According to the current rules of this universe (TVD and TO), there is no way Aaron could have come back as a ghost. He was not a supernatural creature either by birth or creation. There is also the fact that Elena cannot see ghosts, as she is neither a medium nor a witch.
Elena could have realistically hallucinated his corpse because she has seen vampire victims before as of this episode.
Elena could have realistically hallucinated his corpse because she has seen vampire victims before as of this episode.
Don't you remember what that one woman said on TO to the harvest girls? She said some humans find peace and some don't so maybe Aaron falls into that category. I mean he didn't really have a pleasant end.
People can be ghosts too, just that people didn't go to the Other Side as it was a waiting limbo for supernaturals. Doesn't mean there isn't a similar thing for humans.
I like to think that after finding out everything he did he came back to Elena to say goodbye to kind of closure. He knew she hadn't killed his family she hadn't killed anyone and he was sorry as he expressed to Caroline, he left the message that he had shut down the Augustine legacy and Wes was out of his life. But he also wanted Elena to know he was sorry. I think they could have been good friends and yet it was doomed for him once Katelena broke up with Damon and Enzo came back on the scene. It was more than the other hallucinations, he was showing her the neck wound he had when he died and yet as she didn't see or know this she couldn't have created this in her own head. He can't say it exactly but its enough for her to know he is gone and he just looks at her. Later when she sees Aaron where it is actually Damon is the hallucination version and only the one in the dorm is the ghost.
I think Elena was just paranoid and hallucinating. Her intuition told her that people were tip-toeing around her about something that happened (she already questioned Damon about it), and she figured it must have been something she/Katherine did, because why else would they all be so afraid to tell her? She then went to Aaron's dorm, saw that all of his stuff was gone, and naturally figured he died and that his death was covered up like the other vampire-induced deaths at the school. So, putting two and two together, she imagined he was not only a victim of a vampire attack, but was her victim. I think if Aaron was any sort of ghost, he would've told her who killed him, instead of being all cryptic. He represented Elena's fears, not what actual reality. The fact that they were similar is just the writers getting all poetic and shit.
Elena certainly didn't have the ability to see the other side--she was just having very vivid hallucinations due to the werewolf venom in the ripper virus Katherine gave her. And as with all her other hallucinations, they were drawn from her own psyche. For instance, the Stefan/Katherine/Damon hallucination. The setting was identical to the Stefan/Katherine motel scene, but we know people can't remember anything when being possessed by a traveler, so this was just a creative decision by the writers/directors. I think the same goes with Aaron's wound. Elena's fears were physically similar to reality, but the truth behind them was made up by her own mind.
Elena certainly didn't have the ability to see the other side--she was just having very vivid hallucinations due to the werewolf venom in the ripper virus Katherine gave her. And as with all her other hallucinations, they were drawn from her own psyche. For instance, the Stefan/Katherine/Damon hallucination. The setting was identical to the Stefan/Katherine motel scene, but we know people can't remember anything when being possessed by a traveler, so this was just a creative decision by the writers/directors. I think the same goes with Aaron's wound. Elena's fears were physically similar to reality, but the truth behind them was made up by her own mind.
She could also have been so close to death that her dreams allowed her to interact with spirits. This happened in The Originals, Mikael visited Haley and Klaus in their dreams. Fact is there is no way to tell for sure however given the scene it could be a strong possibility that Aaron is a ghost now that isn't bound to the Other Side. Why are you resistant to that idea that a human can be a ghost on TVD?
There's just nothing in that episode that strongly suggests that he was a ghost vs a hallucination. Elena was already hallucinating several other scenarios that closely resembled the truth as we saw it. Otherwise, we have to introduce several new concepts, like humans on the other side, near-death/ripper virus inducing the ability to see ghosts, and/or Aaron being somehow special in being the only human ghost so far on the show. Seeing as Elena was established to be hallucinating, it just seems a bit far fetched to me to suggest she was also tapping into some spiritual ghost realm just to see one specific human.
It's also that it just hasn't been established on TVD. It's fine to say that TO and TVD are the same universe, therefore the same rules apply, but you can't expect everyone to watch the spin-off, and so in effect, they're stand-alones. What we see on TVD should be how we judge TVD. As far as we know on the show, humans don't go to the other side. It was central to the plot of the s05 finale, as that's why Elena and Damon had to rush their suicide mission. They couldn't die as humans, otherwise they wouldn't get to come back through Bonnie.
It's also that it just hasn't been established on TVD. It's fine to say that TO and TVD are the same universe, therefore the same rules apply, but you can't expect everyone to watch the spin-off, and so in effect, they're stand-alones. What we see on TVD should be how we judge TVD. As far as we know on the show, humans don't go to the other side. It was central to the plot of the s05 finale, as that's why Elena and Damon had to rush their suicide mission. They couldn't die as humans, otherwise they wouldn't get to come back through Bonnie.
We don't need to introduce several new concepts. I'm not saying Aaron was on the other side I'm saying he was somewhere else the Other Side wasn't natural it was the product of magic it was a barrier not a place. Aaron probably was outside of it and because The Other Side was out of whack he was able to contact Elena.
Also stand alones or not existing in the same universe still means the same rules apply and while there is nothing to strongly support it there is enough for speculation and nothing you say will change my oppinion on the matter.
AimToMisbehave wrote: I think Elena was just paranoid and hallucinating. Her intuition told her that people were tip-toeing around her about something that happened (she already questioned Damon about it), and she figured it must have been something she/Katherine did, because why else would they all be so afraid to tell her? She then went to Aaron's dorm, saw that all of his stuff was gone, and naturally figured he died and that his death was covered up like the other vampire-induced deaths at the school.
If you remember she has slipped into the hallucination BEFORE she sees Aaron, he leads her to his door and into the empty dorm room, she believes as she has just had a telephone call with Damon that Aaron is still alive and she is looking to get in touch with him as he will be devastated about Wes. She doesn't know hes gone, she doesn't know he's dead and she only sees the room AFTER he appears. She then is talking to him and I believe he shows her his blood - wounded by the bite of Damon on his left side - running all over the correct side and markings as we have seen his body in the trunk of the car that Enzo almost crashed into the Salvatore house hallway. This leads her to ask is he dead, he dones't answer her and yet he is looking at her as she breaks down now convinced she must have killed him when she was Katelena. Her other hallucinations I think are genuinely just that, as they are all based on knowledge that she has or is given. Now her mind was not in the motel room as passengers don't let the host know or see anything but her BODY was there and even at that the writers took it to the hotel room we would recognise as Damon was never there and he shows up. There was also the diary she read where Kat was describing having lured Stefan to the Hotel room and marked her top, having a shower so she was given that info.
Aaron was something more than just a hallucination. I can appreciate that each person can have their own convictions so I 'm not saying you are wrong in what you believe, you interpret it your way.
I am going to believe that he was there as he was dead, he wanted to say sorry to Elena and her altered state made it easier for him to go to her and to kind of say goodbye. He then leaves and the 2nd Aaron we see is just her hallucinating him and he is actually Damon having bust out to come and save her from herself.