‘The Vampire Diaries’ Finale Recap: Goodbye Elena Gilbert

The day you’ve been dreading is here. The season six finale aired on May 14, and well – it was dark, and we said a final goodbye to Elena. So, how did she end her time on the show?

Saying that the season finale of The Vampire Diaries was emotional is quite the understatement. Following the dramatic Jolaric wedding, we were left wondering who was alive, who was together and basically, just WTF happened. Luckily we got (almost all of) those answers. But you may not be too thrilled.

Goodbye, Basically Everyone

Let’s dive right in, shall we? As you all know, it was Nina Dobrev‘s last episode, so the main question was: is Elena dead? Well the answer is: nope. Not even close. But I’ll get to that

After the wedding drama, Kai had slit his own throat, making everyone believe that he was dead — which would mean the rest of the coven, including Liv, would be dying too. It was a full moon and since Liv thought she was dying, she told Tyler (Michael Trevino) to kill her, and turn — to save his own life. So he did (by a very disturbing suffocation).

Nina Dobrev’s ‘Vampire Diaries’ Ending Didn’t Do Delena Justice

Unfortunately, it turned out that Kai wasn’t dead — he had become one of Lilly’s witch/vampires. So Tyler bit him, which would of course make him suffer and eventually die.

Goodbye Elena

Kai also put a spell on Elena, linking her life to Bonnie’s. As long as Bonnie was alive, Elena would stay asleep. So, what did Damon (Ian Somerhalder) do? Well, after Kai all but killed Bonnie, Damon walked in to choose heads or tails.

He picked heads: namely, Kai’s head. Yup, he cut it off with his hand, and saved Bonnie… but no that doesn’t mean that Elena is dead. She actually was just asleep, and when Bonnie dies one day, she’ll wake up. So yes, apparently Damon knew that the love of his life would want her best friend alive. I’m not sure if I buy that, but whatever.

Throughout the episode, a perfect farewell to Elena (and Nina) was done, after Caroline teaches them all how to hold her hand (while she lays in a coffin) and say goodbye by heading into the last moment she wants with both of them. You know, until she’s back in like 60 years and all the vampires are still alive. The humans — Alaric, Matt, and yes, Jeremy returns — she has to say goodbye to, which is actually extremely emotional. For Bonnie, she makes her lift the feathers one more time, a perfect homage to season one.

In her goodbyes, she and Damon shared one last dance, a lot of kissing and I Love You’s, and she told him he had to go on and life his life. She did have the almost-hand-touching moment that brought us way back.

Her real goodbye though was to Stefan, as she brought him to the place she told him she wanted to be human. Their I Love You’s appeared much more emotional, and to be honest, Stelena fans got the win on that one.

A Taste Of Steroline

The episode may have been all about Elena, but we did get a taste of Steroline. Caroline (Candice Accola) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) had a moment in the hospital, and she made sure that he was okay without his “soulmate,” Elena. But he cleared the air: he and Elena loved each other, but more than that, she brought him and Damon back together.

He later arrived at Caroline’s house to give her his list of things that she had done for him — and told her that he’d wait for her. And yes, the L-bomb was finally dropped.

However, in the final moments we see a messy future Mystic Falls with a not-looking-so-good (but still hot) Damon, and Matt as a cop, just like Elena pictured. Stay tuned for season 7.

What did you think of Elena’s goodbye, HollywoodLifers?

— Emily Longeretta
Follow @EmilyLongeretta