The episode begins with a flashback of 1912 in Mystic Falls. A Zachary Salvatore is stabbed and then we're back to the present.
Alaric wakes up in a caged room and it turns out to be jail. Apparently Meredith has convinced Sheriff that Ric came at her with the knife and somehow stabbed himself.
Matt informs Elena that Abby will compete the transformation. Sheriff then calls Elena about Alaric.
Damon and Elena have a feisty little talk about how Damon was going to solve the murder mystery. And then it ends with Elena telling him that if he continued to push people away, he'd be alone.
"Dear Diary, A chipmunk asked me my name today. I told him it was Joe, I lied and that guilt will haunt me forever." -Damon to Stefan upon seeing Stefan with his diary.
The 2 talk about 1912- the last time there was a serial killer on the loose in Mystic Falls.
The flashback continues and it's proven that Stefan had gone back to Mystic Falls for Zachary' Salvatore's funeral. Damon also appears and apparently the 2 meet after 50 years at this time. Damon is still upset and the 2 decide to catch up, get a drink.
Back to the present, Damon offers to get drunk again. He wants Stefan's help to solve the murder case.
Rebekah asks Carol about the oldest trees. Stefan and Damon show up at the same Bar&Grill. Carol reveals all the logging mills back then were owned by the Salvatores'.
As they talk about Zachary, Rebekah walks over. "which Salvatore would that be?"-Rebekah.
Alaric and Sheriff speak but there is no alibi for Ric for when Brian's body was found making him a suspect.
The 2 brothers suddenly remember a vampire named Sage. Flashback to 1912 and Sage is shown boxing [and winning]. Damon tries to walk by her but she's clearly interested. She puts a 100 dollar bill in his pants and walks away telling him he seemed like the gambling type. Back at the present, Damon wonders if it was Sage killing the Founding families back then. Stefan agrees.
Meredith tells Elena that Alaric had been charged for drinking 4 times under the age of 21. And then Isabel put restraining orders on him twice before marrying him. Elena doesn't believe any of it. "you date vampires Elena. It shouldn't come as a shock that your guardian is a murderer."-Meredith.
Meanwhile at the Bar&Grill, Rebekah tries to get Damon to talk about his old relatives and how they "chopped down the woods" but Damon doesnt say a word because it's "boys night and she wasnt invited".
Matt and Elena break into Meredith's house. Then Elena realizes that Meredith is from a founding family so she checks in the back of the closet. There, they found Alaric's record and Brian's.
Stefan is no longer interested in killing humans and then Rebekah and Damon read out Stefan's diary in which he talks about Damon wasting his life.
Flashback-Sage tells Damon a woman is not food but for pleasure. She takes him back to the boxing place. And she points out a woman.
To the present, Rebekah tells Damon and Stefan that Sage was obsessed with Fin back then.
Elena finds an old Gilbert book as well and Matt finds that the death did not occur between 1 and 3. They hide in the closet when Meredith comes back but she finds them.
Sheriff is angry at Matt and Elena for breaking the law. Apparently, Meredith brought the coroner's letter to Sheriff long before and Alaric would be released soon.
Damon lunges for a woman's throat out in the open. Stefan stops him and Damon forces Stefan to drink human blood. Stefan's face is all bloody when Matt and Elena show up. Elena is horrified to see Stefan that way. Matt drags Elena away. Stefan is clearly heart broken so he walks away not listening to Damon's calls for him.
Elena talks about Stefan to Matt."like he would never die"-Elena. And Damon just snuck up on her. Stefan just felt "safe" at first. Matt gives Elena the Gilbert journal which he steals from Meredith. Then Alaric enters the house and Elena hugs him.
Damon tells Stefan about Ric who's just sitting there in front of the fireplace. Stefan is about to mention how Elena doesn't matter, Damon scolds him. Stefan then tells him he doesn't need Damon's help.
Damon reminds him of what happened in 1912. Damon had made Stefan drink human blood just like Sage had done that to Damon. Suddenly, Stefan goes ravage when Damon tries to stop him. Then Stefan feels sorry and tries to join her head back to the body. Stefan gets angry at Damon but he refuses his help. Then Stefan was declared the Ripper.
Back the present, Damon is upset he hadn't done anything back then but this time, he would. He promised that he'd be there every second to pull him back when he went too far because Stefan was all Damon had.
Alaric thanks Elena for doing what she did but he didn't want her to get in trouble for him. They strike a deal that Elena would take care of him and he would take care of her.
Damon is playing the piano and Stefan appears with something he finds out about Samantha Gilbert. Damon reveals he killed her. And Samantha was said to be insane.
Meredith shows up at his door and she explains how she actually helped him. Now that's he's cleared, they wouldn't look at him again.
Stefan contemplate over how she [Samantha] might be alive if she had a ring but there were only 2. One ring John had and one, Alaric does.
Meredith explains to Ric how he might be going crazy. Hes killing people without knowing.
While Elena reads the diary, she realizes its written by Samantha who talks about how she's going crazy. She tells Alaric that Meredith was right. He might be going insane.
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That was the episode!