The Vampire Diaries: We Have A LOT of Questions About That Shocking Twist

The Vampire Diaries had one hell of an episode on Friday night, in every sense of the word. After much anticipation, Kai makes his epic return as the show's big bad, and he certainly doesn't disappoint. After escaping hell when Matt rings the Maxwell bell, Kai offers up a deal with two of his worst enemies, Damon and Alaric — he'll bring back Elena if they help him break free from Cade . . . for good. Sounds like a win-win for both teams, right? Wrong.

Damon and Kai head into Mystic Falls to find a solution, and things start to go haywire. When Kai's pull to hell grows stronger, his whole body starts to break down, a problem he believes will only be fixed by feeding on the worst of the worst souls. While it does ease his hunger, the two come to a standstill when Cade gets word of his disappearance. Short on time and at his wit's end, Damon tries to convince Kai that the only way he won't be dragged back to hell is by atoning his sins, aka breaking that pesky sleeping curse on Elena Gilbert. The two head to the Salvatore crypt, and the real fun begins.

As they reach Elena's coffin, Kai has a change of heart and tells Damon that he's been in hell long enough to know that redemption doesn't exist. He's a psychopath, and he's OK with that. But if he's going to go out, he's going to go out with a bang. Not only does he siphon Damon of all his vampire magic causing him to desiccate, he also casts a cloaking spell and takes Elena's coffin with him! Thankfully, the preview for next week shows that Damon makes it through, but that doesn't mean that he's totally in the clear yet. The Salvatore brothers still have Cade to deal with and you can bet it's going to be one hell of a ride.