Elena Gilbert and her brother Jeremy come to terms with the death of their parents. Elena is popular amongst her peers and the perfect straight A student, but has difficulties hiding her grief from the world. Meanwhile, Jeremy treads on a dangerous path of using drugs to ease his pain. The arrival of new student Stefan Salvatore, however, makes Elena think about romantic possibilities.

As Mystic Falls gets ready for a festival to celebrate the passing of a comet, Vicki continues to recover in the hospital following Damon's attack. Stefan heads to the hospital to try to use his abilities to make Vicki forget who attacked her, but his efforts are cut short by Matt. Meanwhile, at a parent/teacher conference Mr. Tanner tells Aunt Jenna that Jeremy is in trouble and needs immediate intervention.

As Elena tries to ignore Bonnie's warnings about Stefan, Tyler tries to embarrass Stefan by throwing a ball at him. However, his effortless catch and football skills impress everyone, leading Mr. Tanner to let him join the football team. Meanwhile, Elena invites Stefan and Bonnie to dinner in order to try to get the two to know each other, but the night ends up backfiring. Finally, the town is shocked by an act of violence.

Elena asks Stefan to escort her to the town's annual Founder's Party. Vicki gets Tyler to ask her to the party, then accuses him of trying to hide their relationship from his family. Zach reveals a useful family secret to Stefan. At the party, Damon tells Elena a story about the Salvatore family's past, leaving Elena with questions that Stefan refuses to answer. Finally, Stefan takes action to get Damon out of his life for good.

Stefan takes action to protect Elena. Stefan is hopeful that his plan to get rid of Damon is working. Elena and Jenna are concerned about Jeremy’s relationship with Vicki. Stefan decides to reveal parts of his past to Elena. At a fund-raising car wash, Bonnie is surprised by abilities she didn’t know she possessed, and seeks advice from her grandmother. Finally, Elena hears a disturbing story about the Salvatore family from a stranger.

In a flashback sequence, Stefan reveals the Salvatore family history to Elena. Elena demands that Stefan explain the frightening events that have been happening in Mystic Falls. In flashbacks, Stefan explains how his rivalry with Damon began. Back in the present, Damon impulsively takes control of Vicki’s future, and a confused and frightened Vicki runs away. Finally, Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood take steps to protect the town.

As Vicki’s behavior becomes more dangerous, Stefan tries to help her. Elena tries to convince Jeremy to stay away from Vicki. Caroline gives Bonnie a necklace she took from Damon to wear with her Halloween costume, and when Damon tries to take it back, he is surprised by Bonnie’s abilities. Bonnie discusses the incident with Grams and learns more about her family’s past. Trying to cheer Vicki up, Matt takes her to the high school’s haunted house, but the evening soon takes a terrifying turn.

On his birthday, Stefan is surprised by a visit from Lexi, one of his oldest friends. Still upset by the events at the Halloween haunted house, Elena does her best to stay away from Stefan, but Lexi gives her some unsolicited relationship advice. Elena and Jenna are surprised by a change in Jeremy’s behavior. At Damon’s insistence, Caroline tries to get his medallion back from Bonnie. Finally, Damon’s offer to help Sheriff Forbes has sudden and tragic results.

Jeremy gets a break from the mysterious new history teacher, Alaric Saltzman and introduces Alaric to Jenna. Bonnie is having terrifying dreams about one of her ancestors. Despite Elena’s efforts to smooth things over, Bonnie and Caroline continue to argue over the medallion. When the girls hold a séance to help them decide what to do, the results are stranger than any of them expected. Matt comes to Caroline’s aid when she needs a friend. Damon finally reveals to Stefan the stunning reason he has returned to Mystic Falls.

After reading the journal left by one of the Gilbert ancestors, Jeremy is inspired to return to his hobby of sketching fantasy creatures, a talent he had abandoned when his parents died. Much to the surprise of their friends, Matt and Caroline continue to hang out together. When Sheriff Forbes tells Damon there has been another attack, he offers to track down the killer and learns a startling piece of information about the town’s founding families. Alaric steps in to help during an awkward scene with Jeremy, Tyler and Mayor Lockwood. Stefan and Elena come to a new understanding, but everything changes when Elena accidentally makes a devastating discovery.

