S08.E16: I Was Feeling Epic

[Snow Fairy]

Before I read all you wrote - did Elena and Damon got separated in afterlife? Everything would be better to me if they showed them all together

And I don't think Caroline is coming to Originals, but this is a sign she won't be alone in the future. She was the only vampire left, and when her family and friend dies, she would need someone in her life

[KatWay]

I'm sorry but "happy in afterlife" is just a cop-out. At the end of the day, everyone achieves that eventually (unless you burn in hell I guess) and it's not really LIFE. At the end of the day Damon got to live out his human life with his loved ones and Stefan did not. I don't care if they all reunited in afterlife, Stefan never got to grow old and experience humanity in any way it counted, he didn't even get to spend time with his wife/love of HIS life, just so that Damon could get everything.

I don't care how much they pushed Defan and the brotherly bond (which somehow felt like a retcon with the show's endless emphasis on romance), he still got screwed over so Delena could have a happy ending. I should've seen it coming but the spoilers had me mildly optimistic I guess.

[LeafontheWind]

I haven't watched an episode since the mid season break, but I have been saving them all to watch later on. Maybe it's because I got to skip all the random stuff that I read about on the boards, but I thought this was a beautiful ending to this story. I haven't loved every minute of this show, but the good always outweighed the bad for me.

I am so glad that the afterlife was about reuniting with family instead of romantic interests. I am even more glad that the entire Bennett line got to kick some ass at the end- again, family is stronger than anything else. To me, that is what this show has always been about at its core. 

I won't exactly miss it because I haven't made the effort to watch every week, but I am satisfied with the way it all came together at the end. And I may or may not have cried through the last ten minutes or so...

Edited March 11, 2017 by LeafontheWind

[chrisvee]

1 hour ago, Aeryn13 said:

I know it looks like Stefan was the one character who got crapped on in that ending but with the way they did it, it cemented him as the Jack of Titanic. I mean, this entire Finale and retroactively the show has been made into Titanic. 

Sure, it was all "they lived happy, human lives bla bla" at the end but we didn`t see any of it because it wasn`t important. Just as Rose on Titanic lived a full human life, had kids and grandkids and we saw it through a photo montage but the movie was about her love story with Jack and the ending was her TRUE happiness and fulfillment in being reunited with him as her young self. Her human life was nothing but a waiting station, no matter how happy it was.

TVD pretty much did the exact same thing here. Stefan did early and went to the true paradise where he found a little bit of happiness already with a friend. And Damon (his Rose, sorry triangle, sorry even Caroline, the ending made it clear that it was Damon) joined him as his young self again at the end. This was the true happiness and fulffillment of both. That human life before was hogwash, not important.   

I think you've got it exactly right. For the brothers they really played up the redemption angle this season. And Stefan frankly got the best of that storyline since (sorry Elena, sorry Caroline) he has always been about earning forgiveness for his crimes and specifically forgiveness from Damon for consigning him to the vampire life. Damon's redemption played out offscreen during his human life with Elena -- a human life that was essentially a reset made possible by Stefan. 

Interesting and somewhat heartening for me that they really made the finale about Stefan and Elena. Stefan was honored as the person who put everything in motion to get them all to the afterlife and he was really portrayed as the catalyst that brought Elena back to happiness.

[Aeryn13]

Quote

Stefan never got to grow old and experience humanity in any way it counted, he didn't even get to spend time with his wife/love of HIS life

I would have prefered this for him, too. Felt so bad for him and Caroline.

And technically, I even agree that "afterlife" is a cop-out but because the ending was so rushed, it really made their human lifes not matter to me. The entire end bit was like "who the fuck cares how they lived those lifes?" - like, did Delena have kids? did Bonnie ever fall in love again, marry and/or have kids? what the hell did she do all her life, just travelling? what in the everloving fuck did a human Damon DO during his life when Elena was a doctor? Run the Mystic Grill? - I just couldn`t feel anything about those lifes. One short sentence about happiness in offscreenville doesn`t get me emotionally invested. That only came back during the afterlife moments. 

In the end, they should have scrapped the retrospective and made it a two-hour Finale. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by Aeryn13

[Snow Fairy]

I found this 

 

[dreamcatcher]

Ok I've stopped watching this show in season 5, but I kept reading recaps as I always wanted to watch the finale. I wasn't expecting it, but I was a crying mess  for most of the episode.

10 hours ago, betweenthebanter said:

I don't think it was a good or bad finale, but it had some good moments. I thought it was a pretty boring for the first half of it, but their was some redeeming and heartwarming moments during the second half.

I had been pretty sure Stefan was going to die and I was really touched and surprised during the Damon/Stefan moment where Damon compelled Stefan to get out of there, but of course that moment was too good to be true. That being said, them reuniting in death at the end was beautiful.

I loved Elena sitting in her scrubs and writing in her diary. I was disappointed in the use of Katherine, perhaps because Nina's acting as Katherine felt a little off to me.

I'm glad that Bonnie survived and decided to travel the world. The moment of all the witches helping her was great.

Ugh, of course Klaus/Caroline got foreshadowed at the end. My last hope for TVD/TO world is that nothing substantial comes from this foreshadowing. I'm just going to imagine that Caroline enjoys her life with her family and friends, and one day years from the finale, she'll fall in love with a new vampire, that we've never met before, and have a happy life with him.

