4.23 - 'Graduation' (The Vampire Diaries)
So the last episode of the season aired. As much as I adore this show, I am always grateful when the season comes to an ed because I can breathe! And I have my Thursdays back, LOL! Still, it's been a great ride and I can't wait until the fall. But let's stick with the finale for now.
So this has taken a while to write. Obviously. Sorry about that. I just... it's not that I don't know what to say. I jotted tons of notes down, but wrapping it up all together has been a trying task. Not because I didn't love the finale. I did. Absolutely. I literally cannot think of one single thing that didn't work for me. (OK, fine, one thing... ugh, Tyler.) It's just been such a tumultuous season for the show and fandom. I've lost fellow viewers along the way, gained some new ones and there's been so much uproar and anger that it's been frustrating for me because I think the show is still pretty damn fantastic. And here we are at the end of the season and, well, I was right this time about Damon and Elena. I'd like to believe that it wasn't my biased optimism but that it was based on actually paying attention to all of the threads this time as opposed to just "my couple" as I did last season.
Ah, last season. We had Elena make a choice between Stefan and Damon. And this finale, she made another choice between Stefan and Damon. The thing is that I still don't buy that she actually made a choice in "The Departed" and I don't think she made a choice in this finale either. Last year, she didn't choose Stefan to be with, she chose to say goodbye to Stefan and their relationship that followed, with Elena as a vampire or not, was doomed to failure. They had so many issues that had never been resolved and Elena had grown and changed so much over their time spent apart that they no longer meshed. I honestly believe that had they not all believed that death was imminent for Stefan and Damon, Elena wouldn't have made that "choice." And had Elena not died, she would have officially ended things with Stefan. Everything she said to Matt made it clear that her heart was with Damon. She was in love with Damon, but she was still fighting with the idea that she should be in love with Stefan. She knew the truth of her feelings; she just wasn't able to face them. She told Matt "that’s what love should be. You should love the person that makes you glad that you’re alive." And in this episode she told Damon that "in death [he's] the one who made [her] feel most alive."
It took trying to make it work with Stefan before falling apart that she was finally able to face that Damon was her choice. But she didn't make that choice in this episode. She made that choice in "We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes." When she woke up and saw Damon there and ran through the events of what had happened and then she looked at him and she smiled and she told him that he had saved her. *That* was the moment that Elena Gilbert made her choice. And she spent the rest of the season telling him repeatedly that he was her choice. That she loved him. That it was him.
In the last couple of episodes of season 03, Elena was struggling, torn between Damon and Stefan and she was struggling because she thought it *should* be Stefan, but once she made her choice after the Hunter's curse was broken, she never wavered. There was no struggle and thus there was no confusion in this episode on her part. She had already chosen Damon. Every time she went to talk to Damon, it was obvious that she was just waiting to tell him but first the cure-gift, Damon's wound and then her anger with his choice to not take the cure got in her way. Elena had made that choice with a clear head after trying to make things work with Stefan, after dealing with her worst fears and doubts thanks to the hallucinations. And after all of that, Elena chose Damon. The problem was that because of the sire bond (yeah, more on that later), no one believed her. But Elena never wavered in her belief that she loved him and she proved that to him this night because she didn't just tell him that she loved him. She essentially told him that she loved him just the way he was, wrong choices, terrible person and all. And she wasn't sorry.
Everything about her first face-to-face 'I love you' to Damon--which I absolutely knew would happen only when there was no doubt that it was fully 100% Elena's real feelings--was perfection and perfectly true to who Damon and Elena are as characters and that I loved so very much. I don't think that I can adequately describe just how much I loved it. It was so not hearts and flowers, but instead it was simply so, so, so very them. Damon, of course, was convinced that she wouldn't want him with the sire bond gone (pfft!), so he acted like an ass to make it easier for her to walk away. Elena, on the other hand, was done with that nonsense from him and just pushed through. She admitted without hesitation that, yup, he'd been a terrible person (and I nodded every time she said it) but that she still loved him. Basically, it was the Damon/Elena version of hearts and flowers. Damon was telling her: 'I love you, but I'm not good enough of for you because I screw up and I'm selfish and I'm bad for you. So there's your out, no need to be nice. Just walk away.' And in return, Elena told him: 'I love you, you idiot, and I don't care that you're not perfect. I know all the good, bad, terrible and in between about you and I don't care. I LOVE YOU. I'm not walking away.'
And it was perfect because all of the assurances and pretty words hadn't worked on Damon before (admittedly, Damon was stuck on the sire bond thing too, but still... this is Damon we're talking about) because he can't help but harp on the fact that he's not good enough for her. That he's the bad brother. So this time Elena just laid it out for him. She knows exactly how bad he can be, but deal with it, she loves him. Period. And she's simply not putting up with his issues anymore. She's standing firm and they continue to be completely honest with one another, a far cry from her relationship with Stefan where they were constantly keeping anger, frustration with one another at bay and tip-toeing through angst and projecting it elsewhere to preserve the sanctity of their idealized love.
But with Damon and Elena, it's not like that. She had no problem making it perfectly clear that she was pissed off at his choosing to die and she didn't hide it. (Nope, she slapped him good, LOL!) She didn't try and hand wave it away, make an excuse, or submerge her feelings. She laid it all out, not just with the slap but when she came upon him later. She was annoyed, rolling her eyes, just so irritated with him but it was healthy because it was open and honest. They know *exactly* where the other stands and that is amazing and awesome. And her anger with his decision to die was such a lovely parallel to Damon's anger at Elena for choosing to die at the beginning of the season. I love that we now have a full-circle Elena in the same frame of mind about Damon as he is about her, one that essentially boils down to "Fuck choice, save your life!"
Proof of that was her reaction to Alaric's asking Stefan if he should force the cure down Damon's throat. Two season ago, Damon forced *his* blood down Elena's throat to save her life despite it not being her choice. Hearing Alaric ask Stefan if he wanted him to essentially do the EXACT same thing to Damon to save his life despite it not being his choice, Elena very clearly gestured to Stefan to tell Alaric to do exactly that. Because, yeah, when you love someone Elena, fuck choice, you save their life. And Damon is now in that category for Elena (just as Jeremy is, and Elena and Stefan are for Damon).
Because she loves him. Uh huh.
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I loved, loved so much beyond the dialogue in this declaration of love. The parallel with "My Brother's Keeper,“ the two of them before the fireplace, propelled into each other's arms by the force of their feelings--this time his kiss cutting off her third declaration of love because he just had to kiss her--was just perfection. And also perfection was the song choice. The song was leaked prior to the airing of the episode. When I looked at the lyrics, I had my first real moment of doubt.
So, yeah, Damon and Elena coming together was perfect. Honestly, though, I was pretty dang happy with all of their scenes. Going back to the season 03 finale, I made it very clear that the only two reasons I was bummed that Elena was a vampire is because I wanted Elena to choose to be a vampire to be with Damon. And I wanted her to make the choice to become a vampire. Therefore I wanted her to somehow become a human again so I could have both of those. However, as this season went on and the cure came up, I realized that I could still get my wish even if it came from an alternate route. As long as Elena chose to NOT take the cure, she'd be choosing to be a vampire with Damon. And that's exactly what happened.
