The episode was written by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec and directed by J. Miller Tobin.
Elena (Nina Dobrev) walks in the door and she hears a noise in the kitchen that makes her go check what is happening.
The paramedics take John away when Stefan (Paul Wesley) arrives and checks Jeremy to see if he is a vampire.
Stefan says that he is still a human and he assumes that Jeremy did not take enough pills to really kill himself and Anna's blood healed him.
He warns Jeremy not to try it again since the vampire blood exits his system very quickly and he could easily end up killing himself for real.
Bonnie (Kat Graham) gets to the hospital and finds Matt (Zach Roerig) waiting outside Caroline's (Candice Accola) room.
Matt tells her about the accident and how Tyler (Michael Trevino) lost control because of sound he said he was hearing.
Damon (Ian Somerhalder) also arrives at the hospital and checks on Liz (Marguerite MacIntyre) who asks him to find out why Mayor Lockwood was affected by the vampire device, something that led to his death.
Jenna (Sara Canning) arrives and when Elena cannot remember talking to her either, Damon figures out that Katherine is back in town.
Mason Lockwood (Taylor Kinney) is back in town for his brother's funeral; he has been away for years.
Stefan stays behind and threatens John to kill him and turn him into the thing he hates the most, a vampire (he forces him to drink his blood), if he will not leave town and get out of Elena's life within 24 hours.
Later, in a moment of grief, Tyler smashes his father's office and when his mother tries to stop him he attacks her.
John is ready to leave and he says goodbye to Jeremy while he tries to explain him that he grew up learning to hate vampires, just like his father did.
"On "The Return," viewers were welcomed back to Mystic Falls with a slow three-quarters of an episode, as the show caught us up on events from the finale, moved pieces and characters around and laid the groundwork for what was to come."
"[6] Popsugar of Buzzsugar gave a good review to the episode stating: "Even if it wasn't quite as crazy as I had hoped, it's setting the groundwork for what'll surely be a thrilling arc"[7] while Alyse Wax of Fearnet said that the last 10 minutes saved the episode from being a total loss: "The action picked up, those ends began to unravel, and intrigue returned to Mystic Falls.
"[8] Lucia from Heroine TV also gave a good review to the episode saying: "Overall, I loved “The Return,” and it has raised the stakes for the show.
This premiere sets so many things in motion, and it is clear that there will not be a dull moment this year.
It was a jaw-dropping adrenaline rush from the second it started and one did not dare exhale until after it was done — and even then, one still felt a bit breathless.
While Damon, Stefan, Elena and Katherine were amidst their self-discoveries, Bonnie too was discovering what her limits were.
She discovered she would do anything to save Caroline, including let Damon feed her his blood, and she learned that while she can hurt some vampires, she is not strong enough to tangle with Katherine — yet.