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The Vampire Diaries

Season 5, Episode 22 (111)

Air date

May 15, 2014

Written by

Caroline Dries & Brian Young

Directed by

Chris Grismer

Episode Guide
(Transcript)
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Home is the twenty-second and final episode of the fifth season of Template:The Vampire Diaries and the one hundred and eleventh episode of the series overall.

Summary

The_Vampire_Diaries_5x22_Season_5_Episode_22_Extended_Promo_"Home"_(HD)_Season_Finale — The Vampire Diaries 5x22 Season 5 Episode 22 Extended Promo "Home" (HD) Season Finale

AN EXPLOSIVE SEASON FINALE — Heartbroken by an unexpected tragedy, Damon is focused on holding himself together, while pushing Bonnie harder than ever to find a way to stop the disintegration of the Other Side. Elena takes matters into her own hands and demands that Liv and Luke help her, but Liv refuses to cooperate until Caroline provides her with some personal motivation. Sheriff Forbes is horrified when Markos uses violence against Tyler/Julian to prove that Mystic Falls is now under the control of the Travelers. With new information from Sheriff Forbes, Damon comes up with a dangerous plan that relies on split-second timing from Jeremy and Matt. Liv's off-hand remark regarding Stefan gets a surprisingly emotional response from Caroline. As conditions on the Other Side worsen, Bonnie takes the opportunity to settle an old score. Finally, Damon’s plan causes a massive explosion in Mystic Falls, and everyone is caught up in the confusion, leaving a trail of heroism, sacrifice, relief and despair.

Plot

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Cast

Co-Starring

Uncredited

Barbara Roylance as Passing Traveler

Trivia

Antagonists: Markos and The Travelers.
Stefan, Enzo, Tyler, Luke, Alaric, and Elena are all resurrected in this episode by Liv, with Bonnie's help, using the Traveler sacrifice spell.
- This episode happened to include three deaths, which are: Damon, Bonnie and Markos.
- Elena died during the explosion at the Mystic Grill. This is the second time in which Elena has died in a season finale and has been resurrected in the same episode, the first being The Departed of Season Three. Both occurring with Elena being in the passenger side of a car.
- Luke died when Caroline snapped his neck to use his death as leverage to force her to cast the resurrection spell to bring him and the rest of the deceased Mystic Falls Gang members back before the Other Side is destroyed.
As a result of Tyler/Julian being pushed into the Magic Purification Spell barrier, Tyler was cured of his vampirism and had his activated lycanthropy stripped away, making him no longer a hybrid. As a result, when he was resurrected by Liv's spell, he came back as an untriggered werewolf. This is the first time Tyler has been "human" again since Season Three/2010.
- Since Tyler is no longer a hybrid, this leaves Klaus and Hayley as the only undead werewolf-vampire hybrids in the TVD/TO universe. Their daughter Hope is also a hybrid, but unlike them, she is alive and a pureblood due to the fact that she was born with werewolf, vampire and witch heritage.
With one word (and four letters), this episode, along with Rose, has the shortest titles of all the series so far.
With Alaric's resurrection, he now becomes one of the most powerful vampire characters, as there is no longer any known way to kill him. Before he died, his life was tied to Elena's, but now that Elena is technically dead, this is no longer a weakness for him.
We learn the population of Mystic Falls is 6,923 people, meaning it's a really small town.