Damon takes a trip to Georgia, where he surprises an old flame, Bree and enlists her help to figure out how to open the tomb. In the process, Damon comes face to face with someone who is determined to make him pay for past wrongs. Stefan opens up to Grams in his effort to help Bonnie overcome her fears and accept her powers. While researching his history paper in the public library, Jeremy meets a cute-but-geeky girl named Anna who has her own theories on the folklore of Mystic Falls. When Damon returns from Georgia, Stefan is waiting with news that will change their world.

Damon, Elena and Stefan attend the school dance with a 1950s' theme, where Alaric introduces himself to Damon. Stefan and Damon try to figure out the identity of the new vampire in town, Stefan gives Elena jewelry filled with Vervain to protect her family and friends. To make ends meet Matt takes a job at the Mystic Grill. Ben comes to help Bonnie when he notices Damon is bothering her.

In flashbacks, Stefan and Damon recall the long-ago actions taken by townspeople including their father, Guiseppe Salvatore, and Pearl, leading to the devastating events that caused the rift in their relationship. In the present, Bonnie's date with Ben takes a frightening turn. Elena helps Stefan as he and Damon race to find the missing journal that belonged to Elena's ancestor. Stefan learns the reason behind Alaric's interest in both the journal and the town's history. Damon discovers that an old acquaintance has returned to town with an agenda he understands.

Stefan helps Elena and Bonnie out of a dangerous situation. Jeremy asks Anna to a party in the woods, unaware that she has her own reasons for wanting to meet him there. When Stefan, Damon, and Elena work with Bonnie and Grams to open the tomb, everyone is shocked by what they discover.

Matt and Caroline are surprised by the sudden reappearance of Matt’s mother Kelly. Stefan and Elena are worried about Damon’s new attitude. Damon is asked by Sheriff Forbes to take part in a fund-raising bachelor auction. Alaric discovers shocking secrets from his own past. With help from Jenna and Stefan, Elena is determined to find out everything she can about her birth mother, but the truth may be more than she can handle.

Anna brings a surprising guest along when she pays a visit to Damon. Elena and Stefan go on an awkward double date with Caroline and Matt, but Stefan and Matt find they have some common ground. Jenna reunites with her old friend Kelly, and Jeremy’s relationship with Anna takes an unexpected direction.

When Stefan and Damon make a dangerous new enemy, Stefan suddenly finds himself in a perilous situation. Damon and Elena try to convince Alaric to work with them to help Stefan. Matt is hopeful that his mom, Kelly, may be back to stay. After her car breaks down in a storm, Caroline make a horrific discovery that shocks everyone in town.

While Stefan struggles to control his new situation, Elena and Jeremy are surprised by a visit from their uncle, John Gilbert. Alaric has an awkward talk with Elena about Isobel. At a Founder’s Day event, Stefan displays a rare party attitude and Damon’s attempt to find out why Uncle John has returned to town takes an ugly turn. An incident at the party causes trouble between Matt and Tyler... and the relationship between Matt and his mother, Kelly, reaches a new low. Meanwhile, Elena’s effort to comfort Jeremy falls short and he decides to take matters into his own hands.

At the Founder’s Day Gala, Elena and Caroline compete for the title of “Miss Mystic Falls” against other girls from town, including Tina Fell and Amber Bradley. Elena is happy to have Bonnie back in town, but Bonnie still has issues to work through. John Gilbert attempts to intimidate Damon, but his plan doesn’t have the desired effect. Damon discovers that Stefan is hiding a dangerous secret that could impact everyone in town.

While Stefan struggles to come to terms with his past, both he and Damon reveal parts of their history to Elena, until she finally learns the truth about how they became vampires. Pearl has an ugly confrontation with Johnathan Gilbert. Damon and Alaric try to find a mysterious invention before Johnathan does. The friendship and flirtation between Jeremy and Anna continues to grow.

Isobel returns to town and stuns Alaric with her attitude and her demands that he arrange a meeting with Elena. When mother and daughter finally meet, Isobel refuses to answer most of Elena’s questions, but reveals that she will stop at nothing to find the mysterious invention Johnathan Gilbert has been searching for. Isobel’s dangerous actions lead Stefan, Damon and Bonnie to step in and help Elena deal with the situation.

Founder's Day has finally arrived, and everyone is busy with last-minute preparations for floats and fireworks. Stefan is uncomfortable with Damon's new attitude toward Elena, but Elena is more concerned about repairing her relationship with Jeremy. Jeremy is worried about Anna, but not sure he's on board with her latest plan for the future. While Caroline is enjoying her day as Queen of the celebration, she also tries to help Matt and Tyler get their friendship back on track. Finally, although Damon and Alaric do their best to stop him, Johnathan Gilbert sets a plan in motion that brings Founder's Day to an end amid chaos, destruction and death.

