E!Online’s Tierney Bricker has given us a rundown and some teasers for tonight’s episode of The Vampire Diaries. And can I say I LOVE #5!

Prepare yourselves, Vampire Diaries fans.

“It’s a really sad episode,” executive producer Julie Plec says of tonight’s outing of TVD. And after screening the episode, we can totally corroborate Plec’s statement.

While the episode is tinged in sadness, there is a ’20s-themed decade dance going on to lighten the mood, at least for a little while. So yes, this hour of TVD really does have everything going for it, including romance, heartbreak and some laughs, including a few that might make you cry.

After careful consideration, we’ve listed five things fans can look forward to in tonight’s episode, so if you want to go in completely spoiler-free, we suggest you hit that little “x” in the top right corner right about now!

Kleenex Stock Will Rise: “Do Not Go Gentle” is such an apt title for this episode as the writers definitely did not go gentle on our emotions and tear ducts. It’s such a poignant and emotional hour for more than one character. One scene in particular, which brings almost all of the series regulars (minus Joseph Morgan) together, which is pretty rare on this show, will have you grabbing the tissues and pausing the show to collect yourselves. Did we mention there’s no dialogue in the scene? Plec says the scene was almost cut by the network (time constraints), but she fought to keep it in as its “the heart and soul” of the entire season. Keep fighting the good fight, girl!

We’ll Learn What Makes Ric Tick: Many fans have been wondering how exactly the ring turned Alaric (Matt Davis, who steals the hour) into this dark, vampire-hating ass-hat, and the show will answer that question in detail tonight. One small tease? Let’s just say Esther (Alice Evans) and Evil Ric have some kind of history. P.S. Esther gives up control of Rebekah’s (Claire Holt) body pretty early on in the episode. Boo!

The Other Love Triangle: Tyler (Michael Trevino) is still pretty pissed about Klaus (Joseph Morgan) trying to mack on his girl (Tyler’s words, not ours, since you know, we’re not a high school football player) Caroline (Candice Accola), but he’s forced to grin and bear it as he doesn’t want Klaus to know he broke the sire bond. Cut to Klaus attempting to woo Caroline while dancing and Tyler sulking from the sidelines. Ouch! So does Klaus make any progress? We’ll have to check back in a year or two…or 50.

Bonnie Finally Gets Some Lovin’! Yes, the show’s resident witch has finally found a nice, normal guy in Jamie (Robert Ri’chard), who like Oz (Seth Green) on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, adapts extremely well to Bonnie and her friends’ pretty insane extracurricular activities (#witchgirlproblems?). While the two share a steamy kiss, Bonnie also leans on Jamie in a moment of emotional exhaustion and it was nice to see the vulnerable side of her.

Stelena Steals Delena’s Thunder: What preview is complete without some teases to satisfy the shippers? While Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) had their moment (boy, did they!) last week, tonight’s episode is all about Stefan and Elena reconnecting while acknowledging they can never go back to how things were. Elena invites Stefan to be her date for the dance (yes, Damon is jealous) and their relationship is stronger than it’s been all season by episode’s end. Without saying too much, after having Elena never give up on him all season, Stefan is finally able to return the favor. (Gee, could we vague that up for ya?) Elena’s decision is not getting any easier, folks!

The Vampire Diaries airs tonight at 8 p.m. on the CW.

TV Line shared with us this great interview with Vampire Diaries Executive Producer Julie Plec where she talks about the season finale and how Elena will decide which brother.

Holy hot Vampire Diaries kiss! Our girl Elena locked lips with a Salvatore brother in Thursday’s episode, and it wasn’t ex-boyfriend Stefan who was on the receiving end of her affections. Below, executive producer Julie Plec weighs in on what the bold move means for Elena’s relationship with Damon and whether she’ll finally figure out which sibling she truly wants (hint: a decision is coming soon).

TVLINE | How will the kiss change Damon and Elena’s relationship in the upcoming episodes?
What’s going on now with Elena and Damon [and] Elena and Stefan is a lot of exploration and a lot of thinking. As we’ve seen [with] Damon and Elena’s relationship in the past, they keep being drawn to each other, but obviously there’s something holding her back, rightfully so in a lot of ways because they’ve been through a lot together and not necessarily all good. As we get closer to the end of the season, really the key word is “confusion” for Elena. The brothers have to decide if they’re going to be OK with allowing her to think this through or if they’re going to reach a point where the confusion becomes frustrating for them.

TVLINE | So for Damon and Stefan, is there a peace treaty? Like, “Whatever she decides, we’ll be fine with it”?
The conversation of what will it be like when she does choose is something that happens in the second to last episode of the season. It’s actually a really introspective, nice and emotional moment between the brothers. It’s a scene I really like, and I think other people might like it too.

TVLINE | Will Elena make a definitive decision by the end of the season?
Yes.

TVLINE | Can you rule out a Kelly Taylor “I choose me” ending?
[Laughs] No, I can’t rule it out. That would be giving too much away to rule out one of the three options. I guess there’s a fourth option, which is, “I choose both of you.” [Laughs] The big thing with her choice is she’s not the one in complete control of it. These two men really deeply care about her, and she deeply cares about both of them. It’s really a decision about what does love mean to me and to us and where are we supposed to be in our lives with each other. It’s pretty poignant.

TVLINE | I have to imagine it’s pretty hard to go back once you’ve gotten a little taste of Damon. Is she able to restrain herself? Or are there some more heated make-out sessions on the horizon?
[Laughs] Well, look, after that hot and heavy make-out session, I [have to] imagine it’d be a little distracting. Unfortunately, the chaos hits Defcon 11 in the next episode, so she’s not going to have a lot of time to think about it before things start going terribly wrong in Mystic Falls, once again.

TVLINE | Right now, the only person who knows about the kiss is Jeremy. Is she going to confide in anybody else? Will Stefan find out?
Yeah. Put it is this way, she’s not going to be deceitful or lie about it or keep it secret. So we’ll see what happens in the next episode.