The Departed

The Departed is the twenty-second and final episode of the third season of The Vampire Diaries and the sixty-sixth episode of the series overall.
==Summary==
THE SECRET HERO — Determined to protect his sister, Jeremy makes a decision that will change everything. In the harsh reality of the present situation, Elena longs for the simpler times in her life when her parents Grayson and Miranda and Aunt Jenna were still alive and her biggest concern was her relationship with Matt. Stefan and Damon leave Mystic Falls together on a mission, but soon split up when Elena needs one of them. Caroline and Tyler are forced to make a life-changing decision. Finally, Bonnie makes a secret deal that has heartbreaking consequences. 
==Plot==
The episode starts with a flashback, a dream from which Elena wakes up in the hospital. Meredith tells Jeremy it's just a concussion, but Jeremy calls Stefan and Damon anyway, who get mad she's in the hospital because they feel the remaining originals (Rebekah, Kol, Elijah) will be trying to kill her to kill Alaric. Elijah shows up at Elena's house and she makes a deal with him to give him Klaus' body as long as he and his siblings don't harm her or her family in the near future. Jeremy, who was plotting with Matt to get everyone else out of the house so Matt could take Elena out of town, tries to lead Alaric into a trap. But Alaric has other sources, and ends up at the storage facility where Damon hid Klaus' body.
Alaric stakes Klaus' body with the magically reinforced White Oak Stake, leaving everyone to believe Klaus died. Thus, everyone gets all worried they are going to die too because Klaus told Damon and Stefan he created their bloodline. Meanwhile, Damon calls Stefan, convinced that they are about to make their 'epic goodbye'. Stefan expresses regret that Damon can't reach Mystic Falls, so he can say goodbye to Elena. At that moment Jeremy reveals his plan to ferry his sister away, which is met by surprised looks. Matt, who has driven Elena a little bit out of town says he can keep driving her to Damon or turn back and bring her to Stefan. She calls Damon and tells him she's going back, not just for Stefan, but also for Caroline and Tyler. Damon asks if it was just between him and Stefan, who would get the goodbye. Elena tells him: "I love him, Damon. He came into my life at a time when I needed someone and I fell for him instantly. No matter what I feel for you, I never unfell for him." Heartbroken, Damon says goodbye, as Alaric returns.
The enhanced Original beats his former friend badly, and taunts him with not fighting back. Damon replies that he's kind of invincible, and Alaric denies their friendship. For a second, Damon passes out, and his mind flashbacks to a time when he met Elena, for the first time, before Stefan. Coming back to reality, Alaric prepares to kill Damon, once and for all. But charged by his love for Elena, miraculously, Damon manages to hold back the stake Ric tries to slam down into his heart, and throws him off. They start engaging in a vicious battle.
Caroline, meanwhile, rushes to Tyler, whom we know is of Klaus' bloodline. They kiss, embrace, then Tyler tells her to leave; he doesn't want her to watch him die. Caroline resists so Tyler starts to turn in to a werewolf and she runs. Rebekah and Elijah are talking, amazed that Stefan, Damon and Caroline are alive. They said they weren't the ones, nor was Kol to create their bloodline; they were sure it was Klaus. And that's possibly true. Klaus is still alive.
Bonnie did a spell that has him living in Tyler's body. It's unclear what this means for Tyler, but it's assumed that he's still alive somehow too because Bonnie wouldn't knowingly kill him. Bonnie said she saved Klaus to save her friends and her mom.
Since she believes Klaus is dead, Rebekah tells Stefan that the deal is off; she's tired of running. Rebekah wants to kill Elena so Alaric dies. 
Rebekah brings her plan to a head, by standing in front of Matt's car as he's driving Elena back into town. He swerves and the car goes over the bridge into the water, the same accident that played out with Elena's parents.
The show switches back and forth to the flashback of Elena's accident with her parents and her present accident with Matt. When Stefan comes to the rescue in the flashback, Elena's dad, who is still conscious, motions to the backseat, and Stefan saves Elena. When Stefan comes to the rescue in the present, Elena motions to Matt, Stefan resists, but Elena is insistent and Stefan saves Matt.
The scene flashes back to Damon, who has managed to gain the upperhand over Alaric. The Original tries to bring the White Oak stake down, but Damon disarms him and then Alaric suddenly starts collapsing. Real fear showing, Ric grasps Damon and dies in his arms as Elena drowns. 
At his house, Jeremy tries to reach Matt without success when Alaric suddenly appears. Jeremy quickly realizes that it's really Alaric and not the Darkness. Alaric promises Jeremy that he will always be with him and that Jeremy will never be alone. After a moment, Jeremy realizes that Alaric is a ghost and that his death means that Elena is dead too.
Damon, thinking Elena has been admitted to the hospital, rushes there and Meredith confesses she cheated by giving Elena vampire blood to save her life in the previous episode because she was bleeding from the brain. Meredith did not tell Jeremy this when they earlier discussed Elena's condition. Thus meaning that Elena has died with vampire blood in her system and she now awakens in her transition.
==Cast==
===Main Cast===
*Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert
*Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore
*Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
*Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert
*Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett
*Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
*Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
*Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood/Niklaus Mikaelson
*Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman
*Joseph Morgan as Niklaus Mikaelson
===Recurring Cast===
*Claire Holt as Rebekah Mikaelson
*Daniel Gillies as Elijah Mikaelson
*Marguerite MacIntyre as Liz Forbes
*Torrey DeVitto as Meredith Fell
===Guest Cast===
*Sara Canning as Jenna Sommers (flashback)
===Co-Starring===
*Susan Walters as Carol Lockwood
*Jason MacDonald as Grayson Gilbert (flashback)
*Erin Beute as Miranda Gilbert (flashback)
==Trivia==
* Antagonists: Alaric Saltzman and Rebekah Mikaelson.
