Elena eventually goes after Stefan. He apologizes for kidnapping her, forcing his blood on her, and threatening to drive her off Wickery Bridge -- he says he went too far. I wonder if he thinks she kissed Damon after that, because oh no, Stefan. She kissed him well before the moment you think you went too far. You went too far, when you didn't care if Klaus killed her little brother, if caring meant it would mess up your wacky Coffin Contrivance vengeance quest. Anyhow, Stefan then says, that Elena shouldn't have lied to him, today. She knows. She just wanted to give Bonnie a moment with her mother, "Without everything else getting in the way." Stefan: "Without me getting in the way." His smile is sad as he considers her face. Elena finally says, "I didn't plan on kissing him." Stefan: "You're better than him, Elena. You're better than both of us." Well yeah, because she's not a blood sucking fiend. He then gets in his car and drives away. I go into more detail in the recaplet, but suffice it to say, it finally feels like they've had their breakup scene. Elena has severed the ties that bound her to Stefan. There's sorrow and regret, but there's relief and acceptance, as well. Hats off to Dobrev and Wesley.

Sidebar: When I first watched the episode, the above scene frustrated me. All I could think is, "Why haven't these two been worried about Bonnie?" Seriously. Why didn't they rush out to look for her as soon as all the wooden buckshot was out of Stefan, rather than having their (admittedly beautiful) heart-to-heart? I guess, since Damon got the heads up from Bonnie, before Elena started digging the wood out of Stefan, that maybe Elena got a text too, but it's never shown or referenced. I love the breakneck pace of this show, but sometimes, like now, the story suffers for it, because when I was watching the first time, it bothered me that Elena and Stefan weren't at least talking about finding Bonnie. While I appreciate that the show seldom writes down to the audience, I think it could stop for a breath, every now and again.

Anyhow, when Stefan drives off, leaving Elena (alone, in the dark, again), we cut to Bonnie and Abby. The hybrid is long gone. The first thing Bonnie says is, "Elena's on her way." And she has a spare set of keys to your car, Bon? Sorry. Continue. "Jamie's safe. He's a little bruised, but he's safe." Bonnie can't believe Abby would go so far for this young man who isn't even her family. Abby: "He is my family, Bonnie. I know that might be hard for you to hear, but he is, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about you. I want to help you." Bonnie says, "You can't. You don't have magic, and I don't trust you." Good choice, honey. Kat Graham deserves a standing ovation for her work in this episode.