A New Vampire Threat

In 2009, Damon Salvatore returned to Mystic Falls with a mysterious goal. During the Founders' party, the Council held its first vampire related meeting in several years. Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes told the Mayor, his wife and Logan Fell of the five vampire style killings in Mystic Falls. Using his relationship with Jenna Sommers, Logan got his hands on the half of the vampire compass held by the Gilbert's. Richard Lockwood united the two parts and ordered Sheriff Forbes and Logan Fell to track down the vampires. Fell, armed with a gun loaded with wooden bullets, shot Stefan Salvatore near the old Fell's Church where he was trying to help a transitioning Vicki Donovan. Logan tried to stake Stefan, but was killed by Damon before he could. Sheriff Forbes and her deputies arrived too late to save him or find the Salvatore brothers.

Infiltrating the Council

Damon Salvatore approached the Council shortly after with a stash of vervain to gain their trust, claiming that the now dead Zach Salvatore had left town and had given him his place on the Council. Sometime later, Damon framed Lexi as the attacking vampire, and staked her after she tried to kill Sheriff Forbes and two of her deputies. She accepted to keep Damon on the Council, and kept him informed about their activities.

Logan Fell's reign of terror

Logan Fell returned shortly after as a vampire. He had been killing off humans and hiding their bodies in an old warehouse. However, he left one in sight as he had enough of staying in the shadows. He ambushed and tortured Damon to know how he could walk in the daylight. However, he had other plans. Believing that Sheriff had betrayed him by covering up his death, he told her that he was going to have revenge by turning her daughter, Caroline Forbes, into a vampire. However, she was saved by Damon and Stefan, and while Stefan brought her back to safety, Damon threatened Logan. Logan told him that he could help in his final goal, so Damon feigned not being strong enough to stop him. Logan was later killed by Alaric Saltzman, the mysterious new history teacher, who is revealed to be a Vampire Hunter.

John Gilbert's return and plotting

John Gilbert returned to Mystic Falls for Founders Day with startling news: local blood banks had been robbed suggesting that other vampires were still in town. He later reveals to Damon Salvatore and Alaric Saltzman that he knew more than the Council: he knew about the tomb of vampires under Fell's Church and that Stefan and Damon were vampires. Damon attempted to kill John, but he had a Gilbert Ring, which keeps people from dying supernatural deaths. He later tried to blackmail Damon into helping him find a mysterious invention created by Johnathan Gilbert. However, Damon threatened to kill John and everyone else on the Council.

Strike Against the Vampires

In the season finale, during Founder's Day, John convinced Richard Lockwood to use Johnathan Gilbert's invention against the tomb vampires who were planning to attack the Founding Families to have their revenge. Richard agreed but they knew that Sheriff Forbes would never agree to use the town as bait. To get her on their side, they staged a coup against her by going behind her and gaining her deputies' support. She was furious but still refused to help them.

John knocked her out and cuffed her to a table in her office. As the fireworks started, John activated the invention, paralyzing every vampire in town and, mysteriously, Richard and his son Tyler Lockwood. Forbes's deputies neutralized the vampires with vervain and locked them up in the basement of Grayson Gilbert's old cabinet. John set fire to it, killing all except Damon, who was saved by Stefan and Bonnie Bennett. Mayor, who had been locked in the basement, was killed when a vampire snapped his neck. Later, John was stabbed by Katherine Pierce, the vampire he had been working for. She had removed his ring but he survived the attack and later left town, threatened by Stefan.

New Leadership

After Richard Lockwood's death and John Gilbert's departure from Mystic Falls, Carol Lockwood, as the acting Mayor, asked Damon to spearhead the Council and lead the investigation into who had attacked John Gilbert. Confusion was on the council on why Richard was affected by the device when he was not a vampire, but unknown to them he was a werewolf. However, they learned more about the supernatural when Damon told them that John's ring will bring him back to life.

Arrival of Katherine Pierce, and Niklaus Mikaelson

After the arrival of Mason Lockwood and Katherine Pierce to Mystic Falls, The council members begin to suspect on Gilbert Family and Salvatore Family. The Forbes family were the most affected by the arrival of Mason and Katherine: Caroline is converted into a vampire and Elizabeth learns the truth about Damon and Stefan. Eventually, Elizabeth agrees to keep the secret and protect her daughter but Caroline clears Liz's memory and Mason is killed by Damon. After knowing the fate of Mason, Katherine plans to pursue another werewolf and punish at the same time Elena, Stefan, and Damon. During this time, the council remains inactive, because Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Jeremy and Alaric didn't want them to know about Tyler and Caroline. Unfortunately, Klaus comes to town and the council is put on alert. Elizabeth learns by Matt about Caroline, Tyler, Gilbert's and Salvatore's. Unfortunately, Elizabeth accidentally kills Jeremy Gilbert but is revived by Bonnie Bennett. Caroline tells her mother about what she did to protect her and Matt.

