There are spoilers ahead for the series finale of The Vampire Diaries. Heartbreaking deaths, emotional reunions, tears of happiness, tears of sadness. The Vampire Diaries series finale had it all, including a satisfying outcome for many of the show's beloved characters. A key theme of the finale, and part of the series as a whole, is finding peace. For many, if not all, of The Vampire Diaries' key characters, the final episode showed each of them discovering their own nirvana.
First, Katherine (Nina Dobrev) is back and trying to wreak havoc on Mystic Falls. However, Bonnie (Kat Graham) eventually mastered her fledgling witch powers and defeated her, destroying Hell and Katherine once and for all. Still, someone needs to sacrifice their life to ensure that Catherine dies at the right moment. So after an emotional conflict between brothers Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) over who should die for the greater good, Damon Trying to force Stefan to leave.
Stefan, on a steady diet of vervain (as a newly reformed human living in a town full of vampires, this is just common sense), takes the vampire cure from his blood and injects it into Damon, killing him. Became human. Without a cure, Stefan will soon begin to age rapidly and die like Katherine did in Season 5, so Damon has no choice but to let his brother die in his place.
Before his death, Stefan said his final farewell to Elena (Nina Dobrev) in a supernatural state of life and death. There, he gave Elena a message to share with his wife, Caroline: He would always love her. Then in his final moments, he finds happiness with his loyal friend Lexi (Ariel Kebbell), one of the best characters in the series who died far too soon.
Bonnie breaks Elena's Maleficent Curse and finally wakes up, reunites with all her friends, and shares a passionate kiss with Damon. After everyone pays their respects at Stefan's memorial service, a montage begins, showing the audience how everyone's lives unfolded: Matt (Zach Roehrig) is still the Sheriff; and considered running for mayor of Mystic Falls, while former lovers Vicky (Kyla Ewell) and Tyler (Michael) Trevino) were both killed off on the show, but ultimately found contentment with each other.
Bonnie travels the world and lives a fulfilling life, just as Enzo (Michael Malarkey) expected her to. Alaric (Matt Davis) and Caroline convert the Salvatore mansion into a boarding school for Salvatore teenagers, with Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) teacher. Alaric's wife Joe (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) felt peaceful watching Alaric and her daughters playing happily. Caroline's mother, Liz (Margaret McIntyre), finds happiness when she sees her daughter succeed, find joy, and do good in the world.
Caroline's happiness is also due to the generous donation of $3 million from the original band 's Klaus (Joseph Morgan) to her school. His financial gifts came with heartfelt notes, proving to Caroline that her ex-husband had some kindness in his heart after all. "The Vampire Diaries" writer Carina Adly Mack shared an early draft of Klaus' letter via Twitter in 2019, and fans were equally emotional. One fan wrote: "Omg no warning this brought tears to my eyes."
Elena lives a full, happy life with human Damon. She went to medical school, returned home to Mystic Falls, and grew old. She has an engagement ring and a wedding ring on her finger, which means Damon and Elena are married and walking off into the sunset together.
When Elena finally dies, she and her aunt Jenna (Sarah Canning), mom Miranda (Erin Bote), dad Grayson (Jason Macdonald) and uncle John Gilbert (David Anders) has found peace. It was a moment of completeness for Elena, who rediscovered the people she loved - without brother Jeremy - and shared a big family hug on the Gilbert family's porch.
When it comes to the mythology of The Vampire Diaries , the concept of peace and how to give or receive it is tied to ideas of family, loss, and grief. These are the themes writer and producer Kevin Williamson tells Bustle he and his colleagues "wanted to play with on the series." "Anyone who has suffered a loss knows that it is important to know and trust that they are always there for you. Because they are inside you, they live through you, they guide you, they influence you, they created you, they support you You. They are always with you," he said in 2017. "That's what we think. To see peace is to see the heart."
He continued:
"We wanted to visually show what a moment of inner peace looks like for each character. We always wanted it to be open to interpretation. What does this show mean to you? You know, what is your idea of peace? Let The audience looks at it and gives them a good cry, but also says thank you and says goodbye. I hope people look back and give eight seasons of their lives to this show and look back on it and have a good moment. remember."
The offer to "find peace" didn't come until season five, after the supernatural purgatory "The Other Side" was destroyed. "The 'other side' is always problematic because it makes death less final. It takes away meaning from death," Williamson said. "It was always a struggle. It served us in a lot of great ways within the mythology, and it was a hole in how we saw the character again. Once we created it, I saw it as an obstacle , and I know we have to get over it eventually.”
Williamson added that co-creator Julie Plec "had a brilliant idea" to use the destruction of "the other side" as a means to introduce "the idea of peace." He added, "For the ending, you can be forgiven, you can have peace. That's the idea of the final montage when you hear the Dear Diary voiceover."
For Williamson, "it's all about the last 12 minutes of the episode," which ends with the exact same words Damon said to Stefan in the first episode of the series: "Hi, bro." William. Musson said he "really wanted this line." "It was the first line spoken [between Damon and Stefan in the pilot], and I loved that it was the last line [in the finale]. The last moment is important."
As Williamson declares, by the end of The Vampire Diaries , "there's peace for everyone." "The final final montage is like a scrapbook. You know the ending for all the characters and have a sense that they're all going to be okay. This show is filled with horrific death and destruction every day. Everyone's trying to save someone else, so It’s nice to know they can finally take a breath and be happy.”
Not everyone thinks The Vampire Diaries ' ending is perfect. Screenrant explained many of the alleged plot holes, including the fact that Elena and Jeremy were not reunited. But Dobrev, who left the show after season six, thought differently after looking back on the 2019 finale. "I think the show has a satisfying, great [ending]," she told Andy Cohen in an interview on Watch What Happens Live . She also revealed that being able to be a part of the episode and "give the character Tribute” was particularly good for her.
After eight seasons and 171 episodes with black title cards, The Vampire Diaries ends with white title cards. The Diary universe was also expanded through spin-off shows The Originals (which ended in 2018) and Legacy . But for those hoping to see Diaries resurrected for season nine, the show will most likely not have Stefan, Damon, Elena or Bonnie. Graham and Dobrev still have a very tense relationship, but told TMZ in June 2021 that neither man had any interest in revisiting their roles on The Vampire Diaries . While Somerhalder and Wesley have begun to become business partners, their days as Damon and Stefan appear to be over. "It had a great run, and now it's alive. That's the amazing thing. It's still alive," Somerhalder told Cohen on Andy Cohen Live in February.
