The Gemini Coven was a wild card from the beginning, but introducing Kai (Chris Woods) as the latest TVD antagonist, and later as the leader of the coven, sealed their fate. It was almost as if their own troubles finally caught up with them and The Vampire Diaries characters were simply pulled in for the ride. The downside of the bond that linked these particular witches was that it effected recurring characters whom viewers have had a chance to become invested in over the last season or two.
Letting Jo (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) die on the alter, pregnant with Alaric’s (Matt Davis) twin babies, was heartbreaking. Especially considering Alaric’s tragic history with the women he loves. However, given his speech about dodging fate, I can’t help but have a little hope that just like the writers have creatively found a way around true death so many times before, this will turn out to be just one more instance of that same such luck. Judging by Alaric’s reaction to the events of what should have been the happiest night of his life, if this is just another trick, he isn’t in on it.
The final scene of tonight’s finale of The Vampire Diaries set the tone for season seven. With Lily reunited with her vampire-witch friends and Damon reconciling the loss of the woman he loves right along with his best friend, the story looks ominous. The show will no doubt continue on without Dobrev at the helm, but there already is a sense of something missing. Right up until the end, she played a crucial part in connecting all the characters and with her now gone, they’ll have to find something else to rely upon.
As far as season finales go, this one won’t go down as the best one that fans of The Vampire Diaries have seen, but it could have been worse. The writers tied up a lot of loose ends while leaving enough of a cliffhanger to keep viewers entranced in the potential of next season. When the show returns in the fall, it’ll be interesting to see how the characters adapt to their new circumstances without Elena to balance things out.