threaten her again.

Alaric has moved the research to his loft that no one on a teacher's salary could ever afford. He's identified the symbols for “vampire” and “werewolf.” Bonnie drops by to deliver Elena's indestructible necklace. The symbol on the necklace matches another symbol repeated on the cave wall, allowing Ric to identify it as “witch.” He also puts in a good word for Jeremy, calling him a jerk but assuring Bonnie that jerks eventually grow up. I have several ex-boyfriends that prove otherwise.

Back at Chez Salvatore, Rebekah goes snooping through Stefan's underwear drawer (like you wouldn't) while Elena continues to cajole her for backstory. Rebekah tells her that the family came to the New World to escape a plague in Europe guided by “the witch Ayana” who learned from the spirits of a land where everyone was healthy. They lived in peace with the neighboring werewolf tribe, hiding out in caves during the full moon. One full moon Klaus and Heinrich sneaked out to watch them change and Heinrich was killed, shattering the peaceful co-existence.

A phone call from Damon interrupts the reverie. Elena hears Stefan in the background and castigates Damon for letting him loose. Damon assures her he has it under control, then compels a bartender to let Stefan feed on her. Stefan's suspicious but Damon says there's no catch. After a commercial break the Salvatore boys are playing quarters and Stefan's tumbled to Damon's plan. Get him drunk, arouse some feelings of brotherly love and hope for a breakthrough to bring Stefan “back from the edge.” Damon scoffs that he likes the edge; the problem is Stefan's inability to stop himself from going over it.

A return to Chez Salvatore finds Rebekah reading Damon's journal (like you wouldn't) and Elena impatiently waiting for the rest of the story. Instead Rebekah taunt Elena about what a bad couple she and Stefan are (preach, sister!) and asserts that vampires can't be bothered to care about silly human lives. Elena counters that Rebekah seemed to care a lot about that homecoming dress. She heads for the door but Rebekah draws her back by telling her that the necklace belonged to the Original Witch (which Elena already knew) who not only placed the hybrid curse on Klaus (also not new information) but also turned the Original Family into vampires in the first place. That's new.

In intercuts between past and present, Mikael and Esther beg Ayana for her help to protect the family. She refuses in her oddly non-accented voice, citing the consequences. Rebekah explains to Elena that her parents saw vampirism as a way of defending themselves from the werewolves by becoming faster and stronger and able to “bite harder.” Seeing as how a single werewolf bite kills a vampire, there's a flaw in either the logic or the magic. With Ayana's refusal, Mikael says it falls to Esther. Elena asks how Esther was supposed to do anything. Rebekah drops a huge bombshell, telling Elena that Esther was not only a witch herself, but the Original Witch.

Esther called upon the Sun for life and the white oak tree for immortality. Mikael fed the family wine laced with blood and ran them all through. When they revived, Mikael fed them more blood to complete the transition. Interestingly, Rebekah drank before Klaus did.

With their new strengths the vampires also received weaknesses. The sun would burn them, vervane would burn them and prevent compulsion, they could not enter a home without an invitation and the wood of the white oak could kill them. I wonder exactly how they found out about that last one? They burned the tree to the ground (although as we learned last season, a dagger dipped in white oak ash can still kill them). Also an uncontrollable bloodlust.

The Salvatores are still having their Boys' Night Out until Stefan dampens the party by demanding Damon tell him the real reason he set him loose. Damon says he wanted to remind Stefan what freedom feels like. Stefan reminds him that as long as Klaus is alive Stefan won't be free of his compulsion and that Klaus can't be killed. A voice behind them says, “Maybe I can help with that.” They turn and see Mikael.

Chez Salvatore. Elena asks why Mikael started hunting Klaus. Rebekah explains that when Klaus killed his first human his “werewolf gene” was activated, revealing that Esther had been unfaithful. She tried to make it up by casting the hybrid curse and shunning Klaus but Mikael's pride, amplified by his vampiric state, led him to kill half of the village and tear Esther's heart out in front of Mikael. The family scattered but Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah stayed behind to bury their mother. Rebekah and Elijah both pledge never to abandon Klaus.