She had the cure in her hand and first she told Damon that, oh, yeah, I want it, but, but, but... what about all the people in Mystic Falls that will be hurt by the Hunters if we don't give them the cure for Silas? And then two seconds later, oh noes, Damon is dying, needs the cure, screw all the people in Mystic Falls, Damon, take the cure! And then that fell by the wayside with Ric and Rebekah pretty effectively taking out the Hunters and this time, even though she told Damon (oh, so convincingly) that she did want the cure (never mind she was happy to give it to Silas, and then to Damon...) without a qualm, she instead hands it over to Stefan.
Elena chose to NOT take the cure. She chose to remain a vampire and since we know now that there was no choice for her to make between the brothers (she'd already chosen Damon in her heart), she chose to remain a vampire with Damon even as she offered Stefan the chance to become a human, someone that she would leave behind as he grew old and passed on. In her conversation with Stefan, everything Elena *wasn't* saying was so painfully obvious to Stefan. To wrap it all up in one very obvious sentiment: She really, truly is no longer in love with him. Telling him to be human while everyone else (including her and Damon) would be fine as vampires. Telling him that he deserved whatever he wanted (except, of course, clearly even if he wanted her, that he wouldn't be getting). To me, it was a lovely bit where we saw exactly where both of them were emotionally and it opened that door wide open to closure for Stefan. And it was done in SUCH a beautifully Elena way.
At first, I thought she was talking to him as she had to Damon before Stefan took off with Klaus. But it wasn't that, she was talking to him as she does to Matt. She loved him, but he was her past. Her thank you was genuine, and sincere and friendly. There was no longing, no looking back. And I liked that her acknowledging his fight for her humanity was a lead-in to Stefan fully giving that same acknowledgement that she had done the same for him last year. Very nicely done.
Oh, but right, I was talking about Damon and Elena's scenes that I loved. Like that first one where Damon told her to take the cure and she didn't so aha! there is no sire bond anymore. Uhm, OK. Just because she lost her humanity, then gained it back, the sire bond is gone? Hah. No. And Elena not doing what Damon told her to do as proof there's no sire bond? Hello, there are plenty of things that Damon told her to do that she didn't do. Still it's fine for me because I am happily content in believing that it was totally fake because again with the inconsistencies abounding. But it was necessary to get all of the characters (except for Elena, because girl didn't need it) to the place they were at the end here. Stefan needed to be able to work through his feelings about Elena's feelings, and be able to be at a place where he could be happy (or rather *not* not happy) for his brother and he wasn't there after Elena chose Damon. And had he not had the sire bond to hold onto, it may have re-damaged his relationship with Damon. By believing there was a chance, he was able to hold on, but at the same time he saw Damon and Elena together and separately and he saw the love. And he got time to get used to it.
As for Damon, well, he needed to learn to trust his instincts when it comes to Elena and I'm not sure he could have done that without the sire blond temporarily blocking him off from doing so. He made so many bad choices due to the sire bond and things only began to click back into place when he did what he thought was best for Elena. And at the end when she confirmed that she loved him that was the final piece that proved his instincts were right the night of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. When he held out his hand, when he danced with her, when he spun her into his arms into a passionate kiss because he believed that it was real. Now he knows, yes, it IS real. Yes, she loves him. Unconditionally, the good and the terrible that he's capable of. And I don't think he would have been there this soon without the consequences of the sire bond.
Fake or not. And, yes, I still say it's totally fake but I'm fine with it not being spelled out. It was all about believing what you wanted or could only allow yourself to believe. Elena couldn't believe her feelings weren't real so she constantly questioned the idea that this sire bond had created them, thus questioning the sire bond. Stefan and Caroline wanted to believe it was real because they weren't ready to accept that Elena was no longer in love with Stefan and had fallen for Damon. Damon allowed himself to believe it because he couldn't accept that he actually got the girl. However, as time passed, even with her switch off, Elena's feeling for Damon were so legitimate and Stefan and Caroline saw the reality of how much was real and there between Damon and Elena that it was easy to believe that with the switch turning the bond off, it wouldn't come back. So, they believed what they wanted to believe. And I am choosing to believe what logic, canon characterization and facts present to me--the sire bond was a MacGuffin designed to get these characters to where they needed to be. And I will laugh so hard if some random comment from Meredith gets thrown out towards the end of the series about her not using Damon's blood to heal Elena thus officially no sire bond. But again, either way, I'm fine with it.
And I'm also fine with my interpretation of Elena's reaction to Damon giving her the cure. I know she said that she wouldn't take it because of the Hunters' demand, but her expression read to me as her not wanting it because there's only one and if there's only one then Damon can't take it too. The last time she talked to Damon about the cure, not realizing there was only one (with her humanity intact), she had wanted him to take the cure with her so they could be together, grow old together. I read in her expression that she was thinking of this--she didn't want the cure if she couldn't have it with Damon. And the fact that she was so ready to give the cure away (yes, to Damon, but to save his life) and then to Stefan and then to Katherine (OK, more forced rather then gave, and to save *her* life) said to me that it wasn't about the Hunters' demand. It was about Damon not being able to take the cure with her.
Oh, oh, oh and more than that indication of her feelings for him (she was near tears when she said that it would kill him!), but we also got some Jere-love! He was the one who came up with the idea of saving Damon via the cure (yeah, screw the peeps of Mystic Falls) because Jeremy loves Damon!
(Speaking of... I'm dropping a season 05 spoiler here: [Spoiler (click to open)]JEREMY WILL BE LIVING WITH DAMON! I AM FILLED WITH SO MANY FEELS OF JOY OVER THIS!)
You know who also loves Damon? Stefan! And Alaric! And Caroline! (OK, not Caroline, but she cared enough to use her Klaus-power and called him non-stop to get him back to Mystic Falls to save Damon's life.) But back to Stefan and Damon and their awesome (actual)bro-mantic love. I will admit it, I totally choked up when Stefan told Damon that while he wasn't happy about Elena, he wasn't *not* not happy about Damon. I love that Stefan said that. And I love that the show proved again that they know that it was important to show that Stefan felt that. And, of course, we also saw that despite Damon's happiness over getting the girl, he was kinda the opposite. He was happy about Elena, but he was not happy about Stefan because he loves his brother. Seeing his awkwardness with him, his sincerity as he offered to help and how grateful he was at Stefan's words was beautiful to behold.
