The core of "Blood Brothers" is the long-awaited revelation of how Stefan and Damon turned in 1864.

While Stefan is locked in the Salvatore basement to detox from human blood, he experiences vivid flashbacks to 1864. Elena learns that both brothers were shot and killed by their own father, Giuseppe Salvatore, while trying to rescue Katherine Pierce from being burned in the church.

Rewatching Season 1 Episode 20 a decade later, it is striking how efficiently it sets up the finale. Modern TV shows tend to drag mysteries across entire seasons. TVD, in contrast, uses this episode to answer questions (Who is Luka? Is Katherine back? Why do the Founding Fathers hate vampires?) while raising new, more terrifying ones.

: Both brothers woke up the next day in transition because Katherine had been secretly feeding them her blood for weeks.