Friday in Review: A Goodbye To The Vampire Diaries

So this is probably the saddest post I've ever written. I may or may not get all weepy and there is no way I could put everything I want to put in this one post but I want to give The Vampire Diaries a proper send off. Tonight is the night that the last episode ever airs... I am so sad. My obsession and love for the show, the characters, the cast, and the writers started a couple years ago. I think I was only sixteen at the time so I started watching it in 2014 I think. That seems like forever ago.

Because I had to put this in here somewhere. TVD always and forever.

All I can say is that I had had a pretty crappy month or so. I just remember that one month -- I can't even remember which month it was but it was at the beginning of the year -- of awfulness. Lots of doctors and lots of tests and a pretty scary and difficult diagnosis. I had always had a little bit of anxiety and depression but after that both issues sky-rocketed. I was trying to cope with a new reality while also having panic attacks every day and feeling like my throat was closing up all day long. Even before that though I had been asking my mom over and over if I could watch this really cool show that I really wanted to watch called The Vampire Diaries. After that she said sure go ahead (plus I was sixteen by then). So that night, it was like eleven or something I got on Netflix and clicked the Pilot. I loved that show and the characters from the very first second of the Pilot. It was epic and awesome and beautiful and fun. I think I stayed up until 1 watching the second episode too and then had to force myself to go to bed because I do not like staying up past 1. The next morning I was up and watching the third episode and it was all downhill/uphill from there depending on how you look at it.

But I just remember this one day where I was in a constant state of anxiety, like any minute I could go into a panic attack. I didn't have any meds or anything to help me then and I just remember I pretty much sat and watched The Vampire Diaries all day. That show was the only thing that kept me from having a full blown panic attack, it was the only thing that kept me sane and made me forget about the way my throat felt and how anxious I was. The world of the Vampire Diaries with Elena and Stefan and Damon and Bonnie and Caroline made me forget that I was on the verge of a panic attack. I remember from that day I had called my mom because everyone else was out having a great day and was so frustrated because I couldn't get anything done that day, I was just a mess and how all I've been doing is watching The Vampire Diaries and she just said more or less if that's what you have to do to feel better than just do it. So I did. The Vampire Diaries kept me from my anxiety. And when I felt sad -- there were a lot, I mean a lot, of days of sadness -- The Vampire Diaries made me smile and made me laugh and made me feel inspired. After that awful month and that hard diagnosis I sort of lost my writing. I had to sort of refind myself as a writer because I had changed and my mindset had changed so much and The Vampire Diaries and the characters and the plot inspired me and helped grow me as a writer and changed my writing forever.




I can't tell you guys how much those characters mean to me. If I got the chance to see even one of the actors from that show I would probably thank them and freak out because I love them so much. I resonated with Elena so much because she had just gone through something impossibly hard and difficult: her parents had died in a car crash. Her world had been rocked and shaken and tipped upside down. Kind of like mine had. She was just trying to get through the day, smile and pretend everything that was alright, recover and find out who she is now because something like that makes you a different person and Elena wanted to find out what kind of person she was. Before the car crash she had had a boyfriend Matt, been a cheerleader and been lots of fun. After the car crash she broke up with Matt, stopped cheer leading and was the gloomy graveyard girl that sat and wrote in her diary. She had to refind herself like I did. Elena made me feel not so alone.

Plus I loved how she wrote in her journal every day. It appealed to my writer side.

And then Stefan came along. The new mystery guy at the high school that was so obviously a vampire to the viewer. He resonated with Elena, made her smile and laugh when she hadn't smiled a real smile in so long. Stefan was sort of her superhero that appeared and rescued her. Made her feel safe and happy and gave her hope that things would get better. I loved -- and still love -- Stefan. His and Elena's love story took my breath away and made me forget about all the bad, hard things in life. The things he said, the way he gave hope to Elena and said things will get better, you will get better or how she went through a great loss and she's different now and that's ok really got to me and resonated with me.

I loved this line. Thank you Stefan. :)

Out of all them Elena was the one that hooked me on The Vampire Diaries because I felt so close to her but Damon? Damon made me smile and laugh every. Single. Time. He was in a scene. Even when he was really not nice and a big jerk in season one I saw him for the first time and I was like yes, this is perfect, I like this guy a lot. He was so sarcastic and fun and dramatic and his facial expressions and just the way he was, Ian Somerhalder did and still is doing such a truly fantastic and amazing job with that character. I was on the Damon train since Hello Brother.

Best. Scene. Ever.

I resonated with Elena, Stefan gave hope in his words, and Damon made me smile and grin and laugh.




Of course I also can't forget the other characters. Bonnie Bennet, Caroline Forbes, Matt Donovan, Tyler Lockwood, Jeremy Gilbert Alaric Saltzman, Sheriff Liz Forbes, Katherine Pierce, Enzo, Vicki, and then the whole Michaelson family. They are all amazing and I love them all. I cried when some of them died and cheered when some of them came back. Without these dynamic and very real and very human supporting characters there would be no Vampire Diaries. Yeah you can have the amazing Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder but without everyone else there wouldn't be a show. I love how fierce Bonnie is and I loved watching in the first season how she became a witch. Bonnie is the most selfless character there is, ever. Once your her friend she will die for you. She will do anything for you.

I'm a witch... (Season 1)

(Season 6)

I loved watching Caroline go from the cliché perky, mean, tries too hard cheer leader to the strong, independent and beautiful inside and out woman and mother in season 8.

She started out insecure and unsure of herself...

And ended up being powerful, beautiful and in love.

Matt's the one who keeps them all grounded. The only human on the show that has ever stayed a human and I love him for that.

Matt with Vicki in season 1

Sheriff Matt Donovan in season 8

Tyler was fun. He was a great character. Annoying a lot of the time but by the end it was cool to see him go from a real jerk of a high school kid who think's he's all that to a grown, mature man.

He's... spoiler alert.

Alaric has always been the father figure and from the instant he showed up on the show he was just... there. He just fit in so perfectly that I sometimes forget that he doesn't come in until like season 2 or 3. He was like Elena and Jeremy and became close friends to everyone else.

From single, vampire slayer teacher to...

Epic, friend of a few vampires dad.

And Jeremy? How could I almost forget Jeremy? He was awesome from beginning to end. He went through so many phases! From the high school punk who did drugs, to the Loner, then becoming a Hunter and eventually growing into a loyal, tough, strong young man who finds his true calling.

From Jeremy's punk/loner phase to...

To strong, powerful vampire hunter who knows who he is.

 And Enzo... He doesn't come in until like season 5 or 6 but it feels like he's been here forever.
From the moment on saw him he made me smile and laugh and I loved his friendship with Damon and then with Caroline and eventually, after some confusion and soul searching he became a part fof the team, the family. There are so many other supporting characters I could go on and on about but that would make for a super long post.

Enzo... I loved him from the moment he entered TVD. Even when he wasn't a great person, all the way to...

A great person of loyalty and beautiful relationships who didn't go around killing people.

Ever since that night when I started The Vampire Diaries this show has become kind of my happy place. If I am feeling super anxious or depressed and can't even cope or my head is just a big mess I turn on The Vampire Diaries and just sit and take in the familiarity of the world and the characters. It almost instantly relaxes me when I turn an episode on of that. Any episode really. I have rewatched that show from beginning to end at least three times now and when the final episode airs and the last season goes on Netflix I plan to rewatch it from beginning to end again.




But despite the drama and the epic love stories and the even more epic love triangles. Despite the deaths and the supernatural vampires and werewolves and dopplegangers and overall craziness that is The Vampire Diaries the show has always been about one thing. Not the love between two characters(though that's on of the best parts of the show) but friendship and brotherhood. Deep down to its core, like Julie Plec has said before, the show has always been out two brothers finding each other and coming together and being together. Stefan and Damon. And that hasn't shown more in any other seasons than in the last two when Nina Dobrev left the show. Two brothers standing together and phasing the impossible for each other. Willing to die for each other, going through all the good and the bad together. Without Stefan and Damon there would be no Vampire Diaries.

