Last week’s Vampire Diaries saw nearly every person in Damon Salvatore’s life go out of their way to tell him why he didn’t really want to be a human. That included even the newly human Elena herself! In May 7th’s “I’ll Wed You in the Golden Summertime,” the penultimate episode of the show’s sixth and Nina Dobrev‘s final season, Elena’s continued refusal to believe Damon really wanted to be human (since he’d told her years ago he really didn’t want to be human) forced Stefan take his brother on a stroll down human lane to prove it. So, did it work?
Human Nature
Even though she’d sent Stefan (Paul Wesley) away to handle Damon (Ian Somerhalder), that’s not was really on Elena’s (Dobrev) mind this week. When she wasn’t focusing on her maid of honor duties the newly, truly human Elena spent a good portion of her second-to-last episode telling her all of her friends and family just how much she loved being a human again. Early on, she confided in Caroline (Candice Accola) that she “wanted to be human from the day [she] became a vampire” and then later had a heart-to-heart with Alaric (Matt Davis) about humanity — true humanity, not the vampire switch version — being the greatest feeling in the world. Not something you usually hear on The Vampire Diaries, but Elena was on a human high.
Sure, Elena slightly lamented her loss of vampire gifts and the return of her human fragility, but for the most part, everything she had to say about her return to the land of the living was about how blessed she felt to finally be back on track. It was almost like vampirism was just a phase for her, which, as far as college phases go, it was a pretty big one.
The ‘Burbs
However, not every vampire on this show could call vampirism a phase in their life, especially not the one who wanted to be human with her. Stefan found time to take Damon on a quick road trip to suburbia before Jo (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) and Alaric’s wedding, to a house Stefan had lived in during one of his many fresh starts.
At first, Stefan attempted to explain how the life Damon and Elena would lead as humans would be full of frozen dinners, paperwork Damon couldn’t get past without compulsion, and fear of any vampires who’d hear of Damon taking the cure and wanting in, but surprisingly, Damon had made a plan. He’d bought a place somewhere in the Northwest, right above a bar (that he now also owned) and near a medical school.
This wasn’t enough, though — not for Elena, at least — and that’s when Stefan pulled out the big guns and went into Damon’s mind to show him the true “suburban nightmare” of human life, with Elena working nonstop and Damon drinking nonstop. And what if Elena eventually left Damon? She’d left Stefan before, and they were supposedly soulmates too. What if Elena had simply died, as humans — especially those on The Vampire Diaries — do? There’s only one more episode left to really answer these questions.
Til Death Do Us Part
As for the main event, the wedding of Alaric and Jo was a beautiful occasion, and it was only made more so by Alaric’s vows, where he told Jo that he wanted to “dodge fate” with her for the rest of their lives. Hey, Dodging Fate could be an alternate title for The Vampire Diaries! But before they made their vows, Damon made some of his own to Elena. For maybe the millionth time at this point, he let Elena know that he still planned to take the cure, and he wasn’t doing it for her; he was doing it for them.
“I’m taking it. I’ve been a vampire for a long time, Elena. It’s been a blast. But I would give it up to be your husband. Your partner. The father of your kids,” he told her. “I love you, and I will love you until I take my last breath on this Earth.”
It was a sweet sentiment that led to romantic barn sex and made the duo — who were the maid of honor and best man — a little late to the wedding, but it was the moment that cemented that Damon was willing to take the plunge in every way possible. After a constant parade of people he cared about telling him that he didn’t really want to be human with Elena, he made it abundantly clear that the only person who knew what he wanted to do was him — and he did.
But then all the love and romance was ruined when a cloaked (and back!) Kai (Chris Wood) attacked Jo, possibly killing her and her unborn babies, then magically attacked every guest at the wedding, and left Elena for dead as well. It was definitely one way to leave us guessing about what could happen to Elena (and Damon) in next week’s season finale.
The Good Witch
By the way, it would probably be wrong for Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham) to say “I told you so” to all of her friends, but at this point — especially in this season — it would be pretty appropriate. Bonnie actually brought up the fact that she was having pretty vivid nightmares about a newly returned Kai and Lily (Annie Wersching) being in cahoots early on in the episode, but Elena was quick to shut her down. It was that paranoia that got Bonnie to enlist Matt’s (Zach Roerig) help, but it was also that paranoia being ignored that led to Bonnie and Matt being hurt, Lily being freed from her prison, and Kai showing up at Jo and Alaric’s wedding to kill everyone.
Tell Us: Do you think Elena is even going to make it to the season finale? And is there any chance of Damon still taking the cure then?
