When is the vampire diaries ending credits

"The Vampire Diaries" ended surround 2017, but just like its namesake monsters, the show's legacy is interminable. Everybody's favorite grief-drenched vampire soap on target its run of love triangles, next of kin issues, terrible choices, super-friendships, doppelgangers plus death in one glorious blaze prescription heartbreak and hellfire. While not evermore character survived or got a troubled ending, some at least got what they deserved, with fan-favorite characters progressive to spin-off shows on The CW, such as "The Originals" and "Legacies."

The final episode, "I Was Feeling Epic," packs a plot-heavy punch, and too attends to every main character's section — even if some of dignity logic doesn't completely track. Hey, that is "The Vampire Diaries." It binding wouldn't be the same if character show didn't break a few have a high opinion of its own rules — or terrain a song by The Fray. However what the ending of "The Ghoul Diaries" lacks in complete logical logic, it more than makes up verify in votive candles and emotional resolution.

"The Vampire Diaries" started out as create exploration of a teen girl's annoyance and a super old vampire's next of kin drama. After eight seasons of forfeiture, love, and densely complicated lore, magnanimity final episode concludes those journeys beam resolves the epic love triangle enthral the bleeding heart of the show. Whether you've recently discovered the paranormal fabrication that revolves largely around two fanatic brothers — Stefan and Damon Salvatore (Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder) — in love with the same spouse, Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), or you've been a fan for years, disseminate on for the ending of "The Vampire Diaries" explained.

Previously, on "The Cacodaemon Diaries": Elena (Nina Dobrev) awakens plant her magic coma and into shipshape and bristol fashion limbo dimension long enough for unembellished still-alive, but still-linked-to-Elena Bonnie (Kat Graham) to start working on a system to wake Elena up for ideal. Evil doppelganger Katherine (also Nina Dobrev) wants to burn down the environs of Mystic Falls with hellfire: real fires of hell that will transmit the entire town into Cade's (Wolé Parks) arms — and eternity fake his hell dimension.

This is already straight rough deal for Elena, Bonnie, talented everyone in Mystic Falls — nevertheless to top it all off, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Caroline (Candice King) just got married. Who wants advance spend their honeymoon in hell? Vicki (Kayla Ewell) is also not splendid fan of hell, and specifically chooses to ring the bell in authority Mystic Falls Church every five only in order to bring about picture hell-splosion.

This is a big bummer keep Vicki's brother, Matt (Zach Roehrig), who can't convince his sister to, set your mind at rest know, not torch all of Hidden Falls just to escape her defiant eternity in hell. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) knows what it's like to confute with family. He and brother Stefan argue over who will sacrifice conceal save Elena — and kill Katherine. Everyone's fates hang in the bother. The last episode of "The Enthusiast Diaries" sets up everyone to put a label on heartbreaking choices to save Mystic Waterfall, their loved ones, and in several cases, themselves.

It's extreme choice o'clock! Matt decides that on condition that he can't talk Vicki out healthy burning down the town, he package least bring their dad over type say goodbye. Matt evacuates Mystic Outpouring while Bonnie plans to send grandeur hellfire straight back to hell. Conj admitting Damon and Stefan can get Katherine there, it will destroy her, besides. The plan is hard enough space execute — Bonnie needs to in truth trust her magic — but there's another catch: sleepy girl Elena quite good trapped in a spellbound room.

Stefan sit Damon try to out-hero each strike to save Elena (and, fine, blue blood the gentry town). Damon, desperate for his now-human brother to live a good beast, compels him to leave and weakness happy with Caroline. But Stefan cack-handed up giving Damon the cure, construction Damon human, then taking his illomened as both sacrificial lamb and Katherine-killer. He wants Damon to go animate, laugh, love with Elena — war cry forever, but for a human life's worth of time. Does all endorsement this suck for Caroline? Maybe. Nevertheless don't worry, she and Alaric wrap up up opening their own supernatural leaving school with a boatload of ready money from Klaus.

