I started to write my usual type of recaplet, but so much happens in "All My Children," that it was nearly a weecap by the time I was done. I've saved it as a weecap draft and am approaching this recaplet from a different angle.

"All My Children" is a beautiful testament to the love between the Salvatore brothers. Since the end of last season, we've watched Stefan lose everything, in order to save Damon's life. Now, perhaps he shouldn't have done so, but he did. Since the moment Stefan coerced Damon into transitioning, back in 1864, one thing has been clear: Stefan refuses to be the only immortal Salvatore. Sure, maybe he goes months, years or decades without enjoying his brother's company (sometimes while he is in his brother's company), but he will always choose Damon.

Meanwhile, The Vampire Diaries has been working to convince us that Damon will always choose Elena. And? I'm not saying he won't, in his own Damony-way. But he too, will always choose Stefan. A literal flip of a coin freed Damon from having to be the bad guy and end the Bennett bloodline mojo Esther needed to destroy her unholy spawn, but Damon has been watching Stefan. While Stefan's humanity switch might be, or may have been on the fritz, he has quietly eschewed human blood, since the night he took his not-caring act (and oh, what an act) too far, force fed Elena his blood, and used her as a pawn in his vengeance quest against Klaus.

Damon knows Stefan has enough guilt heaped upon his poofy-haired head, and that despite his (now disintegrating mask), Stefan has been having FEELINGS LIKE WHOA, all over the place. While Damon loves Elena, and knows Stefan is his most formidable rival for her affections, he wants to play it straight (or at least as straight as his crooked little heart will let him). Damon won't give up on their girlfriend, but he won't sacrifice his brother's recovery -- his redemption -- in the battle for her love. That, right there, is why this love triangle works for me. Each of the three characters cares deeply for the other two.

Damon's decision to be the one to vamp a Bennett, will likely not sit well with Elena (nor with Bonnie). But Damon's decision to spare Stefan further guilt (and further grief from their girlfriend), to my weird way of thinking, proves Damon capable of becoming the sort of vampire who may, one day, be worthy of Elena.

Now, I don't want to alienate either E/D or E/S fans, so let me be clear -- I don't think Stefan is worthy of Elena, either. I mean really, I don't think any vampire who has killed a human, for any reason other than self-defense, is worthy of a human who hasn't killed a human. Krazy Klaus is right, that Elena would have a better life with someone like Matt. Admittedly, I cut Caroline some slack, when she first turned (and murdered) and was still in love with Matt, but Caroline is a different case. She became so much more awesome once she was vamped, that I just refuse to hold her measly murder record against her. More honestly, this series is a gothic teen romance series -- featuring absurdly attractive vampires and humans. There is going to be vampire/human canoodling. I have to lower my standards (even for Elena), or I'll just be raving like loon -- I mean more than usual.

Speaking of Caroline, how great was it to watch her play Klaus? Oh sure, he made me swoon last week, with his, "I fancy you," and his I love Caroline + HORSIE drawing, but come on, he's Satan Klaus. Assuming this season will end Klaus's reign of terror over Elena and company, I do hope that Klaus's love for Caroline turns out to be his fatal flaw.

I keep thinking about Caroline keeping Elena from talking to Bonnie during Abby's transition. When she says that Bonnie loves Elena and is glad she's alive, but that she (Bonnie) always seems to be the one who gets hurt, my heart breaks for both Bonnie and Elena. Bonnie often is the one who suffers. It's true. What is also true is that I'm so used to watching Elena suffer, that I often forget she's suffering. Some of my nonchalance about Elena's pain, can be chocked up to her innate heroism. Last season, Elena was more than willing (to the point where those people calling her suicidal couldn't quite be written off as cranks) to sacrifice her life, so that Bonnie wouldn't have to risk her own life, performing the spell to stop Klaus. Also, as Damon and Stefan discuss in "All My Children," Elena would have preferred that Damon and Stefan let her die, if it meant letting Bonnie and/or Abby live.

I take it from Caroline's use of the word transition, that Abby will not go the way of Bill Forbes, but the conversation was brief enough, that I can't be sure. Even though I love the female friendships on this show (although certainly more in Seasons 1 and 2, than this season), I wouldn't object to Abby dying, and not just because she abandoned her own child and then took in someone else's. Were Abby to die, her death could trigger some enormous fallout in the friendship between all three girls. Bonnie and Caroline would suddenly share a profound bond. Bonnie's resentment of Elena would grow. I suppose there can be much of the same fallout if Abby completes the transition and turns into a vampire, but Bonnie and Caroline would not share the same bond.

This week, I swooned over Elijah's little mash note to Elena. How perfectly Elijah-y it was. He and Elena are embroiled in the most romantic non-romance, perhaps since Little Women's Jo and Teddy. My fickle heart overflows, which almost makes up for my failure to get "Elijah's sword" to trend on Twitter, last night.

Finally, my friend Rachel and I, would like to take this opportunity for me to say, in no uncertain terms, that we are ever so glad that Meredith is the psycho killer, rather than my Pudding Pop, Matt. We are glad, not just for Matt's sake, but because it gives me the opportunity to call our lovely and talented friend, Erin, DELUSIONAL. Don't mind those stray italics. Erin and Rachel know why they're there. Oh, I suppose I should acknowledge Alaric might be dead, too. I hope not. I kind of think, if they were going to kill Ric, it would have been made into a big moment in this episode, but who can tell with this crazy show? I'll leave off, for now, right after I make this...

Confession: my ability to grade this show has either died or been daggered. I started to give this episode an A-. In part, my rationale was, "I've given it a couple of A+ grades in a row." I had at least one teacher who used to do that to me. It's an unfair grading approach. It's not this episode's fault that episode 3-13 broke my heart, and episode 3-14 dazzled me with fancy beauty. Next, I started to give it an A+, but my gut is telling me I've got some fuzzy objection to that. I just can't figure out what it is. So, that A up there -- it might be temporary. Writing up the full weecap usually helps clarify my thoughts.

This was such an action-packed episode, and I have so much more to say about it. The show is on hiatus 'til March 15, 2012, so let me entertain you. I'll be back, ASAP, with my seldom "wee" full weecap. In the meantime, please grade the episode up top and join us in the forum, where we're trying to get Elena and Bonnie to kiss and make up.