And now back to Alaric! He saved Damon's life. He was willing to force-feed the cure down his throat. He had his back, he was his best friend and whether we (or Damon) sees him or not, we know that he'll be looking out for Damon. *sigh* But why can't we see him??! I want Ric to come back somehow. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about Jeremy--Elena needs her brother and being denied Damon/Jeremy feels makes me haz a sad!--but the last season with Ric he was so not Ric for so much of it and it really hampered the joy of the Damon/Alaric bromance and it's just been a full, beautiful, heartwarming form these last few episodes. I want him back! Damon wants him back! Wah! That final shot of Damon standing there with two freshly poured glasses and no Ric... *sigh*
He got the girl, but he lost his best friend. Again. But he's got Jeremy! Because Jeremy is alive! I can haz more Damon/Jeremy!??!??!?! And if Matt doesn't wind up in New Orleans eventually come next season, can I haz more Damon/Matt?!?! And Damon/Matt/Jeremy?!?!? PRETTY PLEASE! Because while I've always loved Damon and Jeremy interaction, this season introduced the joy and beauty and awesome of Damon and Matt, and we were teased briefly with the very awesome Damon/Jeremy/Matt. I want more!
Which reminds me, I do have one teeny complaint that I freely admit makes perfect sense as played out. I would have liked it had Damon been with Alaric, Elena and Jeremy while they ate greasy take-out... in a graveyard. (Oh, this show.) But, again, I admit it made sense for him not to be there and I did enjoy it. The alcohol, Alaric trying to get Elena not to drink it, Elena ignoring him, Jeremy then going for it and Elena trying to stop him and him ignoring her, LOL! The simple appreciation of greasy food and being with their little family. The genuine smiles and laughter. It was pretty wonderful. Then stupid Connor called. Grr. But it's OK because Alaric took care of that. Protecting his bar and the 18-year old girl that he taught to kill vampire and vampire hunters. Go Ric!
And go Klaus! Yes, I just typed that. Came just in time to take out the witch who Caroline murdered before she and her supernatural buddies took out our vampires with a graduation-cap-decapitation. Yeah, that's Klaus. And that smile Caroline sent his way that he so suavely returned was lovely. Klaus, Klaus, Klaus. I may not *love* love you, but I do love you. I don't ship Klaus and Caroline, you all know that, but I do enjoy them and see potential (way down the road even if not endgame) with them, and I really loved all of their scenes tonight. They were pretty adorable and this Vampire Diaries ending was perfect for them. I thought that the kiss on the cheek was right, the smiles were right, the walking off into the night was right.
Except Klaus was wrong. Tyler Lockwood is not Caroline's first love. Her first love was Matt Donovan. Yeah. So by that logic, if Klaus was wrong about that, then he's wrong about being her last love... because that will be Stefan. Uh huh. Speaking of, OK, they so did not have much interaction in this episode, but did you see? Caroline made Stefan smile. :) Aww! (And Stefan in turn grabbed Matt's ass. OK, then.)
Seriously, I did like that we were able to have that happy moment with the batch of them graduating even amidst the oh-so normal crazy of their lives. It wasn't too much time spent on it, just enough to give us the viewers and these characters that touchstone. Still it was such a small thing in the overall scheme of things that I wasn't particularly thrilled with the episode title. "Graduation" was just rather bland and underwhelming. I think they should have named it "My Shadow Self." It would have made no sense before the episode aired and then when Katherine called Elena her shadow self (more on that in just a bit) it would have elicited an 'ooh!' reaction from viewers... and then BAM! the Stefan/Silas (Stilas? Steflas?) reveal would have generated a reaction of 'WHOAH!!!' Ah well.
Uhm, yeah, that Katherine/Elena showdown. Awesome! Even though this time Katherine was the one doing the major ass-kicking--which I think proves that anger really does give vampires, regardless of their age, that extra strength since Elena had the upper hand during enough of their fight last week--Elena was the optimal queen of bad-assery in my eyes. She gave as good as she got. She never stopped fighting. And she gave some fantastic sass. "Kicking someone while their down, classy till the end, Katherine." I don't know why, I just LOVED that line and the delivery. And speaking of... seriously, Nina Dobrev was fantastic. It was again one of those cases where even though logically you know it's the same actress playing the two different roles, they are so different that it *feels* like two different actresses. So magnificent.
And next season, she gets to go back to playing one vampire, one human... it's just switched characters. Because, yeah, Katherine is a human now. OK, then. Wow! I did NOT see that coming... and how. Elena flashing back to Stefan refusing the cure, her pulling it out and forcing into Katherine's mouth, using Katherine's surprise and Elena's vampire strength to keep her mouth closed so the container broke and Katherine had to ingest it. And so now she is human while Elena is still wonderfully, beautifully Elena, just in vampire form. She didn't kill Katherine, because vampire or not, that's not how Elena wins her battles. She wins by using her heart, her brains and her guts. She doesn't bluff, she take risks, she sizes up the situation and she cares. Here she used her brains and outplayed Katherine and she didn't even have to kill to do it. Because Elena Gilbert is FREAKING bad-ass!
Just as Rebekah Mikaelson is. Distracting Matt, promising him a trip around the world for a boy who's never set foot out of his small town. Risking her heart again to kiss that boy and then sending him on his way to achieve his human rite of passage while she weathered through an enormous explosion. Being shown compassion, having someone like her has allowed Rebekah to drop her hardened shell and that sweet vulnerability has been blossoming into this beautiful strength that is beaming with openness and joy. I love that she kissed him, and it was SUCH a beautiful and so well-earned a kiss. I love that Matt didn't blame her and that he was in it with her to the very end. He trusted her. And he wanted her to save herself. It was.... guh, just beautiful. I loved it, I love them so! All the Matt/Rebekah feels IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!
And then that final scene. More glorious feels and oh my bb Rebekah looked SO happy and it was wonderful to see. Matt staying true to his word to Tyler and his understandable vampire-issues still wanting to go on a tour of the world with this girl. Whatever happens on the road stays on the road, hee! And that he could joke with her about that Italian church, "don't get any ideas to turn me into a vampire so we can live eternally ever after" was awesome because he can joke, he can smile and he can accept and be free, open and honest with her. I LOVES IT!
And that love was filled with joy and squee and none of the bitter that encompassed my feels during the Jeremy and Bonnie scenes. I actually did tear up during their last scene. But wait--first they kissed. Jeremy wanted to be with Bonnie when he left, but had so much to say he didn’t know what to say. So after almost two years, she kissed him and it was beautiful. And then the spell worked. And Jeremy breathed and he was alive; he looked at Bonnie and she told him the truth and it was wonderful and blissful and for a moment, I hoped that Bonnie had been included in that spell this time, but then I remembered that Jeremy can see ghosts. And Bonnie held onto him, but he couldn't feel her hand. :sobs: My beautiful rainbow and sunshine, puppies and kittens couple!! Noooooooooooooo!!!
But at least JEREMY IS ALIVE!!! YAY!!!! But, but, but, but... again, WAH! WHY CAN'T ALARIC BE TOO!?!?!? Hey, since Bonnie is for real a long-term ghost (and Kat Graham will be a regular next season still) maybe we'll at least see a lot more of Alaric next season due to her presence and Jeremy's ghostly visionary-power. One can dream, right? *sigh* Honestly, I'm still kinda shocked that Bonnie is dead-dead and has stayed dead-dead. Yes, we'll see her, but she's a ghost, ya'll. Bonnie is dead.