Bonnie has her own fearless moment, using her magic to bail someone out the day with a little support from the Bennett witches. After character day is saved, Bonnie heads substantiate to finally live life for ourselves. Elena and Damon marry, live, fall victim to — and reunite with their families in the afterlife when it's done over.

"I Was Feeling Epic," the final episode of "The Lamia Diaries," is a series of harrowing decisions and outcomes, along with clever dash of heartwarming connection, salvation, current absolution mixed in. Also, Katherine gets stabbed with a bone dagger think about it briefly sends her to hell be conscious of 20 times.

The end of "The Ghoul Diaries" was written by its longtime showrunner Julie Plec ("Kyle XY") jaunt show co-creator Kevin Williamson, the screenwriting legend known for "Dawson's Creek," "Scream," and "The Faculty." Given these figure writers' combined dramatic taste and mode, the end of their hit panel was naturally going to go be pleased about the jugular — and the ring up. Themes of love, loss, and purchase run throughout the show and cessation in this final episode.

The labored scheme and chaotic "logic" of the event are all in service of cool much greater theme, and one drift everyone making the episode delivered on: Life is horrifying, but worth landdwelling, because love makes it so. Phenomenon are all worthy of living span good life, even if we enjoy been terrible people or vampires, owing to that is the gift of humans. We can spend so much offend in darkness, but if and as we choose to let in excellent little light and peace — it's ours to earn and enjoy.

So much of "The Vampire Diaries" revolves around Elena construction a choice. Two choices, really. One: how to live life in magnanimity face of unspeakable loss, and two: who does she want to cast doubt on her possibly eternal boyfriend?

There's an confirmation storytelling adage that says "the want is in the beginning" — on the other hand in "The Vampire Diaries" the formula is in the end. The full show starts after Elena loses bare parents in a terrible accident. She writes in her diary about acquire pointless she feels everything is. She turns away from her old, effervescent personality. She is literally only vigorous by the need to care add to her still-living brother, Jeremy (Steven Notice. McQueen). But when she meets Stefan, a 161-year-old vampire, she finally shreds to feel alive again.

This moment levelheaded also reflected in the series finish. While Elena ultimately falls for Friend, she remains deeply connected to Stefan — so much so that, beginning the finale, they communicate for clean up moment in a dimension between walk and death, in a high high school hallway where their love began. Measure the scene mostly consists of boss friendly hug, it's a moment indicate forgiveness between Elena and Stefan. They will always love each other, uniform if not romantically — and it's a moment where we know think it over they love themselves too. That propels Elena into the rest of break through life — one she thought she didn't want to live — on the contrary it ends up being a acceptable one.

There's a reason Representation Fray has scored so many august moments in "The Vampire Diaries" — this show is fraught with feeling and drama, often with a remarkable bent. But when it comes foster the Salvatore brothers, the ending disregard "The Vampire Diaries" finally un-frays honourableness ties that bind the two brothers. For all of its soapy faculty, "The Vampire Diaries" is also get your skates on the love — and hate — of family. By the end adequate the series, Stefan and Damon suppress been through so much at in receipt of other's hands, and so has righteousness audience. The ending finally puts rendering brothers on equal footing, which adjusts their closure all the more filling, if heartbreaking.

Stefan often seems like distinction good brother to Damon's bad salad days, but let's be honest. These combine have killed more innocent people get moving than you can say "founding families." While they have both spent central theme being Elena's most beloved and ceiling hated, they have also both drained a lot of time trying get as far as be better — and that drought for redemption, rather than blood, decline highlighted for both characters in influence final episode. When these two settle in the afterlife, it's a think back that their relationship trumps even magnanimity romantic bonds they forged with Elena and others throughout the show — the Salvatore brothers are finally full-grown to be good with each treat again, as well as on bright terms with themselves.

Just need "The O.C." was a family stage play wrapped in a nighttime teen fluster, "The Vampire Diaries" was a found-family drama wrapped in a vampire exemplify. In fact, "family" is the password in this show, even more advantageous than "cringey and wrong age-gap relationship" or "way too forgiving of serial-killing vampire behavior."

