It’s been an interesting—and at times enormously frustrating
season. I do not think season four of Vampire Diaries will go down as my
favorite, from the uneven storytelling to the overabundance of some characters
at the expense of others to the beating of some storylines like a dead horse,
there were moments of great cheer and moments of throat clutching
disappointment, and when I honestly felt some of my passion for this show wane,
my bafflement at the choices seemingly being made often left me with a feeling
of “really?” rather than “OMG” at the end of every episode.
Thankfully, with the airing of the backdoor pilot for The
Originals (and that’s a story for another day) – the last three episodes felt
like we actually got back on track with the series focus where we should have
been all along and last night’s finale was the proverbial toss of the hat into
the air.
Damon & Elena
Yes, I am absolutely starting with my favorite couple. I
have been a fan of Damon since he swaggered into Mystic Falls at the end of the
pilot, greeting his brother and giving him that wild, wicked grin. But more
than that, from the first time Damon and Elena interacted the air between them
was electric. At the end of season three, Elena told Damon she was choosing
Stefan—but I never thought it was because she didn’t love Damon, I always
believed it was because she was scared of what loving Damon meant.
He will never be easy and loving him won’t be easy. Elena’s
journey as a vampire has been fraught with one cluster f*ck after another. She
couldn’t drink animal blood, she couldn’t drink bagged blood, she could only
take it from humans, oh and let’s not forget Connor’s joyful arrival and reign
of terror that led Elena to snapping Connor’s neck. Let’s not forget Stefan
making everything about Elena’s transition about him or that when she finally
admitted that he looked at her like she was broken and needing to be fixed…but
there was Damon, always Damon who loved Elena for who she was—human or vamp,
perfect or flawed—he loved her.