I was happy seeing Jeremy working at Caroline/Alaric's school.

The first part was really boring and long, considering that nothing happened to Mystic Falls in the end. They should have made the episode longer, even if it was for 10-20 minutes.

The wigs were SO distracting, I just couldn't watch Nina at all.

9 hours ago, FiveByFive said:

Technically nearly any of the living characters, as in anyone that was alive after Bonnie's spell contained and channeled the hellfire, can pop up on The Originals. Caroline is the most likely because of her connection to Klaus although I don't want those two together.  Bonnie is traveling the world but she's still a powerful witch from a powerful line who could lend help when necessary. We know Elena went to medical school, married Damon and then died at some point in the "distant" future but I doubt Nina would ever return to the show and I'd be happy to never see her again as Elena because at least her life as we could imagine it would have ended happily. 

However, for all of them, we don't know the details of what happened post show. I wouldn't be upset to see some of them but only if it's written well and they get to leave their appearance alive. 

31 minutes ago, Snow Fairy said:

Before I read all you wrote - did Elena and Damon got separated in afterlife? Everything would be better to me if they showed them all together

And I don't think Caroline is coming to Originals, but this is a sign she won't be alone in the future. She was the only vampire left, and when her family and friend dies, she would need someone in her life

I don't see how they could move any actor to TO given that they've messed up the timeline. However, I really wish Caroline could appear on the finale and reunite with Klaus. I admit that I always liked Klaroline (and definitely more than Steroline) but if we're being honest, the only one who got screwed over in this finale completely was Caroline. She lost her husband hours after the wedding, without a proper goodbye and she could only tell him that she understands why he sacrificed himself (which isn't really convincing but anyway) by leaving him a voicemail. She's the only vampire left, so she will have to either move away from everyone soon, or hiding herself. Or keep relocating her girls. And she will watch every single one of them dying. And she will have to live eternally without at least one constant companion. I feel sorry for Caroline.

6 hours ago, steelyis said:

The ending was a little confusing because I didn't realize right away Elena and Damon died at some point and we were seeing their afterlives. It was jarring, so I don't know how to feel about it. I can't decide if that ending is tragic since it looks like they died not too long after Elena woke up, or hopeful, because Damon and Elena reunited with their loved ones (but not each other?) and found peace. Or both?

That's what I came here for actually! I was so confused because it was so rushed and at first, I didn't even realize they were all dead. It could have been an epic moment, but it was so rushed and random. They kept throwing information on us, but we never got to see any of these happy moments, the characters reuniting etc.

And I have one little question, which might be stupid but I just don't get it. I was expecting Stefan to turn around, but I thought they would both die because Damon didn't have the time to leave anyway. And then, they show him right next to where the hellfire went through, completely untouched. So I don't see why Stefan had to die WITH Katherine. He had the time to stab her, leave her there and move next to Damon. They kept showing Katherine coming back, but they showed her coming back after some time, not immediately. They could have shown that she's waking up after a couple seconds, which is why she needs to die right at the moment Stefan sees hellfire. I get that this is just a technicality, but it bothered me

I did like the finale, but I think they could have handled the material better.

[FiveByFive]

16 minutes ago, dreamcatcher said:

I don't see how they could move any actor to TO given that they've messed up the timeline. However, I really wish Caroline could appear on the finale and reunite with Klaus. I admit that I always liked Klaroline (and definitely more than Steroline) but if we're being honest, the only one who got screwed over in this finale completely was Caroline.

Today a couple of articles came out in the Hollywood Reporter 'The Vampire Diaries' Could Get a Second Spinoff with an interview with Plec about a potential spinoff and Caroline on the Originals. I'll post that one in the media thread but the relevant part is, 

Quote

Friday's series finale alluded to "another story" for character Caroline Forbes (Candice King), who ends up opening a school for supernatural children like her own — funded by none other than her former love, Klaus (Joseph Morgan). While the duo will not interact on the upcoming season of The Originals, they potentially could in the future.

The CW President apparently seems "optimistic" about it returning but I suppose that depends on how this season does. The other article was about things they scrapped from the finale. 'The Vampire Diaries' Boss Explains Finale Deaths, Callbacks and Scrapped Ending I would have liked to learn a bit more about Bonnie's future so we know Ghost Enzo won't keep haunting her for the rest of her life until she can be with him. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by FiveByFive

[Aeryn13]

Quote

I did like the finale, but I think they could have handled the material better.

I agree. A lot was too rushed.

The way I interpreted the ending is that heaven is gonna be a place where they can all reunite. So yes, initially when you die, you search out certain people but I`m sure Stefan and Elena for example meet up in the afterlife as well. It`s really quite cheesy but I can take that in this case.

One thing I really loved was the "hello brother" juxtaposition between the Pilot and the final scene. Same participants, same dialogue and WORLDS apart in terms of emotional context.   

[dreamcatcher]

I don't think a new spin-off will work, and TO isn't likely to bounce back from the 'Friday slot' kiss of death. The only show that has ever done that if I'm not mistaken is Supernatural, and that's a whole different story.

