Goodbye Elena Gilbert...
The Vampire Diaries may have come in the wake of Twilight's popularity, but it is far from being "just another Vampire show". It's dark, clever, funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and surprisingly human. For six seasons, we have followed the story of Elena Gilbert. We watched her try to find new life after the death of her parents. We watched her fall in love with Stefan. We watched her and her friends get sucked into a supernatural world they never knew existed. We watched her die. We watched her become a vampire. And for season after season, we watched her fight her growing feelings for Damon until she finally gave in to them. But things haven't been easy for them, and with Nina Dobrev leaving the show, it's only gotten more complicated.
**********WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!***********
The season 6 finale, "I'm Thinking of You All the While" is a tearjerker. It marks the end of a six year journey for actors Nina Dobrev and Michael Trevino as well as their characters Elena and Tyler (though seeing as neither of them actually died, there's hope to see them popping up here and there in future seasons). I will be the first to admit that The Vampire Diaries isn't the best show on television. But it's compelling drama, and not in the cheap, trashy, high school romance kind of way. It's hard to keep a show together for six seasons and not have it feel dull. To make your characters grow and have us still love them. And to find a new villain for each season that is better than the last. In these regards, Julie Plec has outdone herself.
First off, let's talk about character development. The Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt, and even Jeremy of today are not the same people we started out with in season 1. There is so much depth to each one of them. They've been through so much. And the best part is, their personalities reflect that. Some of them, like Caroline, have really grown into themselves. Others, like Stefan, have shown different sides and made us realize he's not just a one note goody two shoes. It's great to see each character grow and shift with the new obstacles thrown their way. It makes them relatable. It makes them likable. It makes us care. So we keep coming back.
Then there are the villains. I have to admit, I'm definitely one of those people that was just a little bit in love with Kai Parker. I don't know how this show does it, but for some reason, it makes us love the people who torment other people we love (Klaus, for example). I mean, the guy was a psychopath. He was actually batshit crazy, without a drop of remorse in his body. Yet for some reason, Kai was fucking fantastic. And I loved him. Perhaps some kudos here should go to Chris Wood's acting chops, but the majority of my admiration still falls on the writers of this show. It takes real talent to create a villain so evil and twisted that he becomes an adored fascination to the viewers. That's exactly what they did with Kai.
Oh and speaking of acting, the characters on this show have some of the best on screen chemistry in the history of on screen chemistry ever. Even the non-romantic relationships like Stefan and Damon's brotherly bond to Damon and Bonnie's best buds routine are just brilliant. Also, props to Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley for being able to play completely different characters at the same time and somehow pull it off. There's no way in a million years we'd be able to confuse Katherine Pierce and Elena Gilbert. Stephen Amell, I do love you as Oliver Queen, but maybe you should be taking some notes. This is what we call acting.
But I digress from the main point of this blog, and boy has it been a long digression. What I wanted to say is that I can not think of a more perfect send off for Elena. It was genius. Killing her off would have been the easy out. Having her become human and walk off into the sunset would have sent fans screaming in rage. But this, this ending, linking her to Bonnie such that she would stay asleep as long as the latter was alive, this was brilliant. Not to mention having Kai do it and take revenge on Bonnie and Damon, the two people who have wronged him the most outside of his family, could not have been a better laid plan. And I haven't even gotten to the best part yet: the goodbyes.
I'm a huge fan of flashbacks because it's always fun to see something you've seen before and think back to the past. To remember what life was like at that time. To put in context that moment based on what you know now. Elena's goodbyes took place in flashback locations. For each person, there was a moment, a place, that was more important and more significant than the others. It really connected Elena's character with the rest of the group, and reminded us just how much of an impact she has been on this show. But it was also a great way of moving forward. A look back into the past to say goodbye to an era and allow us to move into the future.
She had a special message for everyone. Bonnie's was probably my favorite. Because it's probably the most true. Bonnie has given up so much for her friends, especially for Elena. And for Elena to do this for Bonnie, to take this sacrifice so her friend can live, is perhaps one of the most true acts to Elena's character we have seen in a while. And again it comes back to acting and chemistry. Watching these characters say goodbye, I felt something for the first time in a long while. And it reminded me why I love this show so much. Because at the end of the day, in a world of vampires, werewolves, witches, and hybrids, this show isn't about any of it. It's about these characters. The people. The bonds we make. The relationships we create. It's about how they affect our lives. How we respond to events that shake them. And how we grow in the aftermath.
So while this may be goodbye to Elena Gilbert for now, I have faith that we will see her again. After all, she is only asleep as long as Bonnie is alive, and half of her friends are immortal so chances are good that there will be a reunion. But I'm interested to see how everyone else's life will progress post-Elena. Despite the fact that our original narrator has left the stage, I still care enough about the other characters to stick around. You could say I'm still strongly emotionally invested. I was one of those people who thought it might be a good idea for the show to end after this season. I mean, we all know how The O.C. went down after Mischa Barton left. Or how The Office just wasn't as funny without Steve Carrell. But somehow this is different. Somehow, even with her gone, Elena's presence is still there. The heart of the show isn't lost. And it makes me think that there's hope yet. Especially if they keep churning out episodes like this finale. I don't think I've ever been so satisfied with an ending that included a character departure. It was sad, yes. And Elena will be missed, most definitely. But this finale was so well planned out. Not only was it tailored to mesh effortlessly with the rest of the plot, but it managed to placate potentially raging fans. Plus, no one could have said they saw this coming. It was incredible story-writing at its best, and nothing short of the send-off Nina Dobrev deserved. It was more than I could have asked for. It was perfection.
