Previously: The Travelers managed to work some of their chanting mojo to remove witch magic, but only within Mystic Falls, Stefan tells Elena to BE with Damon if that’s what makes her happy, Enzo throws things, Bonnie might finally die, and Stefan is killed by a pissed-off traveler leaving Caroline to cradle his head in the street and give us all a serious case of The Feels.
WELL. That was certainly…a finale? Please forgive me as it’s been Finale Week all over the place and I’ve already cried buckets over The Originals, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Arrow, so I’m not sure I’m even in the right frame of mind to process what I just witnessed. But we soldier forth!
The Other Side is crumbling and threatening to now take Dead Stefan with it, so Enzo has figured out a way that they can recreate the Traveler’s spell that brought Marcos back in order to bring all of their friends back. (But let’s be honest, Enzo is really only concerned about himself.) He claims to have a Traveler who knows the spell and all he needs now are some witches to teach it to. It just so happens that Luke and Liv haven’t quite hauled enough ass out of town yet and are picked up by Caroline and Elena. Who are both super pissed because, oh yeah, did I mention that Stefan is DEAD?
The small silver lining with Stefan being dead is that he’s found by his OB (Original Bestie), Lexi (sorry, Caroline!). I love Lexi and wish she was in EVERY episode, bickering with Damon and generally being full of awesome. They look for Alaric, but Lexi mentions that it’s possible he’s already found peace and moved on. Stefan wonders why Lexi hasn’t done the same and she’s not sure; she reckons she still has some unfinished business. FORESHADOWING. Lexi is laying down some Best Friend Truth-talk about Stefan’s obliviousness to Caroline’s feelings for him. I know she wants her boy to be happy and all but she’s CLEARLY missed the Klaus-Caroline memo. They talk about the possibility of not returning and Stefan promises Lexi that they’ll find peace together if they can’t return. I love these two. Seeing his amazing friendships with women just really makes me want to get BFF charms with Stefan Salvatore.
Luke and Liv aren’t super thrilled about pissing off their coven by bringing back Stefan; if both doppelgangers are alive the Travelers can start their spell again. Caroline Forbes is having NONE of their WonderTwin bullshit and snaps Luke’s neck. You don’t mess with Caroline’s people. I guess Liv has incentive to play along now that her brother is also on The Other Side.
Sheriff Forbes has evacuated the town, and is also doing covert ops for Damon (Covert Ops with Damon Salvatore is something I would definitely watch or possibly roleplay) and is giving him intel on what the Travelers are up to, which is resetting the boundaries of Mystic Falls to include the radius of their No-Witch-Magic spell. So this means all supernaturals who would be rendered DEAD by this spell can no longer be in Mystic Falls. Marcos has captured Julian/Tyler and is more than happy to demonstrate the effects of their spell by tossing him into Mystic Falls and watch him die as a werewolf, vampire and finally, human with a broken neck. HARS
It’s convenient to have all of the Travelers in one spot since Damon and Co. need a big Traveler sacrifice for their spell. He plots with Jeremy and Matt to gather all of them at the Grill because a gas main lies underneath. Jeremy and Matt are to go in through the tunnels, turn on the gas, and get the hell out of Dodge. Sheriff Forbes manages to get the Travelers there under the guise of a civic chat/open bar and Marcos is instantly suspicious. Guess who isn’t going to make it out of the Grill before it goes up in flames?
Bonnie and Ghost Enzo are at the cemetery and Enzo delivers his promise in the form of SILAS. Still as smarmy as ever. Bonnie is throwing all kinds of shade his way because he DID murder her father. She knows that she now has to bring back Luke AND Tyler as well because they’ve both passed through her. Actually I’m totally ok with her NOT bringing back Tyler. He’s redundant at this point. Elena brings Liv so that Silas can teach her the spell/chant. After he’s no longer useful Bonnie lets Silas get sucked into oblivion on The Other Side and honestly, it’s no more than he deserved.
Damon has explained his plan to Elena but forgot to mention that he’s going to be one pulling the Kamikaze trigger on the whole operation. Naturally, she’s not pleased. He promises her that he’ll remain vampire long enough so that when he dies in the fiery crash he can make his way back from The Other Side. And now I’m nervous.
