'Vampire Diaries' Recap: [Spoiler] Dies & Elena Makes A Surprising Choice

...And by 'makes a choice,' I mean 'chooses not to make a choice.' But that's the closest Elena has ever come to being decisive, so I'll take it! The second-to-last episode of every Vampire Diaries season has always been finale-worthy, but the May 3 episode was so much more than that. Not only did Matt Davis hit it out of the park with his gripping portrayal of "evil Alaric," but fans also got the shock of the season when death paid a visit to Mystic Falls -- and not to the person everyone was expecting.

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Reading Time: 4 minutes
May 3, 2012 9:59PM EDT

My weekly barrage of baby heart attacks began earlier than usual this week when Alaric decided to play a fun game of “torture the pretty blonde girl” with Caroline (Candice Accola) at school — a game he’s, unfortunately, very good at playing. Elena (Nina Dobrev) was able to distract him with a little game of her own, but it wasn’t long before he had her up against a locker. And not in the hot kind of way.

Meanwhile, Bonnie (Kat Graham) and her merry band of Alaric-hunters crafted a plan: Stop Alaric’s heart by temporarily stopping Jeremy’s (Steven R. McQueen) heart. I have to admit I really don’t get how these spells work most of the time, and I was none too pleased to see my precious Jeremy allowing Bonnie to put his life in danger — again — but now I understand it was all for the best.

In a surprising display of intelligence, Elena deduced that Esther must have tied her life line to Alaric’s, which meant he would die if she killed herself. This led to a super-dramatic stand-off in which Elena started to cut herself in the middle of the hallway, and while it was admittedly very Darcy Edwards of her, I have to confess I was worried. That’s what this show has done to me. I honestly believe that anyone can die at any moment.

That’s why I was really worried when Klaus tried to kill Elena, but thankfully Tyler (Michael Trevino) swooped in to save the day. He gave Klaus a speech about how he’s not his “little bitch” anymore — I don’t know if I was supposed to find it hot, but I totally did — and distracted him while Stefan gave his heart the ol’ reach around. That’s when Bonnie worked her witchy juju and did the unthinkable: She stopped Klaus’ heart… and killed him!

Seriously, that’s it. He’s dead. For now. (I think.)

Cut to the Gilbert household, where Elena’s friends threw her a surprise “Klaus Is Finally Dead” party — and yes, Matt (Zach Roerig) was invited. When you’ve got tequila shots in Mystic Falls, you know Matt Donovan won’t be far behind.

Speaking of parties, Alaric channeled his inner Gossip Girl and called an emergency Council meeting — only to expose the hot moms of Mystic Falls! He told everyone about Liz’s (Marguerite McIntyre) daughter the vampire and Carol’s (Susan Walters) son the hybrid, and how they’d both been protecting them. (Great, now I’ve got two more people to be worried about!)

It should go without saying that the Elena-Salvatore love triangle was also a major focal point of this week’s episode, but surprisingly, neither side really emerged victorious. In fact, Elena literally gave the brothers a big speech about how she didn’t want to make a choice because she didn’t want to lose either of them. Thankfully, my girl Caroline was quick to remind her that she will eventually have to choose. (Come on, a girl can’t have her hot vampire cake and eat it too!)

But just for the sake of argument, let’s see how each team stacked up this week:

  1. Elena and Stefan tell Jeremy they’re not back together. (-5 points)
    x
  2. Stefan tells Damon, “If she chooses you, I’ll leave town and let you two be happy.” (+5 points for being a good sport)
    x    x 
  3. TOTAL: 0 points
  1. Color me shocked, but there were literally no moments this week in which Damon and Elena were alone. No suggestive one-liners, no flirty glances. Nothing.
    x
  2. TOTAL: 0 points

x

OK, we’ve got seven days left until the season finale, so let’s talk this out: Do you think Klaus is dead for good? Do you think the gang will find a way to reverse the spell on Alaric? Do you think Elena will ACTUALLY choose between Stefan and Damon? And most importantly — do you think we’ll get to see that shower Jeremy mentioned in the final scene? Hit up the comments section with your thoughts, your hopes and your theories!

— Andy Swift

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  3. ‘Vampire Diaries’ Scoop: Will Bonnie Pick Jamie Over Jeremy?