I just feel so bad for Caroline and I want to see more of her. I mean, we don't know much about Bonnie's future either, but we left her saying that she wants to live her life to the fullest before reuniting with the love of her life. Caroline might have said that they're going to see Stefan again, but unless somebody actually kills her at some point, she isn't going to see Stefan or anyone else ever again -while apparently all the others will be together in heaven.

[Snow Fairy]

Couldn't Caroline just take the cure from Damon's blood when he's and about to die?

[imaneassi]

I loved the finale even though I would have prefered that Elena dumps Damon to start a new life elsewhere.Nina's acting was perfect as both Katherine and Elena. Katherine's first scene was kinda "weird" because we're not used to Katherine with straight hair, but she definitly was Kathetine.Human, powerless ,but katherine.All awards to Nina for the scene with Damon as katherine pretending to be Elena..The way she flipped from Elena to Katherine,just ;like that,....so much talent.Ian's acting sucked big time with everyone

[Indigo Luna]

I'll forever be bitter because all we got of Tyler in the finale was a .5 second shot of him standing next to Vicki. He deserved MORE dammit! 

[dreamcatcher]

3 minutes ago, Snow Fairy said:

Couldn't Caroline just take the cure from Damon's blood when he's and about to die?

I'm not sure if the cure works like this, meaning if they could still take the cure out of him after 50 years. I guess not, mostly because Damon would most definitely be hunted by other vampires for the cure.

But in any case, why would she? She's the only one who loved being a vampire. If there was a way for her to become a human and live her human life along her friends and children, then that would make sense. But if she were to take it when Damon's (and the others) is already old, then she would just have to live a human life with no one else still in her life.

[generate789]

This show has been so silly and so frustrating for so long that I was entirely unprepared for the amount of ugly crying I did while watching it. 

[TaylorBruh25]

14 hours ago, Aeryn13 said:

I agree. A lot was too rushed.

The way I interpreted the ending is that heaven is gonna be a place where they can all reunite. So yes, initially when you die, you search out certain people but I`m sure Stefan and Elena for example meet up in the afterlife as well. It`s really quite cheesy but I can take that in this case.

One thing I really loved was the "hello brother" juxtaposition between the Pilot and the final scene. Same participants, same dialogue and WORLDS apart in terms of emotional context.   

I loved the finale scene probably the most in the finale. It cements that the core story was always this complicated reunion of The Salvatore Brothers. 

This finale did suffer the same as Season 6's, the first half feels like a season finale, while the second half is a Series Finale.

13 hours ago, Indigo Luna said:

I'll forever be bitter because all we got of Tyler in the finale was a .5 second shot of him standing next to Vicki. He deserved MORE dammit! 

Agreed as well. I really we hope the Directors cut of the finale, or at least the deleted scenes make it to the Series set or Season 8 DVD. They suck at cutting scenes, they cut a Stefan and Bonnie scene last episode I believe instead of one of those ridiculous Kelly Donovan scenes, why couldn't we delete Peter and Vickis reunion this episode and give us an extra 3 minutes for the ending? 

[imaneassi]

33 minutes ago, TaylorBruh25 said:

I loved the finale scene probably the most in the finale. It cements that the core story was always this complicated reunion of The Salvatore Brothers. 

This finale did suffer the same as Season 6's, the first half feels like a season finale, while the second half is a Series Finale. 

No.They focused on the brothers only after season 6.The show was about a triangle,a teenage girl falling for 2 vampire brothers

[Chas411]

1 hour ago, Indigo Luna said:

I'll forever be bitter because all we got of Tyler in the finale was a .5 second shot of him standing next to Vicki. He deserved MORE dammit! 

I'll be forever bitter for the way the show ended up treating Tyler period. His journey with Caroline in season 2/3 were easily my favourite parts of the series and I hate that they through him under the bus to support Caroline's bigger ships with Klaus and Stefan.

[Indigo Luna]

5 minutes ago, Chas411 said:

I'll be forever bitter for the way the show ended up treating Tyler period. His journey with Caroline in season 2/3 were easily my favourite parts of the series and I hate that they through him under the bus to support Caroline's bigger ships with Klaus and Stefan.

I definitely agree! Hell I felt like they threw Caroline herself under the bus just to fit her character in those ships (with Klaus especially). It makes me sad cause Kevin Williamson had a soft spot for Tyler as a character and wrote him as such in the first 2 seasons but Julie Plec couldn't care less about him and shipped him off to wherever every season. It was just really crappy to do with Tyler and his fanbase. 

[Artsda]

18 minutes ago, Chas411 said:

I'll forever be bitter because all we got of Tyler in the finale was a .5 second shot of him standing next to Vicki. He deserved MORE dammit! 

I agree and the fact he died and basically nobody gave a damn. They continue to prop and claim Damon is the bestest person ever. Yet Stefan has to die for killing Enzo? Enzo wasn't a regular character for 8 years, Enzo didn't have the connection to the characters like Tyler. 

I really with Kevin never left. Julie destroyed Tyler to prop her bad boys of Klaus and Damon.

Quote

Stefan never got to grow old and experience humanity in any way it counted, he didn't even get to spend time with his wife/love of HIS life, just so that Damon could get everything.

