Why Does Kai Need Elena On 'TVD?'

I'm starting to wonder why I even bother getting emotionally attached to anything on The Vampire Diaries these days. Because nothing lasts and, basically, Delena is never getting back together. OK, fine, maybe they'll get back together someday — but that day wasn't happening during TVD's midseason finale on Thursday night. Sure, they've gotten closer and Elena admitted that she still loves Damon, but when they had a moment to really seal the deal of their reunion during "Christmas Through Your Eyes," Kai kidnapped Elena. Because the only way to fight back against Damon ruining his plans is steal the one thing he loves most.

Honestly, this has nothing to do with Elena for me — I regularly feel like TVD would probably be just fine without Elena. But when I think about what this will do to Damon, it hurts me that I'm so relaxed about Elena getting abducted by a psycho-killer witch. And, really, what does Kai even want with Elena in the first place? It's not like she has anything to do with him merging with Jo and taking over the Gemini coven. The first problem with my question about Kai's motive is that I'm even asking it at all — because Kai's already proven himself to be a wild and crazy madman that's all about that bloodshed, no survivors. It'd be absolutely like him to take Elena for the reason of toying with Damon and forcing him to make a rash decision between Elena's survival and the benefit of someone else.

Damon stood in Kai's way on Thursday night and Kai's absolutely not stupid. He knows how important Elena is to Damon — almost as important as being the most powerful Gemini witch is to him — and he's going to use her to get what he wants. The promo for TVD's return on Jan. 22 showed Elena as Kai's prisoner, so there definitely isn't going to be a quick fix to this problem. But, there is an important question: What exactly is Kai going to barter for with Elena's life? And can he push Damon over the edge to get it?

Image: Bob Mahoney/The CW