I loved watching Stefan and Damon's brotherhood and moments when you see how much they truly love each other.

And the friendships. There are so many. The friendships are what make this show. Between Bonnie and Caroline and Elena. Between Matt and Tyler and eventually Jeremy. Between Matt and Caroline. Elena and Matt. Tyler and Caroline. Damon and Bonnie. Stefan and Elena. Stefan and Caroline. Bonnie and Enzo. Damon and Enzo. Caroline and Enzo. The list can go on and on but by this last season they have all become friends. Even when they hated each other at some point they've learned to forgive each other and remain loyal and loving toward one another.

I loved this scene so much.

I just love how this show has shown what true friendship is and that a guy and a girl can be best friends without anything ever happening between them like Damon and Bonnie.

Bonnie and Damon are epic together. "#friendshipgoals

Most of the other guy/girl friendships do end up with some love or kissing but all those relationships always start out as friendship and all of them always end with friendship which is really beautiful. By this last season their friendships have become more a family bond. Each and every one of them want each of them to live their lives to the fullest. To have a good, happy, content life. To find love and live and just... be happy. They want what is best for each other just like a family. Even if they don't necessary like that person or don't agree with how they are finding happiness or love with a particular person they still want each other to succeed in life no matter how long or how short their lives are.

I knew Matt would have just the right words. Despite everything he's gone through and some of the crap his friend's have put him through he still wants what's best for them and will be there for them always.

There's so much more I could say but I think I'm going to end this goodbye post here. With friendship, love, and brotherhood. I am going to cry after that last episode. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. But I want to say that I will be a TVD fan forever. This show will probably go down as my all time favorite show forever. And I know they're just characters but to me they feel so real, like close friends that I'm about to lose forever. So thank you to Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt, Alaric, Jeremy, Enzo, and everyone else for helping me through some of the hardest times of my life. Thank you to Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Candice King, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Michael Malarkey, Julie Plec, and Matthew Davis for sticking around for so long. For not leaving or giving up on the show and for loving the show and the characters as much as I do. It's been one heck of a ride and I have complete faith in Julie Plec and the other writers that they will finish the show strong and beautifully and tie everything together just right.




I don't know how to end this the right way so I want to share some of my favorite episodes that I have literally watched again and again:

• Season One: The Pilot (because nothing is better than the Pilot of TVD and Stefan was perfect in this episode). Lost Girls (Vicki and Damon were the best in this episode). Bloodlines (I loved how Damon and Elena's friendship showed and blossomed in this one). Miss Mystic Falls (the dance between Elena and Damon is pretty much the best scene in the entire first season). Blood Brothers (because of the backstory for Stefan and Damon).
• Season Two: The Return (the season premiere and when you realize how much you are not going to like Katherine). Brave New World (Caroline and just that whole situation and the conflict and scenes between characters were so good!). Bad Moon Rising (Elena and Damon... again. Plus Stefan and Caroline were so good in this one). Rose (maybe its the first time you meet Elijah or how good Rose's character was but I just really liked this episode). By The Light of the Moon (I don't know what it is about this episode. It was just so well done and the character interaction was fun and intense. I also really liked Rose and Damon together). The Last Dance (one of those TVD high school themed dances that I always love to watch). As I Lay Dying (Delana was perfect in this one).
• Season Three: I honestly can't pick just a few episodes for this season because this season is my all time favorite of TVD. I've always liked Stefan and Elena together but I also love Damon and Elena too and this season has both in it. This has the epicness of Stefan and Elena's love but also I feel like this is really the beginning of Damon and Elena's love story too. I loved Jeremy in this season too. I feel like in this season he finally grows into not just Elena's little brother but a true character all his own and The Hybrid starts him off on the many character arcs that will turn Jeremy into the man he is by the end of the series. Caroline and Bonnie, Matt and Tyler and Alaric, all of them have great character arcs in this season. Plus the Original family plays a central part in this season and I loved getting to know Elijah, Klaus and Rebecca.
• Season Four: Again this is my second favorite season and I just can't choose one episode. I loved Elena's arc in this season, going from human to vampire. Jeremy's hunter journey was great. Caroline and Klaus had some of the best scenes in this season and were honestly really sweet in most of them. Lots of Delena scenes. Bonnie also had a very interesting character arc that I liked in this season with Professor Shane (or CreepyPants as Damon would say). But I have to say one of my all time favorite episodes of the entire series is in this season. It's at a tie with Lost Girls. The episode The Five. I loved it and I loved the carefreeness of the dance scene between Elena and Damon and the confliction and just the whole thing.
• Season Five: This has to be my least favorite season of the show... But I do have some favorite episodes. For Whom The Bell Tolls (memory-less Stefan is always funny). The Cell (the introduction to Enzo and I loved the flashbacks of Damon). Fifty Shades of Grayson (I always liked the interaction between Katherine and Matt and I like the scene they have in this one. Also I just really liked the whole vampire virus arc over these couple of episodes. How Damon handled it, how he tells Stefan about it and Elena being in trouble in this episode). While You Were Sleeping (the interaction between Elena and Damon is so sweet in this episode). Rescue Me (I loved Caroline and Stefan and Caroline and Enzo in this one). Home (Elena and Damon=epicness).
• Season Six: I love, love, loved the growing friendship between Damon and Bonnie in this one. My all time favorite friendship in this entire show. They are the best together. And Kai? He was so awful, like the worst bad guy on this show, even worse than Klaus but he was really funny and I enjoyed watching him. I can't really come up with any one episode that I've watched over and over in this season except for the last three which are I'd Leave My Happy Home For You, I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime, and I'm Thinking of You All The While. Those three Elena and Damon's relationship was beautiful and sweet and epic and I loved every scene with them together.
• Season Seven: Again with the Bonnie and Damon friendship. They are honestly the best together. If I had to choose a few episodes for this season I would say... Hell is Other People, Things We Lost in the Fire, and Postcards from the Edge. The Damon scenes in those episodes were sooo good! I loved it. I loved Matt's arc throughout this season. It was good to see a different side of him and realize how grown up and adult he's become. I loved Somebody That I Used to Know (the Benzo was perfect and epic and I adored them together). Gods and Monsters was an epic and scary ending to this season that promised the best final season of TVD forever. It was the biggest cliffhanger ever and I honestly thought Ian Somerhalder's acting was spot on in just that final scene with Enzo.
• Season Eight: And... the final season. I'm gonna start crying. I'm sure the final episode will be on this list when it's aired but every episode brought held back tears and nostalgia. I love in this season how Damon and Caroline's friendship has shown more, how beautiful Bonnie and Enzo's relationship is, the epicness of Caroline and Stefan, (plus seeing Caroline with her girls more), and how Matt finally gets the spotlight he deserves. I loved how they called each episode by some of the best lines of the first season. I don't think I could choose just a few episodes but so far my favorites are Hello, Brother (because hello, brother... I mean seriously best line of dialogue in the whole show;)) The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch (I loved the interactions between Caroline and Damon and how she helped him so much to get over those stupid sirens). Excuse the language but this is the episodes name, Nostalgia's a Bitch (yeah the title isn't my favorite but I do remember Damon saying that in season one and I loved this one because it was all about forgiveness. Forgiveness for each other, forgiveness between brothers, forgiveness toward Damon. It was a beautiful episode). And of course We're Planning a June Wedding (I loved every second of this episode. The wedding, the Damon/Caroline interaction, the Bonnie/Caroline interaction. The Stefan and Caroline love. All of it).

Aaaand now I think this is the longest post ever so I'm going to end it with Goodbye The Vampire Dairies. It's been epic.

Thanks for everything TVD