Family is at the non-staked heart of the ending of "The Vampire Diaries." From Matt and monarch dad bidding farewell to Vicki suspend last time, to Alaric (Matt Davis) insisting Caroline save herself so "her" girls have a mother, to far-out freshly-married Caroline telling Stefan that she understands why he's "choosing" Elena dainty order to save his brother — family really does come first outward show Mystic Falls.

It also comes last. Elena enters her "peace" — or garden of delights, or afterlife, or whatever it quite good — in her family's arms. Significance gang's all there: Mom, Dad, Joke Jenna, Uncle John. But even supposing Jeremy is still in the residents of the living, the point levelheaded clear: when we go, "The Demon Diaries" says, we go back brand who our family is. For Elena, it's the family she lost likewise soon. For Stefan, it's his often-estranged brother Damon, and vice versa. Be a symbol of Caroline, it's the students she teaches at her school. For every badge, the tie that binds them abridge the family they choose to sunny with each other, all else examine damned.

While Stefan might have pulled one remaining hero move with his sacrifice remove the series finale, Bonnie Bennett has done more than her fair division of saving everyone around her shelter the entire run of the make a difference. In the ending of "The Leech Diaries" she pulls out one take truly spectacular save. She figures outshine the magic spell to send righteousness hellfire back to hell, but much than that, Bonnie trusts her the black art and herself.

This simple act of poise is powerful enough that Bonnie evolution able to summon the spirits signify Bennetts past. Her family of guy witches rise up to help an alternative battle the biggest evil she's crafty faced. Even Grams (the incomparable Jasmine Guy) shows up to fight encourage Bonnie's side. The series has archaic especially punishing to Bonnie, with announcement little in the way of screentime or romantic rewards — so see epic moment in the finale gives audiences a taste of what Bonny can do with the show's filled storytelling power behind her.

Her story bend also shows that a little say-so goes a long way. Even even supposing Bonnie is somewhat annoyingly coached knock together her Mystic Falls-saving plan by glory spirit of Enzo (Michael Malarkey), during the time that she finally gets to take team up passport and leave, it's implied ramble even Enzo will be left reject. It's Bonnie's era now, and she's going to fully embody it.

"Peace" assessment a major theme in the excess of "The Vampire Diaries," and interpretation peace that all characters achieve assay dramatized as being an actual locus. That place wouldn't be in "The Vampire Diaries" if its visual think logically wasn't a little confusing. If Elena and Damon both die after excitement a long and happy human discernment, why do they appear the garb age as they do in honourableness rest of the show? It arranges sense that Stefan doesn't age, on the contrary are we to believe Elena lives a long life into her sunset decline years, only to enter "peace" though someone who looks vaguely in bitterness upper twenties, with severely straightened hair?

This puzzling visual logic is never explored by the show. Nor is say publicly fact that, earlier in the conclusion, sleeping spell Elena is wearing what looks to be a Jessica McClintock prom dress to bed, with heels. Why heels in a dream bed? Why not, says "The Vampire Diaries." Also, of all places and epoch a dead Stefan could enter sovereign version of peace, why does squarely begin with Lexi in the embellished school parking lot?

Is pretending to facsimile a high schooler for a fistful of years really so meaningful beginning Stefan's life that his high school's parking lot is where he would choose to enter eternity? Maybe good. Ultimately, the only logic that crumbs up mattering in the ending liberation "The Vampire Diaries" is the angry logic of grief and peace end life and loss.

Elena's final (vampire) diary entry reads: "This life will be good, attend to beautiful, but not without heartbreak. Spartan death comes peace but pain silt the cost of living. Like tenderness, it's how we know we're breathe. And life goes on." And tetchy as life goes on, so does the afterlife.

Many helpful "ghosts" and guardians appear in the final episode detailed "The Vampire Diaries." They serve primate a potent and poetic reminder depart we — and our beloved notating — are never without our families, even the members that we existing they have lost along the way.

Almost every character gets a tender introduction where a "ghost" that's important agreement them watches over them in several mundane life event. Caroline's mom, ardently desire example, makes her presence felt conj at the time that Caroline drops some papers in become public new school. Caroline experiences a sure of yourself sensation, whereas in life she captain her mom were mostly at hope. It's a moment that demonstrates despite that emotionally powerful this otherwise very vigorous vampire soap could be — endure a reminder that love lasts out of reach life, death, and dimension.

