Crystal Bell: 'The Vampire Diaries' Season 3
Finale Recap: Elena Makes Her Choice

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 3, Episode 22 (the season finale) of The CW's "The Vampire Diaries," entitled, "The Departed."

I know that I've said this before in relation to "The Vampire Diaries" -- and it's going to sound extremely cliche, but I just need to say it one more time -- OH MY GOD.

I should have known the finale was going to leave me speechless. (I don't even know how I'm writing this recap.) While I was watching, I felt like I was being pulled in so many different emotional directions, until the final 10 minutes, when I was pretty much devastated. There wasn't just a death; there were multiple deaths.

When Matt accidentally drove his truck off Wickery Bridge -- with Elena in his passenger's seat -- I knew that everything was going to change. Trapped under water, Elena sacrifices her life to save Matt's, just as her father had sacrificed his life to save Elena the night Stefan rescued her from her family's submerged car. Elena's "death" brought us full circle from the beginning, the night Stefan saved her and she lost her parents.

The way the writers weaved the two scenes together was both beautifully done and brutally heartbreaking. Jeremy's reaction, upon realizing his sister's fate, is equally as painful.

But did you really think Elena was going to die? At the end of last week's episode, she fell to the ground after suffering a head injury. It turns out that she had internal bleeding in her head, and Dr. Fell needed to use her stash of vampire blood to save her.

When Elena died, she had the vampire blood in her system, meaning that Elena is now a vampire. She opened her eyes just as the screen fades to black, leaving us hanging until Season 4.

To be honest, I'm surprised that Elena is being turned so quickly into the series. I wasn't expecting it. Sure, I thought Tyler could die -- and he did, in a way -- or even Jeremy, but I never thought it would be Elena.

After three seasons of fighting to save her humanity -- and losing countless loved ones because of it -- it's gone. One of those casualties was Alaric.

Ric may have lost his own humanity a few episode back, but tonight, it was time to say a final, bittersweet goodbye to our favorite history teacher. Although, evil Ric was causing too many problems. First, he got Mayor Lockwood and Sheriff Forbes fired, and then he told the Council about Meredith's stash of vampire blood.

But nothing can make me forgive him for killing Klaus. That's right, sweethearts. Klaus -- or more correctly, Joseph Morgan -- is gone for good. I swear, everyone cried in this episode, even Rebekah! Also, that indestructible white oak stake needs to go.

It wasn't long until Ric went after Damon, but unfortunately (or fortunately?!), he collapsed before he got a chance to finish what he started. When Elena died in the lake, Ric died too. At least he got to die in Damon's arms. Can you think of a better way to go?

Unfortunately, Damon realized that he just lost his best friend and the love of his life. Sad Damon makes me very sad.

As for the other major plotline in tonight's finale, Elena does make a choice between the two Salvatore brother -- and she chooses Stefan.

Delena fans, I can here your cries from my apartment, and i just want to tell you that I feel your pain. In a surprising twist, we discover -- via flashback -- that Elena actually met Damon first, not Stefan, on the night her parents died. She met Damon in the middle of the road, and at first, he mistook her for Katherine. They share a sweet moonlit conversation before Damon compels her to forget it ever happened. Had he not done that, perhaps things would have worked out differently between them.

But now that Elena is a vampire, things are undoubtedly going to change between her and the Salvatores. After all, Stefan doesn't know Elena picked him. However, Damon does.

Matt, being Elena's true confidant, decides to kidnap her and take her on a road trip, an hour away from Mystic Falls, to see Damon. Upon hearing of Klaus' ultimate demise, Elena, afraid that her friends will all die along with his entire bloodline, is forced to chose which direction to go in -- onward to Damon, or back in the other direction, to Stefan.

She ultimately choses to go back to Mystic Falls, calling Damon to tell him her final decision. She explains that Stefan came into her life at a time when she needed someone most, and she's in love with him. Once again, she has broken Damon's heart.

However, maybe the writers were trying to tell us that Stefan was the wrong choice because when Matt and Elena turn around and head toward home, Rebekah, avenging her brother's death, drives Matt off the bridge.

Meanwhile, fans of Michael Trevino can rejoice. It looks like he'll be staying on for Season 4. However, he won't be playing the Tyler that we all have grown to love.

When Bonnie was alone with Klaus in the storage closet, she did the most useful thing that she's done in the entire series. She managed to switch Klaus and Tyler's bodies, meaning that when Alaric thought he killed Klaus, he actually killed Tyler. Klaus is now in Tyler's body. In other words, Bonnie went rogue.

OK, I know a lot of you love Michael Trevino -- and really, how could you not? -- but I'm going to miss Joseph Morgan. He was so brilliant as Klaus. He had all of the right mannerisms and Britishisms and he was just so ... devilishly perfect. I'm not quite sure Michael Trevino can live up to that, but I hope I'm wrong.

This also means that Klaus' entire bloodline -- Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Abby -- are all safe, since Klaus didn't really die. Of course, this was Bonnie's genius plan all along. Now if I could only figure out what they're going to do with it next season.

Will Klaus pretend to be Tyler? Or will he tell everyone about the switch? Or will he run away with Caroline, as Tyler? Will Caroline catch "Tyler" drawing pretty ponies and figure it all out?! I just have so many questions.

Final Thoughts:

• Matt is this season's MVP. At this point, he's Elena's best friend, but I'm afraid that Elena's new vampire status might change things. Not to mention that the population of humans in Mystic Falls is dwindling.
• Elijah is still my favorite Original, and I really hope that he sticks around, but I wonder what kind of role the Originals will play in Season 4.
• That scene in the lake ... Sigur Ros, you are a life-ruiner.
• Will Jeremy be able to call on Tyler from beyond the grave? And if he does, will he be in Klaus' body? Because I'm totally down for that.

