The Vampire Diaries Review: Dopplegang-HIM?!?

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Note to Sheriff Forbes: Can we get better protection around the water sources of Mystic Falls? They are causing major problems for some of your daughter's best friends.

First, Elena plunges off a bridge and into eternity as a member of the undead on last year's season finale.

Now, in "Graduation," Stefan is locked inside a safe and pushed into what appears to be an impenetrably soggy grave because Silas reveals his true self to be the doppleganger of this Salvatore brother, the shadow self created because nature needed a balance to the witch who created an immortal curse.

Allow me to repeat that again, using the capital letters it calls for: STEFAN IS SILAS' DOPPLEGANGER!!!!!

Holy game-changing cliffhanger, Julie Plec. You have most definitely done it again.

Caroline at Graduation

Until the wholly unexpected concluding scene, The Vampire Diaries Season 4 finale centered more on matters of the heart than matters of the Holy $hit Did That Really Happen?!?. Consider all the romantic scenes and developments:

  • Rebekah saved Matt's life and the pair ran away together. Drove away together? Flew around the globe together with Rebekah using her vampire-like speed and carrying Matt on her back?

Travel arrangements aside, this was a well-deserved trip for both parties. Matt has clearly saved up some vacation time from The Grill and the past few weeks have done an admirable job of softening Rebekah and proving she really can be "good." Of course, we all know The Originals is coming (Tuesday nights this fall!) and Mebekah's future doesn't appear especially bright. But a summer fling with an Aussie-accented blonde? Things could be worse, Matt Donovan.

  • Bonnie brought Jeremy back to life and said goodbye for good. (Possibly? That didn't feel like a proper farewell. I fear Bon Bon is not Gone Gone.)

Okay, I'll make it quick: this was incredibly dumb. Bonnie's use of random, all-powerful spells to fix situations has been a source of frustration - and occasional humor on The Vampire Diaries Round Table - for many seasons. But this was a magical step too far. She simply did a spell? And that's it? Jeremy is now alive? Very lame. No other way to put it.

  • Klaus granted Tyler his freedom and delivered the line of the night to Caroline: He's your first love. I intend to be your last. However long it takes. Damn. That guy is good at a lot more than using graduation caps as a weapon.

This was a perfect scene all around. It left the Klaroline door open just the tiniest crack, while making us wonder how Caroline will react when Tyler next walks through her bedroom door. Seriously, is it possible for Candice Accola to just be on both shows this fall? Running really fast between New Orleans and Mystic Falls? She and Joseph Morgan are terrific together. And think of all the parties Caroline could throw in The Big Easy!

  • Elena chose Damon. Again. For real this time. It was the only real solution to the triangle, as many viewers would have tuned out for good if she somehow went back to Stefan. And simply choosing herself? Kelly Taylor beat her to that years ago.

Season 4 did a mostly solid job of shoving the Who Will Elena Choose? question to the sidelines (that's what happens when you lose your humanity and go around killing waitresses), but the end result was that it made her decision here seem so anti-climactic. We all knew full-throttle Delena would happen at some point, so let's just hope it now sticks... and we never hear the words "sire bond" ever again.

(Must we even discuss The Cure? A storyline that never really went anywhere and never made a great deal of sense ended with essentially a side character being forced to take it. Is anyone counting down the days until October because they care about Katherine as a human? I didn't think so).

So, yes, a lot of sentiment and not a great deal of shock for about 58 minutes tonight. Until that conclusion. Until the scene that absolutely no one could have seen coming and which opens up a never-ending number of possibilities. But they all go back to Paul Wesley getting to revisit his Ripper roots in some way, which is a treat for both the actor and every viewer.

There's no way the real Stefan is actually dead... right? Will Silas now integrate himself into the group and try to pass himself off as Stefan? To what end? That's actually the only real cliffhanger we have heading into The Vampire Diaries Season 5, the only thread really left dangling, aside from how The Grill will possibly function without Matt.

But it's a doozy! I now turn it over to you, TVD Fanatics, and ask for your take on the crazy twist and on Season 4 as a while. How would you grade it?

Graduation Review

Editor Rating: 4.6 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.9 / 5.0 (2704 Votes)

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.

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The Vampire Diaries Season 4 Episode 23 Quotes

It's the Grill. Must be Matt.

Elena

Stefan: I should be upstairs grooming my hero hair.
Damon: Are you drunk?
Stefan: I don't know, Mom, am I?