Man, I was so overwhelmed with Bonnie feels throughout her every scene. Bonnie and Grams continue to own my heart, from Grams making sure to remind her that she say goodbye, to the two of them walking off hand and hand at the end (:sobs so hard:). And how Bonnie totally pwned Kol's ass. 'It's what I want, but we don't always get what we want.' Oh, Bonnie. You are a true hero and I don't know that I ever loved her more. And Kat Graham just played the hell out of every moment. With Grams, with Jeremy, trying to keep that heaviness from infecting this final happy high school memories with her friends. There was this one specific moment where I just caught my breath because it was so beautiful, so bittersweet, so well-done. Caroline was going on and on about college and triple-dorm rooms and she was so happy and excited and Bonnie was just looking at her, so much love and so much pain held in reserve written all over her face. Man. And then she left with Grams.
I just... guys, I just fucking love Bonnie Bennett so much! She's so awesome and I'm so glad that, ghost or not, we're not losing her.
And I'm sure we're not losing Stefan long-term. Boy, oh, boy, Stefan. First he allows himself just the teensiest bit of hope that Elena knowing her heart without the sire bond will want him back (although, I truly believe that he didn't believe that would happen). Then the girl not only doesn't even NOT choose him (because, again, yeah, Elena had done made her real choice a while ago), she tries to give him a gift that essentially says that while she wasn't willing to become a vampire for him, she's willing to remain a vampire alongside his brother. Then he gets some fun times with his best friend, only to lose her all over again. Yet none of that was even remotely the worst part of his day. No, he got the grand kicker.
He's a doppelganger... of SILAS! OF FREAKING SILAS! And Silas staked him and stashed him in a safe and then threw him into the bottom of the quarry. And water was coming in. So Stefan is going to drown. Come back. Drown again. Come back. Drown again. Come back. Over and over and over and over again. While suffering desiccation through lack of blood. Until someone figures out that he is in a safe at the bottom of the quarry.
Oh, my Stefan. My poor, poor, beautiful bb, Stefan. Oh, boy.
Phew! Now time for the randoms --
- So, erm, I'm not quite sure why we needed Kol's recap at the pre-graduation ceremony and oh, yeah, how did he get all the supernaturals there? Did he send out a bat signal? LOL! And, Kol, no, our little band of misfits did NOT want to unleash hell on earth for their own selfish reasons. In fact, they deliberately ALL chose to NOT do so, very explicitly so. Bonnie was trying to thwart Silas. Dumbass. So glad Bonnie played his ass in the end. Sigh, to be fair, sarcasticcheese pointed out that whether he knew the truth or not, he was probably just trying to rally the troops. Yeah, that works. He's still a dumbass though.
- It's a small thing, but I love the remembered details that come to light so often... like Stefan/Lexi and their Bon Jovi connection.
- Yup, I officially no longer hate Lexi. I knew that she was the one attacking Damon in the preview and I was prepared to hate her again, but nope, just laughed because, yeah, Lexi is still just bitter that she fell for Damon and he played her ass, muahahahahah!
- "Little Gilbert." I love when Damon calls Jeremy that. Squee. Oh, and I loved how in that scene (where Stefan did not deign to fix his hero hair, LOL!), Damon was thinking, totally realizing that something had gone wrong with the Bonnie spell. I love Smart!Damon. He's so sexy. (OK, pretty much every version of Damon is sexy, but Smart!Damon is in the upper tier of Sexy!Damons.)
- Yeah, this smile on her face when she sees him? So was ready to tell him she loved him right then and there. And then her easy smile at his cherry-flavored joke. SQUEE!!!
- Duh, Damon! Elena is choosing you over practically everyone else in Mystic Falls dying. Hello! Wake up and smell the love, you idiot! Oh, Damon. (It's OK, Idiot!Damon is sexy too.)
- Aww, I think that's the first time that we saw Jeremy in Damon's room.
- I may not care much about Bonnie's dad, but I couldn't help but smile when her dad called her name at the graduation and when she said her 'goodbye' to him. It was so bittersweet.
- Damon's speech to Vaughn at the quarry was hilarious. "Well, uhm, let me see, so I dragged his stone ass through here. I flung him in that general direction, then he tumbled down into those weeds. I kinda lost him in the rocks. What do you know about physics? What is it? It's uh, distance equals velocity times time? Guess I shoulda told you to bring some scuba gear, huh?" Hahahaha! "I dragged his stone ass through here..." LMAO! Oh, Damon.
- I mentioned it above, but once more for fun! Hee! Elena making sure that Damon was fine and dandy... and then wallopping him but good! (And some bonus Shirtless!Damon!)
- Another small related Damon/Elena thing I liked was how the show gave us a little insight as to why Elena loving Damon, terrible person and all, was clear to her when she earlier described her actions to Alaric and Jeremy using the very same word, "terrible." She knows how deeply and terribly one can be driven by vampirism because she was driven there herself.
- So I was wondering what the point was of the Lexi/Alaric conversation about other side and hoping that there is some sort of peace beyond that. The fact that they chose to include this talk in the middle of the action and emotion-packed finale intrigued me. And I think maybe it's a starting point to reveal by the end of the series that even though we will lose some of our beloved characters to permanent death, they will find peace and some version of happy ever after... eventually. I think.
- As for not so beloved characters... *sigh* Maybe Tyler won't come back? Or it won't be long-term? Let me have the dream, folks!
- So Jere was dead, right and everyone knew? There was a gravestone and everything. Now, uhm, him being alive again... how is that gonna go over to the rest of Mystic Falls who aren't in on the whole supernatural situation? That's gonna take some explaining, methinks.
- I love how we continue to get the deconstruction of Stefan and Elena and their "twu wuv foreva!" Stefan asked Lexi "what if Elena was the one?" Even he is questioning that now. Yes! And Lexi's answer -- she was, but just one of multiple ones. Works for me. Because, of course, Caroline will be another one ... the last one. (Sorry, Klaus.)
- Hmm, so no mention of Rebekah going to New Orleans yet. I do wonder on how they plan on making that happen and what role Matt will play after their summer together.
- Hahaha! Great foreshadowing, Ric asks if he should shove the cure down Damon's throat and later Elena shoves the cure down Katherine's throat. Oh yeah. I love this show.
So, so, so, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. I just, gah! As long as it continues with this level of unbelievable, unassailable awesome, The Vampire Diaries will definitely be my favorite show of all time. Four seasons and counting and I love it just as much as ever. One more season down and I continue to LOVE EVERYTHING THAT THIS SHOW CHOOSES TO BE!
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! And once more for the road...............
