u/NoDramaPlsss

I'm honestly surprised seeing Klefan having more buildup than some of the actual canon ships like Klaroline & Benzo which literally came out of nowhere.

Istg if Stefan was a girl, everyone would have seen the potential... I mean imagine an Original Vampire coming to town, killing her boyfriend, refusing to let her sacrifice herself and blackmailing her to join him on a decade long bender followed by the revelation that they were "friends" in the '20s & that he had erased her memories...tell me u don't see it..!!!

Atp I feel like both the writers & actors did it on purpose but were too much of a coward to actually go through with it. Stefan could have slowly fallen for Klaus while Elena was busy falling for Damon..it'd have been truly epic but alas

Also I wonder what plan Klaus would have come up with to take Stefan with him if Tyler hadn't bit Damon.. perhaps he'd have just forced him to bite Damon lol.

It's kind of cute but at the same time frustrating for Elena that her bfs defend and make excuses for each other's worst actions instead of just letting her rant. It's worth noting that they let go of their one golden chance to badmouth e.o. in front of her...Even though they r each other's biggest insecurity & obstacle wrt Elena, they still don't really want her to truly hate their brother.

Maybe bcz they know how much they both love her and that they would be completely shattered if she hated them fr. Or maybe bcz despite everything, they still want the other to be a part of their life and their gf's hatred for their bro can be an inconvenience. Whatever may be the reason, it's kind of heartwarming to see them standing up for each other in front of the one person they r constantly fighting over...

I know it's highly unpopular but I never got the hype around the lead couple's chemistry. Their acting n expressions were never upto the mark imo n their eyelock n hand holding scenes got repetitive after a while.

Also Naina as a character wasn't likeable. Her being somewhat selfish n self-centred, ignoring her friends n sis after falling for Sameer is pretty realistic for a teenager but what I couldn't accept is that she didn't seem as passionate for Sameer as he was for her once they became a real couple.

For a serial that's based on the difficulties of 90s love, I expected them to fight tooth n nail for each other but she never really fought for their love - atleast not as much as him. I was especially let down by her in that forced marriage track – she didn't make a single attempt to get out of it, the alliance broke at the last moment only bcz the guy was a pos n insulted Chachaji n she finally got the excuse to break it off but what if he was a good or even a semi-decent guy like Pooja & Preeti's husbands? She didn't even need to tell abt Sameer, cld hv easily made the excuse of studies n job, Chachaji wld hv convinced the other elders if she actually took a firm stand. Instead she was worried abt whether he'll respect n care for her the way Sameer did like girlll...

I'm pretty sure she'd hv eventually moved on after marriage n forgotten Sameer if he was a decent person..so was Sameer so easily replaceable for her?? What kind of love was that?? She tested his "shaadi wala pyaar" many times but when it was her turn, she was like what pyaar? Only her family's izzat n chachaji's trust matters n Sameer wasn't anywhere in her priority list. How cld she do that to him knowing very well after Nanaji's death, he only had her..? Idk I cld never look at them the same way after that.

To make it worse, when Munna confronted her abt her lack of spine, she literally got on terrace n did suicide drama to make him look like he's in the wrong n to quickly get back with Sameer – like father like daughter.

She only accepted their love in front of her family AFTER Chachaji's approval n bcz they literally saw them on bike so there was no way she cld backtrack but if it was left just upto her, cld she hv ever had the guts to accept their love n fight beside Sameer on her own??

And after marriage, her being so afraid of intimacy was just too much. Back then, a lot of arranged marriage couples had babies even before their 1st anniversary n here we were supposed to believe she couldn't even kiss him after a 4yr relationship?? C'mon ppl in the 90s weren't that naive 🤦

I've been waiting since mid S3 for Stefan to snap on them particularly Damon but other than him being pissed off or snarky, we never saw him actually expressing how he felt abt them flirting behind his back since that dance n essentially making a mockery of his sacrifice in S3.

What's worse? We had to sit through him acting as their relationship councellor n cheerleader, encouraging them to not give up on each other as if they never betrayed him in the first place. That was such a hard watch istg.