**********WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!***********
The season 6 finale, "I'm Thinking of You All the While" is a tearjerker. It marks the end of a six year journey for actors Nina Dobrev and Michael Trevino as well as their characters Elena and Tyler (though seeing as neither of them actually died, there's hope to see them popping up here and there in future seasons). I will be the first to admit that The Vampire Diaries isn't the best show on television. But it's compelling drama, and not in the cheap, trashy, high school romance kind of way. It's hard to keep a show together for six seasons and not have it feel dull. To make your characters grow and have us still love them. And to find a new villain for each season that is better than the last. In these regards, Julie Plec has outdone herself.
First off, let's talk about character development. The Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt, and even Jeremy of today are not the same people we started out with in season 1. There is so much depth to each one of them. They've been through so much. And the best part is, their personalities reflect that. Some of them, like Caroline, have really grown into themselves. Others, like Stefan, have shown different sides and made us realize he's not just a one note goody two shoes. It's great to see each character grow and shift with the new obstacles thrown their way. It makes them relatable. It makes them likable. It makes us care. So we keep coming back.
Then there are the villains. I have to admit, I'm definitely one of those people that was just a little bit in love with Kai Parker. I don't know how this show does it, but for some reason, it makes us love the people who torment other people we love (Klaus, for example). I mean, the guy was a psychopath. He was actually batshit crazy, without a drop of remorse in his body. Yet for some reason, Kai was fucking fantastic. And I loved him. Perhaps some kudos here should go to Chris Wood's acting chops, but the majority of my admiration still falls on the writers of this show. It takes real talent to create a villain so evil and twisted that he becomes an adored fascination to the viewers. That's exactly what they did with Kai.
Oh and speaking of acting, the characters on this show have some of the best on screen chemistry in the history of on screen chemistry ever. Even the non-romantic relationships like Stefan and Damon's brotherly bond to Damon and Bonnie's best buds routine are just brilliant. Also, props to Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley for being able to play completely different characters at the same time and somehow pull it off. There's no way in a million years we'd be able to confuse Katherine Pierce and Elena Gilbert. Stephen Amell, I do love you as Oliver Queen, but maybe you should be taking some notes. This is what we call acting.
But I digress from the main point of this blog, and boy has it been a long digression. What I wanted to say is that I can not think of a more perfect send off for Elena. It was genius. Killing her off would have been the easy out. Having her become human and walk off into the sunset would have sent fans screaming in rage. But this, this ending, linking her to Bonnie such that she would stay asleep as long as the latter was alive, this was brilliant. Not to mention having Kai do it and take revenge on Bonnie and Damon, the two people who have wronged him the most outside of his family, could not have been a better laid plan. And I haven't even gotten to the best part yet: the goodbyes.
I'm a huge fan of flashbacks because it's always fun to see something you've seen before and think back to the past. To remember what life was like at that time. To put in context that moment based on what you know now. Elena's goodbyes took place in flashback locations. For each person, there was a moment, a place, that was more important and more significant than the others. It really connected Elena's character with the rest of the group, and reminded us just how much of an impact she has been on this show. But it was also a great way of moving forward. A look back into the past to say goodbye to an era and allow us to move into the future.
She had a special message for everyone. Bonnie's was probably my favorite. Because it's probably the most true. Bonnie has given up so much for her friends, especially for Elena. And for Elena to do this for Bonnie, to take this sacrifice so her friend can live, is perhaps one of the most true acts to Elena's character we have seen in a while. And again it comes back to acting and chemistry. Watching these characters say goodbye, I felt something for the first time in a long while. And it reminded me why I love this show so much. Because at the end of the day, in a world of vampires, werewolves, witches, and hybrids, this show isn't about any of it. It's about these characters. The people. The bonds we make. The relationships we create. It's about how they affect our lives. How we respond to events that shake them. And how we grow in the aftermath.
So while this may be goodbye to Elena Gilbert for now, I have faith that we will see her again. After all, she is only asleep as long as Bonnie is alive, and half of her friends are immortal so chances are good that there will be a reunion. But I'm interested to see how everyone else's life will progress post-Elena. Despite the fact that our original narrator has left the stage, I still care enough about the other characters to stick around. You could say I'm still strongly emotionally invested. I was one of those people who thought it might be a good idea for the show to end after this season. I mean, we all know how The O.C. went down after Mischa Barton left. Or how The Office just wasn't as funny without Steve Carrell. But somehow this is different. Somehow, even with her gone, Elena's presence is still there. The heart of the show isn't lost. And it makes me think that there's hope yet. Especially if they keep churning out episodes like this finale. I don't think I've ever been so satisfied with an ending that included a character departure. It was sad, yes. And Elena will be missed, most definitely. But this finale was so well planned out. Not only was it tailored to mesh effortlessly with the rest of the plot, but it managed to placate potentially raging fans. Plus, no one could have said they saw this coming. It was incredible story-writing at its best, and nothing short of the send-off Nina Dobrev deserved. It was more than I could have asked for. It was perfection.
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