The Vampire Diaries Season Finale Review: I’m Thinking of You All the While (Season 6 Episode 22)

I’m not crying. I’m not! There’s something in my eye, and I wasn’t feeling well to begin with, and you know — it’s just, really windy!

… Who am I kidding? I’m crying — sobbing even — after this week’s season finale of The Vampire Diaries entitled “I’m thinking of you all the while.”

As promised, this is Nina Dobrev’s final episode, and we are bid farewell to Elena in pure The Vampire Diaries fashion: with death, destruction and of course, heartbreak.

The episode picked up right after last week’s, with the giant explosion caused by Kai. My instant reaction was to think that Elena had died and the rest of the episode would be about the grief everyone endured paired with flashbacks of their favorite memories of her.

But of course it couldn’t be that cut and dry.

Nope. Turns out Kai linked Elena and Bonnie together (loophole proof). As long as Bonnie is alive, Elena will stay in a slumber, sleeping beauty style.

We learn that Kai has made a deal with Lilly. He gets her “family” out of the prison world in exchange for her blood. Now, I’ve actually grown to like Kai as the evil, sometimes sane, but mostly psychopathic killer that he is. He reminds me of Klaus in season three, before they gave him a heart and a back story, so I was hoping they’d keep him around. Nothing gets me hooked like character development!

But when I saw Damon chop his head off with his hand (very Elijah-esque), after Kai taunted him with the idea of letting Bonnie die so that he could have the life he wanted with Elena, I felt a swell of pride. This is Damon everyone! The one who killed the coach — and Vikki — for fun in season one! The one who used Care as his personal blood bag! The one, who abandoned Lexie.

Damon: You thought I was going to leave you all alone? Huh? No way. I’m not out of nicknames for you yet.

We see him pick Bonnie! The one who he has called Witchy and Judgy for as long as I can remember. And honestly, I felt a bit guilty thinking, even for a split second, that Damon would leave her there to die. She’ll get to live a happy, normal life, and when that’s over, Elena will wake up and live hers. It’s twisted and magical, and just… sad, all at the same time.

As everyone says their goodbyes to Elena, we see her give them advice, pure Elena style. Stay happy; leave Mystic Falls; and of course, don’t wait for her Damon.

But the vision that really had me ugly crying? The feathers. Just seeing Elena and Bonnie sitting there, on their bed, six seasons after with floating feathers, something so sweet and innocent, made me break down and cry for this show. And that’s something that hasn’t happened in quite some time.

No matter how many irritated tweets I made about Elena, or Bonnie, or even just the plot, I’ll miss Nina Dobrev. But the silver lining is that this is a great way to start something new, and it’ll be so interesting to see all these characters move on, and hopefully take Elena’s advice.

Speaking of, Stefan tells Caroline two epic statements. One is that he loves her. Finally, Stefan. Finally. And two, which is even more profound, is that yes, he loved Elena, and yes, he’d be heartbroken if she didn’t wake up. But, he doesn’t think she came into his life to be his soul mate. She came into his life to bring him and his brother back together.

Stefan: I think in the end, I needed him more than I needed her.

And that, everyone, was the sound of Stelena fans crying and Steroline fans rejoicing everywhere. I’ve always been Team Defan, so it’s absolutely uplifting to hear Stefan say that — to Caroline nonetheless — validating his feelings for her, and proving once again that this show is about two vampire brothers.

Overall, it’s a great season finale. It feels organic and gives Nina Dobrev an appropriate farewell. I’m very excited to see what has Mystic Falls in such destruction after the time jump. They do zero in on Damon at the end, a twinkle in his eye that I haven’t seen in six years. But, personally, I think it is Lilly and her heretics. After Kai dies, she is able to find them, and we all know they are put in the prison world for a reason.

How did you feel about the Season 6 Finale of The Vampire Diaries? What are your predictions for Season 7? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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