‘The Vampire Diaries,’ ‘Justified,’ ‘Once Upon a Time,’ ‘White Collar’: Find out what’s next in the Spoiler Room

Image Credit: Bob Mahoney/The CW; ABC; Prashant Gupta/FX

Welcome back, friends! Hope the holidays were as fattening for you as they were for me.

As winter hiatus comes to a close, it’s time to get back into the swing of things. (Although, I hope you still enjoyed the special Once Upon a Time edition of Spoiler Room that was served up last week!) And this week, there’s a little bit of something for everyone, I hope. If not, there’s a simple way to solve that: Hit me up! E-mail SpoilerRoom@ew.com or Tweet me @EWSandraG. And if you don’t see your question, keep trying! (I do read them all!)

Enjoy, and it’s truly lovely to be back in the swing of things! (Side note: Anyone else sort of love what’s going on in this week’s Spoiler Room blend? Now that’s a trio!)

‘THE VAMPIRE DIARIES’: STEFAN CHANNELS… JACK BAUER AND CHUCK NORRIS?
The year 2011 hasn’t been the easiest for Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Co., on The Vampire Diaries, and, as Julie Plec told Mandi Bierly, the first new episode of the season doesn’t do much to indicate changing winds in 2012. “One of the mysteries of Stefan is he’s got A LOT of pain, and he’s got a lot of rage, and a lot of grief, and a lot of guilt. When his humanity was turned off, he didn’t have to deal with that stuff,” she says. “But as it finds its way back through, there’s gonna be a lot flooding back in.”

The first episode will, as Plec puts it, find Stefan with “tunnel vision” in his quest to hit Klaus (Joseph Morgan) “where it hurts” and rid Mystic Falls of hybrids. And by the second episode back, “We get the sense that this guy, who used to be much more concerned with protecting collateral damage, now has no concerns about who might get hurt as he tries to get Klaus to back off,” she says. “[The hybrids] are contributing to the sense of unease that Elena and her friends have about living in this town, and Klaus is relishing everybody’s paranoia, and Stefan is sort of like, ‘No way, get ‘em out. You’re not gonna get ‘em out? I’ll get ‘em out for you.’ So Stefan starts going all Jack Bauer/Chuck Norris on ‘em.”

But Stefan’s “extreme lengths” will cause him to lose fans (cue: brother fight!) — including one person who has thus far been Stefan’s greatest supporter. “His methods are not very much appreciated by Elena,” Plec says. “Our characters themselves are asking this question: Is he good? Is he bad? Is his humanity switched on or off? If on, what the hell is going on? What’s he doing? And the question of how Stefan is channeling all of his emotions into this rage makes him as much of a villain in his own way as he’s been all season.”

I know what you’re thinking: Will all that open the door for more Elena/Damon action? Next Thursday’s new episode will have your answer.

‘JUSTIFIED’ SEASON 3: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
Justified has a lot to live up to this season. Not only did last season, set a new creative bar, but it also yielded a well-deserved number of acting nominations, including one for star Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, and guest star Margo Martindale. So how’s it going to top itself? Here’s some scoop:

NEXT: Beware of Limehouse.