'The Vampire Diaries' Recap: Top 10 Moments from 'Bring it On'

After a few weeks off, tonight's episode of The Vampire Diaries returned with a very sassy Elena, a juicy new romance for Klaus, and a surprise keg party at Casa Salvatore. "Bring It On" definitely, well, brought it on (and then some). Check out our Top 10 moments from the episode: 

1. A brand new Elena

Humanity-free Elena is a HANDFUL. Within the first 10 minutes of the episode she was snacking on unsuspecting drivers and strutting around naked in front of the Salvatore boys (and Caroline). After four seasons of watching her be the resident Mystic Falls good girl, it was surprisingly satisfying to watch Elena be very, very bad. Maybe she really is more like Katherine than we ever imagined.

2. The cheerleading competition from hell

The new badass Elena continued her reign of terror at the Mystic Falls High cheerleading competition, where she feasted on a poor cheerleader (and stole her ribbon!) and mouthed off to Stefan when he asked about the blood that's missing from the local hospital. Then she tossed Caroline into the air and casually dropped her during the team's cheerleading routine. Way harsh, Elena.

3. The sire bond in question

Before sending her off to school, Damon used the sire bond to tell Elena to be on her best behavior (i.e. don't eat any cheerleaders). Obviously it didn't work, which throws the whole sire bond thing back into question. If Elena's not sired to Damon when her humanity's off, what happens when she turns it back on?

4. "So this is your thing? Show a girl a few mediocre paintings?"

Hayley trashing Klaus' paintings was, perhaps, my favorite thing that has ever happened on this show. What's not to love about a cheeky werewolf girl who actually calls Klaus out on his bullsh*t? Things got even more interesting when the pair tapped into their animalistic sides for some scorching hot table sex. If this is what the Vampire Diaries spinoff, The Originals, has in store for us, consider me fully on board. 

5. The search for Katherine

Damon and Rebecca kept up the hunt for Katherine, who has the cure and who sent a vampire to tie up loose ends, a.k.a. kill Hayley. They didn't find her (after centuries of running from Klaus, Katherine's an expert at hiding out), but the former lovers had a rare bit of bonding. "Life sucks when you're ordinary," Damon told Rebecca, who has only ever wanted to be a perfectly ordinary girl. It was a surprisingly poignant moment for the often at-odds pair.

6. "He's actually busy flirting with your daughter."

Klaus and Caroline fans may have had a not-so-great night, but Stefan and Caroline shippers made out like bandits. The friends (and oh please, something more eventually!) were perfectly in sync all episode, and even got to enjoy a fun, flirty bit of dancing when Elena threw her surprise keg party. At the end of the episode they promised to stick together and do everything they could to help get the real Elena back, but at this point these two don't need Elena to keep them close.

7. Elena vs. Caroline

I never thought I'd see the day when Elena and Caroline would get into a knock-down, drag-out fight, but that's exactly what happened after Elena got a little violent with Mama Forbes. "You don't have to feel guilty about feeling all those dirty thoughts about Klaus," Elena sneered during their battle, prompting Caroline to scream, "SHUT UP!" It was genuinely shocking, and a sign of just how far gone humanity-free Elena is, when the brunette got thisclose to staking her BFF before Stefan and Damon stepped in. 

8. A home for Matt

Matt! The poor lone remaining human in the group actually got a spot of truly good new tonight. Tyler sent him a letter from the road that gave the teen the deed to the Lockwood Estates. So basically, Matt went from being a nearly homeless orphan to owning the nicest house in town. Not too shabby. 

9. It's Silas, ya'll

When Sheriff Forbes informed Stefan that six local hospitals have been cleaned out of their blood supplies, he finally put two and two together and realized that Silas is probably in town and stocking up on blood. What's the over/under on how many episodes it'll take before everyone realizes that Professor Shane isn't what he seems (again)?

10. "Be honest. You like me better like this."

It's always been an open secret that Damon likes Elena better when she's, well, a little bit bad. A little more like him. It absolves him of some of the intense guilt and feelings of inadequacy he feels around her, and at the end of tonight's episode Elena actually called him out on that. "Should I go back to the scared little girl who couldn't admit what she wants?" she asked Damon, before hitting the emotional nail on the head with the line, "Be honest. You like me better like this." Of course he does — so much so that he packed his new little bad girl into the car for an impromptu road trip to New York City.