When Elena learns that Damon is going to trigger the explosion, she asks him if he sees a future with her and she tells Damon that's all she can see with him. Damon tells her that's all he has seen since the first time he laid eyes on her (May 23, 2009).
Both the Mystic Grill and Damon's 1969 Chevy Camaro are destroyed in this episode.
Sheriff Liz Forbes is the only one to survive the gas explosion at the Grill, while Markos and the Travelers do not. Ironically, she used a fake gas leak to evacuate the town, possibly using the deaths in the Town Square in Promised Land as a cover.
- Interestingly enough, this gas leak story was used once again in Season Seven in order for the Mystic Falls Gang to get the citizens out of town for their own protection after Lily Salvatore and the Heretics take control of Mystic Falls.
When Elena is looking at the burnt remains of body and the survival of her daylight ring, Alaric appears and asks Elena if she seriously wore her seat belt on a suicide mission.
Damon's age is established as 173 years old as of late April/early May 2012. However, since Damon's birthday is in June, it is possible that he was simply rounding up. Regardless, this makes Damon's date of birth in either 1838 or 1839.
Caroline helps Stefan deal with Damon's death and the fact that he won't see Lexi anymore, since she found peace by ensuring that Stefan would be allowed to live.
Alaric comforts a grieving Elena, who is barely holding it together in the wake of Damon's death and the revelation that he won't be resurrected like the others.
We hear Damon's pet name for Elena is Baby as he says his goodbye to her, the first time a pet name in any relationship is heard in the series.
Alaric and Enzo came back to life and they been confirmed to return in Season Six as regulars.
- Alaric is the second main character after Jeremy to be killed off and resurrected in a season finale.
As of this episode, Caroline is the only main character that hasn't been on the Other Side and hasn't been a ghost.
- Caroline is also the only main character that has only died once. As of this episode, all of the other main characters have died at least twice, with many of them having died upwards of seven times in the case of Alaric and Jeremy.
Despite the mass murder of the Travelers in the Mystic Grill explosion, the anti-magic barrier exists over and around Mystic Falls into Season Six.
At the beginning of the episode, Markos is seen moving the "Welcome to Mystic Falls" sign to where the Magic Purification spell starts, which is the place where Julian killed Stefan and thereby halted the spell in its tracks.
Jeremy mapped the boundries of where the anti-witch magic spell begins based on where his Brotherhood of the Five hunter instinct to kill vampires stops, using his desire to kill Damon as a benchmark.
Lexi meets Bonnie, Tyler and Enzo in this episode.
The Other Side is destroyed in this episode, meaning all supernatural spirits now will end up wherever they did before Qetsiyah created it.
- With the other side's destruction this marks the final appearance/extinction of Ghosts.
With the Other Side gone, all the enemies of the main characters are gone.
This is the first time the end title card logo is white, instead of black when the episode ends. This is to match the bright light that is created as the Other Side disintegrates into nothingness.
Lexi and Sheila moved on and found peace in this episode,
Enzo meets Tyler for the first time in this episode after they are resurrected.
There will be a big time jump between this episode and the first episode of Season Six, according to Julie Plec.
This is the final episode of the fourth chapter of Season Five, The Travelers Chapter.
Home is the least viewed season finale of the series thus far.
The only episode in the season not to feature Salvatore Boarding House.