But finally in S8, we got to know his unfiltered opinion – the bottled up resentment after years of taking everything in stride, trying to be the bigger person n honestly this is the most relatable version of him – this is exactly how ppl react in irl, not the Saint Stefan he tries so hard to be. That "vomit inducing love story" perfectly described what I've felt from the beginning but couldn't exactly put into words.

Yes he still said that "He's the better man" shit but atleast we now know, that's not what he feels like deep inside his subconscious mind, he just said whatever they wld like to hear but truth is he died to save Damon, the town n get redemption not so that Delena can hv their happily ever after..that was just an inevitable by-product of his decision at most.

It's hilarious n lowkey infuriating to see Elena calling Bonnie as a reminder of everything she lost when in reality, Bonnie started losing her loved ones(mom) just as a kid bcz of Elena. Then she went on to lose her Grams, her mom killed n turned into a vamp n herself died countless times all bcz of Elena, her bfs, her bro.

While the only reason Elena n her bfs r even alive for her to play ping-pong b/w them is Bonnie. She even died bringing her bro back after this dialogue n two attempts of murder by her.

Yeah ik her humanity was off n all those excuses but fact is Bonnie never got a chance to list everything she has lost as a result of being associated with Elena, she cld never let it all out.

The only sacrifice Elena ever did for Bonnie – sleeping beauty coma for 60yrs – doesn't hold the same weight bcz she was already in a coma..and this time for a change Bonnie didn't offer to die for her so she simply didn't hv any other option than to accept her fate. Besides, she was literally just sleeping, not desiccating or anything, so it was just a time-out for her.

Dude was mesmerized just seeing the rippahh for the first time before even witnessing his skills... I bet he was jealous of his sis 😭 And Stefan seems confident of charming both bro n sis – his next love triangle – from sharing Kat with his bro to being shared by the Original bro-sis duo, dude has come a long way... 😜

I've seen this take many times that Stefan falling in love with Elena again even with no memories is a proof of the strength of his love for her but I just don't get it. If anything, this scene is literally Elena manipulating Stefan to feel something for her.

Let's analyse their interactions before this scene :

1. He wakes up n doesn't recognise Delena.
2. Stefan n Damon r at the bar n Elena comes in – he literally asks "sorry what's ur name again?"

Now Elena embarks on her grand mission to retrieve his memories by recreating their romantic moments after Damon clearly said he hasn't told him anything abt her. First of all why did she even think he needs to remember their relationship at all? She's his ex n his bro's gf so what exactly will he gain by remembering all that?? Infact he asked Rebekah to make him forget her bcz he couldn't take the hurt... So in what world did she think it'd be a good idea to make someone who was dying over n over again the whole summer to relive their love n then break his heart yet again by telling she dumped him for his bro?? Is she that sadistic?? "Ur compassion is a gift Elena" is such a joke...

Now just imagine urself in his place. U don't even know urself n here comes this girl who introduces herself as ur ex, acts all touchy-feely n flirty recreating ur time together. U'd naturally think that u guys broke up over some trivial issues n that she still has feelings for u. Isn't it then completely normal to crutch onto her for a sense of familiarity n support??

Then after everything, even leaning into the kiss herself, she decides to drop the bomb of her being with his bro... Like who does that? He rightfully got angry n stomped off. After that he never looks at her that way till he gets his memories back. So how can this even be called falling in love?? That's just him trying to hold onto the first ray of hope in a world that's completely alien to him. It's not like he just randomly saw her n fell for her or something.

She then has the audacity to call Damon complaining abt how he stomped off on learning abt them while conveniently avoiding the fact that she told him abt them with their lips just inches apart. Now what does that make her look like? Someone who can't be satisfied with just one brother, who enjoys two hot vamp bros competing with e.o. for her n who can't stand the thought of not being the centre of either bro's life. It got to a point where it felt like she was more concerned he doesn't love her anymore rather than being genuinely worried abt him. And no excuse of that whole doppelganger prophecy works bcz that's applicable to both Stefan & Elena but we never see him initiating anything after she got with Damon even when he was still in love with her. It's just Elena being a nicer version of Katherine.

