This article may contain spoilers.

Damon (Ian Somerhalder) weak, dying and locked in the basement was perhaps even scarier than having him roaming loose in the world. With just a whisper, he was able to summon Caroline (Candice Accola) and she released the vengeful and hungry beast out of his cage. Every time we saw Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Zach (Chris Martin) peer through the bars of the window into Damon's living hell, we knew that it was too good to be true. For as Damon demonstrated in his quicker than a blink of an eye movement, he was able to grab Zack's neck and nearly coerced him into releasing him. It was a wake-up call that reminded us that Damon's prison was but a momentary one. He was just too dangerous and clever to remain caged for very long. The tricks he had learned over the past century had clearly benefited him well.

Stefan was only deluding himself with the thought that Damon would stand for being judged, re-educated, mummified and then re-evaluated in another 50 years. Stefan told Damon, "You're not stronger than the Vervain and we both know it." But what Stefan did not anticipate was that Damon had a few parlor tricks still up his sleeve. Like a vampire does not have to subsist on human blood alone, Damon did not subsist on his strength alone. He had learned the art of human manipulation and that will go a lot further than brute strength.

So while Stefan was facing the hard truth about Damon and the demon inside of himself, we saw: Elena (Nina Dobrev) struggle with figuring out what Stefan was hiding; Bonnie (Katerina Graham) struggle with her new-found abilities; Caroline struggle with her memory loss and denial about the abuse she suffered; Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) struggle with Vicki's (Kayla Ewell) addiction problems; Jenna's (Sara Canning) struggle to forgive Logan (Chris Johnson) for his past betrayal; and Zach's struggle to face Damon and the life he denied himself because of Damon's reign of terror.

It was a painful episode to watch, not because of threat outside but from the gnawing fear from within: Stefan was fearful of his darker nature, Elena was afraid of what Stefan was hiding, Bonnie was uncertain of what she could do and if she could control it, Jeremy was afraid that Vicki was only with him because of the drugs he could provide, Caroline was afraid to face the fact that Damon did not really care about her, and Zach -- poor, poor Zach was afraid to live his life.

While certainly not admirable on many levels, one has to admire Damon for confronting his fears and facing who he is. He knows who and what he is and he embraces it. He has nothing to fear. He lives life fearlessly -- even when poisoned and imprisoned for eternity. He simply refuses to give into living his life in fear. Such strength of will is what makes him a survivor. Until everyone else can live their lives so fearlessly, they will only continue to cower in his presence.

Mystic Falls cannot be filled with so many cowardly lions, it is time to find the courage to acknowledge who and what you are. Ironically, it was Damon who called it when he told Stefan, You won. You got the bad buy. Now nothing can come between you and Elena -- except the truth. The lies will catch up with you as long as you keep denying what you are.

The truth is painful, but only by confronting it will these tortured souls find peace and happiness.

What Worked

Bravo to Elena in her relentless pursuit in uncovering Stefan's secrets and her willingness to confront him with it. That girl was not going to sit idly by and pretend she does not see what is going on. She is facing her fear of what she does not know and is not afraid to call it as she sees it. Her soliloquy was fascinating to watch as she reasoned out what she had learned and her dawning realization: Dear diary, I am not a believer. People are born. They grow old and then they die. Thats the world we live in. Theres no magic, no mysticism, no immortality. Theres nothing that defies rational thought ... People are supposed to be who they say they are and not lie and hide their true selves. Its not possible. Im not a believer. I cant be. How can I deny what is right in front of me: someone who never grows old, never gets hurt, someone who changes in ways that cant be explained -- girls bitten -- bodies drained of blood. But as soon as she could see what she did not want to acknowledge, she immediately sought out Stefan and asked, what are you?

It was also good to see Jeremy confront Vicki on her drug addiction by saying, I feel like were always getting high ... lets choose not to ... we dont have to be high all the time. As painful as it was for him to walk away from Vicki when she chose her addiction over him, it was a brave thing to do. It remains to be seen if he can truly save Vicki, for she does not think she needs saving.

Thus, it was good to see both Elena and Jeremy overcome their fears and face the reality of their respective relationships.

But Bonnie and Caroline were not so quick to face their respective realities. Bonnie was enjoying her fire-starter abilities, but when it became stronger than she could control she freaked out. Thus, it was good to see her reach out to her grandmother in the end to find out what was going on.

But Caroline has chosen to live in denial and will continue to live in her chosen world of fear. Just hanging that cursed crystal in her bedroom bodes of unpleasant things to come.

What Didn't Work

It was a nasty and low blow for Caroline to cattily say to her mother, If I want to talk boys, Ill call Dad -- at least hes successfully dating them. Caroline is clearly hurting and angry, but she should not inflict all her pain and rage on her mother who only wants to protect her.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"You're Undead To Me" was written by Sean Reycraft and Gabrielle G. Stanton, and directed by Kevin Bray. "The Vampire Diaries" stars Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Candice Accola, Katerina Graham, Kayla Ewell, Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig and Sara Canning. "The Vampire Diaries" airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW