‘Vampire Diaries’ Season 5 Spoilers: Who Died And Who Returned From The Dead? Season Finale Recap

The Season 5 Finale, episode 22, kicked off with Caroline crying over Stefan’s body -- and Elena and Damon discovering that he died. But there is no time to cry. With the Other Side crumbling, the trio resolves to bring him back.

However in usual “Vampire Diaries” fashion, danger is lurking around every corner. As Stefan watches Damon, Caroline and Elena wrap up his body to take him somewhere safe, the powerful wind from the Other Side threatens to take him into the abyss. But Stefan’s got a guardian angel – Lexi! His dead BFF vamp saves him once again, grabbing him before the wind can take him away.

As the two old friends catch up, Damon confronts Bonnie about her plan falling through. Fortunately Enzo has a back up – they just need a witch to do the spell. Time to queue Liv and Luke, who are fleeing town after their murder attempt. No one can outrun the Mystic Falls vamps though. With Stefan’s life on the line, Elena and Caroline stop the witches in their tracks. However they’re not willing to help them because the Travelers will just restart the spell when Stefan comes back. Elena tries to explain that they’re going to kill the Travelers, but Luke tells them that they can’t risk it. And that leads Caroline to quicken the process of getting them onboard … by snapping Luke’s neck.

“Your brother is officially on the other side,” Caroline tells Liv. “Think you can risk it now?”

That’s just the motivation that Liv needs to help the gang out. But they still need to figure out a way to kill the Travelers – and that’s where Sheriff Forbes comes into play. Evacuating the town after a suspected gas leak, she’s forced to watch the Travelers spell work its magic on Tyler/Julian. And it’s just as horrifying as you’d expect. Crossing the border into the town, Tyler first loses his hybrid side and then his vampirism … before having his neck snap.

Not willing to risk losing her daughter, Sheriff Forbes teams up with the gang to gather all the Travelers in one place so that they can be killed at the same time. So, what’s the plan? It’s called “Project Boom” and requires the Travelers to gather at the Grill … where a massive gas explosion will take their lives and start the resurrection of their loved ones.

As everyone gets Project Boom in place, Lexi and Stefan go searching for Alaric on the Other Side. And it’s during their quality BFF time that Lexi brings up the conversation that every Caroline and Stefan shipper has been hoping for. Stefan tries to play off his feelings for “Blondie,” but now the wheels are turning on that relationship.

While they don’t find Alaric, Bonnie and Enzo find someone else – Silas! Turns out that Silas is part of Enzo’s grand plan. Since Silas was once a Traveler (and desperately wants to come back to life) he agrees to teach Bonnie the spell to bring everyone back. And Bonnie allows him to teach her the spell – however when the wind comes she lets Silas get taken off into the sky.

With Bonnie now comfortable with the spell, all that’s left is setting off the explosion … and Damon is the trigger. Needless to say, Elena is not happy. But upon learning of his sacrifice, the two have an emotional heart-to-heart.

“I will make it back to you,” Damon says kissing her. “I promise you.”

But Elena’s stubborn, and when the time comes for Damon to drive his car into the Grill, Elena hops into the passengers seat. Driving straight into the Grill, the building explodes – killing Damon and Elena as well.

Liv starts the spell to bring everyone back, but gathering everyone proves to be a problem. For starters, Grams refuses to pass through Bonnie. Instead she tells her granddaughter that she found peace on the Other Side because she made sure that Bonnie would find hers. Bonnie is confused, but there is no time to dwell on it because everyone is arriving to pass through.

Markos and the Travelers pass through Bonnie, and Markos promises her that he’ll return again. But not if everyone can help it.

When Elena awakes on the Other Side she’s greeted by Alaric, but Damon is missing. Although desperate to search for Damon, Alaric forces her to find Bonnie and promises he’ll search for Damon. And he does – but Damon’s more worried about making sure that Sheriff Forbes is okay than returning to Bonnie.

“Friendly advice,” Alaric offers his old drinking pal. “When you finally get the girl, don’t blow her up.”

The gang’ is waiting for Damon to arrive, but Luke warns that they have to move now because of Liv. Luke makes the first move when everyone refuses to, and does his best to convince Liv to stop the magic. But Liv doesn’t want to go back on her word.

With their lives still at risk, Enzo passes through next and Tyler follows shortly after. However he gets a surprise when he returns to the living – he’s no longer a hybrid.

Meanwhile Elena, Stefan and Lexi are refusing to pass through Bonnie without Damon.

“I cant leave without him,” Elena cries. But Bonnie grabs Elena and forces her through. Stefan tries to convince Lexi to pass through next but she refuses as well. And before Stefan can make her go, he accidentally touches Bonnie.

“Bonnie this is killing you, isn’t it?” Lexi questions her as they wait for Damon.

“I can hold on,” Bonnie promises. “I have to.”

And that’s just what Markos wants. The Traveler leader appears before Bonnie, but before he can pass through he’s attacked by Lexi. With the wind rising again, Lexi pushes him into it, and Markos disappears for good.

Lexi tells Bonnie that she’s not going through at all, and finds peace with her decision to let Stefan get his brother back.

But Stefan doesn’t get Damon back. Luke stops Liv’s magic before Damon can get through. Elena runs to find Liv, but Bonnie tells her that it’s too late.

Elena begins to cry, and Bonnie tells her that Damon is there for her to say goodbye.

“Please don’t leave me,” Elena sobs. And even though she can’t hear Damon, he tells her that he has no choice.

“You are by far the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my 173 years on Earth,” he tells her. “I love you, Elena.”

As Elena cries for him to come back to her, Stefan’s in shock over the loss of Damon.

“Damon finally had everything he wanted,” he tells Caroline. “He was happy. He should be here.”

But what everyone doesn’t know is that they’re about to lose Bonnie as well. Bonnie breaks the news to Jeremy, and he rushes to be at her side. However it’s too late. With the Other Side going down, Damon and Bonnie grab hands and prepare themselves … and the screen goes white.

What did you think of the Season 5 finale of “The Vampire Diaries”? Let us know in the comments section or send a tweet to @AmandaTVScoop.