On a side note I actually liked amnesiac Stefan's interactions with Caroline. He remembered her full name just from the pics (while he forgot Elena's name even after meeting her in person) n even complimented her looks...not a very "Stefan" thing to do. She also successfully handled his bloodlust by emphasizing on who he's as a person not their friendship or anything which is why he came to trust her over Delena. Amnesiac Stefan shld hv stayed longer as he finally saw Delena for what they were n didn't hesitate saying f*ck off to their face lol.

This is obviously a nice Steferine moment and a great example of Stefan's compassion but I feel there's something more to it.

"U were just a 17yr old, none of this is ur fault" is probably something that Stefan secretly wishes someone said to him... But he never got that grace. The mistakes of the other 17yr old characters in present time r often excused saying they r too young and while that's true, the mistake of 17yr old Stefan – forcing his big brother to turn – is often seen as a huge unforgivable sin for which he's made to feel guilty till the last episode, which is enough to sort of rationalize Damon's behaviour towards him... that's one of the major reasons he sacrificed himself on his wedding night.

Not to mention the 24yr old adult Damon had himself completed 1/3rd of the process of turning into a vampire by willingly drinking Kat's blood while Stefan was compelled for the same and ended up accidentally completing his transition. Basically Damon would hv still ended up as a vamp if everything went as per his plan but lucky for him things turned out the way they did and Damon got the excuse of a lifetime to torture his bro...

Damon literally used that one point to evade accountability for his own actions and found an easy scapegoat in his lil bro who was always ready to take all the blame. That's how he evaded all the emotional weight of his crimes. The guy who was already guilt-ridden with his ripper past was made to feel responsible for even his big bro's atrocities...I can only imagine how heavy a burden that must have felt like. Damon basically guilt-tripped Stefan into giving up everything for him, to constantly forgive him and to feel like he was responsible for him... That's how a little brother ended up as a caretaker for his big brother...

I just wished there was a scene where someone (preferably Damon) said this to him too, it would hv helped with his self worth but alas no one cared enough. Poor guy spent his whole life thinking he didn't deserve happiness which is why he ended up being so self-sacrificial. 💔

Is it just me or was Damon's behaviour after he thought he burned Elena's coffin weird???

Like okay for one day he was all self-destructive n suicidal but after confessing to Stefan, he felt a bit too normal considering he thought he just killed the "love of his life". At some point it felt like he spent more energy trying to hide what he did than actually mourning her...

Normally in such situations, the go-to person wld be Bonnie, asking her to look for a way to get her back but this time he actively did everything to hide the truth from her instead of pestering her for a solution. It almost felt like he cared more for what Bonnie thought of him rather than doing whatever he can to get Elena back. For a moment there I genuinely felt like they were gonna make Bamon happen... Something like he starts falling for her n then realizes Elena's actually alive. I mean that's how the sword ended up in Rayna's hands – Enzo basically blackmailed him to come with the sword or else he'll tell Bonnie abt what he did to Elena – as if Elena's just Bonnie's bsf not his own gf. It all seemed very ooc for him.

Stefan's reaction otoh was totally understandable. He cried for her, killed Julian for revenge and then his attention shifted to Caroline as it should. He didn't try to find some loophole or tell anyone as it might shift their focus from Care's well being, he pretty much accepted she's gone. Even when Damon tells him she's actually alive, he's like ohh!! good to know bcz he wasn't "in love" with her anymore but Damon... the Damon we know wld literally turn the whole world upside down to get her back...but he didn't even lift a finger.

It is precisely stuff like this why I can't take any couple from tvd seriously. Like there r some grand gestures of love sprinkled onto every relationship but then they do something which totally triviliazes their so called "epic love". Not only r all romances toxic (which is on board for a vampire show), they r also very inconsistent. Plot holes r acceptable but character inconsistency ruins the whole ship.

