'The Vampire Diaries' 'A View to a Kill' recap: Choosing sides

The plan was to kill Kol in the Thursday, Jan. 31 episode of "The Vampire Diaries" season 4, "A View to a Kill," but there were, of course, complications and surprises along the way. What else would you expect when dealing with the Originals?

The trouble with Kol. As Stefan tried to sneak out of Rebekah's room, Klaus showed up to discuss Kol, who had his daggers. "However will you get your way without your precious daggers?" She asked. "They were so handy when you wanted to end a conversation with one of us." Klaus asked Stefan to talk to her; if they daggered Kol, Damon would be uncompelled, Jeremy safe, and they would be on their way to a human Elena. After Kol attacked Bonnie, who held her own easily with her power and got away, Elena called Stefan for his help and explained her plan: Jeremy kills Kol, and Matt daggers Rebekah so she wouldn't come for revenge. But when Elena called for a "truce in the name of Silas," Kol showed up at her door and told her to invite him in. Elena sent Matt to help Stefan before opening the door. Elena agreed, if he let Jeremy go. Kol agreed. She said she was willing to give up looking for the cure if he left Jeremy alone. It was up to Elena to distract Kol while Jeremy tried to find Bonnie and Matt looked for the dagger.

Kol explained that if Silas rises, he'll unleash hell on earth. He said it was odd she'd be willing to give up something she wanted so much, but she'd do anything for Jeremy and if what he said about Silas was true, it'd put everyone in danger. He left to consider her request for a truce, and when he returned, he said the request was denied. But when he broke down the door, Elena and Jeremy were nowhere to be seen. Kol chased Elena through the house, and while she and Jeremy tried to take him down, he ended up stabbing her through the stomach, pinning her to the wall, before dragging Jeremy down the stairs. Elena freed herself as Kol had Jeremy spread out, ready to chop off his arm. Elena stopped Kol, and Jeremy sprayed him with the vervain-water before killing him...and Klaus watched from the front door.

A babysitters' "Vampire Diaries" club chat. Klaus was on babysitting Damon duty and wondered what Damon said to Elena that caused her to see past what he's done. Damon realized it was about Caroline. Then to make things worse, Klaus wondered how Elena felt when he couldn't overcome the compulsion since Stefan had been able to resist. He thought Damon was worried about what would happen when they found the cure. Klaus saw Stefan and Elena and thought Damon did too.

Family meeting. Rudy decided to take action to protect the town, with vervain in the water and cancelling town events, including the dance. He insisted on having a family meeting, going so far as to keep Bonnie's phone and car keys from her. Jeremy found her, but before they could leave, Abby showed up and Rudy invited her in. Abby wanted to know what lies Shane had been telling her, and Bonnie had to stop Jeremy from killing her. She told Jeremy to go, she'd be right behind him. Bonnie told Abby about the cure and that she could do the spell to access it and save her. Abby said she was the one who needed to be saved and knocked her out. Abby was drugging her just enough to clear her mind from what Shane had told her. But Bonnie stopped her. "I don't belong to the spirits anymore," she told her parents. "I belong to myself."

Another failed attempt at a high school dance. Rebekah's bad luck with dances continued with the latest one cancelled, but Stefan made it up to her. He brought her to the school, and they danced in the decorated gym. As '80s music played in the background, Stefan spoke about Lexi and commented he was a better person with her. He felt that way with Elena, but that was over. That was why Rebekah didn't care. When Stefan saw that she had the dagger on her, he texted Matt. He took her into the hall and showed her the "Breakfast Club" slide, telling her using her speed was cheating. When she couldn't do it, he told her to take off her shoes. She took out the dagger and gave it to him. She knew it was what he wanted. She admitted she did care. She wanted to be human and said to let Klaus put down her brother.

And this week's endings were... Elena told Klaus they had no choice, but he knew she had set a trap because she let him inside. He wanted Kol to suffer on his terms and said he'd burn down the house. Bonnie interrupted and told Jeremy to invite Klaus in. Once Jeremy did, Bonnie kept him trapped in the living room (for three days) and they left. Stefan told Rebekah they didn't have a choice and Kol started. He wasn't going to let the people he cared about get hurt. He wanted to find the cure not just for Elena, but so Rebekah could be human again. Jeremy waited for the mark to grow, with Bonnie reminding him it took time for Finn's line to die off. Damon joined them, and Elena hugged him. Stefan then joined the party with the Silas headstone and told them Rebekah was on their side. Elena couldn't believe he trusted her, and Damon mentioned they slept together. The brothers exchanged digs, but their fight was interrupted when the Hunter's mark began to grow on Jeremy--and they could all see it. "Here we go," Damon said.

"The Vampire Diaries" season 4 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW. What did you think of episode 12, "A View to a Kill"?