With old-fashioned romance rather scarce in American TV shows these days (sometimes it feels like an endangered species), I have been pleasantly surprised with the love story being told between Bonnie and Enzo on The Vampire Diaries. Sure, they needed more development last season instead of a surprise reveal, but in the show’s final season this couple is totally hitting it out of the park.
Bonnie and Enzo
Bonnie and Enzo are both characters given second-hand treatment, whether through the writers or the characters themselves. Enzo and Michael Malarky’s talent was wasted in stories like loving Lily or following the last Salvatore girl around to annoy Stefan (this one makes me shudder at the pointlessness), but that all changed when the writers focused more on his development. He’s the character always abandoned. He is an orphan who has no one. And as a vampire with the last name St. John, we had to know Enzo was destined for romantic greatness (Mick, I’m fondly thinking of you…).
Photo: CBS
Then there was Bonnie: always doing everything for others like a doormat. All in the name of helping her friends (who rarely ever think of her first), Bonnie suffers and also loses the people she loves. Her grandmother, Jeremy (who let’s not forget treated Bonnie as 2nd choice compared to Anna), her mother (who was turned into a vampire), her father, her best friend Elena, and now Damon. Whenever her friends called, it was because they needed favors. But then she got to know Enzo and thanks to his suave romantic style, he wins her over with guitar playing and true consideration for her feelings. Most importantly, Enzo always puts Bonnie first. He will always do anything to save her.
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Unfortunately for this happy pair, the siren Sybil gets in the way and places Enzo under her mystical control. He must do as she commands, killing several in his wake. But his love for Bonnie keeps him from truly losing himself. He fights the control, sending messages for Bonnie to find him. Even under Sybil’s spell, his love for Bonnie is stronger. Sadly, Sybil discovers Enzo’s romance and attempts to have Damon (who is also under Sybil’s control) take Bonnie out. When Damon can’t, Sybil wonders what it is about Bonnie that makes these two men care so much.
Out of revenge, she forces Bonnie to choose between Damon and Enzo. Who will she save from hell? As much as Bonnie loves Damon, she chooses Enzo because no one else ever would. She can’t leave him. But their love story hits another snag when Bonnie’s life is again in danger. To save Bonnie, Enzo turns off his humanity to more fully be under Sybil’s power.
The Romantic Moment
Now it is up to Bonnie to once more save the man she loves. She must get him to turn his humanity switch back on. Bonnie takes him to the cabin where they first fell in love but nothing works, so she takes drastic measures and sets the cabin on fire. Magically sealed in, there is no escape for Enzo and Bonnie refuses to leave him.
“I’m not leaving you,” Bonnie tells Enzo over and over. She will never abandon him like all those who have abandoned him in the past. Enzo claims he doesn’t care even as the smoke begins to enter Bonnie’s lungs. He asks for her last words, and again she says slowly and in between breaths: “I’m not leaving you.”
And then she collapses to the floor. Enzo can’t lose the woman he loves, the one person who will never leave him, and so Bonnie’s plan succeeds. He turns on his humanity, his face full of emotion, and carries her to safety.
However, Enzo can’t leave the compound. Magic keeps him from leaving. While he could throw Bonnie out of the fire, he can’t leave. The flames fully raging, he tells Bonnie it’s his time to go. He doesn’t want her to put her life in danger by returning to the fire.
“You love me more than anyone. It’s enough.”
With determination to not lose Enzo, Bonnie once again tells him that she’s not leaving him and runs into the fire to end the spell. Once ended, Enzo rushes Bonnie out of the fire. The two are finally safe and in each others’ arms.
“I’m okay now,” Bonnie tells Enzo.
“You’re stuck with me forever. Cause I’m never leaving.” Of course, the scene ends with a kiss…
While I’m sure Bonnie and Enzo aren’t the most popular pairing on The Vampire Diaries, what I love about these two is that their love feels pure. Their story feels fresh and romantic with scenes of dancing, emotional connections, and sweeping saves that showcase their intense love for one another as opposed to lust. Furthermore, Bonnie and Enzo aren’t about shipping but about true love. I believe Bonnie will never leave Enzo just as I believe Enzo’s feelings will never change course just because the writers fear to tell their story. In a show full of death and hopelessness, I’m hoping for at least one happily ever after for the two characters always treated as secondary. I’m hoping that their choice to never leave one another will allow them to be together forever.
What did you think of this romantic moment between Bonnie and Enzo? Sound off below…
Photos: CW
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