Damon isn’t the only one who’ll be going through some difficulties though – Alaric will also need to readjust to the new situation quite a bit. The writers were actually apparently stumped at how they wanted to continue that part of the story.
They were wondering what the most appropriate reaction for the character to his current situation would be, and they had a hard time figuring out something that makes sense. However, in the end, they have apparently managed to find something that not only works, but is also going to push the plot forward in an interesting way.
We don’t know what that development is exactly, but Dries did claim that the character’s reaction will be the most realistic one that the writers could come up with, and it should be received quite well by the fans.
Of course, that could have implications in both directions – it could either mean that the character is going to undergo a positive transformation, or that we’re going to see a negative side of him that we’ve never been exposed to before. But, for most fans of “The Vampire Diaries”, both apparently sound like equally good options, as long as the story keeps moving forward in an intense way.