It is with much heartbreak that I said goodbye to one of my favorite shows, The Vampire Diaries. Overall, I thought that the series finale was fair. I would have ended things differently but I think that they ended the show as realistically as they could, well “realistic” for a show about vampires and other mystical beings. Honestly, I did not know what to expect from the finale. I hoped that Elena would come back which thank goodness Nina Dobrev did come back for the final episode, but other than that I had not much expectations.

Bringing back Kathrine was an interesting idea at the end of the season. I think that was pretty unexpected considering no one had thought of her in a while. I realize that she was an important character that started the whole series in conflicts and such, but I did not think she was the “baddest bitch of all” as they referred to her as. I admired her character but she was petty and pretty pathetic. Not strong enough to bring back for a final ending. I see the symbolism in it, but they brought her back so weak. She could not even defend herself against the Salvatore brothers once she did have them in front of her. It was a setback compared to Cade who was the worst villain I think the characters faced.

In addition to that, Stefan being killed off in this final episode was a bit of a shock. He started off as the main male protagonist in the series. For him to just end up dead seemed like the only way to make Damon the one true male protagonist of the show. Don’t get me wrong; I was team Damon and he was my favorite character, but something seemed wrong about his brother sacrificing his life for him. Stefan never really appealed to me and his ups and downs as a character where he constantly felt guilt was unattractive to me, but he was finally getting all he ever wanted and I think that is what was upsetting. This is where I see the realism of the show, at least one main character did not have say a happy ending. I did very much enjoy his heavenly ending with his best friend, Lexi. I thought that was sweet and can satisfy the fact that he did not get the happy life he was headed towards.

I did not think that Caroline deserved Stefan dying though. It seemed unfair considering how much she had grown and dealt with as a character in the show. She did become the main female character after Nina Dobrev left the show and Elena was put into a coma. So how could she not get the happy ending with the guy she loved? I think this is where bringing back Elena unbalanced things because once again it seemed to become all about her. I realize for Damon it always was all about Elena, but that doesn’t mean the show was about her any longer. If anything Elena not being in the picture made the story more interesting. We got to see a better connection between the brothers. Other bonds formed like that of Damon and Caroline’s in their shared love for Stefan. I think without Elena there, Damon had a better environment to find himself. And without Elena, Caroline could also grow as a character not having to be in the shadow of Elena, the epic character that everyone seemed to love. But how could there be an ending without Elena waking of course?

Without Elena waking there would be a lack of satisfaction because something would seem left unresolved. So I think it would have been wrong not to bring her back. I did appreciate that Damon was with Caroline at the moment of her waking mourning Stefan’s death. I think that made the story more of an epic love story between two brothers. The fact that Stefan sacrificed his life, even more so his now human life, was very romantic. He gave up his happy life along side his wife for his brother. He gave Damon everything he wanted, a life to grow old with Elena and one where he could not be tempted to fall back into evil ways.

Damon being turned human was about the most expected and unexpected ending. We knew that he had already decided to become human with Elena to grow old together, but the thought of a human Damon seemed unimaginable, at least to me. But it was something that brought the story into a complete circle. After everything his character went through finding himself, to be able to find his humanity, to live authentically as human, was just the perfect happy ending for him. See it was not something that seemed like he could want, but giving him a finite life with his love, gives his life a whole lot more meaning. And I think that was what the whole series did well on, showing how human relationships can change and shape a person for the better. That even the worst of beings can change with the right group of people surrounding them. And that is humanity, thus the importance of Damon’s evolution from vampire to human as a symbol of his transformation from that uncaring Damon we initially met to the Damon that seemed to bring everyone together at the show’s end.

Overall, I was satisfied with the series’ end, but I will most definitely miss the show and it’s characters with whom I fell in love. I think that is what the series’ writers did best on, character development. No matter what the characters did or didn’t do, you had to love them all. And the actors too helped to portray these amazing characters in detail. Anyway, this is my personal view of The Vampire Diaries series' end.