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The Departed is the twenty-second episode of the third season of The Vampire Diaries and the sixty-sixth episode of the series.

Summary

THE SECRET HERO — Determined to protect his sister, Template:Jeremy makes a decision that will change everything. In the harsh reality of the present situation, Elena longs for the simpler times in her life when her parents Grayson and Miranda and Aunt Jenna were still alive and her biggest concern was her relationship with MattStefan and Damon leave Mystic Falls together on a mission, but soon split up when Elena needs one of them. Caroline and Tyler are forced to make a life-changing decision. Finally, Bonnie makes a secret deal that has heartbreaking consequences. 

Plot

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Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

Guest Cast

Trivia

3x22-script

Script

  • Antagonists: The Darkness and Rebekah Mikaelson.
  • This is the final episode of the third chapter of Season Three, The Bloodline Chapter.
  • This episode features flashbacks to the night the Gilbert's car drove off Wickery Bridge and Elena's parents died.
  • This is the first episode of the series to have flashbacks of Elena's past.
  • This episode has a flashback a little closer to the present (months before the events of Pilot.)
  • Elena, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie, Alaric, Elizabeth and Carol are the only characters to appear in all three season finales to date.
    • Jenna, Matt and Tyler were absent in As I Lay Dying.
    • Katherine and Anna were both absent during this finale.
  • This marked the first appearances of Grayson and Miranda Sommers-Gilbert, but only in flashback scenes.
  • Sara Canning returns as Jenna Sommers in this episode, but only in flashback scenes.
  • Elijah meets Jeremy, Matt and Caroline in this episode.
  • Almost all main characters appeared in this episode, only Katherine Pierce was absent.
  • This episode marks the first time two main characters died in the same episode, Alaric and Elena, however Elena survived as a vampire.
  • This is third season finale to feature Elena, Stefan, Damon, Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie, Alaric, Carol and Elizabeth.
  • This is the second season finale to feature Matt, Tyler, Jenna, Klaus and Elijah.
  • This is the first season finale to feature Rebekah and Meredith.
  • This is the only season finale so far to not feature Katherine.
  • Matthew Davis (Alaric Saltzman) leaves the main cast after this episode.
  • As of this episode, Bonnie, Matt and Jeremy are the only non-vampires/werewolves among the main cast.
    • Bonnie is the only main female character left.
    • Jeremy and Matt are the only two main human male characters left.
  • This is the first season finale to not feature Katherine and Anna.
  • Katherine was mentioned in this episode.
  • This is the second season finale to feature Elijah and Klaus.
  • Elena dies and becomes a vampire in this episode, seemingly marking the end of the Petrova bloodline. The bloodline would be reactivated after Katherine became human again. However, in the fifth season when Katherine takes over Elena's body, the Petrova bloodline is ended again due to Katherine becoming immortal once again.
  • Alaric dies in this episode due to the fact that he was linked to Elena, his only weakness and way to kill him, to have one human lifetime by Esther to kill The Original family and thus rid the world of vampires. With Alaric's resurrection in Home, he no longer appears to have any known weakness as Elena is now a vampire and not a human.
  • Meredith meets Jeremy in this episode.
  • We learn that Damon actually did meet Elena before she met Stefan.
  • Unlike the two previous seasons, the end of the third season does not end at the Gilbert House. It ends at the morgue of Mystic Falls Hospital.

Continuity

  • Jenna was last seen in The Sun Also Rises, when she was staked by Klaus as the vampire sacrifice during the Sacrifice Ritual.
  • Elijah was last seen in All My Children.
    RestInPeace

    Elena dies

  • Meredith was last seen in Do Not Go Gentle.
  • Stefan tells Matt: "Nothing wrong with free will, Matt. Trust me, you don’t realize that till you lose it." Stefan was compelled by Klaus (and therefore devoid of free will) for most of the season.
  • Foreshadowing: when Bonnie sees Klaus desiccated in the coffin, she says "You should burn in hell. But if you die, so do my friends. So does my mother. What am I supposed to do about that?" This signals her intention to keep him alive.
  • This is the first time Elena and Stefan kiss this season.
  • Alaric's ghost appearing to Jeremy to say goodbye and tell him that Elena is dead reinforces the fact that Jeremy sees dead vampires.
  • Elijah mentions his brother, Kol, multiple times yet Kol does not appear in the episode. He was last seen in Heart of Darkness in Denver, having left Mystic Falls in All My Children.
  • Alaric was still hunting down the Originals, a pursuit which began in the previous episode Before Sunset.
  • Katerina Graham makes her 50th appearance as Bonnie Bennett in this episode.
  • This is the second season finale to feature flashbacks sequences.
  • In the Pilot episode, Elena's parents are shown in pictures, but in this episode, her parents are played by different actors due to a casting change.