I don't think Caroline was the love of his life it only was created out of cast changes. I think it was still Elena, despite what they had him say it was forced. Now the reasons they give about Nina's exit explains why it seemed so forced. Had Damon died and Stefan lived instead, I think they wouldn't have been able to explain why Stefan&Elena weren't ending up together. As they said in the interview, they didn't have the time to show a reunited Stefan&Elena and had Damon died instead they would have had to show that. 

[Cocidius]

I only have one complaint. Nina's acting was hella off. I want to say it was a phoned in performance. Every scene of her's took me out of the moments. Maybe she was out of practice or didn't really want to do it. I just wish it wasn't so bad. It one of those cases be careful what you wish for lol. 

Other than that it was a satisfing ending. 

[betweenthebanter]

I agree about being upset, but unfortunately not surprised, that the horrible treatment of Tyler continued into the finale. Stefan killing Enzo resulted in Stefan "making things right" by sacrificing himself to save Damon and the town. Damon killing Tyler resulted in Damon getting called "the better man" and getting to have the life he wanted with Elena. Tyler is one of the big reasons, maybe the biggest, as to why I hope the Klaus/Caroline story doesn't play out on screen anymore than it already has. Tyler/Caroline's relationship already got messed up in a lot of ways, but having her endgame be the guy that killed Tyer's mom would make it hard for me to revisit the great parts of Tyler/Caroline's story.

In comparing the difference in treatment of Enzo vs. Tyler's death, it made me realize that I would have probably been a lot more into Bonnie's flashback love story if it happened with Tyler, instead of Enzo.

I've never shipped Stefan/Elena, but Stefan calling Damon "the better man" was such an unnecessary blow to their last scene.

Also, in terms of Stefan/Caroline I read in one of the pre-finale interviews about a nice scene of theirs, during the first act of the finale, that was cut out. I really hope for their fans that that scene is on the DVD.

Edited March 11, 2017 by betweenthebanter

[imaneassi]

1 hour ago, Cocidius said:

I only have one complaint. Nina's acting was hella off. I want to say it was a phoned in performance. Every scene of her's took me out of the moments. Maybe she was out of practice or didn't really want to do it. I just wish it wasn't so bad. It one of those cases be careful what you wish for lol. 

Other than that it was a satisfing ending. 

The one who was off is Ian.Nina totally delivered. She was amazing in her 2 scenes with Bonnie, in the stelena scene, the family  reunion...Only delena's scenes failed because of Ian's acting

Edited March 11, 2017 by imaneassi

[dreamcatcher]

1 hour ago, Artsda said:

I agree and the fact he died and basically nobody gave a damn. They continue to prop and claim Damon is the bestest person ever. Yet Stefan has to die for killing Enzo? Enzo wasn't a regular character for 8 years, Enzo didn't have the connection to the characters like Tyler. 

I really with Kevin never left. Julie destroyed Tyler to prop her bad boys of Klaus and Damon.

I don't think Caroline was the love of his life it only was created out of cast changes. I think it was still Elena, despite what they had him say it was forced. Now the reasons they give about Nina's exit explains why it seemed so forced. Had Damon died and Stefan lived instead, I think they wouldn't have been able to explain why Stefan&Elena weren't ending up together. As they said in the interview, they didn't have the time to show a reunited Stefan&Elena and had Damon died instead they would have had to show that. 

I agree with this... Although I do feel bad for Caroline because she ended up again the no2 choice and Elena no1, Steroline was too forced to me. I loved them as bff, but I keep remembering how Stefan treated Caroline in the very first episode and it doesn't seem romantic to me at all. They tried to play it off like Caroline always knew and whatever, but Caroline had AMAZING relationships with both Matt and Tyler, they seemed real and full of chemistry, plus she had Klaus. And yet, she suddenly fell for her bff, her bff's ex and it just didn't work. I guess if I could see the (sexual,because as I said, they worked perfectly as bffs) chemistry between them I would feel worse about Stefan's death. But tbh, if he knew that Caroline was the love of his life, his one true love, above Elena and whatever, why woud he be so quick to give their future up to save Damon and his relationship?

34 minutes ago, imaneassi said:

The one who was off is Ian.Nina totally delivered. She was amazing in her 2 scenes with Bonnie, in the stelena scvene, the family  reubion...Only delena's scenes failed because of Ian's acting

I agree. I'm sorry but they've tried so hard to convince us that there are no hard feelings with those silly posts Ian and Nikki made (I think Nina's was a bit more reserved, but obviously it was all three's decision anyway), but seriously? After 8 seasons of back and forth, 2 seasons of Damon waiting for Elena to wake up, we got just a couple scenes that were too forced and they didn't even have a dialogue apart from the first scene where Katherine pretended to be Elena. I was always a Delena shipper, even though I liked Stelena as well. But Stelena's scenes were SO powerful because they were emotional. And then you get the big reunion and it's too obvious that they are trying to just get it done with. We can say that they wanted to highlight Defan and whatever, but all the other characters had perfectly fine, emotional scenes together so I can't buy it.

[Cocidius]

48 minutes ago, imaneassi said:

The one who was off is Ian.Nina totally delivered. She was amazing in her 2 scenes with Bonnie, in the stelena scvene, the family  reubion...Only delena's scenes failed because of Ian's acting

Maybe that was it, but something was definitely off.

