Honestly, I understand both Stefan and Damon's perspectives. It's not just because Stefan didn't want Elena to hate him, it was because he didn't want her to feel even more guilt. She would have suffered greatly and blamed herself endlessly for Matt's death. Same as she did for her parents. He didn't want to see her in any more pain, as hard as that was for him (letting her go). Plus, he ALWAYS respected her choices. But I get Damon too, he would have saved Elena EVERY time. Whether she had vampire blood in her system or not. She was his humanity, she was the first person he really truly cared about after becoming a vampire. She's the one that made him feel something for the first time in centuries other than sadness or anger. So of course he wasn't going to let her go. It made him reckless because he'd panic at the thought of losing her. I don't know what I would have done in that situation, if I could let the person I loved most in this world die. Rather than save them if it's within my power. It was for that same reason Stefan forced Damon to become a vampire. Damon was his brother, and he was all Stefan had. He didn't want to face eternity alone. But he felt a great deal of guilt for his actions ever since. He didn't want to take Elena's choice from her like he did Damon. Both brothers had more in common than they'd care to admit. Both of them also loved Elena dearly.
"Got into a fight with my boyfriend." This is the part they hid from the audience for the sake of hiding Elena's first and second choice. It's what happens when Alaric has his life tied to Elena's. The fight she has with Matt in flashback got replaced by the image of Elena staking Klaus when Alaric staked Klaus. That's why she has to go home. Elena would no sooner choose Damon over Stefan, Tyler, and Caroline than she'd choose Damon over Jenna and her parents. She'd choose her family sooner and her boyfriend later. That's why the drownings are doubled up. The fact that she let Damon go should've told the audience she'd end up with him... because it's all shown in flashback. "I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight."
I think this is the peak of her character. Like where just her strengths are shown here. The essence of her being is her kindness and willingness to put her loved ones before herself. She felt so much guilt over her parent's death, her dad sacrificing himself for her. And in this scene we see that she redeems herself in her eyes. And now it makes sense why she chose Matt. Her life was always going to be filled with death and vampires. There's something so beautiful about saving someone who's so purely human, stays human and will probably go on to have children, etc. If she had really really died here, and they changed the main character to Bonnie and Caroline, it would be so heartbreaking but really beautiful in a way.
Of course I cried the first time I watched it but I didn’t expect to cry this time. It was Elena’s dad shaking his head no, they’re not going to make it, and her accepting the fact that she was going to die that got me. When she stop struggling to unfasten the seatbelt 😢😢
I love the writing of this show. All of their flashbacks in this episode were purposeful. She wasn't choosing between brothers, she was choosing between time. She's gonna break up with Stefan after her death for the same reason she broke up with Matt after her parents died. Because she needed more time, and they only had an hour. In 4x7, Elena picks up where she left off in 3x19 because Damon became her always. Stefan is a mess because he already knows Elena is in transition. He and Damon are expressing different emotions because of who they are and how they feel about Elena being a vampire. Damon has no problem with her being a vampire, but he wants her to be human because she wants to be human. Elena's want to be human is every bit what Damon wanted for her when they first met. For her to get everything she's looking for. If what she's looking for is a human life, he's gonna be angry because she's not getting it.
stefan respecting her choice is stupid he could’ve just unbuckled her seatbelt or something and here’s the difference between stelena and delena all stefan does is respect her choice even if it means she might die all he cares about is her love but damon doesn’t care if elena hates him or not as long as she’s safe like cmon you can’t tell me if the love of ur life was dying u would anything u can to save them and not give a damn about their decision so it’s obviously delena for life are y’all stelena fans blind of something and that’s the whole point of the show at the end you find out that delena has always been the epic love bruh-
I never understood why he didnt just rip her seatbelt in the process. If he couldnt take her with him then he should've stleast helped her. She was concious enough
