“I love you Elena. Goodbye.”

So much pain. So much suffering. So much heartbreak. I don’t think I can get through this whole review without continuing to cry like a baby… Not now. Not ever…. The Vampire Diaries pulled out all the cards for the ending of season five… an ending that concluded in the Other Side literally imploding and it taking two of its most important inhabitants in the process. You know what they say, when death comes knocking! Saying that the season finale was going to be emotional for Damon fans was literally an understatement. Emotional?? No. That shit was a disaster that I couldn’t stop from happening. I think I cried more than Elena did and she was a mess! SPOILER ALERT: Damon dies. And yes, it seems like for good. There’s many loopholes in TVD, but the writers and producers promised us one thing. When the Other Side implodes, it’ll be for good. No more back and forth, no more returning to life. If you died during this traumatic 45-minute finale, you died for good. So… who can write me out a prescription for some anti-depression pills?

Project Kaboom was Damon’s last hoorah as a living dead-guy. Markos had created barriers in Mystic Falls, the new anti-magic town. Basically, any magical entity that entered was stripped away of its powers and died their original death. The first one to go was Tyler. After Markos found out about Julian’s betrayal to the travelers, he seized him and threw him into Mystic Falls, where Tyler’s hybrid body was stripped off its magic and he eventually died with a snap to the neck. As Enzo put it, this list of people to save was getting way to long. Thankfully, aside from being witty Enzo was also resourceful and he found a traveler that could help them with a spell to bring them all back from the dead; Silas. Trust me, I don’t think anyone was happy to see this shadow self.

Meanwhile, there was a lot of happiness and sadness happening on the Other Side. Stefan and Lexi reconciled seasons after Damon murdered her. The two didn’t seem to have a care in the world as they caught up on old times and she teased Stefan about not realizing that Caroline was totally crushing on him. They spent most of their time looking for Alaric. All the while, Bonnie was making sure everything was going according to plan before she had her final goodbye with Grams. Grams explained that she had made peace and wasn’t going to go back to the living. Her happiest moment was being able to see Bonnie grow into the beautiful woman she’d become. She also mentioned that she had a plan of her own which guaranteed to keep Bonnie safe. What was she referring to? Has she found a way to bring back Bonnie from the dead even after the other side implodes?  I guess we’ll have to wait and see when season 6 returns.

Back on the planet of the living, Caroline and Elena captured Liv who was pretty much the only witch living in Mystic Falls that could complete this spell. And in order to give her some motivation, Caroline accidentally snapped her brother Luke’s neck in order to make sure that she would come through on the deal. Leave it up to a girl whose lost her crush to make sure things are being kicked into high gear during the most crucial of times. With Liv on their side, they needed to figure out the logistics of the plan. In order to be able to cross back over through Bonnie, they needed to do like Markos and break down the wall between both worlds. What does that mean precisely? Well, a huge group of people had to die at the same time so that the others could sneak right on back to the land of the living. This is where project kaboom comes into play. Liz Forbes decides to play good cop and lures all the new inhabitants of Mystic Falls to celebrate at Mystic Grill. And what better way than to bring in a bunch of people for free booze?! While everyones partying and having a good old time being free from the curse, Jeremy and Matt go through the underground railroad and hit the pipeline, releasing gas. At 7:10, Damon is to drive his vehicle into the building and literally blow up the town, thus enacting the moment where everyone resurrects.

Obviously there’s one problem with Damon’s suicide mission; Elena. She’s not just going to let her man go and kill himself, leaving a huge possibility that he may never return. It’s way to risky. But Damon plays the old relationship fight card on her and explains that this is his choice and she should respect his wishes. Yeah, right! When the time comes, Damon is boozing it up staring at the Mystic Falls sign. This moment is very crucial to the finale because it sort of shows Damon looking into and looking back on his life. And what a good life it has been. He’s about to drive through the town line where all his magic will be stripped and he will begin dying, when Elena plops into the car to join him. If they die, they die together. It’s really romantic in a Romeo and Juliet sort of way. The minute they enter Mystic Falls, Elena begins re-enacting her death by drowning and spewing up gulps of water. They hold hands as Damon crashes through Mystic Grill and the whole thing goes, well, KABOOM.

