On Friday, The CW’s infamous supernatural show, The Vampire Diaries, came to an epic close after 8 seasons and 171 episodes with an episode titled ‘I Was Feeling Epic’. With the return of leading star, Nina Dobrev, and other old faces, it truly was a nostalgic finish to the astounding heart-wrenching drama. However, with so much happening in a mere forty minutes, many fans are left slightly unsatisfied with the unexpected ending.
Of course, the core of the episode was the reawakening of protagonist, Elena Gilbert, after being put into a spiritual coma by Gemini twin, Kai, who also took the liberty of binding her life to Bonnie’s. Elena returned, inevitably, and we even saw the short lived rise of femme fatale Katherine Pierce, who for one last time managed to fool the Salvatore brothers with her immaculate Elena impersonation only a couple scenes prior to being destroyed by the fires of hell, literally.
But the heart of the episode remained in the arms of the Salvatore brothers, who have overcome a century and a half of twisted loves, deaths and resurrections before once more being physically torn apart by the spiteful fires of hell that claimed human-Stefan’s life. It was an agonizing scene to watch, especially knowing that just-married Stefan deserved to have a happy ending no matter how “at peace” the producers claimed he was. It was especially unfair that he he had to sacrifice his life and end his marriage, whilst Matt Donovan of all people got to live, the incredibly irrelevant and aggravating character who should have died years ago.
Bonnie, the most deserving and underappreciated character, regained her magic powers which she used to channel her bloodline to control the hell fire. She got her happy ending, setting off to travel the world and live her life to the fullest as per Enzo’s request. Caroline also got the ending she deserved and the ending we all wanted her to have – Klaroline endgame. We even saw the reappearance of Jeremy Gilbert, Tyler Lockwood, Liz Forbes and Lexi, striking nostalgia in the hearts of millions. The episode ended on Elena and Damon reuniting with their families once again and achieving ‘peace’, after living full human lives together on earth.
With all of this happening, it is fair to say that the episode was rather rushed. So overwhelmed by the flood of action and reappearances, we were barely given the chance to register each scene at a time. The episode was like a hit of wind to the face; it ended so fast. After 8 years, we didn’t quite get the ending that we wanted, but nonetheless, this is it. We’ve watched each character grow and die and come back to life (on repeat) and now we say goodbye to the era of locator spells and vervain and pseudo gas leaks.
Goodbye, Mystic Falls.
