The Vampire Diaries - now we're talking

I am pretty good at saying things are rubbish but I believe I am equally fair when something is good. I was very upset with the last few Vampire Diaries episodes I watched and I have been pretty vocal about it. Now, we have tonight's episode and I need to give credit where credit is due.

Back from a short break, I feel like The Vampire Diaries has (finally) found its footing this season. It might only be for a short while, it might only be for this episode Ian directed, but it was a thrilling 45 minutes. It was fun, it was funny, it was witty. Was it the lack of coven/twin bullshit? The more focused story? Was it the minimal Elena screen time? The lack of teen hero cheesiness? I believe it was all of the above. They re-focused the plot and wrote a brilliant arc for Caroline. To the writers' credit, they have wrote no humanity Caroline perfectly. She's witty and snappy and if Caroline was my favorite character before, she is now ranking up there with the likes of Katherine Pierce and Elijah Mickaelson. Caroline is a character I care about and I am glad we got to see more of her. Also, props to Candice Accola who is extremely believable and on point, making the cutest villain. The end was also excellent and the twist was clever. I am looking forward to seeing where this is going but looking at what they have done in the past, I fear this rocking story won't last for very long. After all, this is a vampire show, it was bloody time they acted like vampires again. Here is hoping.