BWW Recap: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES Says So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night to Elena Gilbert

When news dropped of Nina Dobrev's departure from THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, fans everywhere clamored for answers and solace. Why was she leaving? How would she leave? Would she die? Would a mermaid-unicorn hybrid sire her into the deep underworld? It's always tricky when writing a main character off a television show, especially when said actor has decided to leave on his or her own terms. This week's season finale of TVD, entitled "I'm Thinking of You All the While," not only said a final goodbye to Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert (and all her doppelgänger counterparts), but Michael Trevino's wolfy Tyler Lockwood as well. And although their goodbyes were permanent, they still left the door wide open for compelling storytelling as the show moves into a new season and brand new territory.

Kai's act of terror left devastation throughout the wedding party. Alaric cradled a dead Jo while Damon tried to revive Elena with vampire blood. The Gemini's tried to act quickly and send Kai back to his prison world, but he stabbed himself in the neck before the coven could take action. If he died, all of the Gemini coven would perish with him.

While Damon rushed Elena to the hospital, Enzo vamp-napped Caroline and Stefan, claiming to need help with Lily. Lily was angry as the address she was given to find her heretic friends yielded a bunch of empty shipping containers. Stefan tried to get her to calm down and stop looking for her "family," but it was no use. She revealed to her youngest son that in return for her friends she gave some of her blood to Kai.

Tyler and Liv were both fatally injured and since Liv was connected to the coven and couldn't save herself, she wanted to give Tyler one last opportunity. She begged him to take his chance, kill her, and turn back into a wolf to save himself. A reluctant Tyler followed through; realizing his consequences after Liv was gone.

Alaric tried to kill Kai, but it was too late, the leader of the Gemini's had already turned himself. The human turned the gun on himself, but the gun had emptied of bullets. Tyler, fully in transition back into a wolf, jumped onto the scene to fatally bite Kai.

Before his destruction, Kai had left a not so sweet video message for Bonnie where he revealed that he had linked Elena's life to Bonnie's; as long as Bonnie remained alive, Elena would stay in an endless sleep, and any loopholes would end both their lives.

Stefan and Caroline shared a poignant moment in the hospital where he looked back at his time with Elena and how she brought him back together with Damon. Caroline was still unsure of her position on her relationship with Stefan and fled the hospital.

Bonnie finally came face-to-face with Kai where she taunted him with needing some ointment. She tried to torture him into undoing the spell, but he claimed he couldn't since he had transitioned into a vampire. In a surprise turn of events, Kai siphoned the wolf venom out of is neck, healing his werewolf bite and knocking Bonnie out. Damon arrived, Kai giving him the chance to kill Bonnie and wake Elena up, but he couldn't do it. He began to walk away as Kai continued his rant, sneaking up on Kai and chopping his head off to end him once and for all.

With Elena's fate sealed for the next 60-70 years, it was time for everyone to say their final goodbyes as they jumped into Elena's thoughts. She asked Bonnie and Caroline to write everything down so she could stay connected with her best friends. The tear-filled goodbyes were absolutely heartbreaking and full of nostalgia for the simpler times in the lives of each character. Jeremy also stopped by from his crazy life of art school killing vampires to say one last goodbye to his sister.

Meanwhile, with Kai's death, a building in the shipyard was uncloaked to reveal where Lily's heretic friends had been chilling.

Stefan and Damon moved Elena safely into the Salvatore crypt, Bonnie having sealed the coffin shut with magic so no one could steal the cure. It was Damon's turn to say one last goodbye. Elena made him promise not to waste his time without her. She wanted him to be happy, not to sit around and force himself into desiccation. The pair shared one last dance and kiss together in the spot they first met. At the same time as Damon was promising Elena he would wait for her, Stefan confessed to Caroline that there were many reasons why he loved her and he was willing to wait for her.

A flash forward revealed Mystic Falls trashed as Matt drove a police car through the wreckage and Damon looked onto the town on top of the watchtower.

Things we need to discuss:

- The writers handled Nina's exit well. I haven't been a fan of Elena Gilbert for several seasons now, but still felt the heartbreak of her departure. I probably would have been furious if she had died or just left town. As a nonshipper as well, her and Damon's last moment was beautiful and gave endless hope to the Delena fans everywhere.

- Now that Tyler is also heading out of Mystic Falls, where will he go? It would have been nice for them to spend a few more minutes on his last moments, but I have a feeling this is not the last we've seen of Tyler Lockwood.

- Kai was possibly the best villain ever introduced into the TVD universe. He was ruthless, but still kept you intrigued and drawn to him. His brief moments of redemption were one big mind game and his ultimate descent into a true "big bad" was something TVD had been lacking for sometime. I'll be sad to see him go, but not all villains can get their own spinoffs.

- I wish there had been a way to save Jo. Poor Alaric just can't keep a girlfriend.

Were you satisfied with Elena's ending? Will you secretly miss Kai? Will someone get Alaric an endless supply of whiskey? Comment below or tweet me @enr702 or @erinrlivetweets.

Photo Credit: The CW

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