TVD Finale Thoughts
So I went to thunderemerald s to watch the finale of TVD, and she has a cat roommate named Betty who normally is just like “Eh! You are a person, made of no more food than the usual” but for some reason that night she could not stop draping herself over my lap in odd positions. Don’t get me wrong, I was deliriously pleased to be the Chosen Lap, but I could not figure out what had changed. Then I realized that Betty was probably picking up on my extreme agitation pre-finale due to the fact that it had the power to ruin my equilibrium for the whole summer, and she was like “This chick needs a weighted blanket, stat, or we are in trouble.” BUT BETTY, I DIDN’T EVEN NEED A WEIGHTED BLANKET because things mostly went my way, and I left that apartment a happy, furry-lapped woman.
I’m never going to have the wherewithal to write an organized and thoughtful reaction post, so I’m just going to dive in and write jumbled rambly paragraphs about nothing, in no chronological order.
#you’rewelcome
Anyway. Actually, let’s organize this by character and relationships. PSYCH. How old am I? This is what happens when I am happy.
Katherine:
Doppelganger showdown! Two doppelganger showdowns in a row, actually, but the one in the finale was THE BEST, because there was no one stepping in to stop it or save either party, it was allll Elena and Katherine. And Elena wins, and Katherine becomes human, and the deliciousness of that is there’s a certain irony to that in that Elena sort of gave Katherine what she had been asking for, in a backwards way. Katherine purports that she never had a graduation or prom or a real life, and technically now that she’s be-humaned she’s actually sort of getting a do over. But then it’s also awful, considering that what she had been angling for was absolute immortality, and that being human is not going to change her status with anyone, or rebuild the bridges she burned, so she’s in the worst spot. Vulnerable, with vampire baggage.
But Elena shoving the cure in her mouth and snapping her jaw shut was kind of the best thing, and I think my heart maybe burst a little bit out of my chest, because just an episode earlier Elena was ready to let Kol kill her, but now when faced with death, Elena not only shoved her only chance at humanity away in order to survive, she sacrificed the option of anyone else taking the cure as well. For a season that seems to have been (dubiously) about Elena both “losing herself” and then “accepting herself” it was a nice final note, as was her final jab of “Have a nice human life, Katherine.” In a way, it almost felt like that was her final goodbye to human!Elena. She had been trying to give that cure away all episode and say goodbye, but now she finally did it, and she did it while looking into her own face. She can move on now, unfettered, because she’s given that life, and that future, to someone else.
Elena:
Elena Gilbert is wrong, and she doesn’t give a fuck. She’ll live and love who she wants, and she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it. Such a change from the girl who has always been hung up on “should,” and honestly, I think her saying out loud that she is doing something wrong and doesn’t care is maybe the biggest step forward that her character has taken in four seasons. Because there is a place for compassion and empathy, but not at the expense of what you want and what you desire.
I went into the finale knowing that Elena was going to choose a Salvatore, and I had mixed feelings about that given the truly horrible chain of fuck ups that made up both of their resumes during the second half of the season, and the horrible lingering miasma of gross left over from the sire bond. But while I am still a little peeved that spending time on clearing up the sire bond seemed to be way down on list after letting Connor return to try to blow up a bar and Kol prance around, the manner of the D/E love confession did actually make me feel a lot better about the Salvatore choice happening now. Because nothing in Elena’s life has ever represented “wrong” as much as Damon Salvatore, and her feelings for Damon, and making that leap with him is in many ways the biggest symbol that she’s decided to live her life according to rules that she sets, damn the consequences or outside censure.
Obviously, complete obliviousness to the outside world is hard to maintain, and I think that’s going to be the largest obstacle for D/E to remain together, is that they can’t actually just snog in a bubble for the rest of their eternal lives. (Although I would watch this. IN A HEARTBEAT). But that’s what is going to make this relationship so interesting to watch, as both of them struggle to find that balance. I am just going to be so happy that Elena is now in a relationship where she feels free to yell, and, what’s more, yelling sometimes leads to kissing. You don’t have to tiptoe around the other person’s feelings for fear that they will stop loving you when they know, because you are both terrible and who cares.
Damon:
The stupidest. Stupid faces. Such stupid faces. I can’t.
Stefan:
Remember when I said that if I were writing The Vampire Diaries Stefan would be locked in a refrigerator? I feel like this has basically happened, and now I feel very guilty, karmically. I didn’t mean it-not really! I have this thing where as soon as Stefan is away from Elena, I magically start to like him, and so I feel bad that he had to make so many sad, scrunchy faces this episode and also that he is now drowning over and over again while his all-powerful shadow self is causing havoc. As crack-tastic as this doppelganger thing is, I am entirely on board for Silas shenanigans next year, and back to being incredibly interested in Stefan’s arc, both in his direct dealings with Silas, but also how he’s going to deal with not being the chosen one. Honestly, that kick in the pants has been a century in the making.
One of my favorite small moments was actually when Stefan was tasked with taking Silas to the quarry, and Damon was the one who got to kick up his heels and bask in the feeling of being loved. Such a nice role reversal.