* This is the final episode of the third chapter of Season Three, The Bloodline Chapter.
* This episode features flashbacks to the night the Gilbert's car drove off Wickery Bridge and Elena's parents died.
** This is the first episode of the series overall to have flashbacks of Elena's past.
* Elena dies and becomes a vampire in this episode, seemingly marking the end of the Petrova bloodline.
* Alaric dies in this episode due to the fact that he was linked to Elena, his only weakness and way to kill him,
* The only episode in the season not to feature Salvatore Boarding House.
==Locations==
*Mystic Falls, Virginia
**Gilbert House
**Mystic Falls Hospital
**Mystic Falls High School (flashback)
**Mystic Grill
**Lockwood Mansion
**Warehouse
**Woods
***The Lockwood Cellar
**Wickery Bridge
==Continuity==
*Jenna was last seen in The Sun Also Rises.
*Elijah was last seen in All My Children.
*Meredith was last seen in Do Not Go Gentle.
*Kol was mentioned. He was last seen in Heart of Darkness.
*Katherine was mentioned. She was last seen in Homecoming.
==Body Count==
* Niklaus Mikaelson (Body) - Staked; killed by Alaric Saltzman
* Elena Gilbert - Drowned; killed by Rebekah, but transitioned into a vampire
* Alaric Saltzman - Life linked to Elena; indirectly killed by Rebekah
==Behind the Scenes==
* All main cast members appeared in this season finale, for the fifth and last time this season.
*Kat Graham makes her 50th appearance as Bonnie Bennett in this episode.
* Filming for this episode began on March 23, and ended on April 2.Filming info
* The title refers to all those who Elena has lost over the years, starting with her parents and continuing through Aunt Jenna.
*Elena dies exactly the same way she did in the books, during The Struggle, driving off Wickery Bridge and drowning. In the series, Rebekah caused Elena's death; in the book series, it was Katherine.
*Both in the books and the series Elena died in Matt's car.
* This episode had about 2.53 million viewers in the USA.
==Cultural References==
* is the title of the 2006 Academy Award-winning American action thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese.
*Some people actually make Vodka Tea...
*Caroline tells Elena that her ponytail lacks "zhush" (alt. "joosh") meaning that it lacked flair.
*Flare jeans did make a comeback Fall 2009, as predicted by Bonnie...
* is the number usually associated with the "beast," the Devil, or the Antichrist.
**1020 on the other hand, has no special significance as a number, nor as a date.
*The "" is a modified search light with a stylized bat on the lens, that is used by Gothan City Police Department to summon Batman in the event of a crisis.
* is a game where teams compete against each other to guess words as they are drawn on a board. It's a common party game. The recent Facebook fad is inspired by Pictionary.
*The advice Miranda gives Elena about setting Matt free echoes Sir 's famous quote: " If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they are yours. If they don't, they never were."
*The is the personification of death as a sentient being.
* is a 2002 comedy about a teenager who is a pathological liar and how his creative writing homework is stolen by a Hollywood producer that plans to turn it into a successful movie.
* is the name of the intrusive little girl who invades the house of The Three Bears in the popular fairy tale.
*The ending scene, when Elena is on an autopsy table in the hospital's morgue and wakes up in transition, is very similar to the scene where Bella Swan from the wakes up as a vampire at the end of the first part of .
==Quotes==
:Matt: "So, Stefan?" 
:Elena: "He saved my life, you know. I never told you that. The night that my parents' car went off the bridge, Stefan was the one that saved me."
:Matt: "So then, what's the problem?"
:Elena: "The problem's Damon. When I'm with him, he just consumes me. And I know that I can't love them both. I know that it's wrong. But, I... When I choose one, then I'll lose the other. And I don't want to lose anyone else. I – I just – I wish that I had my mom here to give me some advice."
----
:Damon: "If it was just down to him and me and you had to make a choice who got the goodbye, who would it be?"
:Elena: "I love him, Damon. He came into my life at a time when I needed someone and I fell for him instantly. No matter what I feel for you, I – I never un-fell for him." 
:Damon: "Yeah, I get it. Stefan, it's always gonna be Stefan."
:Elena: " I can't think about always. All I can think about is right now. And I care about you, Damon, which is why I have to let you go. I mean, maybe if you and I had met first..."
:Damon Salvatore: "Yeah. Maybe."
----
:Rebekah: "He's gone, Elijah. There was nothing I could do to stop it."
----
:Elijah: (about the Mystic Falls Gang's sireline) "It wasn't me, it wasn't Kol."
:Rebekah: "It wasn't me, Elijah. It was Niklaus, I'm sure of it."
:Elijah: "Then how are they still alive?"
----
:Damon: "Katherine."
:Elena: "No – um – I....I'm Elena."
:Damon: "Oh, you – you just look... I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon."
:Elena: "Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."
:Damon: "You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself."
:Elena: "It's Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here."
----
:Elena: "I don't know what I want."
:Damon: "Well, that's not true. You want what everybody wants."
:Elena: "So, Damon, tell me. What is it that I want?"
:Damon: "You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, an adventure, and even a little danger."
----
:Meredith: "You need to know-- when Jeremy brought Elena in here earlier tonight, her injuries were worse than I let on. It wasn't a concussion, it was a cerebral hemorrhage. Bleeding on the brain."
:Damon: "What are you saying?"
:Meredith: "He was so worried, I didn't wanna tell him but I... I helped her. She needed my help."
:Damon: (horrified) "You what?"
==Multimedia==
===Soundtrack===
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==References==
==See also==
Category:The Vampire Diaries Episode Guide
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Three
Category:Episodes featuring all main characters
Category:Flashback episodes
Category:Season Finales