The Vampire Diaries - We'll Always Have Bourbon Street

So The Vampire Diaries gives Damon/Elena hopefuls plenty of reasons to temporarily celebrate as they have passionate TV-14 sex, complete with Elena bringing her fingernails down Damon's back, breaking the skin, bleeding him. Obviously that is not what Stefan wants, but it will be up to Damon in order to break the sire, according to a witch (Adina Porter of "American Horror Story" fame) in Nawlins. Meanwhile, Stefan wants Damon to learn how to break his sire, as the two go to New Orleans to find the grimoire and whatever spell might work to do so. Porter's witch brings up "expression", a type of black magic that is dangerous and evil. And, for a big twist, Bonnie's influencing teacher, Atticus Shane, is training her how to use "expression"...Bonnie doesn't know that this kind of magic is ill-advised while Shane has big plans for her. Shane needed Haley to help Tyler break the sires of twelve hybrids as well; Haley wanted the whereabouts of her parents, with Shane able to "point the way" through coordinates on a flash drive.

The show has so much going on per episode, I could see how viewers could have a hard time keeping up. Jeremy's problems with the urge to kill vampires, nearly murdering his sister if Matt and Damon hadn't intervened. Jeremy no longer able to be "influenced" by Damon, gaining superior strength and this energy and vitality, increasing the more he does kill vampires. 

 What will happen to Stefan if Damon doesn't break the sire? Damon was able to break the sire of a past lover (played by Madline Zema, the little girl on "The Nanny", quite a big girl now), but he's in love with Elena, so can he deny those feelings, especially as Elena begs him not to, touching his face affectionately with her hand?

Lexi doesn't want Stefan and Damon together again in 1942 after months of fighting off the Ripper bloodthirst

Caroline being victimized again.

Tyler gets Kim to submit Alpha to him or else he'll pull her heart out

Tyler's issues with an unsired hybrid, Kim, causes some problems that result in Caroline being kidnapped and hurt with other unsired hybrids in the midst. Tyler must make them submit to him as Alpha so they can tackle their greater threat: Klaus.

But the show's most important story will always be Elena, Stefan, and Damon. Elena can't feel for Stefan what she once felt. Damon is her man now. So those who watch this show hoping for Elena to get with Damon, here in the fourth season, they got their wish. Stefan, nonetheless, kept trying to help build that map on Jeremy's arm by having him kill vampires (one such example is a murderer Stefan turned vampire just to be staked) so Elena could get the cure and become human. Elena felt that was because Stefan wanted the "old her" back, while, ultimately, I think most viewers believe she's always wanted Damon...so being sired by him was just an excuse to embrace those latent feelings. Stefan's just shit outta luck. Especially rewarding to those who longed for Elena and Damon to be together: they give fans lots of the two of them in bed together, totally lost in hanky-panky. 3/5

Through these three 4th season episodes, Elena has to outlast Connor and his antagonizing presence to kill herself, deal with her feelings for Damon, keep away from her own brother when his urge to kill due to the hunter's curse became too difficult to resist, embrace her desires for Damon which culminates in lots of hot sex, break up with Stefan because she is "no longer the Elena that went over the bridge prior to Damon biting her", come to terms with her new life as a vampire, and appeal to Damon not to remove the sire...that her feelings for him, prior to the sire, were already there, just intensified after he bit her.