A part of me is also glad that in some ways it is going to change the experience balance in his relationship with Elena. Elena can be like, “I know how you feel, Stefan. I have had a doppelganger for the past two years, and it’s been hard. All you have to do is kick this cinderblock and do fifty push ups and you’ll be fine.”
The only time I side-eyed him was when he went to graduation for no conceivable reason. If it is your 17th-which LOL YOU ARE A HIGH SCHOOL-A-HOLIC STEFAN SALVATORE-then I don’t think it has any special significance in your life and maybe you should, you know, be helping your brother with the apocalypse/hunter problem. Thunderemerald can attest that during the graduation scene I was just mostly yelling “What are you doing there? No seriously, what are you doing there???” and laughing. (Sorry, thunderemerald).
Bonnie:
Ugh, I don’t know about this one guys. I am glad that we’re not losing Bonnie-that would be inconceivable-but I don’t like her being a ghost a la Being Human. I hope they find some way to fix that really early on in the season and then we can all forget that it happened.
That said, I really loved her speech to Kol about wanting to stay in her life, too, but she’s not going to because she realizes that she can’t. Bonnie is honestly the only person on this show who can pull off the good, moral choices without seeming dumb, and that is an ART, especially with me, as I generally prefer everyone to be at least 50% evil.
Jeremy:
Oh, as much as I don’t like take-backsies in writing, I am sort of okay with this. It’s Jeremy! It makes Elena a happier person. And also we get him and Damon snarking at each other, which feeds my soul candy.
Rebekah/Matt:
I was willing to let myself be completely charmed by them this episode-Explosive surfboard kisses! European vacations!-until Matt had to go and put that ultimatum down about a “vampire free” love life. I was okay with him keeping Tyler’s house vamp free, but that just seemed mean, and like he was tossing Rebekah scraps.
Still, while I wouldn’t say Rebekah actually succeeded in picking a good one, she is getting incrementally better. I’d love The Originals to give her a really awesome romance that I could watch amidst all the crack.
Klaus/Caroline:
Blergh! I liked their scene, and it gave me slightly fluttery feelings that I haven’t felt since Klaus was showing off his horsey drawings. Throw graduation hats at me if you must. I deserve it.
Lexi:
I have mostly been done with Lexi for a while, but she gets points for delivering the most reassuring line that has ever been written in all of TVD history, and that line is about how there are lots of “ones,” especially for vampires. Seriously, this made me dance around more than anything else in this episode, if only because it finally underlined that they are turning away from the philosophy of there being grand, once-in-a-lifetime epic loves that will ruin you for anyone else and that you must cling to at all costs.
You are okay, show. You are okay.
So yeah. Overall, I am pleased. I don’t think it’s as solid an episode as last season’s finale was-and I can now say with certainty that the sire bond was the biggest and most useless failed arc that this show has ever had- but then it also gave me lots of things that I wanted, so I can’t just go make it sleep out in the rain. It can sleep in the den, where Betty will be there to weight it down with cat butt.
I’m never going to have the wherewithal to write an organized and thoughtful reaction post, so I’m just going to dive in and write jumbled rambly paragraphs about nothing, in no chronological order.
#you’rewelcome
Anyway. Actually, let’s organize this by character and relationships. PSYCH. How old am I? This is what happens when I am happy.
Katherine:
Doppelganger showdown! Two doppelganger showdowns in a row, actually, but the one in the finale was THE BEST, because there was no one stepping in to stop it or save either party, it was allll Elena and Katherine. And Elena wins, and Katherine becomes human, and the deliciousness of that is there’s a certain irony to that in that Elena sort of gave Katherine what she had been asking for, in a backwards way. Katherine purports that she never had a graduation or prom or a real life, and technically now that she’s be-humaned she’s actually sort of getting a do over. But then it’s also awful, considering that what she had been angling for was absolute immortality, and that being human is not going to change her status with anyone, or rebuild the bridges she burned, so she’s in the worst spot. Vulnerable, with vampire baggage.
But Elena shoving the cure in her mouth and snapping her jaw shut was kind of the best thing, and I think my heart maybe burst a little bit out of my chest, because just an episode earlier Elena was ready to let Kol kill her, but now when faced with death, Elena not only shoved her only chance at humanity away in order to survive, she sacrificed the option of anyone else taking the cure as well. For a season that seems to have been (dubiously) about Elena both “losing herself” and then “accepting herself” it was a nice final note, as was her final jab of “Have a nice human life, Katherine.” In a way, it almost felt like that was her final goodbye to human!Elena. She had been trying to give that cure away all episode and say goodbye, but now she finally did it, and she did it while looking into her own face. She can move on now, unfettered, because she’s given that life, and that future, to someone else.
Elena:
Elena Gilbert is wrong, and she doesn’t give a fuck. She’ll live and love who she wants, and she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it. Such a change from the girl who has always been hung up on “should,” and honestly, I think her saying out loud that she is doing something wrong and doesn’t care is maybe the biggest step forward that her character has taken in four seasons. Because there is a place for compassion and empathy, but not at the expense of what you want and what you desire.