[Aeryn13]

Quote

After 8 seasons of back and forth, 2 seasons of Damon waiting for Elena to wake up, we got just a couple scenes that were too forced and they didn't even have a dialogue apart from the first scene where Katherine pretended to be Elena. I was always a Delena shipper, even though I liked Stelena as well. But Stelena's scenes were SO powerful because they were emotional. And then you get the big reunion and it's too obvious that they are trying to just get it done with. We can say that they wanted to highlight Defan and whatever, but all the other characters had perfectly fine, emotional scenes together so I can't buy it.

I thought it was weird because in that first scene where "Elena" supposedly woke up, Damon DID look happy and emotional. So obviously, whatever issues are there in real life, both actors can rise above it still. That scene was very different than the final scenes with Delena and it`s still the same actors with the same baggage. How can they sell it in one scene and not the others?

And Damon`s scenes with Katherine where fine as well though obviously antagonistic. It was only the final moments of Delena where Nina IMO really gave her best but Ian didn`t sell it. Those scenes looked awkward. I know Ian didn`t want a Delena ending, he would have prefered Bamon or Damon to die but as an actor, he is supposed to leave that at the door.   

Unless they wanted to show that Damon just couldn`t be happy again with Stefan dead. Even if he supposedly got what he wanted. At least that would track with that first scene of him being happy to supposedly see Elena since Stefan was still there. 

Every other scenes were highly emotional, Defan, Steroline, Stelena, the girls with each other, even the Maxwell/Donovan family and Alaric tugged at the heartstrings.

Oh, something that was definitely wrong were the godawful wigs they put on Nina. Come on, what was that? 

Edited March 11, 2017 by Aeryn13

[imaneassi]

10 minutes ago, Cocidius said:

Maybe that was it, but something was definitely off.

Absolut;ly

[Cocogurl]

I was hoping for more, but sadly the series finale just makes me glad that I stopped wasting my time with this show years ago. I know the writers are selling this as Stefan's happy ending, but I'm not buying it. All I'm seeing is guy who, yet again, has to give up his hopes and dreams for his life because his poor big brother, for some reason, deserves happiness more than he does. And the Klaroline forshadowing?! Come on, writers. Sure, I enjoyed them a lot on TVD, but I feel like their moment has long since past and I wish the writers would quit beating that dead horse. The whole episode just felt forced to me.

[TaurusRose]

I stopped watching this show in S4.  Just popped in to see what y'all thought about the grand series finale.  Sounds like it's a good thing I didn't waste 2 hours of my life.  I was never a Damon/Elena fan so, I would not have been happy.  I hope Julie Plec doesn't get to be showrunner for anything else because she is ridiculous on all levels.

[dreamcatcher]

1 hour ago, Aeryn13 said:

I thought it was weird because in that first scene where "Elena" supposedly woke up, Damon DID look happy and emotional. So obviously, whatever issues are there in real life, both actors can rise above it still. That scene was very different than the final scenes with Delena and it`s still the same actors with the same baggage. How can they sell it in one scene and not the others?

And Damon`s scenes with Katherine where fine as well though obviously antagonistic. It was only the final moments of Delena where Nina IMO really gave her best but Ian didn`t sell it. Those scenes looked awkward. I know Ian didn`t want a Delena ending, he would have prefered Bamon or Damon to die but as an actor, he is supposed to leave that at the door.   

Unless they wanted to show that Damon just couldn`t be happy again with Stefan dead. Even if he supposedly got what he wanted. At least that would track with that first scene of him being happy to supposedly see Elena since Stefan was still there. 

Every other scenes were highly emotional, Defan, Steroline, Stelena, the girls with each other, even the Maxwell/Donovan family and Alaric tugged at the heartstrings.

Oh, something that was definitely wrong were the godawful wigs they put on Nina. Come on, what was that? 

Imo, that first scene wasn't anything spectacular. "Elena" seemed off, which is why I was sure it was Katherine because it was very much a fake-Elena niceness portrayal and I was sure Nina had to do that on purpose. But the thing is, it was very brief and it wasn't "real". When they actually got together for real, there was no feeling there-at least on Damon's side. Maybe they tried to show that Damon could never be happy without Stefan, but if that was the case, then they didn't do a good job portraying it. Whether they want to admit it or not, for 6 seasons the whole story was about the love triangle and Elena. We got to see everybody sacrificing themselves and their happiness for Elena. If it was true that they intended to tell the brothers' story solely, then for 6 years they did a crappy job focusing on them and Nina leaving was a blessing for them. They just had to move on without her and that's when they suddenly decided it's about the Salvatore brothers and nothing else.

Oh and something else. Damon never wanted to take the cure. He only changed his mind because he wanted Elena and Elena turned human again. We should have seen his reaction to the news or get a glimpse of his new life at the very least. He only wanted this for Elena and the only thing we got about Damon was that he spent his whole life thinking of Stefan and whether he found peace. So from what they've told us, his life was pretty miserable and Stefan did get the happiest ending between the two.

[jade.black]

I teared up when Stefan walked out and saw Lexi. Easily my favorite moment of the finale.

I liked the way they ended it, but it was so rushed. Were they unable to get a two hour slot for such a long-running show? So much was left unshown, and I'd rather have seen the second half expanded on and cut short the events of the first half. 

