There are major developments on tonight's episode of The CW's The Vampire Diaries, and it seems like no one is really safe with bad-boy vampire Damon around to do as much damage as he can manage, especially when he's pissed off and bored.

In the very first episode of the series, Vicki Donovan (Kayla Ewell) was bitten by a vampire. It turned out to be a sign of things to come for the beautiful yet tragic Vicki. When Damon (Ian Somerhalder) turned her into a vampire a couple weeks ago and set her loose on the townfolk of Mystic Falls, it changed everything for the show's characters.

(Spoilers ahead!)

In the end, Vampire Vicki couldn't control herself, and Stefan (Paul Wesley) had to stake her to protect Elena (Nina Dobrev) and her brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen). It's not every day you kill off a major character, and it was an 'OMG, she's really dead!' type moment. AND she was killed by Stefan, not the hot but evil Damon (well, OK, he killed her when he made her a vampire, but he didn't kill-kill her). AND we knew she was really dead because the stake he used was this huge, sharp, long piece of wood!

Even though we'll miss the conflicted character and the talented Kayla Ewell, it was a good death that will have major repercussions for the series. Here's six reasons we think this development kicked ass:

1. It's about time someone we cared about died on the show. Let's face it, people have been dying right and left on the series thanks to Damon's bloodthirsty ways. And having the hottest vamp on television turn Vicki into a vampire because he was bored was SO Damon. So we loved it, even though we didn't love Vicki dying, especially since she and Jeremy finally truly got together. We liked Vicki, and we'll miss her. But you can't have people dying every episode and not have someone important die eventually. This death had the ring of truth.

2. Elena finally knows, and it's a bad thing for her. OK, we've been waiting for this since the series began, especially because Elena is not an idiot. But knowing your boyfriend is a vampire is entirely different from being dragged into his twisted world and having to lie to EVERYONE about what really happened. Her old boyfriend, Matt (Zach Roerig), whom she still adores, was Vicki's brother. What kind of betrayal is it not to tell him? Elena's innocence has been ripped away, and there's no going back for her character.

3. Damon and Stefan have to work together. For the first time, the brothers have to work together to solve the problem that Damon created. Damon even saved Stefan's life after he took a wood bullet and was almost staked by one of the townsfolk council people. Seeing Damon rip the bullet out of Stefan's chest and tell him that no one else was going to kill him told us volumes about their relationship. Almost as much as learning that the mysterious Katherine turned them both into vampires in the 1800s. There's more to that story, and we can't wait to see more.

4. It's not going to be that easy to cover up Vicki's death. While no one will be surprised that Vicki has left town, a lot of people are going to ask questions. Especially since she vanished right after three people were killed in a "drug deal" gone bad, according to the story the council people concocted. We know Vicki's brother, mother and friends, and they won't want to accept that she's gone. The story that Elena cooked up to ease her brother's pain, that Vicki left town, will have repercussions, and questions will linger. That's something that hasn't happened so far in a town ravaged by "animal attacks."

5. Killing Vicki makes Stefan more interesting. If Vicki was going to die, who didn't think Damon would be the one to do it? Stefan's the ultimate good guy, handsome and a bit too serious. He doesn't go around killing people, at least not anymore. The fact that he killed Vicki, rather than try to stop her attack on Elena, spoke volumes about who he is and what he's willing to do to protect Elena, and it tells us he may not be as nice a guy as we think he is.

6. Damon, for just one moment, does the right thing. When Damon offers to wipe Jeremy's memory for Elena, what's she supposed to say? Thanks? One of the reasons Damon is so very fascinating is that he's a totally evil, immoral sociopath, and yet ... we like him. He's funny and very rarely does the right thing. This time he stepped up to help Elena when he didn't have to. We love that.

And a bonus reason why we think The Vampire Diaries is only going to get more interesting...

7. A new vampire is coming to town. Stefan's going to get a big surprise on his 162nd birthday, when Vampire Lexi (Arielle Kebbel) blows into town this week on "162 Candles." No doubt she'll stir up the pot, especially for Elena. Meanwhile, Damon offers to help Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre), and that can't be a good thing.

So should Vicki have been killed off? What do you think?