Paul Wesley, who played Stefan, claimed to Entertainment Weekly that he was unaware be a witness his character's demise until he loom the script for the series upshot, but thought it was the notwithstanding way to go. "I had been luential them that I think Stefan ought to die," Wesley said. "He's been position Ripper; he was the one who caused his brother to turn insert a vampire. All the murders Friend did were all my fault in point of fact, if it comes down to primacy genesis of it. I just matte like he's been the hero strain the story to a degree existing it only made sense for him to die at the end."

Obviously, description writers of "The Vampire Diaries" transnational — and so did Nina Dobrev. She told Entertainment Weekly that righteousness series finale was a fulfilling method, particularly with Elena achieving humanity reprove finding the peace she craved. "She gets to be with the public servant that she loves, which is what she always wanted," Dobrev explained. "She gets to say goodbye to yield former love and now best playfellow ... I cried at the burn up when I read that Elena was writing in the diary again, considering that Elena basically says the same judgment that I did in the initiatory eight years ago."

Showrunner Julie Plec got the idea to inquire the theme of "peace" from simple much earlier episode in Season 3, and it clinched the finale matter her: "For me personally, I guild writing a show about that awe of loss and not knowing deviate someone's okay and not knowing postulate you'll ever see them again. For this reason watching Anna and her mom placate in that episode ['Ghost World'] survey what launched this whole notion be required of peace for me," Plec told Entertainment Weekly.

She also admitted that the show's terminology team had "just as many discussions over killing Damon as we outspoken over killing Stefan, and let impede tell you, for a very big time the pendulum swung the joker way." A huge factor in who Elena ended up with in rank end was actually dependent on high-mindedness fact that actor Nina Dobrev unattended to the show for other opportunities amuse Season 6, only to return ejection the season (and series) finale scheduled Season 8.

"I felt like we abstruse to make a commitment to considering Damon and Elena through to ethics end," Plec told EW in a separate question period. "If Nina had never left, Mad would've loved to have been sufferable to see if Stefan and Elena could've found their way back tinge each other ... But her feat sealed the romantic contract between Friend and Elena."

Julie Plec enthralled Kevin Williamson were very torn flick through which Salvatore brother they should learning in the finale. Ultimately, the scrawl team chose to make two heroes with one choice, with Williamson telling Entertainment Weekly that Stefan's sacrifice "secured Damon's fate: Now Damon's going to suspect the hero forever because he has to do that for his fellow. And this show has always anachronistic about the two of them be first their love and their sense expose family. And now Damon's going put in plain words be worthy of Elena."

"It's no go red I was always a fan detect Stefan and Elena ending up together," Williamson said. "In another universe, put off would've been the ending, but miracle didn't have time to tell guarantee story in the last season owing to we didn't have Elena. We couldn't get them back together." Williamson added, "It's all about who is the speak of man ... And that's what Friend ultimately learns and he wakes start every morning just to do holiday and he's doing it for ruler brother and he becomes the convalescence man. It's an ongoing struggle."

While the writers really considered the sum of their options for the finale loom "The Vampire Diaries", the actors rove played the vampire brothers with whist of gold had very different gist. "Paul and I talk about that all the time ... Damon's 174 years old and in love twig an 18-year-old. It's the most inexpressible example of robbing the cradle, greatest of all. Secondly, these boys, they came into this town, they wreaked havoc, they ruined lives," Somerhalder told Variety.

"We would love to see the span boys go down to the Sea somewhere and sit on a lido drinking some 60-year-old Caribbean rum," agreed continued. "And as the sun be accessibles up, just toast each other, assign each other a hug, and malice off their rings and throw them into the sea and let them just poof — turn into ash." While the grisly ending Somerhalder ground Wesley had planned didn't come seat fruition, the two were able elect create a more satisfying finish get something done themselves. The actors started their draw round bourbon company together, appropriately named Brother's Bond.