I was disappointed with how brief Katherine's return was. I don't see why they couldn't have found a way to show her and Kai onscreen together. That would have been amazing.

I would have been really interested to see what a human life for Damon was like. The Delena reunion scene kind of sucked. I did like the callback to season 1 and the books with the crow flying into the graveyard at the end and Damon appearing.

I loved the Caroline moments. She had a satisfying goodbye scene with Stefan, although it was a shitty way to shortchange their marriage by having Stefan die literally a day after the wedding. I liked her moment with Damon at Stefan's grave (saw more chemistry between Ian and Candice there than I did him and Nina). I also would love to see her go to The Originals. They need a likable female character on that show- God knows Cami and Haley don't fill that role.

[KoBnR]

Rushed but for the most part, satisfying I guess. Some Charmed/LOST vibes going on the end there. Kind of predictable. And disappointed we didn't get to see Elena and Jeremy reunite. But other than that, the 2nd half was not bad. It was nice to see everyone come back even though it was short and sweet.

Edited March 11, 2017 by KoBnR

[Katherine]

I was also surprised at how little emotion there was in the Delena reunion scene, but I actually appreciated it. I think it was probably largely because Stefan's death seemed to have still been quite recent, so of course Damon wasn't as happy as he had been during the first reunion where Katherine was pretending to be Elena (and Stefan was still alive). I'm sure Ian wanted to make sure that grief shone through in his performance. I found his acting very good through the whole episode. It was Nina's acting that felt off to me--not bad necessarily, but just not quite the same as it used to be.

As for Damon's future as a human, I assume the writers intended the message to be that once Damon began to get over the initial shock and grief of losing Stefan, he would eventually go on to live a fulfilling, happy life with Elena, but I agree that they didn't do a good job of showing it. Even the future Delena scenes seemed quite restrained. Again, though, I'm actually quite pleased about that. My Defan loving heart wants to believe that Damon never fully recovered from the loss of his little brother and that his future with Elena, which was the one thing he had been after for so long, just wasn't enough without Stefan. I guess I'm just twisted like that :)

[TaylorBruh25]

6 hours ago, imaneassi said:

No.They focused on the brothers only after season 6.The show was about a triangle,a teenage girl falling for 2 vampire brothers

The Triangles been over since Season 3. Season 4 didn't harp on it until the last 5 episodes, and it was a ghost of its former self. Stefan and Elena had no real romantic scenes (unless Amnesia Stefan counts) in Season 5, nor season 6. If anything the show became about Damon solely after Season 5. 

1 hour ago, jade.black said:

I teared up when Stefan walked out and saw Lexi. Easily my favorite moment of the finale.

I liked the way they ended it, but it was so rushed. Were they unable to get a two hour slot for such a long-running show? So much was left unshown, and I'd rather have seen the second half expanded on and cut short the events of the first half. 

I was disappointed with how brief Katherine's return was. I don't see why they couldn't have found a way to show her and Kai onscreen together. That would have been amazing.

I would have been really interested to see what a human life for Damon was like. The Delena reunion scene kind of sucked. I did like the callback to season 1 and the books with the crow flying into the graveyard at the end and Damon appearing.

I loved the Caroline moments. She had a satisfying goodbye scene with Stefan, although it was a shitty way to shortchange their marriage by having Stefan die literally a day after the wedding. I liked her moment with Damon at Stefan's grave (saw more chemistry between Ian and Candice there than I did him and Nina). I also would love to see her go to The Originals. They need a likable female character on that show- God knows Cami and Haley don't fill that role.

Stefan and Lexi reuniting was top 5 scenes of this series for me easy now. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by TaylorBruh25

[HunterHunted]

7 hours ago, dreamcatcher said:

I'm not sure if the cure works like this, meaning if they could still take the cure out of him after 50 years. I guess not, mostly because Damon would most definitely be hunted by other vampires for the cure.

But in any case, why would she? She's the only one who loved being a vampire. If there was a way for her to become a human and live her human life along her friends and children, then that would make sense. But if she were to take it when Damon's (and the others) is already old, then she would just have to live a human life with no one else still in her life.

Actually the cure works exactly like that. The cure and its magic continue working until someone extracts (through feeding or a syringe) some blood from the person with the cure. At that point, the person who previously had the cure in them starts rapidly aging to catch up to how old they'd be had they never been turned. That's why Bonnie's original plan had been for her to give Enzo the cure and for Damon to take the cure from Enzo when Bonnie and Enzo were old and near death. Yes, other vampires would hunt him. That's what happened with Katherine; Silas drained the cure from her.

Here's the problem with the show and the Delena endgame. Damon loved being a vampire so much so that he never developed any hobbies or pastimes during his nearly 200 years. Stefan went to college a couple of times, fought in wars, journaled, and hung out with the Originals. Damon traveled and ate people. Damon only wanted the cure so he could be with Elena.

What on earth was he going to do for the next 60 years? He's never really been interested in anything other than Stefan, Katherine, Elena, and briefly and inconsistently the Founders Council and his various best friends. Elena became a doctor and Damon did what? Helped Caroline and Jeremy run the Salvatore School of Supernatural Stupidity? Helped Ric categorize and archive things at the Armory? Become a Mystic Falls police officer? The only thing I could imagine him doing is running the Mystic Grille because he likes making pancakes and drinking.