Behind the Scenes

  • All main cast members appeared in the season finale, for the fifth and last time this season.
  • Elena finally makes a choice between Damon and Stefan.
  • Filming began on March 23, and ended on April 2.[1]
  • The title refers to all those who Elena has lost over the years, starting with her parents and continuing through Aunt Jenna.
  • Elena dies exactly the same way she did in the books, during The Struggle, driving off Wickery Bridge and drowning. In the series, Rebekah caused Elena's death; in the book series, it was Katherine.
  • Both in the books and the series Elena died in Matt's car.
  • This episode had about 2.53 million viewers in the USA.

Cultural References

  • The Departed is the title of the 2006 Academy Award-winning American action thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese.
  • Some people actually make Vodka Tea...
  • Caroline tells Elena that her ponytail lacks "zhush" (alt. "joosh") meaning that it lacked flair.
  • Flare jeansdid make a comeback Fall 2009, as predicted by Bonnie...
  • 666 is the number usually associated with the "beast" or the devil.
  • 1020 on the other hand, has no special significance as a number, nor as a date - except if our guess is right and the Original family was created in this date: 20 years after the family moved to the new world.
  • "Witch Locator" could be a reference to the Ditch Witch - Utility Locator: a device to find buried plumbing.
  • The "Bat Signal" is a modified search light with a stylized bat on the lens, that is used by Gothan City Police Department to summon Batman in the event of a crisis.
  • Pictionary is a game where teams compete against each other to guess words as they are drawn on a board. It's a common party game. The recent Facebook fad Draw Something is inspired by Pictionary.
  • The advice Miranda gives Elena about setting Matt free echoes Sir Richard Bach's famous quote: " If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they are yours. If they don't, they never were."
  • The Grim Reaper is the personification of death as a sentient being.
  • Big Fat Liar is a 2002 comedy about a teenager who is a pathological liar and how his creative writing homework is stolen by a Hollywood producer that plans to turn it into a successful movie.
  • Goldilocks is the name of the intrusive little girl who invades the house of The Three Bears in the popular fairy tale.
  • Elena, who almost died falling off the Wickery Bridge two years before should have read one of these articles that teach how to escape from a sinking car. 1 2 3
  • The ending scene, when Elena is on a strecher and wakes up is very similar to the scene where Bella Swan from the Twilight Saga wakes up as a vampire at the end of the first part of Breaking Dawn.

Quotes

Matt: "So, Stefan?" 
Elena: "He saved my life, you know. I never told you that. The night that my parents’ car went off the bridge, Stefan was the one that saved me."
Matt: "So then, what’s the problem?"
Elena: "The problem’s Damon. When I’m with him, he just consumes me. And I know that I can’t love them both, I know that it’s wrong, but I – when I choose one then I’ll lose the other. And I don’t want to lose anyone else. I – I just – I wish that I had my mom here to give me some advice."
Damon: "If it was just down to him and me and you had to make a choice who got the goodbye, who would it be?"
Elena: "I love him, Damon. He came into my life at a time when I needed someone and I fell for him instantly. No matter what I feel for you, I – I never unfell for him." 
Damon: "Yeah, I get it. Stefan, it’s always gonna be Stefan."
Elena: " I can’t think about always. All I can think about is right now. And I care about you, Damon, which is why I have to let you go. I mean, maybe if you and I had met first."
Damon: "Yeah, maybe."
Rebekah: "He’s gone, Elijah. There was nothing I could do to stop it."
Elijah: "It wasn’t me, it wasn’t Kol."
Rebekah: "It wasn’t me, Elijah. It was Niklaus, I’m sure of it."
Elijah: "Then how are they still alive?"
Damon: "Katherine."
Elena: "No – um – I....I’m Elena."
Damon: "Oh, you – you just look… I’m sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I’m Damon."
Elena: "Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."
Damon: "You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself."
Elena: "It's Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here."
Elena: "I don’t know what I want."
Damon: "Well, that’s not true. You want what everybody wants."
Elena: "So, Damon, tell me. What is it that I want?"
Damon: "You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, an adventure, and even a little danger."
Meredith"You need to know, when Jeremy brought Elena in here earlier tonight, her injuries were worse than I let on. It wasn't a concussion, it was a cerebral hemorrhage. Bleeding on the brain."
Damon"What are you saying?"
Meredith"He was so worried, I didn't wanna tell him but I, I helped her. She needed my help."
Damon"You what?"

Multimedia

Soundtrack

Last.fm_play.png "So What" – Pink
Last.fm_play.png "Wasted" – Low vs Diamond
Last.fm_play.png "Airplane" – Shadow ReWinD

Last.fm_play.png "Sick Muse" – Metric
Last.fm_play.png "Dauðalogn" – Sigur Ros

Pictures

References

See also

Template:VD Episodes Template:VD Transcripts

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