‘The Vampire Diaries’ Finale Recap: [Spoiler]’s Death Brings Back Stefan

The ‘Vampire Diaries’ season finale was unforgettable. Season five concluded with a master plan gone awry and two major characters not coming back from the Other Side!

The May 15 season finale of The Vampire Diaries is another epic conclusion to a fantastic season. The episode featured the return of beloved familiar faces, the end of Markos (Raffi Barsoumian) and two major characters saying goodbye, possibly for good! Read on for all the details on the finale!

‘The Vampire Diaries’ Recap: Markos Means Business

The episode started off in the most devastating way possible: Caroline (Candice Accola) crying over Stefan’s (Paul Wesley) body. Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) ran to her side and were shocked at a lifeless Stefan. Caroline was distraught and believed Bonnie (Kat Graham) had a plan to save Stefan. Damon vowed that he would find a way to bring Stefan back. Meanwhile, Ghost Stefan was watching over them. Suddenly, he started being swept up by the darkness until a familiar face saved him: Lexi (Arielle Kebbel)!

‘Vampire Diaries’ Should Not Bring Back [Spoiler] From The Dead

Damon started doing what Damon does best: Lashing out. He was pissed that Bonnie didn’t have an immediate plan to bring Stefan back. Damon threatened her that if the Other Side was gone for good, Stefan, Alaric (Matt Davis) and her Grams (Jasmine Guy) would be dead forever. However, Enzo (Michael Malarkey) appeared, and said he had found another Traveler, but needed a witch to help with the big spell. (Also, Enzo called Damon “Grumpy Pants,” which was an accurate summation.)

Luke (Chris Brochu) and Liv (Penelope Mitchell) were wanting to get the heck out of Mystic Falls, but the vamps weren’t going to let that happen. Elena and Carolina cornered them and told them about Stefan. Elena wanted to kill Markos in order to bring Stefan back. Luke and Liv said they couldn’t and wouldn’t help. But then Caroline killed Luke, so Liv was forced to help!

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Markos was continuing his plan to take over Mystic Falls and Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) was none too happy about it. He had set the border of Mystic Falls to where the spell begins. Where the spell began, spirit magic was kaput. Markos warned Sheriff Forbes not to have Damon or Caroline try and save the day. He pulled out Tyler (Michael Trevino), who was being inhabited by a Traveler. Markos used him as an example and when Tyler stepped over the border, he was stripped of all his supernatural entities and was dead!

‘The Vampire Diaries’ Recap: Making Plans

Bonnie and Enzo waited on his mysterious Traveler. Tyler appeared and Bonnie realized he was dead. Tyler was shocked that he was no longer living, but Bonnie said she could reverse it. She held out her hand and Tyler passed over to the Other Side.

Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), Matt (Zach Roerig) and Damon worked together to find a way to eliminate the Travelers, while Caroline and Elena were on witch duty. The boys discovered the major gas line underneath the town, which would cause a massive, deadly explosion if ignited. Matt thought there was no way they could blow up the whole town, but Damon thought otherwise. All they had to do was get the Travelers together, leak the gas and then KABOOM. Then, the spell would allow all those dead to be brought back.

While they were still dead, Lexi and Stefan looked for Alaric! However, the best friends had to chat about a special someone. Lexi couldn’t believe Stefan wouldn’t acknowledge what was going on with Caroline. However, they didn’t get to further the conversation because Markos and Sheriff Forbes walked into the Grill. Sheriff Forbes dropped the hint about having an open bar to gather all the Travelers.

As the anchor, and with the help of the spell, Bonnie would allow the people to pass back through her. During Enzo and Bonnie’s conversation, Silas appeared and he was as snarky as ever. He agreed to bring back everyone, but he had to tag along too! Meanwhile, Stefan and Lexi agreed on a death peace pact. If Bonnie’s plan failed, they would find peace together. Lexi didn’t want that to happen because Stefan still needed to make a date with Caroline!

Matt wasn’t so sure of blowing up the “only place dumb enough” to hire him and Jeremy. They found the gas line and the Travelers were partying above. Markos asked Sheriff Forbes to a drink while his clan partied on.

‘The Vampire Diaries’ Recap: Blown Up And Away

Elena and Damon had their first heart-to-heart of the night. He told her that he was going to have to trigger the explosion that would kill the Travelers. Elena said there was no way he was going to die. She asked him, “Damon, do you see a future with me? Because that’s all I see.” Damon told her he had seen a future with her since the first time he laid eyes on her. Damon assured her he would come back to her. They kissed and he promised to return.