So this has taken a while to write. Obviously. Sorry about that. I just... it's not that I don't know what to say. I jotted tons of notes down, but wrapping it up all together has been a trying task. Not because I didn't love the finale. I did. Absolutely. I literally cannot think of one single thing that didn't work for me. (OK, fine, one thing... ugh, Tyler.) It's just been such a tumultuous season for the show and fandom. I've lost fellow viewers along the way, gained some new ones and there's been so much uproar and anger that it's been frustrating for me because I think the show is still pretty damn fantastic. And here we are at the end of the season and, well, I was right this time about Damon and Elena. I'd like to believe that it wasn't my biased optimism but that it was based on actually paying attention to all of the threads this time as opposed to just "my couple" as I did last season.
Ah, last season. We had Elena make a choice between Stefan and Damon. And this finale, she made another choice between Stefan and Damon. The thing is that I still don't buy that she actually made a choice in "The Departed" and I don't think she made a choice in this finale either. Last year, she didn't choose Stefan to be with, she chose to say goodbye to Stefan and their relationship that followed, with Elena as a vampire or not, was doomed to failure. They had so many issues that had never been resolved and Elena had grown and changed so much over their time spent apart that they no longer meshed. I honestly believe that had they not all believed that death was imminent for Stefan and Damon, Elena wouldn't have made that "choice." And had Elena not died, she would have officially ended things with Stefan. Everything she said to Matt made it clear that her heart was with Damon. She was in love with Damon, but she was still fighting with the idea that she should be in love with Stefan. She knew the truth of her feelings; she just wasn't able to face them. She told Matt "that’s what love should be. You should love the person that makes you glad that you’re alive." And in this episode she told Damon that "in death [he's] the one who made [her] feel most alive."
It took trying to make it work with Stefan before falling apart that she was finally able to face that Damon was her choice. But she didn't make that choice in this episode. She made that choice in "We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes." When she woke up and saw Damon there and ran through the events of what had happened and then she looked at him and she smiled and she told him that he had saved her. *That* was the moment that Elena Gilbert made her choice. And she spent the rest of the season telling him repeatedly that he was her choice. That she loved him. That it was him.
In the last couple of episodes of season 03, Elena was struggling, torn between Damon and Stefan and she was struggling because she thought it *should* be Stefan, but once she made her choice after the Hunter's curse was broken, she never wavered. There was no struggle and thus there was no confusion in this episode on her part. She had already chosen Damon. Every time she went to talk to Damon, it was obvious that she was just waiting to tell him but first the cure-gift, Damon's wound and then her anger with his choice to not take the cure got in her way. Elena had made that choice with a clear head after trying to make things work with Stefan, after dealing with her worst fears and doubts thanks to the hallucinations. And after all of that, Elena chose Damon. The problem was that because of the sire bond (yeah, more on that later), no one believed her. But Elena never wavered in her belief that she loved him and she proved that to him this night because she didn't just tell him that she loved him. She essentially told him that she loved him just the way he was, wrong choices, terrible person and all. And she wasn't sorry.
Everything about her first face-to-face 'I love you' to Damon--which I absolutely knew would happen only when there was no doubt that it was fully 100% Elena's real feelings--was perfection and perfectly true to who Damon and Elena are as characters and that I loved so very much. I don't think that I can adequately describe just how much I loved it. It was so not hearts and flowers, but instead it was simply so, so, so very them. Damon, of course, was convinced that she wouldn't want him with the sire bond gone (pfft!), so he acted like an ass to make it easier for her to walk away. Elena, on the other hand, was done with that nonsense from him and just pushed through. She admitted without hesitation that, yup, he'd been a terrible person (and I nodded every time she said it) but that she still loved him. Basically, it was the Damon/Elena version of hearts and flowers. Damon was telling her: 'I love you, but I'm not good enough of for you because I screw up and I'm selfish and I'm bad for you. So there's your out, no need to be nice. Just walk away.' And in return, Elena told him: 'I love you, you idiot, and I don't care that you're not perfect. I know all the good, bad, terrible and in between about you and I don't care. I LOVE YOU. I'm not walking away.'
And it was perfect because all of the assurances and pretty words hadn't worked on Damon before (admittedly, Damon was stuck on the sire bond thing too, but still... this is Damon we're talking about) because he can't help but harp on the fact that he's not good enough for her. That he's the bad brother. So this time Elena just laid it out for him. She knows exactly how bad he can be, but deal with it, she loves him. Period. And she's simply not putting up with his issues anymore. She's standing firm and they continue to be completely honest with one another, a far cry from her relationship with Stefan where they were constantly keeping anger, frustration with one another at bay and tip-toeing through angst and projecting it elsewhere to preserve the sanctity of their idealized love.
But with Damon and Elena, it's not like that. She had no problem making it perfectly clear that she was pissed off at his choosing to die and she didn't hide it. (Nope, she slapped him good, LOL!) She didn't try and hand wave it away, make an excuse, or submerge her feelings. She laid it all out, not just with the slap but when she came upon him later. She was annoyed, rolling her eyes, just so irritated with him but it was healthy because it was open and honest. They know *exactly* where the other stands and that is amazing and awesome. And her anger with his decision to die was such a lovely parallel to Damon's anger at Elena for choosing to die at the beginning of the season. I love that we now have a full-circle Elena in the same frame of mind about Damon as he is about her, one that essentially boils down to "Fuck choice, save your life!"
Proof of that was her reaction to Alaric's asking Stefan if he should force the cure down Damon's throat. Two season ago, Damon forced *his* blood down Elena's throat to save her life despite it not being her choice. Hearing Alaric ask Stefan if he wanted him to essentially do the EXACT same thing to Damon to save his life despite it not being his choice, Elena very clearly gestured to Stefan to tell Alaric to do exactly that. Because, yeah, when you love someone Elena, fuck choice, you save their life. And Damon is now in that category for Elena (just as Jeremy is, and Elena and Stefan are for Damon).
Because she loves him. Uh huh.
I loved, loved so much beyond the dialogue in this declaration of love. The parallel with "My Brother's Keeper,“ the two of them before the fireplace, propelled into each other's arms by the force of their feelings--this time his kiss cutting off her third declaration of love because he just had to kiss her--was just perfection. And also perfection was the song choice. The song was leaked prior to the airing of the episode. When I looked at the lyrics, I had my first real moment of doubt.
- Wake up lonely with you by my side
One more night it doesn't feel
There are movies playing in your eyes
You dream of our fortunes
But you're wrong
I don't belong to you
The moon is the only friend I have outside
One more drink and I'll be healed
I told you the words and then knew it was a lie
I wish I could offer an appeal
You're wrong
I don't belong
You're wrong
I don't belong to you
What I'd give for that first night when you were mine
Tried with all that I have to keep you alive
I wasn't taught this way
With a thousand things to say
I was born with a broken heart
What I'd give for that first night when you were mine
Thought you were mine
So I'll put this cigarette to bed
Pull some sheets from off your side
I put my arm around you safe in the night
Still dreaming of fortune
But you're wrong
I don't belong
You're wrong
I don't belong
I don't belong
So, yeah, Damon and Elena coming together was perfect. Honestly, though, I was pretty dang happy with all of their scenes. Going back to the season 03 finale, I made it very clear that the only two reasons I was bummed that Elena was a vampire is because I wanted Elena to choose to be a vampire to be with Damon. And I wanted her to make the choice to become a vampire. Therefore I wanted her to somehow become a human again so I could have both of those. However, as this season went on and the cure came up, I realized that I could still get my wish even if it came from an alternate route. As long as Elena chose to NOT take the cure, she'd be choosing to be a vampire with Damon. And that's exactly what happened.
