"Vampire Diaries" speeds some things along when Elena meets her birth mother Isobel and the identity of her father is revealed.

Last week, we were left off with a mini cliffhanger. In this episode, the show picks up right where it left off with Isobel (guest star Mia Kirshner) and her dear husband Alaric finally meeting face-to-face.

It's a heartbreaking moment between the two, with Alaric breaking down when Isobel asks about her daughter Elena's whereabouts. The breakdown might've been viewed as a wimpy move, but it was necessary; it's confirmation that Isobel had a life before meeting him. Instead, he drunkenly walks away from her after she asks him to deliver a message to her daughter. "Screw you, you selfish bitch," Alaric whispers. Go history teacher! But, Isobel's vampiric powers take over and she verbally and physically threatens Alaric that she'll go on a killing spree if he goes behind her back. That's enough for him to reconsider. Bummer.

Stefan is back to normal according to Damon's updates, which is great news to Elena's ears! For Damon, it means his younger bro's back to being a boring vegetarian.

It's almost time for the big Founders Day float parade, which means the newly crowned Mystic Falls queen has to start working on hers. Caroline "Bings" (What's up with the Binging on TV, by the way?) the previous year's float, and she and Bonnie vow not to repeat it. Their theme? "Gone with the Wind." Yay? Bonnie isn't shocked when Caroline asks about Elena's whereabouts, and Caroline picks up Bonnie's lack of worry. Matt and Tyler are on the outs (but they seem to take a step in the right direction by episode's end) and so are Elena and Bonnie. Is the world ending?

While everyone's in the cafeteria pondering the state of several key friendships, Alaric tells Damon, Stefan and Elena that Isobel's back in town, prompting some very serious furrowed brows. Elena knows why she's in Mystic Falls and she's willing to risk her well-being to meet her birth mother. John (guest star David Anders), meanwhile, pays a visit to Isobel's new home and we find out there's someone far more powerful than he is, and she's not afraid to slap him around. Their relationship is tenuous at best and only reason they're even working together is because of one common goal: to get that invention Damon has.

Elena meets Isobel at the Grill later that day and it's an extremely tense meeting. Elena asks about her birth father, but Isobel skirts the question ("just a teenage waste of space"). Isobel stirs the pot, asking Elena why she went for Stefan and not Damon, or insinuating that Elena likes having the two brothers around -- just like Katherine. It also doesn't take Isobel long to reveal to Elena her true intentions. Outside, Alaric and Damon discuss Isobel's lack of humanity. Damon reveals that it's like a switch they can turn on and off (with Stefan being the exception).

Isobel and Damon exchange some heated words (and it's pretty hot), but just when things get out of hand, Damon makes sure she knows not to mess with the people he cares about (and that includes Elena). During their little exchange, Damon learns that Isobel is just doing Katherine's dirty work. Interesting. He tells Isobel if Katherine wants the device, that she has to come get it herself.

Bonnie and Elena meet the next day, and their friendship looks to be getting back on track. Bonnie shows Elena a drawing of the mystery device in her ancestor's spellbook, but Damon only has one of the pieces. The device apparently is a weapon against vampires. Uhh.

Elena bumps into her mother, but not after Jeremy pulls the rug from under her and makes it known that he knows she lied about the vampires' existence, who pulls a bitchy move and causes Matt to get hurt simply to show just how easily it is for her to hurt the people Elena cares about. Just like that, Isobel kidnaps Jeremy to prove a point. Instead of following John's wishes to let Jeremy go, Isobel's minions beat John. She takes off his ring. The girl sure knows how to play.

Meanwhile, Damon, Stefan, Elena and Bonnie plan their attack, but this time they're doing it Elena's way. When Damon hesitates to hand over the device, it's his trust in Elena that agrees to go with it. At Isobel's house, Jeremy pleads to John (without giving away that he has a connection with a vampire) that not vampires are bad, but his uncle ain't buyin' the spin.

It's time for the big meeting with Elena and Isobel, and both bring backup. When Elena confirms Jeremy's safe at home, Isobel tells it like it is. She knew Damon would hand over the device because gasp, he's in love with Elena! (Must be awkward for Stefan.) Elena hands the device to Isobel. Isobel gives her daughter some words of advice: "As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed." Yikes, though it's been proven true several times.

Afterwards, Elena finds out that Jeremy read her diary, where she kept note of everything that happened -- specifically the night Damon compelled him to forget what happened to Vicki. Elena tried to defend her decision, but Jeremy's pissed off -- and understandably so. At the high school, Alaric and Isobel face off. After he takes off the ring, she compels him to let her go and before Isobel disappears, she slips the ring back on Alaric's finger. Later, Anna tells Jeremy her mother is dead.

At the Salvatore house, Stefan wants to know if there's any truth to what Isobel said and takes it into his own hands to make sure history doesn't repeat itself with Elena by making a passive threat to his older brother. Damon implies that John might be Elena's real father and of course, the evidence is stacked in his favor (the first mention of John dating Isobel at 15 pretty much opened the door). It's confirmed when Isobel and John are on the phone and she tells him to kill Stefan and Damon as well as the tomb vampires.

Remember the spell Bonnie was putting on the device that would override it so it wouldn't kill the vampires? Well, she didn't exactly do what she promised Elena she'd do. Now things get complicated.

Sadly, only one more episode to go before the end of Season 1. I'm betting the finale will be even more jam-packed with reveals and cliffhangers.

Quotes of the Night

• "He wants to feel every episode of 'How I Met Your Mother.' " -- Damon about Stefan's humanity
• "Forever doesn't last very long when you're human." -- Isobel
  

Zap2It By Philiana Ng