Holy who and the what now?! After last weeks bloodbath it was hard to see how The Vampire Diaries team would top that level of emotion and tension, and leave us with a finale that was as epic as last years. I’m pretty sure they just did that and then some.
Leaving off two days after the sacrifice, with Damon still in peril from his Tyler wolf bite and all still in mourning for Jenna (and hopefully a little for John), even a little Gone With the Wind action couldn’t alleviate the stress and show that they have persevered just like Scarlett (thanks Carolione) for Elena et al. Not only do they have to contend with a hallucinating Damon but the Sheriff, after pressure from Carol Lockwood has decided now should be the time to address her knowledge of who the town vampires are which makes for some fantastic timing. Once again Damon spares the Sheriff’s life and considering the state he was in I was a little surprised that he didn’t break her neck. If he had done that though it would have taken away one of the many gasp moments of this episode, in this case when the Sheriff aimed to shoot Damon, who moved out of the way of the speeding bullet only for it to hit Jeremy square in the chest. As this was not a supernatural act the ring didn’t save him and neither did Caroline’s blood, Bonnie had little choice but to ask the massacred witches to help her again.
It seemed harsh for Jeremy to die considering half his family perished last week, but that still didn’t stop me worrying and for the scene where Bonnie begged for his life to be any less emotional. As with all resurrection spells there was a warning of consequences to which Bonnie wasn’t bothered, I wonder how she might feel when she finds out Jeremy’s two dead ex’s have now returned. To have that as the cliffhanger was a brilliant and ballsy move; to make the end of this season not just about the whole Elena/Stefan/Damon story was pretty fantastic and totally unexpected, and I didn’t realise how glad I would be to see Vicki and especially Anna again. What this means for the story is any ones guess, are they malevolent spirits in the guise of Anna and Vicki? Are they really them? Will he see other dead people? So many questions to be asked over the long summer break.
The Damon forgiveness mission that was much promoted for this episode that entwined scenes from the present day with hallucinations from the past looked pretty fabulous, switching frantically between the two as the more confused and infected Damon grappled with his contrition. Considering the state he is in it is not all that surprising that Elena does indeed forgive him and takes to being his nurse maid in what seemed to them like his final hours of life. The moment that a lot of the fandom has been waiting for between these characters in the form of real kiss occurred, but was a rather chaste one rather than passionate kiss, and looked like the act of forgiving rather than one of romance. That still didn’t stop Katherine’s arrival with the cure being perfectly timed and leaving both Damon and Elena looking rather guilty, considering what Stefan has done to get this cure, I’m sure these feelings of guilt will increase when they find out exactly what Stefan has done to save his brother.
On to Stefan who would really do anything to save Damon, even sacrifice himself over to the animal inside that he has been trying so hard to keep buried. After last weeks big Klaus showdown with Elijah swooping in and effectively ruining the plan, I expected that they would leave this story alone till next year and just concentrate on Damon in this final hour of season 2. How very wrong I was and Klaus was centre stage all over again. The first really gasp worthy moment of the finale was Klaus reuniting Elijah with the family, just not in the way that Elijah figured as Klaus unexpectedly plunged the sacred knife in to Elijah’s heart. This still leaves it open for Elijah to return and I hope he does down the line somewhere, along with his other siblings who I’m sure will be none too pleased with their half brother. This act once again reinforces the nature of Klaus as the villain for this show, he really doesn’t mess about nor have any sentimentalities.
Klaus does indeed have some big plans for Stefan and his ripper reputation is obviously well known in the vampire circle, a reputation that we have seen a little of but has room for so much more potential, and hopefully next season we will get to see some more flashbacks of what this Stefan was capable of. Whilst I am a big fan of sweet, lovable boyfriend Stefan when he goes all animalistic and ragey there is a range that Paul Wesley is allowed to portray rather than just being the moral compass of the show. It is why the villain is often the interesting part to play and seeing Stefan journey to his dark side will make for an intriguing start to season 3. There is still the question of whether his tolerance for blood has been helped by what he has been drinking from Elena, though he clearly looked like he was OD’ing big time as Klaus fed him more and more blood bags. The lack of hesitation at the end with the random girl would suggest that he has gone over to dark Stefan and we’re going to have to wait the whole summer to find out if he has really has become the ripper he once was.
