Stefan Salvatore... Ripper or Hero?

23 days til season 3!!!!!!!!

I feel it's time I share my season 3 thoughts/predictions/theories. (And they are just that. MY opinions. Please feel free to disagree,  just don't be a bitch about it!  be nice! Comprende?)

"The Ripper"

Has Stefan really reverted to his old ways?! I doubt it. Let's consider all the facts: 

A. Stefan already "fell off the wagon" in s1. And boy was he a hot effin mess! We've seen this story line, zZZzzZZ. I think the odds of yet another intervention with Damon/Elena are slim.

B. The timeline is unclear, but Stefan has been drinking Elena's blood to build up a tolerance for awhile now. At first, I thought maybe this fact kind of fizzled out in the writing (You know, they have 23298434 subplots, things get lost), but I honestly believe they stopped mentioning it on purpose. Yeah. You heard me! Julie and Kevin want our guards down! THINK ABOUT IT YOU GUYS.  (Annnnaaaaaaaaaa <3<3<3<3<3 NOTHING HURTS.)

C. "Playing" Klaus' game saves the people Stefan loves. Do I think Stefan is 100% "in control" of drinking human blood? No. But I do, however, believe Stefan is in enough control to know what he's doing. Drinking human blood saved Damon and most importantly got Klaus out of Mystic Falls, away from what's left of its residents. So many people have died. This is within Stefan's character to "sacrifice" everything (Elena, his friends, his home, his life as the "good" brother, lol) as penance.  (Am I getting too Edward/New Moon?). He'd rather be Klaus' pawn and lose everything (AND not to mention go against everything he believes in!) knowing everyone he loves is safe, than resist Klaus and get more people killed.
Plus, Stefan didn't look *evil* in the trailer when he's telling Damon to let him go. I think it was a plea. A "Please Damon, just let me go. Stop trying to fix this. It's going to be better this way" kind of deal.

So, for season 3, I'm voting HERO, not ripper!