I went into the finale knowing that Elena was going to choose a Salvatore, and I had mixed feelings about that given the truly horrible chain of fuck ups that made up both of their resumes during the second half of the season, and the horrible lingering miasma of gross left over from the sire bond. But while I am still a little peeved that spending time on clearing up the sire bond seemed to be way down on list after letting Connor return to try to blow up a bar and Kol prance around, the manner of the D/E love confession did actually make me feel a lot better about the Salvatore choice happening now. Because nothing in Elena’s life has ever represented “wrong” as much as Damon Salvatore, and her feelings for Damon, and making that leap with him is in many ways the biggest symbol that she’s decided to live her life according to rules that she sets, damn the consequences or outside censure.
Obviously, complete obliviousness to the outside world is hard to maintain, and I think that’s going to be the largest obstacle for D/E to remain together, is that they can’t actually just snog in a bubble for the rest of their eternal lives. (Although I would watch this. IN A HEARTBEAT). But that’s what is going to make this relationship so interesting to watch, as both of them struggle to find that balance. I am just going to be so happy that Elena is now in a relationship where she feels free to yell, and, what’s more, yelling sometimes leads to kissing. You don’t have to tiptoe around the other person’s feelings for fear that they will stop loving you when they know, because you are both terrible and who cares.
Damon:
The stupidest. Stupid faces. Such stupid faces. I can’t.
Stefan:
Remember when I said that if I were writing The Vampire Diaries Stefan would be locked in a refrigerator? I feel like this has basically happened, and now I feel very guilty, karmically. I didn’t mean it-not really! I have this thing where as soon as Stefan is away from Elena, I magically start to like him, and so I feel bad that he had to make so many sad, scrunchy faces this episode and also that he is now drowning over and over again while his all-powerful shadow self is causing havoc. As crack-tastic as this doppelganger thing is, I am entirely on board for Silas shenanigans next year, and back to being incredibly interested in Stefan’s arc, both in his direct dealings with Silas, but also how he’s going to deal with not being the chosen one. Honestly, that kick in the pants has been a century in the making.
One of my favorite small moments was actually when Stefan was tasked with taking Silas to the quarry, and Damon was the one who got to kick up his heels and bask in the feeling of being loved. Such a nice role reversal.
A part of me is also glad that in some ways it is going to change the experience balance in his relationship with Elena. Elena can be like, “I know how you feel, Stefan. I have had a doppelganger for the past two years, and it’s been hard. All you have to do is kick this cinderblock and do fifty push ups and you’ll be fine.”
The only time I side-eyed him was when he went to graduation for no conceivable reason. If it is your 17th-which LOL YOU ARE A HIGH SCHOOL-A-HOLIC STEFAN SALVATORE-then I don’t think it has any special significance in your life and maybe you should, you know, be helping your brother with the apocalypse/hunter problem. Thunderemerald can attest that during the graduation scene I was just mostly yelling “What are you doing there? No seriously, what are you doing there???” and laughing. (Sorry, thunderemerald).
Bonnie:
Ugh, I don’t know about this one guys. I am glad that we’re not losing Bonnie-that would be inconceivable-but I don’t like her being a ghost a la Being Human. I hope they find some way to fix that really early on in the season and then we can all forget that it happened.
That said, I really loved her speech to Kol about wanting to stay in her life, too, but she’s not going to because she realizes that she can’t. Bonnie is honestly the only person on this show who can pull off the good, moral choices without seeming dumb, and that is an ART, especially with me, as I generally prefer everyone to be at least 50% evil.
Jeremy:
Oh, as much as I don’t like take-backsies in writing, I am sort of okay with this. It’s Jeremy! It makes Elena a happier person. And also we get him and Damon snarking at each other, which feeds my soul candy.
Rebekah/Matt:
I was willing to let myself be completely charmed by them this episode-Explosive surfboard kisses! European vacations!-until Matt had to go and put that ultimatum down about a “vampire free” love life. I was okay with him keeping Tyler’s house vamp free, but that just seemed mean, and like he was tossing Rebekah scraps.
Still, while I wouldn’t say Rebekah actually succeeded in picking a good one, she is getting incrementally better. I’d love The Originals to give her a really awesome romance that I could watch amidst all the crack.
Klaus/Caroline:
Blergh! I liked their scene, and it gave me slightly fluttery feelings that I haven’t felt since Klaus was showing off his horsey drawings. Throw graduation hats at me if you must. I deserve it.
Lexi:
I have mostly been done with Lexi for a while, but she gets points for delivering the most reassuring line that has ever been written in all of TVD history, and that line is about how there are lots of “ones,” especially for vampires. Seriously, this made me dance around more than anything else in this episode, if only because it finally underlined that they are turning away from the philosophy of there being grand, once-in-a-lifetime epic loves that will ruin you for anyone else and that you must cling to at all costs.
You are okay, show. You are okay.
So yeah. Overall, I am pleased. I don’t think it’s as solid an episode as last season’s finale was-and I can now say with certainty that the sire bond was the biggest and most useless failed arc that this show has ever had- but then it also gave me lots of things that I wanted, so I can’t just go make it sleep out in the rain. It can sleep in the den, where Betty will be there to weight it down with cat butt.