Vampire Diaries Episode: “As I Lay Dying”
Source: TV Guide, 5-12-11
Season 2, Episode 22: Episode Synopsis: The second season concludes with lives hanging in the balance as the consequences of the sacrifice ritual become clear. Meanwhile, Damon recalls memories of Katherine in 1864 during a town-square viewing of “Gone With the Wind.” Original Air Date: May 12, 2011
The Vampire Diaries Episode Recap: “As I Lay Dying”Season 2, Episode 22
Can you believe it’s already the season finale of The Vampire Diaries? While last week’s episode proved to be pretty epic and extremely tragic, it was hard to imagine the finale would top it. But it did.
Damon tries to apologize (rather sincerely I might add) to Elena for making her feed on his blood and says, “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I need it.” Elena tells him she needs time. So, off Damon goes. He takes a drink and then stands in the sun with his ring off and burns. Stefan shows up to rescue Damon and tells him he cannot kill himself. “What’s the plan, Superman?” Damon jokes. Even while dying he’s funny!
Klaus wakes up and Elijah is there with him. It’s been two days, Elijah says, since Klaus went on a rampage, and during that time he learned he can change at will from a wolf to vamp. Elijah asks where the bodies of their family are, but now that Klaus is super-hybrid powerful, getting that answer won’t be so easy.
Stefan fills Elena in on Damon’s wolf bite and says that because he made Damon turn in the first place, he owes it to him to find a cure. So Stefan goes to find Klaus, because Bonnie learned from channeling her witches that he’s the only key to a cure. Figures. Stefan first goes to Katherine’s, but soon after, Klaus and Elijah walk in. Just as Stefan pleads for their help, Klaus turns around and stabs his brother. So Elijah dies yet again, but this time I’m pretty sure it’s for real. Oh, Daniel Gillies, how you wouldn’t even hint that to me. Klaus reminds Stefan about the guy he used to be and although Stefan says he hasn’t been like that in a long time, Klaus says that’s the kind of vampire he wants to work with. Then, Klaus bites Katherine from his werewolf side, but then feeds her blood which makes it go away. The cure is Klaus’ blood. Of course it is.
The most annoyingly frustrating character of the night goes to Sheriff Forbes who first takes Elena hostage, and then tries to go after Damon. She finds Damon in the Grill with Jeremy and goes to shoot him, but Damon quickly moves leaving Jeremy with the wound. Caroline and Bonnie soon show up and Caroline tries to feed him her blood to save him as her mother watches in shock and despair over what she’s just done. Bonnie takes Jeremy away into her witch lair and attempts a spell to save Jeremy. She soon learns the witches are angry with her, but Bonnie pleads for her ancestor Emily to help. As the lights flicker out and Bonnie begins to bleed, Jeremy’s eyes open to reveal the power worked.
Back at Klaus’ place, he bottles up his blood for Stefan to prove that he might think of giving it to him if Stefan does as he’s asked. Klaus tosses him a bag of blood and makes him start drinking. After consuming bags of blood, Klaus says he wants them to leave town together and Stefan then essentially makes a deal with the devil. Klaus tosses his bottled blood to Katherine and tells her she can bring it to Damon.
As Damon is on his deathbed, Elena is by his side, even though he had just bitten her, mistaking her for Katherine. “All those years I blamed Stefan, no one forced me to love her. It was my own choice… Tell Stefan I’m sorry,” Damon says to Elena. He also tells her that he deserves to die but that he’s OK with everything because if he had chosen a different path he never would’ve met her. Elena forgives him and Damon finally says I love you, without compelling her to forget. “You should’ve met me in 1864; you would’ve liked me,” he says struggling for every breath. “I like you now… just the way you are,” she says. And then the moment many of us have been waiting for, Elena gives him a kiss. Not a passionate, “take me now” kiss, but one that shows she really does care for him. Too bad Katherine arrives and ruins the moment. But the good news is she has the blood. She hands it over and tells them that Stefan has sacrificed everything.”Good thing you have Damon to keep you company,” she says before adding, “It’s OK to love them both; I did.”
Klaus has his minions put Elijah in a casket and then tells Stefan he has a gift for him. He brings out a girl and we all know what’s about to go down. “I want to make sure you’ll honor our deal,” Klaus says as he bites her and then tells Stefan to do the same. And he does. Stefan bites into the innocent girl, kills her, and as he looks up it’s almost as if he has the slightest smirk remembering how good the human blood tastes. “Now we can go,” Klaus says.
In the final scene, Jeremy wakes up and gets out of bed upon hearing noises. As he walks down the stairs, Vicki (who died in Season 1) is following him, and then Anna (who also died) shows up. Jeremy sees the dead vampires and calls out their names. Is he dead? Is he a vampire? Is he a witch? Is he dreaming? What is he?
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