She had the cure in her hand and first she told Damon that, oh, yeah, I want it, but, but, but... what about all the people in Mystic Falls that will be hurt by the Hunters if we don't give them the cure for Silas? And then two seconds later, oh noes, Damon is dying, needs the cure, screw all the people in Mystic Falls, Damon, take the cure! And then that fell by the wayside with Ric and Rebekah pretty effectively taking out the Hunters and this time, even though she told Damon (oh, so convincingly) that she did want the cure (never mind she was happy to give it to Silas, and then to Damon...) without a qualm, she instead hands it over to Stefan.
Elena chose to NOT take the cure. She chose to remain a vampire and since we know now that there was no choice for her to make between the brothers (she'd already chosen Damon in her heart), she chose to remain a vampire with Damon even as she offered Stefan the chance to become a human, someone that she would leave behind as he grew old and passed on. In her conversation with Stefan, everything Elena *wasn't* saying was so painfully obvious to Stefan. To wrap it all up in one very obvious sentiment: She really, truly is no longer in love with him. Telling him to be human while everyone else (including her and Damon) would be fine as vampires. Telling him that he deserved whatever he wanted (except, of course, clearly even if he wanted her, that he wouldn't be getting). To me, it was a lovely bit where we saw exactly where both of them were emotionally and it opened that door wide open to closure for Stefan. And it was done in SUCH a beautifully Elena way.
At first, I thought she was talking to him as she had to Damon before Stefan took off with Klaus. But it wasn't that, she was talking to him as she does to Matt. She loved him, but he was her past. Her thank you was genuine, and sincere and friendly. There was no longing, no looking back. And I liked that her acknowledging his fight for her humanity was a lead-in to Stefan fully giving that same acknowledgement that she had done the same for him last year. Very nicely done.
Oh, but right, I was talking about Damon and Elena's scenes that I loved. Like that first one where Damon told her to take the cure and she didn't so aha! there is no sire bond anymore. Uhm, OK. Just because she lost her humanity, then gained it back, the sire bond is gone? Hah. No. And Elena not doing what Damon told her to do as proof there's no sire bond? Hello, there are plenty of things that Damon told her to do that she didn't do. Still it's fine for me because I am happily content in believing that it was totally fake because again with the inconsistencies abounding. But it was necessary to get all of the characters (except for Elena, because girl didn't need it) to the place they were at the end here. Stefan needed to be able to work through his feelings about Elena's feelings, and be able to be at a place where he could be happy (or rather *not* not happy) for his brother and he wasn't there after Elena chose Damon. And had he not had the sire bond to hold onto, it may have re-damaged his relationship with Damon. By believing there was a chance, he was able to hold on, but at the same time he saw Damon and Elena together and separately and he saw the love. And he got time to get used to it.
As for Damon, well, he needed to learn to trust his instincts when it comes to Elena and I'm not sure he could have done that without the sire blond temporarily blocking him off from doing so. He made so many bad choices due to the sire bond and things only began to click back into place when he did what he thought was best for Elena. And at the end when she confirmed that she loved him that was the final piece that proved his instincts were right the night of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. When he held out his hand, when he danced with her, when he spun her into his arms into a passionate kiss because he believed that it was real. Now he knows, yes, it IS real. Yes, she loves him. Unconditionally, the good and the terrible that he's capable of. And I don't think he would have been there this soon without the consequences of the sire bond.
Fake or not. And, yes, I still say it's totally fake but I'm fine with it not being spelled out. It was all about believing what you wanted or could only allow yourself to believe. Elena couldn't believe her feelings weren't real so she constantly questioned the idea that this sire bond had created them, thus questioning the sire bond. Stefan and Caroline wanted to believe it was real because they weren't ready to accept that Elena was no longer in love with Stefan and had fallen for Damon. Damon allowed himself to believe it because he couldn't accept that he actually got the girl. However, as time passed, even with her switch off, Elena's feeling for Damon were so legitimate and Stefan and Caroline saw the reality of how much was real and there between Damon and Elena that it was easy to believe that with the switch turning the bond off, it wouldn't come back. So, they believed what they wanted to believe. And I am choosing to believe what logic, canon characterization and facts present to me--the sire bond was a MacGuffin designed to get these characters to where they needed to be. And I will laugh so hard if some random comment from Meredith gets thrown out towards the end of the series about her not using Damon's blood to heal Elena thus officially no sire bond. But again, either way, I'm fine with it.
And I'm also fine with my interpretation of Elena's reaction to Damon giving her the cure. I know she said that she wouldn't take it because of the Hunters' demand, but her expression read to me as her not wanting it because there's only one and if there's only one then Damon can't take it too. The last time she talked to Damon about the cure, not realizing there was only one (with her humanity intact), she had wanted him to take the cure with her so they could be together, grow old together. I read in her expression that she was thinking of this--she didn't want the cure if she couldn't have it with Damon. And the fact that she was so ready to give the cure away (yes, to Damon, but to save his life) and then to Stefan and then to Katherine (OK, more forced rather then gave, and to save *her* life) said to me that it wasn't about the Hunters' demand. It was about Damon not being able to take the cure with her.
Oh, oh, oh and more than that indication of her feelings for him (she was near tears when she said that it would kill him!), but we also got some Jere-love! He was the one who came up with the idea of saving Damon via the cure (yeah, screw the peeps of Mystic Falls) because Jeremy loves Damon!
(Speaking of... I'm dropping a season 05 spoiler here: [Spoiler (click to open)]JEREMY WILL BE LIVING WITH DAMON! I AM FILLED WITH SO MANY FEELS OF JOY OVER THIS!)
You know who also loves Damon? Stefan! And Alaric! And Caroline! (OK, not Caroline, but she cared enough to use her Klaus-power and called him non-stop to get him back to Mystic Falls to save Damon's life.) But back to Stefan and Damon and their awesome (actual)bro-mantic love. I will admit it, I totally choked up when Stefan told Damon that while he wasn't happy about Elena, he wasn't *not* not happy about Damon. I love that Stefan said that. And I love that the show proved again that they know that it was important to show that Stefan felt that. And, of course, we also saw that despite Damon's happiness over getting the girl, he was kinda the opposite. He was happy about Elena, but he was not happy about Stefan because he loves his brother. Seeing his awkwardness with him, his sincerity as he offered to help and how grateful he was at Stefan's words was beautiful to behold.
