I was going to say that this finale did an excellent job of keeping the focus on the bloody, beating heart of the series. Yes, there was some nail-biting drama, but mostly it was about big emotional moments. Klaroline. Delena. To a lesser extent, Stelena. Jeremy and Bonnie (they probably have a cute nickname, which you’re welcome to mention in the comments). It all felt like (as befit a graduation-themed episode) a sweet and often poignant summing up, moving on and coming together.
It was, of course, until stuff started getting all manner of messed up. I can’t even start at the beginning simply because so many of the things that happened in the last few minutes of the episode were so crushing, so plot spinning, that I have to start there. So, you know, spoilers yada yada yada. As if anyone could wait to watch this one.
As we knew, Stefan was going to leave town if Elena didn’t love him back. As much as I love Delena (and we will get back to that), it was still crushing to see Stefan’s face as he overheard Damon and Elena scream about their love for one another before locking lips. I was just starting to think that Paul Wesley might have a movie to shoot and Stefan would come back with a new girlfriend in four to five months just to tweak Elena’s feelings when Silas had to show up and ruin everything.
It seems that doppelgängers are quite the popular plot device in “TVD” world, and while I think more than one is pushing the limits, I’m horrified to think that Silas is now posing as Stefan and what that’s going to mean for all our beloved vampires. The good or bad news (it’s hard to know how this is going to play out, isn’t it?) is that the Cure is no longer up for grabs, given that it’s gone down Katherine’s gullet. The girl who so desperately wanted immortality is painfully human after hundreds of years with vampire blood in her veins. I’m not sure how this will play out, or if Silas will attempt to eat her in the hopes he can get some Cure byproduct that way, but it seems a rich reward for someone so intent on killing Elena for the utterly ridiculous “crime” of stealing her happiness.
A lot happened in this episode, but much of it was resolved so quickly I have to wonder if it needed to happen at all. Galen shot Damon with werewolf-tainted bullets, he insisted on seeing where Silas was buried, Alaric killed Galen, Damon needed a cure, Klaus showed up. It wasn’t even truly necessary to find an excuse for Klaus to come to town (with the exception of a lethal beheading with a graduation cap, which was really worth it), since Klaus was going to come to see Caroline anyway.
If you’re not already sold on Klaroline, I would think this episode would do the trick. Klaus, looking crazy dapper in his big boy suit, informed Caroline he was giving her a gift. Since she wouldn’t come to NoLa, he was going to let Tyler return to Mystic Falls. Tyler was her first love, but Klaus was determined to be her last. Caroline doesn’t resist when Klaus kisses her, because, damn, how could she?
Also in the sweet category for this episode was Rebekah’s shy flirtation with Matt (Mekah? Rebatt? Okay, someone fill me in on this one). She takes a huge risk in moving him off of the bomb Alexander has stuck him on (okay, “TVD” writers, that was a pretty awkward excuse to force these two to talk about future bonding, but I’ll let it pass), but the good news is that Matt is down with her many romantic promises. Although I wasn’t thrilled with his suggestion that “what happens on the road, stays on the road,” which seems to put Rebekah into the category of vacation fling, I’m hoping we get to see at least some of their whirlwind travels through Europe. I’d even take some Photoshopped vacation photos if the production can’t afford anything fancy. Rebekah is really doing her best to be a human girl for Matt, and while it may be tricky on the road (I’m assuming she’ll need to eat at some point), at least she’s being nice.
A large swath of the episode revolved around Bonnie’s long goodbye, which made graduation just as tearful and emotionally fraught as you’d expect. She tearfully hugged her friends, her dad, not Kol, probably a chair or some furniture, who knows, lots of hugging. In the end, we got another twist, though. She was, as we knew, dead as a doornail — but her spell to bring Jeremy back to life actually worked. Huzzah! And boo, because he can’t really be with Bonnie except in an unsatisfying, ghosty way. Still, this will be a thrill for Elena. After all, she’s just so happy to be feeling things.
Oh, that reminds me! Let’s talk about that big Delena moment, which I wasn’t sure we would get. Since Elena turned her switch on and off, that somehow broke the sire bond (hey, Stefan said so, I’m just repeating) and that meant that she might go back to Stefan. In fact, that seemed probable when she asked to talk to Stefan alone.
But no, the two of them were just passing the Cure back and forth like a bottle of Boone’s Farm wine at dumpster fire. Elena was saving her big, mushy moment for Damon. Damon tells Elena he wanted to apologize to her, but then he realized he wasn’t sorry. No, he’s selfish. He makes bad choices that hurt her. He’d rather die than be human. He doesn’t want to lose her when he’s old and she’s still beautiful. He’s not gonna change! No apology will encompass all the reasons in the world he’s wrong for her! But, ahem, he still loves the crap out of her, cough cough.
Elena, looking equally upset, yells that she’s not sorry, either. She’s not sorry she met him or that he’s made her question everything, or that in death he made her feel most alive. “You’ve been a terrible person… I am not sorry that I’m in love with you. I love you, Damon.” And they kiss. That was so angry! And sweet! And awesome!
I’m a little worried about Stefan, of course, and I’m sorry to see Bonnie go (though, given that Jeremy can see her, I’m sure she’ll make many, many guest appearances). We’ll all have a lot to think about over the summer. And new nicknames to coin (psst… I like Mekah).
What did you think of the season finale? Were you glad to see Elena choose Damon? What do you think is going to happen to Stefan?