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As we entered last night’s ‘Vampire Diaries’ third season finale we were led to believe the big reveal would be Elena’s choice. Would she choose dependable, (mostly) steadfast Stefan or dangerous yet sincere Damon? Elena does make that choice (it’s Stefan. Natch), but ultimately it’s a choice she wasn’t able to make (nor would she have ever made) that provided the series with its biggest shock thus far and will no doubt change the course of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ moving forward.

For those of you who don’t know – and really why would you be reading this if you didn’t know – Elena Gilbert is a vampire. Or at least in the first stage of transitioning into one. Elena Gilbert did not mean to become a vampire, nor did any particular vampire turn her into one. It was all a noble, but misguided attempt by Meredith to save her life. When Elena hit her head last week, she was hemorrhaging and Dr. Fell used vampire blood to save her not knowing, of course, that she would die later that night.

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Personally, I have mixed emotions about it. As a fan of the show, I love it, but as a fan of Elena, I’m not so sure. What has always defined Elena – and for good, I may add – is her overwhelming desire to buck the trend and NOT become a vampire. The fact that this was not a decision she made makes it more palatable, but I’m going to miss human Elena. I’m gonna miss human Elena a lot.
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Let’s go back to the beginning. Alaric is on the hunt for Klaus’ body as he wants to kill him for good and end his line of vampires. Damon has hidden the body in a storage locker and is waiting for Rebekah to turn it over to her (Long story, it involved the return of Elijah and a deal he made with Elena which leads to perhaps the funniest scene in the episode wherein Damon, over the phone, vehemently protesting Elena’s decision to trust Elijah. The way Damon says “Elijah” is worth the price of admission) when Alaric arrives. Allow me to say, Matt Davis ladies and gentleman! What an actor. Sorry. Alaric stalks Rebekah for a bit in a really tension filled and scary scene. Eventually he catches both Rebekah and Damon attempting to make off with Klaus’ body when he attacks and sticks a dagger in Klaus’ heart, setting him aflame and effectively killing the entire bloodline… or does he. There’s talk that perhaps Klaus lied because no one, save Tyler, is feeling the effects – dying – from the move.

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Klaus isn’t really dead, you guys. Bonnie transferred him from his body to Tyler’s. This was actually a great episode for Kat Graham whose Bonnie felt like a force. A real character necessary to the plot moving forward. She also had a helluva scene with corpse Klaus in the storage locker.
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Rebekah and Elijah make a decision that Elena needs to die so that Alaric can as well. At this point (poor, stupid) Matt has (sort of) kidnapped Elena to get her away from all the danger when Rebekah stands in front of their car causing it to fly off the road and into the river. The same river, she crashed into with her parents years prior. It should be noted there are a lot of flashbacks in this episode and this scene is juxtaposed nicely with the moment she’s underwater with her parents. Stefan saved her that night at the behest of her father and this night, Elena will sacrifice herself for Matt. Stefan tries to bypass Matt, but Elena’s made a choice (there’s that word again) and Stefan knows she’s too singular in her thoughts and too strong to argue with at this moment and he does just that. He saves Matt and Elena dies. Ghost Alaric (GOOD ALARIC) visits Jeremy and explains he will always be looking after him. It’s a great moment.

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So, Elena’s a vampire, but what of her choice. What of the decision to choose Stefan over Damon? The love triangle has been the backbone of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ for the better part of two seasons and while it seems far from over now, under the circumstances and it made for some fantastic and frustrating television. Since I’m celebrating a stellar show’s finale, let’s dwell only on the good. I will never forget the silent phone call Stefan made to Elena early in the season while he was still under Klaus’ control. In fact, if I’m Paul Wesley I’m submitting it for an Emmy and if I’m Ian Somerhalder, I’m submitting the equally quiet moment he and Elena shared in the hotel room. And if I’m Nina Dobrev, I’d be submitting anything and everything. For the moment, however, Elena has chosen Stefan and if she’s to be believed, it’s because she saw him first. He was there when she needed him most and she loves him above all else. But, what we learn tonight is that Elena actually met Damon first. It’s a great scene with Damon being everything Matt wasn’t at the time (Elena was stressing over her relationship with Matt at the time) and it seems as if she were quite smitten. However, Damon compelled Elena to forget him because he didn’t want anyone to know he was in town yet. As we know, now that Elena is transitioning, all she was compelled to forget will be remembered. Will this effect her choice?
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I’ll say this, all the cards are on the table for a stellar season four. Is it September yet?