Other quick observations:
-Alaric was annoyed about being left out of last weeks ritual plan but still dropped everything when Stefan said Damon was in danger, bringing the all important whiskey to Damon’s one man hallucinating pity party.
-Alaric not wanting to go home was perhaps due to his apartment including a Katherine but also because he wanted to sleep in Jenna’s house (but not in her room). His playful teasing of Jeremy was rather sweet and I would definitely vote for him to be the Gilbert guardian next year.
-“What’s the plan superman?” Even in his darkest moments Damon is glib and snarky to his brother.
-Damon’s window suicide plan was rather haunting and beautifully shot, but there is no way Stefan is letting him go that easily.
-Damon doesn’t really blame Stefan for becoming a vampire, it was very much his own choice. Will he make this confession to Stefan one day?
-Love that Caroline is still all Caroline, with her complaining that waiting for the phone call was ruining Scarlett for her.
There is still much to process from this finale including the all round terrific performances and excellent work from all of The Vampire Diaries team. I thought it would be hard to top last weeks episode and the season 1 finale but I think they did it. A+
What were your favourite moments? What did you think of the last scene? Has Stefan really become a ripper again? Was the Elena/Damon scene all that you wanted it to be?
Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check out the very timely “Warring Brothers” article that includes both Damon/Stefan and Klaus/Elijah here. Also we will be dissecting season 2 of The Vampire Diaries this week so keep an eye out for that too.
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i love this show, when is season 3 started?
Season 3 comes out in september and its 2 long, i love vampire diaries soomuch and up until aout 2 episodes ago i was a true stelena now i think im moving to a delena fan :) The kiss was so sweet even if it was a more friendly kiss than romantic kiss. And i really can not wait to see this "evil, ripper" side of Stefan its gonna be epic!!! im going to have to watch every episode again and again till september arghh to long :)
I started watching this show out of curiosity, but already the first episode hooked me, and I've watched the entire show so far to date. Great writing. I do note, however, the tiny -and probably insignificant- discrepancies the writers didn't catch – like when Bonnie took Jeremy's blood to track the kidnapped Elena, because that required blood from a blood relative – but Elena was adopted, so Jeremy is NOT her blood relative, unless he is also Isobel's son, which has not been mentioned, so I take it that he's an actual born Gilbert. And to respond to above synopsis – I thought that Vicky was Tyler's girl, not jeremy's – but I could be wrong, maybe she was both guys' girl – its been so long ago. But I do like Anna to return, that'd be cool. And that Klaus is more than evil – he killed Elijah, the good vampire – and his brother no less – how evil & awful is that..!! I had expected Damon to bite the sheriff's neck and turning her into a vampire, too – but that didn't happen. Oh, well… And my last pondering is – is Elena now a Vampire, seeing as she's been bitten not once, but twice by Damon..?? They have not elaborated on THAT issue, so I'm wondering still – All in all, a great show – looking forward with bated breath for the next season this fall. Love how Damon has developed into a more caring being since the beginning, where he was really vicious and unlikeable. Now he's ok – was a bit worried that he would die, though. Am glad to know that he's gonna live.
Sorry – correction – sometimes I overthink myself – come to think of it, Jeremy IS Elena's blood relative, since she's John Gilbert's daughter, and John is/was Jeremy's father's brother. So, at least, THAT's resolved. Don't like inconsistencies, just my flaw.
@Cat Looks like you've missed out on a few key concepts in earlier episodes. A human doesn't become a vampire when bitten by a vampire. When bitten, the vampire blood circulates in the body for 24 hours. If he/she dies during that time, because the vampire blood is in the system, he/she becomes a vampire.
Pretty good ending. I didn't get how Katherine got into the house (and the bedroom) uninvited in the end. After all, the house is in Elena's name and only Stefan, Damon and Elijah had been invited in.
@cat Jeremy and Vicki had a summer fling before she and Tyler got together. And Jeremy was annoyed because he thought it was just for drugs for a while…and he kept telling her that Tyler was only with her for Sex. so yes Jeremy and Vicki were together. and Yeah you have to die with Vampire Blood in your system to become a vampire. Vampire Diaries Vampire at least :) ahha and @Nessie yeah i was wondering that myself…because Katherine isnt powerful enough to just be able to walk in..