‘The Vampire Diaries’ season 6 spoilers: Can Damon save Elena from Kai?

When “The Vampire Diaries” returns to The CW with all-new episodes starting on Thursday, January 22, the name of the game for many characters will be what they can do to protect the ones they love. For some, that means struggling with real-world problems that includes a woman battling cancer. For others, it means the strange and supernatural, and Elena desperately figuring out what she can do now that Kai has her captive, and also holds so much more power than he ever did before.

In the midst of these stories, prepare to also see more of Alaric and Jo, Stefan operating with his own secret agenda, and also Damon having to take a step back when he realizes just what has happened to the woman he loves.

“Woke Up with a Monster” is the name of this particular episode, and be sure to take a quick look at the synopsis below:

“More powerful than ever, Kai (guest star Chris Wood) holds Elena (Nina Dobrev) captive while he learns to control his newly acquired magic. At the Salvatore mansion, Liv (guest star Penelope Mitchell) and Alaric (Matt Davis) try to prepare Jo (guest star Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) for the impending merge ceremony with Kai, but they quickly realize Jo is weaker than they thought. After bringing Sheriff Forbes (guest star Marguerite MacIntyre) home from the hospital, Caroline (Candice Accola) travels with Stefan (Paul Wesley) to North Carolina in search of a cure for her mother’s cancer. Meanwhile, Stefan, who has his own intentions for traveling to North Carolina, is caught off guard when Enzo (Michael Malarkey) shows up demanding to know what Stefan is hiding. Lastly, when Damon (Ian Somerhalder) discovers Elena has been kidnapped by Kai, he is forced to rethink his strategy after an unexpected visitor throws a wrench into his plan.”

Given that we are not even to the halfway point yet this season, all we can hope for is that the show continues to build and use this almost as a launching pad. Also, we want to see Kai through near the end of the season, as he is probably one of the best villains we’ve had in a while. Sometimes it is right to have your main adversary be some complete psychopath, and not necessarily someone with other, more personal motives.

We’ll have some further “Vampire Diaries” updates soon, but for now, take a look here at how Ian celebrated the holidays and spent his time off! Also, sign up now to bite into some further TV updates on all we cover, courtesy of our CarterMatt newsletter. (Photo: CW)