Notable Quotables:

Damon: "Have I told you how much I appreciate you not being the dumbest brother on Earth?"

Damon: "Our lives are like a proverbial coin toss."

Caroline: "I know. I'm being smothering. It's what I do."

Elena: "Caroline Forbes told me that my ponytail lacked 'juzz.'"

Elijah: "Perhaps it will finally teach him a lesson."

Caroline: "I will run with you."

Damon: "You know what else is her call? Everything bad ever."

Miranda Gilbert, Elena's mom: "You're not going to lose him, honey. You're setting him free."

Elena: "You drugged me?"

Tyler: "I'm a lost cause."

Damon: "You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little bit of danger."

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TV Tonight: Friday May 11th, 2012

Here's what's on TV tonight on this Friday night.[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Tvdonewrightcom/~3/OYNkyZ_4_Ew/

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'Scandal' Case Study: Shonda Rhimes on Billy, Sex
and Standards and Practices

Lesley Goldberg
The showrunner breaks down the action-packed penultimate episode and tells THR how she fought for the steamy scene between Fitz and Olivia.

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ABC Renews 'The Bachelor,' 'Dancing With the
Stars,' 'Shark Tank'

Michael O'Connell, Lesley Goldberg
UPDATED: In an expected move, the network re-ups its most-watched series and the popular Friday night reality competition in addition to its long-running dating series.

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ABC Renews 'Dancing With the Stars,' 'Shark Tank'

Michael O'Connell, Lesley Goldberg
In an expected move, the network re-ups its most-watched series and the popular Friday night reality competition.

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'American Idol' Elimination Night: Who Made the
Final 3

Michele Amabile Angermiller
[SPOILER ALERT]: On a night that featured performances by Season 7 champ David Cook and judge Jennifer Lopez, one contestant was sent home.

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Additional Early Upfronts Notes: 'Community'
Renewed; ABC Doesn't Announce New But RENews 7...

"NBC re-enrolls in Community" It?s no longer the darkest timeline, fellow Human Beings! NBC announced today that they are, in fact, renewing Community for a fourth season... [MORE]"Once Upon A Time to enchant ABC for a second season" As you probably saw on Twitter, ABC has renewed freshman fairy-take drama, Once Upon a Time for a second season... [MORE]"ABC renews Revenge, 

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The Vampire Diaries Season Finale "The Departed":
The Good, The Bad, and The Bloody

Season three of The Vampire Diaries has come to an end, folks, and forgive me if I am still sitting here with my jaw wide open. The finale is eventful, to say the least, and like seasons past, we saw the deaths of a couple of characters - along with the red herring deaths of a couple of characters. Oh, and by that I mean that something super crazy happens in the final moments of the episode that we'll be talking about all Summer.

I can't really talk about too much before the break without spoiling everything, so let's get to it. Dry your tears over that fact that there won't be any new episodes of The Vampire Diaries for a few months, and let's get to the final good, bad, and bloody of season three after the the jump.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.buzzsugar.com/Vampire-Diaries-Season-3-Finale-Recap-Departed-23051449

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American Idol: Was the Right Person Voted Off

Hollie Cavanagh is the latest casualty of American Idol, and I can't say we didn't see this one coming. This week wasn't her strongest week, and her songs choices didn't quite impress the judges - or Jimmy Iovine, who openly criticized her lack of connection to the songs she selected.

To be fair, she's up against some solid competition. Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet have been getting nothing but praise, and Phillip Phillips, well, he's just cute as a button, and there's no way the teenage girls of America are letting him go just yet. What do you think, was it a good time for Hollie to depart?

Photo courtesy of Fox

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Laura Prudom: 'American Idol' Elimination Recap:
The Final 3 Revealed

There was a whole lot of "meh" during this week's "American Idol" performance show, and it should've been fairly obvious from the start just who the endangered contestant was. But, because the voting public is a fickle and capricious monster, I'm perennially braced for a shocking result. (I really didn't see Hollie, Elise or Skylar lasting longer than Colton, for example, even though I preferred all three.)

As with all "Idol" results shows, the May 10 episode was packed full of juicy generally mediocre performances from people who are only tenuously still musically relevant -- this week, those lucky time-wasters were judge Jennifer Lopez, and lackluster winner of yesteryear, David Cook. But since such diversions are what YouTube and the fast-forward button were invented for, let's skip to this week's elimination result.

The next contestant to be going home (and not just for a hometown visit) is ...

Hollie Cavanagh.

To which I say, "duh." Hollie has immense raw potential, but she seems unaware of who she is as an artist (something that Jessica also struggles with), and lacks confidence on stage where her fellow contestants have evolved and loosened up over the course of the season. She'll sound fine on a record, once she's had some polish and doesn't have to stand in front of a crowd, but she's not yet at the point where she could be comfortable on stage in front of a sold out arena.

Hollie most reminds me of young, mousy David Archuleta, who had an incredible range but always seemed gawky and shy on stage, and subsequently lost to the aforementioned David Cook. It doesn't mean that she can't have a successful career somewhere down the line, but it does mean that she's not "Idol" material. She got a lot further than I thought she would, and she's arguably more talented than Phillip, vocally, so I hope she leaves with her head held high, despite the judges' constant barrage of criticism.

Jessica was the first to be pronounced safe, followed by Joshua and Phillip.

Do you think the voters made the right choice? Who do you think will be the next to go home? Weigh in below!

"American Idol" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

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