Elena wonders why if they all pledged eternal loyalty Klaus locked her in a coffin for 90 years. It's because Klaus has no tolerance for those who disappoint him. How can she still love him after that, Elena asks. “He's my brother and I'm immortal,” Rebekah replies. “Should I go through eternity alone?”

Her story completed, Rebekah orders Elena to leave. Hey bitch, it's her house. Elena explains that she just wants one good reason not to wake Mikael. Rebekah says she's given him a thousand and she won't help her kill Klaus. Elena says it's no secret she wants Klaus dead to break the hold he has over everyone and everything in her life. Rebekah swears that if Elena goes after Klaus she'll rip her heart out.

Back at the bar, Mikael is questioning Stefan as to Klaus's whereabouts but Klaus's compulsion prevents him from answering. What if Mikael compelled Stefan to answer? Would the two conflicting compulsions cause him to short out like a computer from the original Star Trek series? Mikael goes to Plan B, which is sticking his hand up Damon's gut and telling Stefan to give up Klaus or he'll rip Damon's heart out. Again with the heart-ripping! Mikael's all 3...2...1... and Stefan volunteers to lure Klaus back to Mystic Falls. Mikael leaves Damon's heart in the right place.

Back at Owl Cave, Ric, Elena and Bonnie are reviewing the story. Why did they go back to the cave? Isn't that why Ric photographed everything in the first place? And is it really a good idea to leave Post-its all over the cave for anyone who stumbles in to find? And would Post-its really stick to a damp cave wall? Anyway, they spot the symbols showing the death of the Original Witch but the symbol showing who caused her death is anomalous.

Elena returns to Chez Salvatore where Rebekah reminds her she told her twice to get out. Still Elena's house, bitch. Elena asks how Rebekah knows Mikael killed her mother. She says Klaus saw him do it. Elena shows her the photos and explains the symbols, including the combined vampire-werewolf symbol that means “hybrid.” The symbols show that Klaus killed Esther, not Mikael. Rebekah angrily denies it and starts to throttle Elena, then quickly recognizes that what Elena is saying is true and breaks down sobbing.

The Salvatore boys head home, exchanging some gay banter about their respective humanity which leads Damon to give Stefan a bit of a beatdown. Having left Rebekah alone to have the least convincing crying jag I've seen in a while, Elena returns home to find Damon in her bed. He tells her Mikael's on board, the plan is in motion and that Stefan, while still a “dick,” is a “dick on our side.” He hilariously refuses to get off her bed so Elena resignedly climbs in next to him. Damon thinks the Owl Cave only led them back to Mikael like he thought it would but Elena tells him that it may also have gotten Rebekah on their team as well. He asks what Elena learned from Rebekah and she replies “I learned that she's just a girl, that she lost her mother too young, and she loves blindly and recklessly even if it consumes her.” Gee, does that sound like anyone we know, Elena? And she tells him that she believes Stefan will come out of all this all right, not because she loves her, but because she loves Damon.

A very interesting, exposition-heavy episode this week. Esther's being the Original Witch came as a complete surprise, if for no other reason than she's the first non-black witch on the show. I'm expecting we'll see more of her in future episodes and I'm hoping Ayana will turn up at some point too. I'm extremely curious about Mikael's backstory. What made him decide to stop feeding on humans and start hunting other vampires besides Klaus? I'm also curious as to why future generations of vampires have lesser powers and greater vulnerabilities, why the Originals don't “breed true.”

Turning to The Vampire Metrics:

BEEFCAKE: Not one damn cake.

BODY COUNT: One, little brother Heinrich. Arguably the most important death in the history of the franchise, though, since it led to the creation of vampires. Still, I expect more gore.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Nice work on Elena's part this week, getting the story out of Rebekah and crushing Rebekah's spirit in the course of a single episode. Still no sign of Katherine, despite Mikael's arrival.

HOYAY! INDEX: Quite low this week especially in comparison to last episode. Ric barely even talks to his boyfriend Damon at all. “A dick on our side” did conjure some imagery.

REDEMPTION MOMENT: Sometimes Damon redeems himself, sometimes he has redemption thrust upon him. Elena's giving him a pretty heavy mantle to bear, placing him at the center of Stefan's own redemption and recovery. I don't know if he can carry it.