I simply can't for the life of me make sense of Damon's reaction. He was even free of hallucinations atp. It can't even be abt Nina's absence, they cld hv simply done some magical search for her soul n then realize she's alive, it can't be abt stretching the plot either since the misunderstanding didn't last for long.

So guys am I missing something here or it's just the writers on crack??

I've seen everyone shitting on Ian for the finale but I've a different take on it. It got a bit lengthy so pls bear with me.

See no matter what ur opinion is on the creative team, TVD was still their biggest project ever and I've a hard time believing that they simply let Ian's pettiness spoil its literal finale. There's no way the directors didn't push for more retakes...unless that's exactly what their vision was...

We've all discussed a million times abt the actors' real life issues but let's just see it from the characters' perspective for once, shall we?

Damon is someone who always whines abt what he lost rather than cherishing what he has. He lost Katherine for 145yrs n Elena for a few yrs but he never really lost Stefan until the very end. It's like he took him for granted, somewhere in the back of his mind he was convinced that he'll always be there. Even in all their yrs apart, he knew he could go n reconnect whenever he feels like. Stefan was a part of his life pretty much from the time he remembers himself, the only constant throughout his turbulent life...and now suddenly... he just... wasn't there anymore... That ought to feel like a part of himself was cut off permanently.

This explains his lack of passion in their reunion. If anything I feel like Caroline seemed a bit too happy seeing Elena considering she lost her husband on their wedding day saving her who wasn't even a great friend. Tbh if I were her, I'd resent her...she essentially lost her happy ending to Elena...

Add to it him becoming human. We know how much he enjoys being a vamp n the powers that come with it inspite of his occasional complaints. Yes he eventually decided to take the cure in S6 but it was more for Elena than himself. He also hid the cure from her initially, its actually his mom who gave it to her!!! Like who knows maybe if it was left upto him, he might hv as well changed his mind the last minute but yet again Stefan made the final decision for him.

Now he is turned back into human without his permission n he can't even blame anyone for it bcz Stefan is literally dead!!!

On top of that, he doesn't even hv anyone to "show-off" his relationship to as I believe part of his obsession with both Kat & Elena was to win over his bro for once n prove a point. But now... none of that matters.

He might hv even felt guilty for whatever he did to Stefan including snatching his love. Looking at Elena probably reminded him of all that plus saving her was the reason he died. Now maybe moving somewhere else might hv helped him move on but noo.. she had to grow old in Mystic Falls..!!

He also loved blaming others mainly Kat & Stefan for his bad deeds but now both r dead. Who will he blame now when he feels suffocated as a human? Most likely Elena n his love for her...well atleast subconsciously.

Plus that whole reversal of compulsion thingy. He'd constantly need Caroline n Matt's help to deal with his victims. Now we can all imagine what a giant blow that wld be to his ego...

I think these reasons r more than enough for Damon not being all lovey-dovey with Elena.

He probably tried his level best to be a good person, husband, father n atone for his past atrocities through charity n all. But does that necessarily mean he was happy? Is this what he actually wanted? I feel like he was most likely trapped in a life he once thought he'd love but now was stuck fulfilling his responsibilities... A white picket fence is not for everyone..!!

Reasons why I think that's exactly what the writers wanted to portray :

1. They chose not to show any happy moments of Delena. A montage of wedding, kids etc. won't take much time – they r the leads after all.

2. She writes abt her life, career, gratitude to Stefan etc. but nothing abt her husband - his job, dreams, emotions other than "he's still worried abt not seeing Stefan again".

3. When he reunited with Kat posing as Elena, he was truly happy as his life felt complete with both his girl n his brother.

No matter what u think of Damon as a brother, Stefan was pretty much a part of his identity – The Salvatore Brothers – losing him meant losing a part of himself

In short I feel like the showrunners didn't want to show Damon being all happy n content after Stefan's death as they feared it might take away from the depth of their bond n so just told us of their "happily ever after". They wanted the focus of the finale to be on their brotherhood not any romantic endgame which is why the final scene of the series is literally them hugging each other in the afterlife – just them in the frame, no girls.

So I feel like Ian might not hv derailed much from the writers' vision...