TVd season 6 spoilers: Ian directs, Julie Plec gives a glimpse

"The Vampire Diaries" season 6 is having some time away, but the series will be back next month with a new episode titled "The Downward Spiral." The installment is a big one especially for Ian Somerhalder, who fans know as the hunky vampire Damon Salvatore in the series. The actor is taking the reins in the episodeand he calls it the "coolest thing ever." 

"I had an incredible story that Brian Young and Caroline Dries wrote. And literally a group of my - my cast - my brothers and sisters, everyone had my back," Somerhalders said during the Wizard World's Cleveland Comic Con event. "It was the coolest environment to learn in, and thank you Warner Bros for the couple million bucks to spend really creating an incredible 42 minutes of television. It was my favorite professionalexperience ever."  

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Julie Plec revealed that a "surprisingly delightful and on the verge of crazy Caroline" will be seen upon the show's return. Although Plec did not say what would happen in the rest of the season, she said that "there's so much that's going to unfold." Ultimately, she dropped major bombshells while avoiding revealing too much. 

"With Bonnie's return, with Caroline switching off her humanity, with the mother reveal, it really does launch us into the next and final chapter of the season, which is leading us in some very clear directions," Plec teased.

What will viewers see as the current season of "The Vampire Diaries" draws to a close? 

"A mother with a secret; a heroine with no humanity; a leading man who feels guilt that the girl he's learned he cares for [and] feels he's had a hand in ruining her; the return of a best friend who has been gone forever," Plec enumerated. "You've got a couple getting married."

So it's now up to fans to figure out who's who. 

"The Vampire Diaries" season 6 episode 16 will air on March 12.