New Allies

A Month and half after the retreat of Klaus and Stefan, Carol Lockwood suspicious of Caroline and Elizabeth Forbes. Worried about her son Tyler, Carol imprisons Caroline and she calls Bill Forbes to take care of her. Tyler discovers that her mother has Caroline and he shows that vampires are not the only supernatural beings that inhabit Mystic Falls. Carol accepts the truth and helps keep their secret. Alaric Saltzman joins the council as a representative of the Gilbert Family and humans. Being clear that Stefan, Damon and Caroline are vampires, Tyler is a werewolf and Bonnie is a witch, Carol and Elizabeth keep the secret to protect the townspeople and their families. They also learn that Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt, Alaric and Jeremy have protected the townspeople and their families from the supernatural menace.

Original/Hybrid Threat

Niklaus returns to town with Stefan and Rebekah, to find ways to make more hybrids. Niklaus discovers that Elena's blood is the solution, but Damon and Katherine discover that there is a being who can be the key to destroy Niklaus. Fearing the truth, Niklaus leaves town, his sister, and Stefan to find more werewolves to turn into hybrids. During this time, the council continues its normal activities to the population, however, a member of the Original Family wreaks havoc between the world of the living and the dead, causing the dead to return as ghosts and cause damage throughout town. Tobias Fell is murdered and Carol is injured by ghosts.

Reapers' Deal

Klaus later returns with several hybrids into town among them Mindy, Tony and Daniel. After he releases Stefan from his compulsion, Stefan plans on having his revenge for Klaus's action and steals the coffins of his family members. Klaus, desperate to have his family back, uses his hybrids to look for them and to threaten those Stefan once cared about. However, when a hybrid is found at the witch house where Stefan is keeping the coffins, Stefan uses Klaus's love for his family for blackmailing him into removing the hybrids from Mystic Falls. Jeremy is compelled to put himself in mortal peril and thus Elena is emotionally blackmailed by Klaus, to find Stefan and Originals. Alaric is badly wounded, as he saves Jeremy from certain death. Alaric is admitted to the hospital and there he meets Meredith Fell. Meanwhile, Stefan and Damon work together to prevent Klaus from finding the location of The Originals. When Stefan tells Klaus, if the hybrids do not leave the town, he will be forced to kill them; Stefan then kills Mindy, to show how serious he is in his threat. Klaus approaches Carol Lockwood and tells her who he is and what he did to Tyler. He makes a deal with her: to use his hybrids to protect Mystic Falls from the supernatural if the Council would help him in stopping Stefan. However, both Sheriff Forbes and Damon are unwilling to allow Klaus to keep the town hostage.

Under Attack

Shortly after the incident of Caroline with Tyler, and Elena with Stefan, strange attacks and murders have occurred to the members of the Council since the arrival of Meredith Fell to Mystic Falls. The first occurred one day after Caroline's birthday, Brian Walters was staked like a vampire in the woods. Previously, Brian was conversing with Meredith when Alaric appears. Brian tells Alaric to be careful, because Meredith is a psychopath. A day after Brian's death, Bill Forbes is hospitalized for being attacked by a werewolf. Bill was cured with vampire blood, which Meredith injected him. However, the morning after the attack, Sheriff Forbes visits the Gilbert House, where she says to Elena and Alaric, the stake into the body of Brian has the fingerprints of Elena. Caroline and Elena go to the hospital to see Bill, but he is brutally attacked in the hospital. He dies but comes back to life in transition. Bill does not accept becoming a vampire and dies. On the same day, at night, Alaric was home alone. He was attacked just like Bill and Brian were, but Elena and Matt find him barely alive. Elena stabs him, so that he can return to life with the help of his ring. However, when Sheriff Forbes follows up on their suspicions concerning Meredith, it turns out that she has a rock-solid alibi: an operating room full of witnesses in which she had been for six hours, making her unable to have attacked Alaric. Meredith discovers what is happening and stop Alaric to prevent more deaths. The magic of resurrection in the ring causes people to become insane and murderers. She and Elena try to find a medical explanation but can not find any abnormality. However, one night in the house Gilbert, Alaric attacks Meredith without using the ring and he is stopped by Stefan and Elena. Bonnie used herbs to stop the black magic.

New Council

A few days later, Alaric called a meeting. He told other members that the sheriff's daughter is a vampire and the mayor's son is a hybrid. Elizabeth told that that was enough and was about to leave, but Alaric stopped her saying that they were just getting started. The Council decided to side with Alaric in his quest to destroy the Originals. Elizabeth and Carol were relieved of their duties and Meredith was going to have her license suspended for using vampire blood. Alaric then used them to find Klaus's body. Without members of the founding families, the council was rebuilt and renamed. This occurred a few hours after the death of Elena, because Alaric was very intelligent and was able to give control to members more intelligent and competent, causing Pastor Young took command of security