The Vampire Diaries - S5, Ep22 - SEASON FINALE
17/5/2014
Episode: “Home” (5x22)
Aired: 16/5/14
Channel/Time: FOX8, Friday 8:30
The Episode
SEASON FINALE - The Mystic Falls gang, along with Liv and Luke, come up with a dangerous plan to stop the Travellers that has massive consequences.
I’ve structured this review a little differently; it’s more of a recap. So much happened that needed to be talked about, so I felt like this was a more appropriate method of discussion.
The Good
And this is how you do it. This season has been a hot mess, but the finale picked the show up off the ground and gave some new hope for season 6.
So, I told you guys last week that at least 3 people would die, but who could have predicted this? I’m not sure if I mentioned it in my reviews, but for the last half of this season I had a sneaking suspicion that Damon would be one of those three. I thought that he’d sacrifice himself for Stefan, which would be a nice parallel for the season 2 finale when Stefan did the sacrificing. As much as we have Stefan/Elena and Damon/Elena shoved in our face, I think the tragic love story for TVD is between Stefan and Damon. The first scene that we are shown is Caroline, Elena and Damon grieving over Stefan’s body. Damon, true to his character, holds most of his emotion inside and instead channels his anger into something useful: coming up with a plan…
To blow up Mystic Falls. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the Travellers after Markos kills Tyler, Sheriff Forbes lures them to one place (Mystic Falls Grill), Matt and Jeremy cause a gas leak and finally, Damon (knew it) and Elena sacrifice their lives to trigger the explosion (by crashing Damon’s Camaro into the Grill). Meanwhile, Enzo has found a Traveller to teach Bonnie the spell that will allow her to become a two-way door so that all the people who need to come back to life will be able to pass through her. This Traveller is none other than our (least) favourite Stefan lookalike: Silas.
After convincing Liv to perform the spell (and by ‘convince’ I mean Caroline kills Luke to give Liv some incentive), Bonnie gets some revenge and sends Silas into oblivion. Yay!
On the Other Side, Stefan has found his BFF5EVA Lexi and she immediately teases him about Caroline. If anyone was thinking that Steroline wasn’t going to happen, you might wanna get on board because the ship has left the docks. At this point, half the cast is on the Other Side and they’re running out of time. Bonnie, who conveniently forgot to mention that it was going to happen, is dying. Too many people are using her as a gateway and it’s killing her body. Elena, Tyler, Lexi, Luke, Enzo and Stefan are waiting for Damon and Alaric. After Bonnie tells them there’s no time left, Luke is the first through because he knows Liv is killing herself by continuing with the spell. Enzo follows. Tyler is next, but when he passes through, he’s no longer a Hybrid (uh oh). Elena refuses to leave without Damon, but is left with little choice when Bonnie grabs her and she’s forced to go. Bonnie collapses and Stefan catches her, and voila, he’s back too. Lexi is the only one left when Markos shows up and sacrifices herself to stop him coming through (I’m not crying, you’re crying). Damon and Alaric finally show up and Bonnie sends Alaric through. Meanwhile, Luke has reached Liv and stopped her incantation. Bonnie grabs Damon and nothing happens.
The group that has made it back is told by Bonnie that there’s nothing to be done; they missed their chance. The saddest thing about this is the fact that Damon promised Elena he would come back with her. Oh, and because Elena gets Alaric back only to lose Damon! This poor girl, honestly, her life is the worst. Nina Dobrev does a fantastic job of playing a broken Elena and just like when Jeremy died, my heart broke for her. Stefan leans on Caroline after losing not only Lexi, but also his brother, the two people he has known longest. Jeremy tries to get to Bonnie before she crosses over, but is seconds too late. Bonnie and Damon, both dead, are seemingly the only two left on the Other Side. They take each other’s hands and the screen turns white. What a cliffhanger!
Now, the good news! Matt Davis (Alaric) has signed on to be a regular in season 6; along with Michael Malarkey (Enzo) and Ian Somerhalder (Damon) still has a two-year contract. As for Kat Graham (Bonnie), I’m 80% sure she’s in the same boat, and Julie Plec has said that we haven’t seen the last of them. Damon and Bonnie are not finished yet! Dry your eyes and get prepared for season 6, it’s going to be a big one!
Speculation
Grams spoke about having made a deal to keep Bonnie safe, perhaps this deal will extend to Damon and will hopefully be the catalyst for Damon and Bonnie’s rise from the grave. By next season, I think Elena will still be trying to find ways to bring Damon back, that girl is nothing if not determined. Plec says the characters will have come to terms over the deaths in the finale in their own ways; some will be finding answers and other will have given up. I guess we’ll have to wait and see! Until season 6, my friends!
Highlight
Damon’s speech to Elena in the graveyard. Ian Somerhalder really nailed it. Of course, Nina Dobrev’s breakdown about Damon being gone was up there as well. And finally, Lexi. I’m sad that she’s truly gone for good now, but it was nice to see her again.