And now back to Alaric! He saved Damon's life. He was willing to force-feed the cure down his throat. He had his back, he was his best friend and whether we (or Damon) sees him or not, we know that he'll be looking out for Damon. *sigh* But why can't we see him??! I want Ric to come back somehow. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about Jeremy--Elena needs her brother and being denied Damon/Jeremy feels makes me haz a sad!--but the last season with Ric he was so not Ric for so much of it and it really hampered the joy of the Damon/Alaric bromance and it's just been a full, beautiful, heartwarming form these last few episodes. I want him back! Damon wants him back! Wah! That final shot of Damon standing there with two freshly poured glasses and no Ric... *sigh*
He got the girl, but he lost his best friend. Again. But he's got Jeremy! Because Jeremy is alive! I can haz more Damon/Jeremy!??!??!?! And if Matt doesn't wind up in New Orleans eventually come next season, can I haz more Damon/Matt?!?! And Damon/Matt/Jeremy?!?!? PRETTY PLEASE! Because while I've always loved Damon and Jeremy interaction, this season introduced the joy and beauty and awesome of Damon and Matt, and we were teased briefly with the very awesome Damon/Jeremy/Matt. I want more!
Which reminds me, I do have one teeny complaint that I freely admit makes perfect sense as played out. I would have liked it had Damon been with Alaric, Elena and Jeremy while they ate greasy take-out... in a graveyard. (Oh, this show.) But, again, I admit it made sense for him not to be there and I did enjoy it. The alcohol, Alaric trying to get Elena not to drink it, Elena ignoring him, Jeremy then going for it and Elena trying to stop him and him ignoring her, LOL! The simple appreciation of greasy food and being with their little family. The genuine smiles and laughter. It was pretty wonderful. Then stupid Connor called. Grr. But it's OK because Alaric took care of that. Protecting his bar and the 18-year old girl that he taught to kill vampire and vampire hunters. Go Ric!
And go Klaus! Yes, I just typed that. Came just in time to take out the witch who Caroline murdered before she and her supernatural buddies took out our vampires with a graduation-cap-decapitation. Yeah, that's Klaus. And that smile Caroline sent his way that he so suavely returned was lovely. Klaus, Klaus, Klaus. I may not *love* love you, but I do love you. I don't ship Klaus and Caroline, you all know that, but I do enjoy them and see potential (way down the road even if not endgame) with them, and I really loved all of their scenes tonight. They were pretty adorable and this Vampire Diaries ending was perfect for them. I thought that the kiss on the cheek was right, the smiles were right, the walking off into the night was right.
Except Klaus was wrong. Tyler Lockwood is not Caroline's first love. Her first love was Matt Donovan. Yeah. So by that logic, if Klaus was wrong about that, then he's wrong about being her last love... because that will be Stefan. Uh huh. Speaking of, OK, they so did not have much interaction in this episode, but did you see? Caroline made Stefan smile. :) Aww! (And Stefan in turn grabbed Matt's ass. OK, then.)
Seriously, I did like that we were able to have that happy moment with the batch of them graduating even amidst the oh-so normal crazy of their lives. It wasn't too much time spent on it, just enough to give us the viewers and these characters that touchstone. Still it was such a small thing in the overall scheme of things that I wasn't particularly thrilled with the episode title. "Graduation" was just rather bland and underwhelming. I think they should have named it "My Shadow Self." It would have made no sense before the episode aired and then when Katherine called Elena her shadow self (more on that in just a bit) it would have elicited an 'ooh!' reaction from viewers... and then BAM! the Stefan/Silas (Stilas? Steflas?) reveal would have generated a reaction of 'WHOAH!!!' Ah well.
Uhm, yeah, that Katherine/Elena showdown. Awesome! Even though this time Katherine was the one doing the major ass-kicking--which I think proves that anger really does give vampires, regardless of their age, that extra strength since Elena had the upper hand during enough of their fight last week--Elena was the optimal queen of bad-assery in my eyes. She gave as good as she got. She never stopped fighting. And she gave some fantastic sass. "Kicking someone while their down, classy till the end, Katherine." I don't know why, I just LOVED that line and the delivery. And speaking of... seriously, Nina Dobrev was fantastic. It was again one of those cases where even though logically you know it's the same actress playing the two different roles, they are so different that it *feels* like two different actresses. So magnificent.
And next season, she gets to go back to playing one vampire, one human... it's just switched characters. Because, yeah, Katherine is a human now. OK, then. Wow! I did NOT see that coming... and how. Elena flashing back to Stefan refusing the cure, her pulling it out and forcing into Katherine's mouth, using Katherine's surprise and Elena's vampire strength to keep her mouth closed so the container broke and Katherine had to ingest it. And so now she is human while Elena is still wonderfully, beautifully Elena, just in vampire form. She didn't kill Katherine, because vampire or not, that's not how Elena wins her battles. She wins by using her heart, her brains and her guts. She doesn't bluff, she take risks, she sizes up the situation and she cares. Here she used her brains and outplayed Katherine and she didn't even have to kill to do it. Because Elena Gilbert is FREAKING bad-ass!
Just as Rebekah Mikaelson is. Distracting Matt, promising him a trip around the world for a boy who's never set foot out of his small town. Risking her heart again to kiss that boy and then sending him on his way to achieve his human rite of passage while she weathered through an enormous explosion. Being shown compassion, having someone like her has allowed Rebekah to drop her hardened shell and that sweet vulnerability has been blossoming into this beautiful strength that is beaming with openness and joy. I love that she kissed him, and it was SUCH a beautiful and so well-earned a kiss. I love that Matt didn't blame her and that he was in it with her to the very end. He trusted her. And he wanted her to save herself. It was.... guh, just beautiful. I loved it, I love them so! All the Matt/Rebekah feels IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!
And then that final scene. More glorious feels and oh my bb Rebekah looked SO happy and it was wonderful to see. Matt staying true to his word to Tyler and his understandable vampire-issues still wanting to go on a tour of the world with this girl. Whatever happens on the road stays on the road, hee! And that he could joke with her about that Italian church, "don't get any ideas to turn me into a vampire so we can live eternally ever after" was awesome because he can joke, he can smile and he can accept and be free, open and honest with her. I LOVES IT!
And that love was filled with joy and squee and none of the bitter that encompassed my feels during the Jeremy and Bonnie scenes. I actually did tear up during their last scene. But wait--first they kissed. Jeremy wanted to be with Bonnie when he left, but had so much to say he didn’t know what to say. So after almost two years, she kissed him and it was beautiful. And then the spell worked. And Jeremy breathed and he was alive; he looked at Bonnie and she told him the truth and it was wonderful and blissful and for a moment, I hoped that Bonnie had been included in that spell this time, but then I remembered that Jeremy can see ghosts. And Bonnie held onto him, but he couldn't feel her hand. :sobs: My beautiful rainbow and sunshine, puppies and kittens couple!! Noooooooooooooo!!!
