The Vampire Diaries 3X22: The Departed

What is happening right now? How is this a real thing? I love and hate all of this.

So, Elena is in the hospital. Jeremy found her and called 9-1-1, then he called Damon, who is pissed. She's a sitting duck in the hospital. They decide that Damon will continue moving Klaus, and Stefan will head back to take care of Elena. In the interim, Elena gets out of the hospital, Psycho Nurse assures Jeremy that it was just a concussion.

Back at home, she insists she's fine and doesn't want to be taken care of. But, she's also spending a lot of time reminiscing about how much simpler life used to be. Until Elijah shows up at the door with a proposal. Give him back Klaus and he'll promise that none of the Originals will bother her every again. And that he won't revive Klaus until Elena's children are dead. Damon on speakerphone is very much against this idea. He's just yelling 'no.' It's pretty entertaining. But Stefan tells her it's her choice (sort of the theme lately). Elena decides to go for it.

Shortly after this, Jeremy and Matt decide that Elena would be better off out of town. They incapacitate her somehow, and get her in the car.

Meanwhile, Damon and Bonnie go to Klaus where Bonnie performs some kind of spell on him. Damon then takes him and sticks him in a storage locker. Alaric shows up and breaks Damon neck ripping through all the lockers looking for Klaus. Then, Rebekah shows up to retrieve Klaus, as per the deal. Thankfully, Damon gets to her first. (Assuming we want Rebekah alive). The two of them look to move Klaus before Alaric can get him. But, seemingly, they are too late. Alaric stakes Klaus, which causes everyone to freak out, as they don't know if they are about to die.

Damon calls Stefan to tell him the bad news, but so far, the two of them feel fine. Caroline too. The only person who seems to be suffering ill effects is Tyler. Rebekah and Elijah are confused because they are certain that Klaus is the one who sired the bloodline of everyone. Turns out, the spell that Bonnie did transferred Klaus into Tyler's body.

Back in the car, Elena hears the news that Klaus has been killed, and has to decide who she wants to say good bye to in person; Stefan or Damon. She ends up calling Damon and telling him that she's going home. She tells. him that she cares about him, but that Stefan just came into her life at a time when she needed him and he's the one she loves. Maybe if she'd have met Damon first, things would have been different. Spoiler alert: we find out she did meet Damon first but he compelled her to forget.

Rebekah, who is pissed that Klaus is dead, is now hell bent on killing Elena. She causes Matt to drive off the bridge and into water. And we get this intertwined with flashbacks of the first time Elena went off the bridge and Stefan saved her. In the past we see her dad insisting that Stefan save Elena, and in the present we see Elena insisting that Stefan save Matt. (Back to the theme of Stefan letting Elena make her own choices, whereas Damon would have just saved Elena regardless of what she wanted. Not saying either is the right decision, just pointing it out).

While this is happening, Damon and Alaric have been fighting, and Alaric starts dying. Damon knows immediately that this means Elena is dying as well. Elena drowns and Alaric dies. Damon runs to the hospital where Psycho Nurse tells him that it wasn't actually a concussion that Elena had it was a cerebral hemorrhage that she treated with vampire blood to save Elena's life. And Elena's about to become a vampire. Which she so so so does not want. We made that abundantly clear last season.

I'm not sure if there is away around this. I guess she could refuse to transition. Or kill herself. But that wouldn't make for a very interesting show. But also, can you image how pissed Damon is gonna be at Stefan for letting her die? Do we think Elena is gonna be pissed at Psycho Nurse? Ahhh! There are so many things to think about. And what's going on with Tyler? Is he dead? Or is his consciousness still alive somewhere? What does it mean that Klaus is stuck in Tyler's body? Also, this means no more Alaric? I quite liked him as a character. Ugh. I don't watch the next episode for 5 days.