Body Count

Tyler Lockwood* - Stripped of his vampirism by the Traveler spell; killed by Markos
Luke Parker* - Neck snapped; killed by Caroline Forbes
Damon Salvatore - Explosion; suicide to kill the Travelers
Elena Gilbert* - Explosion; suicide to kill the Travelers
Markos - Explosion; killed by Damon Salvatore
The Travelers - Explosion; killed by Damon Salvatore
Bonnie Bennett - Destruction of the Other Side

Note: * - Someone who died in this episode and was then resurrected by Liv and Bonnie.

Resurrected

Locations

Mystic Falls, Virginia
McKinley, Virginia
- Whitmore College
  - Elena, Caroline and Bonnie's Dorm Room
  - Classroom
The Other Side

Continuity

This is the fifth season finale to feature Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy and Alaric; the fourth to feature Matt and Elizabeth; the third to feature Tyler and the second to feature Silas, Lexi and Sheila. This is also the first finale to feature Liv, Luke, Enzo and Markos.
- This is the second finale not to feature Katherine, Klaus and Carol; the third not to feature Elijah, Rebekah, Jenna and Anna; and the fourth not to feature Vicki.
  - This is also the only season finale to feature Luke as he dies in Season Six's Prayer For the Dying.
This is the third season in which Elena dies and is brought back to life in the same episode.
- The first was The Sun Also Rises (Season 2).
- The second was The Departed (Season 3).
- The third time is in this episode.
Bonnie as of this episode has died the most of the main three female characters in the series with four total deaths.
This episode marks Enzo's final appearance as a recurring character before being upgraded to a series regular in Season Six.
To date, Caroline now has the most kills compared to both Tyler (hybrid) and Elena (vampire) after each was turned since she killed Luke in this episode. She has a total of sixteen kills to date, even though Luke was resurrected. This includes her first kill, Carter the carny, in Brave New World; two of Liz's deputies in Kill or Be Killed, and Aja and her coven of witches.
Sheila was last seen in What Lies Beneath.
Lexi was last seen in Graduation.
Elizabeth was last seen in Man on Fire.
Alaric was last seen in 500 Years of Solitude.
Silas was last seen in a flashback in The Devil Inside. His last full appearance was in Death and the Maiden. He was mentioned by Caroline to Enzo in Rescue Me.
- This is the only episode in Season Five where Silas appears and Katherine doesn't.
Bonnie mentioned to Enzo about Silas killing her father, which occurred in I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Stefan mentioned to Lexi about being trapped in the safe by Silas for three months, which occurred from Graduation to True Lies.
This episode marked the final appearances of Silas, Sheila and Markos in the series, along with the final present day appearance of Lexi.
Maria was indirectly mentioned. She was last seen in Promised Land.

Behind the Scenes

This episode had about 1.610 million viewers in the USA.
Hashtag during the airing is #MysticFallsForever

Cultural References

A home is a dwelling-place used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for an individual, family, household or several families in a tribe.
Home, also referred to as The Home Show, was a daytime informational talk show which aired on ABC from 1988 to 1994.
Home is a 2008 novel written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Marilynne Robinson.
Home is a song by Phillip Phillips, first seen in the finale of the 11th Season of American Idol.
Home is also the title of Season 3, Episode 10 of The Walking Dead.
Home is the title of Season 1, episode 9 of Supernatural.
Home is the title of Season 1, Episode 5 of Endeavour.
Home is the title of Season 6, Episode 2 of Game of Thrones.
Home is the title of Season 4, Episode 3 of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Quotes

Markos: "You think I'm afraid of vampires?"

Damon: "Next order of business, mass murder."

Damon: "There's a huge gas line that runs beneath the town."

Elena: "We're not blowing up our town!"

Elizabeth: "Do you smell gas?"

Damon: "Project Kaboom needs someone to... trigger the explosion."

Elena: "Drive."

Damon: "Come on!"

Bonnie: "Come on Grams, where are you?"

Sheila: "Didn't I teach you not to rush your elders? We move a little slower."

Bonnie: "Thank God! I found us all a way out."

Sheila: "Do you think I was born yesterday? I know what you're doing. You cannot survive all these people coming through you. Even if you could, when it's all said and done, you're still the Anchor. And when this place goes down.."

Bonnie: "I know what you're going to say."

Sheila: "No, you don't. I was going to say... It's been my privilege to watch you grow into the beautiful woman you've become."

Bonnie: "You need to pass through me when the ritual begins."

Sheila: "No, I'm staying here."

Bonnie: "Grams you can't, this place is imploding, and taking everyone with it."

Bonnie: "Damon, stop."

Damon: "You said you had a plan, Bonnie."

Bonnie: "I did. I had a Traveler who knew the right spell."

Damon: "And you lost her?"

Bonnie: "I didn't lose her, she was sucked into oblivion like everyone else on the Other Side!"

Damon: "Just find another one!"

Bonnie: "It's more than just knowing the spell. Markos was able to come back because dozens of Travelers were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to overwhelm me. I doubt they'll be willing to do that for a bunch of supernatural strangers."

Damon: "You know who needs motivation? Youneed motivation. Because if the Other Side goes away, everyone we know there, including you, goes away with it."

Bonnie: "I know that. Do you think I want to die?"

Damon: "My brother is over there!"

Bonnie: "I know that!"

Damon: (to Elena) "I don't have a choice, baby. You are, by far, the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my 173 years on this Earth. I get to die knowing I was love. Not just by anyone-- by you, Elena Gilbert. It's the epitome of a fulfilled life. It’s never gonna get any better than this. I peaked."

Multimedia

Soundtrack

"No Rest For The Wicked" – Lykke Li
"Walking" – Ash Grunwald
"Love Is Just A Way To Die" – I Am Strikes
"Buried Alive" – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Finished Sympathy" – Glasvegas
"Be Alright" – Lucy Rose
"Wings" – Birdy