The second season begins with Elena discovering her uncle John's bloody body and learning Jeremy's fate, and Damon realizing that Katherine has returned. Meanwhile, Caroline is taken to the hospital following a car accident, and Tyler's mysterious uncle Mason arrives in town.

When a confused and desperate Caroline leaves the hospital and joins her friends at the Mystic Falls Carnival, Damon wants to take immediate action, but Stefan and Elena come to Caroline’s defense. Matt is completely mystified by Caroline’s behavior, but still tries to tell her about his feelings for her.. Damon has suspicions about Tyler’s Uncle Mason and uses Tyler’s volatile personality in an attempt to get Mason to reveal his secret. Upset with everything going on around her, Bonnie takes her anger out on Damon.

Elena, Damon and Alaric take a road trip to Duke University and search through Isobel’s research on folklore and paranormal phenomena to see if they can uncover any clues to the mystery surrounding the Lockwood family. Isobel’s former student, Vanessa offers to guide them through the research and ends up getting quite an education herself. Stefan comes face to face with a terrifying new danger in the woods, and Tyler makes a shocking discovery about Mason.....

Stefan takes drastic measures to find out the real reason Katherine has returned to Mystic Falls, and is shocked when she reveals new secrets about what really happened in 1864. Damon tries a new tactic to resolve his issues with Mason,.... but it proves costly. Tyler pushes Mason to tell him the truth about the Lockwoods. Finally, when Katherine delivers an ultimatum, Stefan and Elena are left with very few options.

Tyler learns more about the Lockwood family curse from Mason. Stefan and Damon argue over how to handle Mason. Elena tries to keep Jeremy from becoming more involved with the Lockwood mystery, but Jeremy makes an effort to hang out with Tyler. Mason gives Sheriff Lockwood some startling information, leading to a night of violence, confession and heartbreak.

Despite Elena’s efforts to keep Jeremy safe, he offers to help Damon and Alaric deal with Katherine... Sheriff Forbes and Caroline share a few rare moments of quality mother/daughter time. Bonnie accidentally discovers new information about Mason and shares it with Stefan, leading Damon to take matters into his own hands.

Stefan and Damon decide on a new plan to deal with Katherine at the Lockwood’s masquerade ball. Katherine calls on an old friend, Lucy, to attend the ball with her. Bonnie, Jeremy and Alaric all do what they can to help Stefan and Damon, but Katherine has a surprise planned that none of them could foresee. Things take an ugly turn when Matt and Tyler start doing shots with their friends.

An Ancient Presence In Mystic Falls, Stefan and Damon come to Elena’s assistance and, in the process, learn surprising new information about people, vampires and events in the distant past. Jeremy helps Bonnie after she casts a difficult and exhausting spell, and Caroline does what she can to make things easier for Tyler. Finally, Stefan and Damon reach a new understanding.

Elena puts herself in a dangerous position as she searches for the truth about Katherine’s past and what her own future may hold. Knowing that Stefan would never agree to her plan, Elena swears Caroline to secrecy. Damon uses a new-found confidant to help him try to discover the real purpose and power of the moonstone. Jeremy and Bonnie meet Luka, a new student with a surprising family history.

Elena decides to take matters into her own hands and offers a tempting incentive to Rose for her help. When things take an unexpected turn, however, Rose calls on Damon to deal with the plan Elena has set in motion. Jeremy’s reckless attempt to help Bonnie retrieve the moonstone lands him in a life-threatening position and forces Stefan to put himself in danger. Bonnie and Luka form a closer connection. Tyler shows Caroline the Lockwood cellar, where she makes a discovery that leaves them both terrified.

As the full moon approaches, Caroline helps Tyler prepare for the transformation he is powerless to stop. While Stefan and Katherine play mind games on one another, Damon and Alaric are suspicious when a stranger named Jules shows up in Mystic Falls, searching for her missing friend, Mason. Elena is frustrated at the lengths Jeremy and her friends have gone to in order to keep her safe. Bonnie and Luca work together on a spell, while still keeping secrets from one another. Finally, Elijah makes an unexpected appearance with an offer that could change everything.

