The Vampire Diaries: Home (5x22)

Even though I know that Ian Somerhalder isn't leaving this show, I will admit that the ending of this episode was a real punch to the gut. A lot of this episode was gut-punching really, but I still think ultimately they could have done more to make it feel as epic as a finale should. Honestly, I have mixed feelings.

We start off with Damon and Elena rushing home, where Caroline has brought Stefan's body. They're all distraught, but they still believe that Bonnie has a way to bring people back, so hope is not lost yet. However, when Damon goes to ask Bonnie about it, he learns that she lost her opportunity. Enzo, however, has a new Traveler lined up to help them with the spell... Silas. To help them, they also need a witch, and a ritual sacrifice of a bunch of Travelers.

Caroline convinces Liv to help by snapping Luke's neck, putting him on the Other Side. Damon and the others concoct a plan to get all the Travelers to the bar. Then, they'll blow it up, killing all of them. Bonnie has to hang out and be the Anchor for all of this.

Stefan finds Lexi, and the two of them hang out waiting for this all to go down. Sheriff Forbes draws the Travelers to a bar. Jeremy and Matt let the gas leak, and Damon and Elena drive a car into the bar, killing themselves and all the Travelers in the process.

Once everyone's dead, Bonnie starts letting people through to the land of the living once more. She saves Luke, Alaric, Elena, Tyler (who had been killed by the Travelers earlier)... Stefan wants to wait for Damon to show up, but when Bonnie stumbles, he inadvertently touches her and comes through as well. Luke rushes to Liv, who has been chanting a spell this whole time. It has been draining her of energy and really hurting her. Luke doesn't want his sister to suffer anymore. He stops the spell... before Damon can get through!

Caroline comforts a distraught Stefan, who has just permanently lost not only his brother, but also Lexi, who sacrificed herself to prevent Markos from coming over. As the episode ends, Damon says a heartbreaking goodbye to Elena, Alaric comforts her, Sheriff Forbe's fate is still in the air (she was in the bar when it exploded), and Bonnie and Damon hold hands, ready to be swept away as the Other Side is obliterated.

Well... ouch. Can I start with my complaints?

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but I wanted more Damon/Stefan moments. I'll talk in a bit about how much I loved the stuff that we did have, but was anyone else pissed off that Damon didn't even offer a brief goodbye to Stefan when he thought he'd be gone forever? After all, Damon's dead because he sacrificed himself for his brother. You'd think even one exchange between them in the episode wouldn't be out of place.

Also, I was a bit annoyed about Lexi. I mean, don't get me wrong... I was thrilled to see her. I'm constantly impressed by how much mileage they manage to get out of a character who gets killed off right away when we meet her, but continues to grace us with her presence via flashbacks and ghostly visits. But her excuse for not passing through Bonnie was... weak. She basically says that in order to be a good friend to Stefan, she should wait for Damon to pass through. Damon. The guy who killed her for no good reason. Are we just choosing to ignore the fact that Lexi gave away her chance to continue existing... for her murderer? Ugh.

But let's talk about what I liked. Because I did really like this episode quite a bit.

First of all, going back to the Damon and Stefan thing... oh my God. I hoped and prayed all week that we would get to see Damon's face when he first realized Stefan was dead... and we did. He looked so lost and scared and like he was maybe going to be sick. He just couldn't handle it. And then his rage when he discovers that Bonnie can't do anything... and the way he choked on the word "brother..." gah. Too much.

From Stefan's side, we have the fact that he was determined to wait for Damon before passing through Bonnie, his horror when he couldn't... and then his breakdown, where he croaks out "he should be here" to Caroline before lowering his head and just sobbing. So much angst. Love it. The only thing that could have made it better is if the two brothers had actually spoken in this episode. Sigh.

Alaric is back! I was waiting for this to happen. I knew they'd be able to find a way. But now we only have one half of the Rick/Damon bromance! Oh no! (Although let's be real... Damon's coming back.)

Damon and Elena's goodbye. Damn. My investment in Delena has always been sort of... medium. Like I think they're supposed to be endgame and all that, but at the same time, I always hold my breath for Salvatore brother moments on this show, not really for Damon and Elena moments. But God. That goodbye was something else. Really cheesy, maybe, but totally heartbreaking all the same. Nice acting from Dobrev and Somerhalder, for sure.

The Stefan/Caroline setup is getting more and more blatant as we go. Caroline's reaction to Stefan's death was beyond what we might expect for two friends... it felt like there might be something more going on there. And then Lexi brings it up with Stefan again, which is exactly what she did the last time the two of them had the opportunity to chat. I really like the idea of Stefan and Caroline together. I hope they don't screw it up with more unnecessary drama.

Bonnie and Jeremy didn't get a lot of time in this episode for any goodbyes, but my heart broke a little when Jeremy was running and screaming Bonnie's name, trying to get to her in time. Poor things.

Even though Bonnie was used in this episode - quite literally - as a plot device to shuffle people between living and dead, I also think the episode did right by her. For once. She got to say goodbye to her Grams, and she got to know how much everyone cared about her... Bonnie and Damon holding hands at the end awaiting their fate was a very powerful, very promising image. While I'm sure Damon will manage to claw his way back to the living somehow, I'm not sure if Bonnie will be returning. While sad, I think it might be for the best to give that actress a chance to go elsewhere. She's been criminally underused on this show.

I'll stop there. I could have used some more Salvatore broments, but for what we got, it was an emotional episode with a lot of tears and drama, and I can't wait to see the adorable reunion when Damon finds his way back next season.

8/10