The Vampire Diaries ended more than five years ago with a tear-jerking finale. But the supernatural show’s fans still ship Damon and Elena’s love story. The series finale, which aired on Mar. 10, 2017, didn’t disappoint, revealing details about the couple’s future. But because the epic episode was jam-packed, producers couldn’t include everything they filmed. So they put Elena in an outfit that quickly explained what had happened in one deleted scene.
Emotions ran high in the series finale of ‘The Vampire Diaries’
The aptly titled Vampire Diaries finale, “I Was Feeling Epic,” marked the end of the eight-season teen supernatural drama. Stefan’s death devastated fans, but they got the happy ending to Damon and Elena’s steamy romance.
Elena actor Nina Dobrev had left the show in season 6 but returned just in time for Elena to reunite with Damon (Ian Somerhalder) in the final episode. Kai (Christopher Charles Wood) had trapped Elena in a sleeping spell, which explained her absence. When Bonnie (Kat Graham) broke the spell, Elena awoke.
Stefan (Paul Wesley) sacrificed his life to stop Katherine (also played by Dobrev) and save everyone — including the town of Mystic Falls and his brother Damon. Before Stefan died in a dramatic twist, he took the vampire cure Vervain from his blood and injected it into Damon. Stefan began to age quickly, while Damon became human.
Elena’s scrubs explain an entire deleted scene in the ‘Vampire Diaries’ finale
Viewers hear Elena’s voice narrating the final moments of The Vampire Diaries as she begins with her signature line, “Dear Diary.” But producers had to cut some scenes in the final moments due to time constraints. So one costume change on Dobrev compensated for 18 minutes of deleted footage about Elena becoming a doctor. Instead, viewers see Elena wearing scrubs, efficiently explaining her career path.
During Elena’s voiceover, clips show how everyone’s lives play out. Elena and Damon marry and live a long, happy life. When they die, she reunites with her parents, aunt, and uncle. And Elena, as the narrator, adds, “And Damon will find peace.” Then Damon goes home, sees Stefan, and poignantly repeats a line he uttered at the end of the first episode in season one: “Hello, brother.”
Producers cut Damon’s marriage proposal to Elena
So what else did viewers miss because of cut footage? Elena wears a wedding ring at the end of the finale, so we know she weds Damon. But audiences never got to see Damon ask Elena to marry him.
The Vampire Diaries co-creator Kevin Williamson revealed this key detail in an interview with TV Guide. He said they removed the marriage proposal due to time constraints.
Asked whether there was “any talk of ever showing some of the nuptials onscreen,” Williamson replied that in the deleted scene where Damon asked Elena to marry him, she responded, “After medical school.”
Williamson explained why they believed it was OK to delete the scene. “The whole point of that moment was just to show that she became a doctor. And so we thought, ‘Oh, we’ll just put her in scrubs, and we can cut that piece.’”
Fans might feel bummed about missing Damon popping the question, but we think it was still a perfect ending to an excellent show.