But at least JEREMY IS ALIVE!!! YAY!!!! But, but, but, but... again, WAH! WHY CAN'T ALARIC BE TOO!?!?!? Hey, since Bonnie is for real a long-term ghost (and Kat Graham will be a regular next season still) maybe we'll at least see a lot more of Alaric next season due to her presence and Jeremy's ghostly visionary-power. One can dream, right? *sigh* Honestly, I'm still kinda shocked that Bonnie is dead-dead and has stayed dead-dead. Yes, we'll see her, but she's a ghost, ya'll. Bonnie is dead.
Man, I was so overwhelmed with Bonnie feels throughout her every scene. Bonnie and Grams continue to own my heart, from Grams making sure to remind her that she say goodbye, to the two of them walking off hand and hand at the end (:sobs so hard:). And how Bonnie totally pwned Kol's ass. 'It's what I want, but we don't always get what we want.' Oh, Bonnie. You are a true hero and I don't know that I ever loved her more. And Kat Graham just played the hell out of every moment. With Grams, with Jeremy, trying to keep that heaviness from infecting this final happy high school memories with her friends. There was this one specific moment where I just caught my breath because it was so beautiful, so bittersweet, so well-done. Caroline was going on and on about college and triple-dorm rooms and she was so happy and excited and Bonnie was just looking at her, so much love and so much pain held in reserve written all over her face. Man. And then she left with Grams.
I just... guys, I just fucking love Bonnie Bennett so much! She's so awesome and I'm so glad that, ghost or not, we're not losing her.
And I'm sure we're not losing Stefan long-term. Boy, oh, boy, Stefan. First he allows himself just the teensiest bit of hope that Elena knowing her heart without the sire bond will want him back (although, I truly believe that he didn't believe that would happen). Then the girl not only doesn't even NOT choose him (because, again, yeah, Elena had done made her real choice a while ago), she tries to give him a gift that essentially says that while she wasn't willing to become a vampire for him, she's willing to remain a vampire alongside his brother. Then he gets some fun times with his best friend, only to lose her all over again. Yet none of that was even remotely the worst part of his day. No, he got the grand kicker.
He's a doppelganger... of SILAS! OF FREAKING SILAS! And Silas staked him and stashed him in a safe and then threw him into the bottom of the quarry. And water was coming in. So Stefan is going to drown. Come back. Drown again. Come back. Drown again. Come back. Over and over and over and over again. While suffering desiccation through lack of blood. Until someone figures out that he is in a safe at the bottom of the quarry.
Oh, my Stefan. My poor, poor, beautiful bb, Stefan. Oh, boy.
Phew! Now time for the randoms --
- So, erm, I'm not quite sure why we needed Kol's recap at the pre-graduation ceremony and oh, yeah, how did he get all the supernaturals there? Did he send out a bat signal? LOL! And, Kol, no, our little band of misfits did NOT want to unleash hell on earth for their own selfish reasons. In fact, they deliberately ALL chose to NOT do so, very explicitly so. Bonnie was trying to thwart Silas. Dumbass. So glad Bonnie played his ass in the end. Sigh, to be fair, sarcasticcheese pointed out that whether he knew the truth or not, he was probably just trying to rally the troops. Yeah, that works. He's still a dumbass though.
- It's a small thing, but I love the remembered details that come to light so often... like Stefan/Lexi and their Bon Jovi connection.
- Yup, I officially no longer hate Lexi. I knew that she was the one attacking Damon in the preview and I was prepared to hate her again, but nope, just laughed because, yeah, Lexi is still just bitter that she fell for Damon and he played her ass, muahahahahah!
- "Little Gilbert." I love when Damon calls Jeremy that. Squee. Oh, and I loved how in that scene (where Stefan did not deign to fix his hero hair, LOL!), Damon was thinking, totally realizing that something had gone wrong with the Bonnie spell. I love Smart!Damon. He's so sexy. (OK, pretty much every version of Damon is sexy, but Smart!Damon is in the upper tier of Sexy!Damons.)
- Yeah, this smile on her face when she sees him? So was ready to tell him she loved him right then and there. And then her easy smile at his cherry-flavored joke. SQUEE!!!
- Duh, Damon! Elena is choosing you over practically everyone else in Mystic Falls dying. Hello! Wake up and smell the love, you idiot! Oh, Damon. (It's OK, Idiot!Damon is sexy too.)
- Aww, I think that's the first time that we saw Jeremy in Damon's room.
- I may not care much about Bonnie's dad, but I couldn't help but smile when her dad called her name at the graduation and when she said her 'goodbye' to him. It was so bittersweet.
- Damon's speech to Vaughn at the quarry was hilarious. "Well, uhm, let me see, so I dragged his stone ass through here. I flung him in that general direction, then he tumbled down into those weeds. I kinda lost him in the rocks. What do you know about physics? What is it? It's uh, distance equals velocity times time? Guess I shoulda told you to bring some scuba gear, huh?" Hahahaha! "I dragged his stone ass through here..." LMAO! Oh, Damon.
- I mentioned it above, but once more for fun! Hee! Elena making sure that Damon was fine and dandy... and then wallopping him but good! (And some bonus Shirtless!Damon!)
- Another small related Damon/Elena thing I liked was how the show gave us a little insight as to why Elena loving Damon, terrible person and all, was clear to her when she earlier described her actions to Alaric and Jeremy using the very same word, "terrible." She knows how deeply and terribly one can be driven by vampirism because she was driven there herself.
- So I was wondering what the point was of the Lexi/Alaric conversation about other side and hoping that there is some sort of peace beyond that. The fact that they chose to include this talk in the middle of the action and emotion-packed finale intrigued me. And I think maybe it's a starting point to reveal by the end of the series that even though we will lose some of our beloved characters to permanent death, they will find peace and some version of happy ever after... eventually. I think.
- As for not so beloved characters... *sigh* Maybe Tyler won't come back? Or it won't be long-term? Let me have the dream, folks!
- So Jere was dead, right and everyone knew? There was a gravestone and everything. Now, uhm, him being alive again... how is that gonna go over to the rest of Mystic Falls who aren't in on the whole supernatural situation? That's gonna take some explaining, methinks.
- I love how we continue to get the deconstruction of Stefan and Elena and their "twu wuv foreva!" Stefan asked Lexi "what if Elena was the one?" Even he is questioning that now. Yes! And Lexi's answer -- she was, but just one of multiple ones. Works for me. Because, of course, Caroline will be another one ... the last one. (Sorry, Klaus.)
- Hmm, so no mention of Rebekah going to New Orleans yet. I do wonder on how they plan on making that happen and what role Matt will play after their summer together.
- Hahaha! Great foreshadowing, Ric asks if he should shove the cure down Damon's throat and later Elena shoves the cure down Katherine's throat. Oh yeah. I love this show.
So, so, so, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. I just, gah! As long as it continues with this level of unbelievable, unassailable awesome, The Vampire Diaries will definitely be my favorite show of all time. Four seasons and counting and I love it just as much as ever. One more season down and I continue to LOVE EVERYTHING THAT THIS SHOW CHOOSES TO BE!
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! And once more for the road...............