Stefan has his own ideas about Elena’s new plan for the future. While Damon tries to get the truth out of Jules, he asks Elena to keep an eye on Rose, a situation that turns unexpectedly dangerous. Caroline and Matt try to be honest about their feelings for one another, and Tyler’s reaction to Caroline’s generosity comes as a surprise to her... Damon struggles to hide his true feelings when a life-and-death crisis hits him harder than he expected.

Johnathan Gilbert’s return to Mystic Falls comes as an unhappy surprise to Elena, Jenna and Damon. Caroline lets Stefan know about her conversation with Tyler, and Stefan does his best to reach out to a confused and conflicted Tyler. Jeremy comforts Bonnie after her disturbing conversation with Jonas... When Jules takes a hostage, the situation quickly escalates into a violent confrontation.

Stefan and Elena get away for what they hope will be a romantic weekend at the Gilbert family lake house, not realizing that they’ve been followed. Jenna starts to worry that Alaric isn’t being honest with her. Jules explains the importance of the sun and moon curse to Tyler, but leaves out an important detail. Damon attends a tea at the Historical Society in order to talk to Elijah, but Elijah isn’t giving up any secrets. With help from Caroline and Jeremy, Bonnie uses deceptive measures to get shocking new information out of Luka. Finally, Tyler offers Matt some relationship advice.

Stefan tells Elena about a dark time in his history and the surprising person whose influence changed everything. After getting the truth out of Luka, Jonas makes his feelings clear to Bonnie and Jeremy. Trying to catch Elijah off-guard, Damon arranges a dinner party for him with Jenna, Alaric and Andie, but last-minute information throws Damon’s plan into chaos.

Katherine’s mind games are getting on everyone’s nerves, but Damon, Stefan and Elena realize that her knowledge of Mystic Falls history will help them stay alive. Frustrated with her relationship with Matt, Caroline finds a new way to get his attention. Alaric makes a surprising confession to Jenna, and Katherine makes a different kind of confession to Damon. Stefan and Bonnie try to convince Jonas and Luka that they should all be working together, but Jonas’ lack of trust leads to a violent and fiery confrontation.

Elena and Alaric both lash out at John when Isobel’s unexpected arrival leaves Jenna devastated. Bonnie works with Damon and Jeremy to find the spell they’ll need to harness her ancestors’ power. A heartbroken Caroline doesn’t know what to do about Matt. Stefan and Damon realize they have a new secret weapon.

As the high school prepares to throw a “1960s Decade Dance,” Elena starts receiving disturbing messages from Klaus via an unusual source. Bonnie tries to reassure Jeremy that she is strong enough to help Elena, but a worried Jeremy asks Stefan for advice. Caroline talks Matt into taking her to the dance. Expecting Klaus to show up at the dance, Damon and Alaric attend as chaperones, but Klaus is playing a complicated game that keeps them on edge. Finally, Damon comes up with a new plan of action that shocks and upsets everyone.

Stefan and Damon are furious when they discover that Elena has defied them both to make a new ally and take control of the plan to out-maneuver Klaus. Disagreement over how to protect Elena leads to growing tension between the Salvatore brothers. Meanwhile, Stefan has his hands full trying to keep a confused and frightened Jenna safe. Flashbacks to 1491 reveal Katherine’s introduction to Elijah and Klaus, along with the origin of the moonstone curse. Elena learns shocking new information about Klaus’ motives.

Damon is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to prevent Elena from being a victim of Klaus’ plan to break the curse. Damon’s actions put him at terrible odds with Stefan and the tension that started brewing between the brothers over their differing opinions of how to help save Elena’s life blows up into full-scale conflict. Tyler returns to Mystic Falls after receiving a disturbing phone call. With the full moon marking the arrival of the sacrifice ritual, Stefan and Elena spend a romantic day together — afraid it might be their last.

With the arrival of the full moon, Elena tries to prepare for whatever Klaus has planned and Tyler faces his second transformation. The terrifying events quickly spin out of control, despite an unexpected act of courage. Finally, Damon admits the truth to Stefan about a terrible new development they must face...

Mystic Falls screens "Gone with The Wind" in the town square, and Damon's memories of Katherine in 1864 mix with the reality of present-day Elena. Stefan pays a steep price after trying to prevent a tragedy, and Sheriff Forbes makes a dangerous mistake while trying to keep everyone safe. Multiple lives hang in the balance as the consequences of the sacrifice ritual play out to a horrifying conclusion.