The spell was ready on all fronts and Bonnie was ready to begin. Suddenly, Enzo and Silas started being swept away. Bonnie grabbed Enzo’s hand, but let Silas be swept up into the darkness. That’s what Silas gets for killing her dad.

Bonnie met up with her Grams and she had some words of advice for her brave granddaughter. Grams said there was no way everyone could pass through Bonnie and she would remain the anchor no matter what. Bonnie told her Grams to pass back through her when the ritual began. Grams replied no, she was going to stay behind. Grams had found her peace watching Bonnie grow into a hero.

Markos knew Sheriff Forbes was up to something while they were having drinks. She started to smell gas and they headed to the back. She knocked him out and texted Damon to head to the Grill. Sheriff Forbes started to head out, but Markos grabbed her!

Damon got the text and started to set off for the Grill. However, he was accompanied by Elena! Damon wanted her to stay behind. As soon as they stepped over the line, they would feel everything from the night they died. Elena told Damon to respect her choice to come with him. They had to be quick, because they had to die while they were still vampires. As his car headed toward the Grill, the two loves held hands and acknowledged their love for each other. Then, KABOOM!

Liv started struggling with the spell and Bonnie was greeted by all the now dead Travelers. Markos appeared and told Bonnie he was going to keep coming back. Elena and Damon showed up and Bonnie said they were about to see their charred corpses. When they passed to the Other Side, Elena was greeted by Alaric! Alaric told her she had to get back to Bonnie so she could come back from the dead. Alaric said he would find Damon and Elena had to think about Jeremy. Damon awoke and saw Sheriff Forbes. Alaric helped him out because they are bros for life! He told Damon, “Friendly advice: When you finally get the girl, don’t blow her up.”

‘The Vampire Diaries’ Recap: Matters Of The Heart

Luke realized Liv was starting to crack from the pressure. Stefan said they had to wait for Damon, but Luke passed back through anyway. Luke found Liv and told her to stop the spell, but she kept going. Enzo passed back, as well as Tyler. Caroline hugged Tyler, but Tyler realized something was wrong. He was no longer a hybrid!

Elena wanted to wait for Damon, but Bonnie grabbed her anyway. Like Liv, Bonnie started to break. Stefan showed up and Damon was nowhere to be found. Bonnie assured Stefan she could keep going, but Lexi saw it was killing her. Markos appeared and Lexi made sure he wouldn’t come back. Bonnie told Lexi it was her turn, but Lexi wouldn’t go. She couldn’t allow Stefan to lose his brother. Lexi had found peace.

Alaric and Damon found Bonnie and Alaric passed over to real-life. However, as Damon prepared to return to Elena, Luke started to stop the spell. When Bonnie tried to pass Damon back over, nothing happened.

When Damon didn’t return, Elena knew there had to be another way. Bonnie said it was a one-time deal. Elena completely lost it and Ghost Damon watched as his one and only love cried over losing him. Bonnie told Elena that Damon was in the room and they could say goodbye.

But Elena wasn’t ready. “Please don’t leave me,” Elena cried. “I don’t have a choice,” Damon replied, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. He told her that she was the greatest thing to ever happen to him. He had lived a fulfilled life and had died loved, which was all he ever wanted. “I love you, Elena,” Damon said. Elena pleaded with him to come back to her, but he disappeared. (Bring on the tears.)

Stefan sat in the cemetery dealing with the fact that both Damon and Lexi were both gone and Caroline sat next to him. “I lost them both,” he said. “The two people I’ve known longest in the world are both gone.” Stefan knew that Lexi preventing Markos from coming back was her unfinished business and Damon finally had all he had ever wanted. Stefan wanted Damon to be there, even though he knew he couldn’t be. Caroline comforted Stefan as he grieved.

Bonnie told Jeremy that there was no way she could stop being the anchor. When the Other Side was destroyed, so was she. She didn’t want to tell Jeremy because it would have ruined their last days together. Jeremy wanted to find her before she left for good.

Elena continued to lose it over Damon and Alaric held her as she cried. They heard Jeremy crying out for Bonnie and wondered what was up. Elena, Jeremy, Alaric, Caroline and Tyler all watched as Bonnie left them. She appeared next to Damon and they decided they would find peace together, even after everything that had happened between them. They started to see the light and Bonnie asked if he thought it would hurt. Before Damon could finish his sentence, everything went to white. Wow.

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of The Vampire Diaries season finale? Do you think Damon and Bonnie are really gone for good? Are you glad Alaric is back? How will Elena cope with Damon breaking his promise to her? Let us know!

— Avery Thompson
Follow @avery__thompson

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