Alaric, who has been tranquilized by Mere, is snoozing on the couch. This is what tranquilizers are supposed to do, yes? Mere wakes him up to mention that neither of them have slept for two days, and to make him coffee. Thunk thunk thunk. It's clear Alaric is in a fugue. While Mere is in the kitchen, he goes to her medical bag and drains the tranquilizer syringes. Commercial.

We return to Mossy Manse, but it's a Sage and Damon scene I've already covered, so I get to fast-forward again.

Back at the loft, Stefan implies Elena's quest to save Alaric is futile. Elena asks if he's really talking about Alaric, or if he's talking about himself, because she's not giving up on either of them. There's one drawer Elena can't open. Stefan finally forces it open for her. It's full of photos of and articles about Alaric's victims. I wonder if our Ripper of Monterey feels inadequate, since he only wrote his victims' names inside a closet.

Elena comes across a big manila envelope labeled "Jeremy Gilbert." Inside is some kind of psycho killer manifesto Alaric must have written. Clipped to the front is a note that reads: "Jeremy, if anything happens to me, carry on my work. You have the other ring. Let the ring make you strong. The Council must be cleansed before the work can begin." Yikes.

Stefan finds a list of Council members. Here are the ones I can see: Meredith Fell, Daniel Jones (highlighted in orange); Linda Jones; Stanford Springfield; Carol Lockwood; Barbara Johnson; James Joseph Johnson, ESQ; [Illegible] Anderson; [another illegible name, highlighted in orange]; Thomas Michale Skinner; Donna Skinner; James Michael Harris (highlighted in orange); Nancy [Illegible].

Stefan: It's a Founders Council roster. It looks like some sort of hit list.

Elena: No, Alaric didn't write this.

Stefan: Who else would have written it, Elena?

Elena crumples up one of the papers, then rifles through the drawer with purpose, until she finds the aspirin bottle. The ring is inside. She tells Stefan she has to get back.