As for Caroline loving being a vampire, I don't think she loved being a vampire. I do think being a vampire empowered her be the person she was meant to be free her from her shallow petty concerns. As a human, she was a shallow mean girl. Being a vampire allowed her to wield real power. She dropped many of her dumber superficial pursuits. Caroline has definitely expressed some regrets about being a vampire, but Caroline was cognizant that being a vampire improved her life and the good far outweighed the bad.

[ketose]

1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

Actually the cure works exactly like that. The cure and its magic continue working until someone extracts (through feeding or a syringe) some blood from the person with the cure. At that point, the person who previously had the cure in them starts rapidly aging to catch up to how old they'd be had they never been turned. That's why Bonnie's original plan had been for her to give Enzo the cure and for Damon to take the cure from Enzo when Bonnie and Enzo were old and near death. Yes, other vampires would hunt him. That's what happened with Katherine; Silas drained the cure from her.

...

As for Caroline loving being a vampire, I don't think she loved being a vampire. I do think being a vampire empowered her be the person she was meant to be free her from her shallow petty concerns. As a human, she was a shallow mean girl. Being a vampire allowed her to wield real power. She dropped many of her dumber superficial pursuits. Caroline has definitely expressed some regrets about being a vampire, but Caroline was cognizant that being a vampire improved her life and the good far outweighed the bad.

So, if Stefan got the cure from Elena's body, isn't Elena going to have a short run?

The weird thing about Caroline is she was kind of wild until got turned to a vamp and became a really type-A vampire. But they also retconned her as always being that way.

[Morrigan2575]

19 minutes ago, ketose said:

So, if Stefan got the cure from Elena's body, isn't Elena going to have a short run?

The weird thing about Caroline is she was kind of wild until got turned to a vamp and became a really type-A vampire. But they also retconned her as always being that way.

Elena was only a Vampire for a few years, she wouldn't rapidly age like Katherine or Stefan. 

Caroline was always a Type A personality. I don't think anyone could accuse Caroline of being wild, she's an absolute control freak. 

Edited March 12, 2017 by Morrigan2575

[HunterHunted]

23 minutes ago, ketose said:

So, if Stefan got the cure from Elena's body, isn't Elena going to have a short run?

The weird thing about Caroline is she was kind of wild until got turned to a vamp and became a really type-A vampire. But they also retconned her as always being that way.

The reason taking the cure from Elena isn't a problem is that she ages to 25 or however old she's supposed to be now. Taking it from Stefan, meant that he rapidly aged to almost 200 years old. It was the same thing with Katherine.

They did retcon Caroline a little bit, but I always felt that human Caroline came across like season 3 Cordelia Chase on Buffy--bitchy and kind of an asshole, but would ultimately do right by her friends. It felt like vampire Caroline dropped some of the mean girl pretense.

Edited March 12, 2017 by HunterHunted

[ComeWhatMay]

I own the first season on DVD, but had not watched in a couple years. I came back for the finale & I am glad I did. 

I did start to tear up as the hour wound down. Stefan's goodbye with Elena & reunion with Lexi + The Fray put a lump in my throat. Damon at his best at what he tried to make his end was pretty great too. Stefan made him turn & hung in there to see Damon human again. 

Damon wanted to be with Elena, but not without his little brother right there with them.  The sadness, something missing, I felt from IS made sense to me even as he made his way into the light with Elena after a blessed life well lived. The rock on Elena's hand at the end reminded me of my late cousin's -- a great grandmother at the time of her passing. It was built on over the years as I think Elena's was to have been. 

As to what Damon was doing all those years, I could see him as a stay at home parent while Dr. Gilbert-Salvatore was at work. A devoted husband, father & grandfather who honored his brother & his sacrifice by living right. I am sure he kept his end financially too based on the jewelry. The elaborate funeral statuary we saw briefly when Damon & Elena reunited -- I figured it was theirs. 

I think the less is more approach with regard to characters futures was so each of us could fill in the blanks for our favorites as we chose. I also think filming a wedding & family scene would have been tough on Ian, Ian's wife & Nina in a way JP & KW didn't want to be. I give them props for that if so. Nina did a good thing coming back. 

[ByTor]

I guess chemistry is subjective, I thought IS and ND were both good & that they both sold their romance.

I wish I could have seen the bad wigs everybody is mentioning, I watched on the CW app and the background was (always is) so dark I couldn't really notice the hair.

A couple things.  Matt's father got his throat slashed and lived?  And now only has a little bandage on it?  Also, how did Stefan explain to Elena how he took vervain, and how he gave Damon the cure and got consumed by the fire?  Shouldn't he have been dead?  Was that his ghost talking to Elena?

On 3/10/2017 at 10:54 PM, ChristinaParker198 said:

I started bawling my fuckin eyes out when Jo appeared. I love that  the show called back to her and also Grams and all the badass Bennet witches that made this shit possible!

I know! Seeing Lexi made me cry...seeing Jo made me cry...all the Bennets coming together to help Bonnie made me cry...seeing Jenna made me cry...yep, I guess I cried a lot! :)

[Artsda]

48 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

The weird thing about Caroline is she was kind of wild until got turned to a vamp and became a really type-A vampire. But they also retconned her as always being that way.

