The Vampire Diaries Finale Recap: Elena Chooses Between the Brothers and [Spoiler] Dies!

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By Tierney Bricker May 11, 2012 1:33 AMTags
Nina Dobrev, Jason McDonald, Erin Beute, The Vampire DiariesBlake Tyers/The CW

Warning: Do not read the following article if you have yet to watch tonight's The Vampire Diaries finale. Seriously, if you choose to read on and then complain about spoilers in the comments, you are the opposite of Batman.

Excuse us, do you mind if we borrow your spatula? Why, you ask? Because we need it to help scrape our jaws off the floor after The Vampire Diaries' season three finale, which packed an emotional punch to the gut. Seriously, from Elena (Nina Dobrev) choosing between Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), to Tyler (Michael Trevino) and Caroline's (Candice Accola) heartbreaking scene in the cave, to the two (yes, two!) deaths, we felt all the feelings!

So what else happened in the insanely emotional and cliffhanger-y hour? Find out...

Elena Makes Her Choice: "Our life is a proverbial coin toss," Damon tells Stefan at the beginning of the hour. So who won the metaphorical toss of Elena's heart? "I have to let one of them go," Elena says during a heart-to-heart with Matt (Zach Roerig), but before she can answer, Stefan returns to make sure she's OK after learning she was in the hospital. Why didn't Damon return? He had to go and hide Klaus' (Joseph Morgan) body from Alaric (Matt Davis). #vampireproblems, are we right?

Though she admitted that Damon "consumes" her, when it came down to it, Elena says she "loves" Stefan. And yes, she told Damon this. "Maybe if you and I had met first," she offers up as consolation, something Damon really wants no part of...considering they actually had met first! Yes, the flashbacks to Elena's life revealed that Damon approached Elena the night her parents died. "You want a love that consumes you," Damon tells Elena before compelling her to forget she had ever met him. 

Too bad none of it really mattered considering Elena died! Yes, Matt and Elena drove off the Wickery Bridge (Not cool, Rebekah!), and when Stefan came to her rescue, she forces him to save Matt instead. And with that, Elena died the way she lived: putting her friends and family before herself. But guess what?! Meredith (Torrey DeVitto) gave Elena vampire blood in the hospital to help her heal from her injuries and we all know what happens when someone dies with vampire blood in their system? Yes, it seems like TVD has officially turned Elena into a vampire. Definition of game changer.

Klaus Pulls a Switcheroo: You really thought The Vampire Diaries would just kill Klaus? Oh, that's sweet. While we were lead to believe that Alaric killed Klaus considering the original hybrid's body burned after being staked, you never can trust TVD! After learning that Klaus has died, Caroline rushes to meet Tyler and the two share a heartbreaking goodbye. "I'm a lost cause, but you're strong and you have a beautiful future ahead of you," Tyler tells a distraught Caroline, who leaves when Tyler begins to turn into a werewolf. Yes, we were full-on sobbing at this point and we're not ashamed to admit it!

However, it seems Bonnie (Kat Graham) made a choice that will have insane ramifications in season four, like Klaus is now in Tyler's body kind of ramifications. Um yeah, Bonnie decided to perform one of Klaus' favorite tricks and is responsible for Klaus taking up residence in Tyler's body. Someone is going dark side on us and we love it! At least Klaus finally got to kiss Caroline! So what does this mean for Tyler? Stay tuned!

Goodbye For Real This Time: Rest in peace, Alaric Saltzman! Our favorite history teacher turned vampire hunter turned Big Bad officially died in tonight's outing after Elena drowned. At least the old Alaric came back to visit Jeremy as a ghost to say goodbye before delivering the crushing news about Elena. 

What did you think of TVD's finale? Were you surprised by Elena's choice? Were you shocked by the ending? Sound off in the comments!

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