Alaric finally shows up, in true Ric fashion. Dead or alive he’s always helping out when shit hits the fan… or when grill blows up. He promised Elena he’d find Damon and bring him back to Bonnie. She was gathering the troops but Luke wasn’t wasting any time. He was the first one to cross over back to life, with Enzo following suit. This truly isn’t surprising. Than Tyler came through quickly realizing that he was no longer a hybrid. (I’m not sure why this was such a shock… wasn’t Mystic Falls without magic or was that all restored the minute all the travelers blew up?) The rest of the gang was not about to go through without Damon, who was M.I.A! Elena wasn’t going to leave the love of her life, but she had no choice as Bonnie grabbed her and yanked her back to life. Stefan didn’t want to leave his brother, but accidentally tried to catch Bonnie as she fell as crossed over. Sucks being nice right? What’s even worse? That in the most crucial and constrained moment, Damon decided to be good and moral. Instead of rushing to find Bonnie so he could cross over and be with Elena, he found Sheriff Forbes covered in rubble and decided he needed to help her before she died. Thankfully, Alaric was there to lend his buddy a hand.

Things were getting really bad over with Bonnie. The spell was too strong for Liv who continued to chant despite being super close to death. Markos came to finish up some things, but was sucked up into the dark. Lexi decided that she wouldn’t cross over because each person that did, killed Bonnie and she wasn’t going to take up her energy without letting her bff’s brother cross. Isn’t it crazy how she would make such a sacrifice for someone who once ripped her heart out. Her act was noble and selfless, kind of like we’ve known Lexi to be; always putting others before herself. Finally Damon and Ric arrived. Ric crossed over, but before Damon could, Luke chanted something that shut down Liv’s spell leaving Damon trapped on the imploding Other Side.

Cue the waterworks. Not a cheek was dry during this finale, I’m sure of it! Elena soon realized that Damon wasn’t coming back. Bonnie left her with her beau to say goodbye and it was TRAGIC. Damon took it in stride explaining how he died at his peak. Nothing and no one had ever made him happier. And he was content dying knowing that he was loved by the incredible Elena Gilbert. She unfortunately couldn’t hear him, and just cried, “please don’t leave me.” Elena has lost a lot, but this, this was her everything. For me as a viewer, it was hard seeing these two say goodbye, without actually seeing each other, but feeling each others presence. If the writers of TVD can do anything, it’s make me bawl like a newborn child. “Please come back to me,” Elena sobs. “I love you”, Damon whispers. “Goodbye.” And I lost it!  And  if we weren’t already crying, sobbing, hiccuping, Jeremy realized that Bonnie had lied to him this whole time. There was no way she was ever coming back. When the other side imploded, she went with it. She’s dead. She’s always been dead. She died before graduation and this second chance was a gift that had to come to an end. Jeremy ran through the woods screaming for Bonnie, but he never got his goodbye. By the time he got there, Bonnie and Damon were getting ready to crossover to the Other Side… forever.

This scene was so heartbreaking in so many ways. First off, we were losing two major characters and they were never coming back. Second, these two never really liked each other to begin with. Even in such a critical and deadly moment, they were able to make jokes about that. These were the last two people that would ever want to spend their last moments with each other. But here they were and they had no choice. The grabbed hands as they turned to face the big unknown. Death. After living for so many years, it’s all just come to an end.  “Do you think it will hurt?,” Bonnie asks. “I don’t know,” Damon mutters. And thats it. That is fricking it. Can you believe it? The screen flashes white for the first time ever instead of black and season 5 is done.

Thoughts? Cries? Pleas? Anything? Do you think Damon is gone for good? I hate to sound like a bitch but I’m content with losing Bonnie. It’s Damon that I’m not ok with losing. What about Team Delena? What about our future together? What about the rest of the show? The viewers? The loyal frickin’ fans! We deserve so much better than this!!! How can I pose other questions when I’m literally dying of sadness right now! Did Grams find a way to bring them back? Did she secure that before she died? Will Stefan and Caroline be together? Or will she eventually end up with Tyler? How can I even be excited about all the old-dead faces being alive again when the only person I care about is gone?! Did Ian Somerhalder want to quit the show? Is he breaking up with us? WHERE IS DAMON!? I can’t. I just really can’t right now.

THE END