I think she always was type-A she was introduced as the high strung, always trying so hard, head of the cheerleading squad & Queen of school activities.

[ketose]

Caroline was definitely a queen bee. She also drank and went after guys like Damon, who always came off as creepy for sleeping with a 16 year old. In S1, she spent a lot of time rebelling against her mother.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

10 hours ago, generate789 said:

This show has been so silly and so frustrating for so long that I was entirely unprepared for the amount of ugly crying I did while watching it. 

Haha, I just had to tell you that your profile picture next to this comment had me laughing! I was imagining Dawson emotionally distraught by TVD.

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, ByTor said:

Also, how did Stefan explain to Elena how he took vervain, and how he gave Damon the cure and got consumed by the fire?  Shouldn't he have been dead?  Was that his ghost talking to Elena?

Remember when Silas drained the cure from Katherine, she had a day or so of failing apart until she died. Her teeth and hair fell out. I'm sure a similar thing was happening with Stefan.

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, ByTor said:

Also, how did Stefan explain to Elena how he took vervain, and how he gave Damon the cure and got consumed by the fire?  Shouldn't he have been dead?  Was that his ghost talking to Elena?

I believe that was his ghost talking to Elena. She didn't wake up in the school; she woke up in the Salvatore House. So much like Bonnie and Elena's limbo meeting, Stefan was passing through and got to talk to Elena before she went back to the land of the living and he moved on to the afterlife. Since they did meet at the school for the first time, I can see that being their sanctuary. Plus, Elena was trapped in the school. 

At least, that's how I read the scene.

1 hour ago, ComeWhatMay said:

As to what Damon was doing all those years, I could see him as a stay at home parent while Dr. Gilbert-Salvatore was at work. A devoted husband, father & grandfather who honored his brother & his sacrifice by living right. I am sure he kept his end financially too based on the jewelry. The elaborate funeral statuary we saw briefly when Damon & Elena reunited -- I figured it was theirs. 

I just figure that Damon got a job at the Mystic Grill as a bartender once him and Elena returned into town. But I guess we'll never know for sure since they insisted on only giving us some information before jumping straight into the afterlife. 

[WhosThatGirl]

I haven't really watched the show since Elena was put in a coma, and I've never commented on the forums, mostly because I never was really that intense on this show like I am with others enough to comment. So hi other commenters kind of a newbie but not really, better late than never I suppose.

A part of me wishes this had been two hours. It feels like a lot of info was cut that was needed.

The ending was.. okay. I thought it was strange as well that the ending and the shows final scene was Stefan and Damon and the retcon of the series was them. That's nice and everything but not really what it was but hey it was a nice moment for the brothers and I can't really complain about that. But I agree that Stefan did get a bad deal compared to the others. He got like about an hour of being happy and married and stuff.

[TaylorBruh25]

3 hours ago, ByTor said:

I guess chemistry is subjective, I thought IS and ND were both good & that they both sold their romance.

I wish I could have seen the bad wigs everybody is mentioning, I watched on the CW app and the background was (always is) so dark I couldn't really notice the hair.

A couple things.  Matt's father got his throat slashed and lived?  And now only has a little bandage on it?  Also, how did Stefan explain to Elena how he took vervain, and how he gave Damon the cure and got consumed by the fire?  Shouldn't he have been dead?  Was that his ghost talking to Elena?

I, like someone else stated, assumed that was his ghost, I think Bonnie's reunion with Elena early on (and her SPECIFICALLY having to look and say it to Stefan) was this mini set up for Stefan to find his way through Elena. I mean apparently everybody watches over everybody so idk how it's supposed to be lol. Mythology is so screwed. 

I didn't think Nina and Ian were bad, Nina felt a little off (besides her scene with Paul) and Ian had one his best moments in the series when he had his talk with Stefan scene before compelling him. 

[dragonsbite]

I know that it seemed right for Damon to sacrifice himself -- he's been more of an ass and violent vampire than Stefan. Except, it's Stefan's fault that Damon became that vampire. And it's Katherine who caused it all to happen. So full circle means that Katherine's-doppleganger-Elena brought the brothers back together, which eventually allowed Stefan to correct the wrong that he initially did to his brother.

[KatWay]

Quote

Except, it's Stefan's fault that Damon became that vampire. And it's Katherine who caused it all to happen. So full circle means that Katherine's-doppleganger-Elena brought the brothers back together, which eventually allowed Stefan to correct the wrong that he initially did to his brother.

yeah that's what the show has always told us but I mean aside from tempting Damon to drink blood to become a vampire Stefan was actually way more innocent in the whole Katherine mess that led to their turning than Damon. So I never saw how that was such an unforgivable act, worse than Damon allowing Katherine to keep raping & abusing his mind-controlled younger brother & presumably planning to ditch him to become a murdering vampire to be with his tru luv Kat. How come Damon never had to correct the many, many wrongs he's done to Stefan? For that matter, why is Stefan dying bc he can't forgive himself for Enzo but nobody including Damon gives a shit about Tyler?

[Snow Fairy]

Why does taking blood with the syringe removes the cure,but bleeding from an accident doesn't?

Funny rules