‘The Vampire Diaries’: Talk tonight’s shocking twist, and find out what’s next from producer Julie Plec

When Original vampire mama Esther (Alice Evans) returned to Mystic Falls after spending the last millennium six feet under, we knew she’d have some deeply hidden tricks up her sleeve. But could anyone have possibly seen tonight’s twist coming?

We learned tonight that Esther is not one for subtlety, as she marked her arrival with the grandest ball our Mystic Falls gang has ever seen. This elegant affair was the perfect setting for the sex, violence, and deceit that occurred before the night was through. EW screened the episode with exec producer Julie Plec in Los Angeles yesterday, who gave reporters the scoop on what’s next. Talk about the episode below, and read ahead for some MAJOR SPOILERS!

Tonight’s biggest reveal was that the outwardly loving and maternal Esther is actually hellbent on killing all of her children — including Mystic Falls’ number one bad boy, Klaus. Plec was mum when asked if this “mass Original annihilation” would actually occur, but she did say that we’ll find out some of the answers very soon, when our favorite witches join in on her devious plot. “The next episode, the one that follows this, takes place on a full moon,” she said. “We’ll learn that, like most of the heavy-duty witch spells, there needs to be some sort of recurring celestial event or recurring element to [the spell].”

Esther showed signs of wavering when she interacted with her favorite son, Elijah, and Plec said that her uncertainty will be further explored. “I think that the fact that [the murder spell] isn’t a done deal by minute 42 of this episode definitely leaves a lot of potential for how it could all go very right, or very wrong, in the next episode,” she teased. “But some major, major stuff goes down that will be interesting and surprising for the audience.”

Audiences were probably very interested and surprised when Elena’s lovesick puppy, Damon, made a sharp turn by hooking up with Rebekah (Claire Holt). Plec assured reporters that Elena would definitely “be pissed,” but she also said that Damon’s decision was a sign of growth for the formerly murderous vampire. “This is the most cruel way he could have lashed out, but also shows a peculiar evolution in him as a character,” Plec said. “Rather than take [his anger at Elena] out on an innocent human in the middle of the road, he’s striking where it hurts most. That by no means is a gentlemanly behavior, but it certainly was fun to watch.”

Of course, Damon and Rebekah weren’t the only vampiric duo to have a moment tonight. Caroline may have accepted Klaus’ invitation (and that fabulous dress), yet she shunned his advances in favor of the still-absent Tyler. Klaus probably earned some points with that adorable (and very quickly sketched) “Caroline and a horse” drawing, but don’t start planning that romantic trek through Europe just yet. “I can’t really say where it’s heading, or if it’s heading,” she teased. “For us, it’s fun to explore that side of Klaus — seeing a romantic vulnerability there, because it is giving us a window into him a little bit. We certainly find Klaus to be irresistible on a lot of levels, so it’s going to be interesting to see how that moves forward.”