Jeremy and Matt are well underway Operation Blow-Up and have alerted Damon. Liv is chanting and Ghost Luke is with her. Damon is sitting on the roof of his car at sundown right outside the town limits, having a drink. He gets in his car to drive into Mystic Falls only to have Elena climb in the car with him. She doesn’t want him to do it alone and so they Bonnie and Clyde their way into the Grill, killing all of the Travelers within.
Bonnie is letting all of the newly dead pass through her, including Damon and Elena. Marcos is pissed but convinced that he can just pass through her again. Damon and Elena have to find their bodies and Elena is crispy, charred and terrifying.
And then Alaric shows up! He tells her to go, that he’ll find Damon. Damon wakes up next to Sheriff Forbes, who miraculously isn’t dead. Liv is still chanting like mad so that everyone can pass through but now she’s getting a nosebleed and Luke is worried. Luke passes over, Enzo passes over (and is like, LATER SUCKERS), Tyler passes over and Caroline squeezes him like crazy. Tyler realizes he’s no longer a hybrid and I wonder if it’s enough to write him off the show OR make him likeable again.
Stefan, Elena and Lexi are left waiting for Alaric and Damon but Bonnie can feel that she’s getting weaker with every person passing back through her, so she pulls Elena through. Stefan manages to fall through her by accident and is panicking about his brother. Marcos tries to bumrush Bonnie but is tackled by Lexi and promptly thrown up into the sucking void. Bonnie tells Lexi to pass through but she can’t. She can see that Bonnie is weakening and she can’t banish Stefan to a life without his brother. She finds peace and is lifted off to wherever peace-finding supernaturals go. My hopes of a Season 6 with Lexi are dashed and splintered.
Alaric passes through Bonnie but before Damon can pass through Luke makes Liv stop chanting because it’s killing her. WHAT. IN THE HELL. IS THIS. I mean, are we really to believe that Damon Salvatore is gone? And does this mean that the next season will be all about trying to bring him back? I groan. AUDIBLY.
Stefan is mourning his brother and Lexi. Caroline sits with him. He tells her that he knows Lexi sacrificed her return to keep Marcos away. He really can’t imagine a life without his brother, especially when his brother was finally happy. It’s kind of killing me.
Elena is losing her shit and Bonnie tells her that Ghost Damon is there to say goodbye. Despite my reservations about Damon “dying”, this is an incredible scene between these two. Elena can’t hear or see him and she’s getting her ugly-cry on in a very real way. Damon is just thankful he got to love Elena, and to have her love him. Scenes like this are what get my fur up about a CW show NEVER having a shot at getting an Emmy nomination. WANTON SNOBBERY.
And this is basically me:
Bonnie FINALLY calls Jeremy to tell him that she’s dying, she won’t survive the collapse of The Other Side and he gets to the cemetery just in time before she and Ghost Damon hold hands and are sucked into the noiseless void.
Moments of Hilarity:
“Looks like I’ve saved you from both metaphorical darkness AND actual darkness. I think you owe me a beer.” – Lexi to Stefan
“Let’s not forget who else is at the top of the Search and Rescue list.” – Enzo
“How IS my shadow self? Is it a crime for someone so good-looking to be so SAD all the time?” – Silas
Moments of Heart-Swelling:
“I will make it back to you. I promise. I promise you.” – Damon to Elena
“What kind of best friend would I be if you died before Stefan got his brother back?” – Lexi to Bonnie
“Damon finally had everything he wanted. He was happy. He should be here.” – Stefan
“The fact that I get to die knowing I was loved…by you, Elena Gilbert, is the epitome of a fulfilled life.” – Damon
I want to thank all of you fabulous people for taking this journey through Season 5 with me! I had a blast recapping and dishing with y’all, even if this season was pretty uneven and we’d all LOVE to never hear the words “Travelers” or “doppelganger” EVER AGAIN.
About the Contributor:
Amanda Reid is an East Coast girl living in California who will never stop missing a true autumn. She’s a bookseller who specializes in kid and teen lit, and she bakes a damn fine pie.
