<P> Carrie Raisler from The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+ rating saying that having The Sun Also Rises as the penultimate episode of the season was a big risk since the epic confrontation paid off all of the fan anticipation before the finale . "Although not everything in the finale worked, there was a heck of a lot of good . (...) Overall, I think this was a really good episode of The Vampire Diaries, if not quite as powerful as last season's finale or even last week's episode . There are two main ways to approach a finale: the wrap up or the set up . This, unquestionably, was a set up episode, which makes perfect sense considering the show thrives on forward momentum ." </P> <P> Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic rated the episode with 5 / 5 saying that the season finale was all about choice . "And the answer (to how Damon would be saved) was an exchange I never saw coming, just one of many choices that highlighted "As I Lay Dying ." " </P> <P> Robin Franson Pruter from Forced Viewing rated the episode with 4 / 4 saying that it was another excellent season finale . "What makes The Vampire Diaries a strong show is that the characters don't seem as if they're being manipulated by a behind the scenes puppet - master to create drama . The drama stems naturally from the characters themselves . (...) The Vampire Diaries also manages to maintain its premise without becoming stale . The love triangle is still there, but, with Stefan as a Ripper, the dynamics will be different . Consistently having character - driven plots and keeping a premise fresh are two qualities great shows often fail at achieving . That The Vampire Diaries does show these qualities is rarely appreciated ." </P> <P> Diana Steenbergen of IGN rated the episode with 9 / 10 saying that the episode seemed almost calm compared to last week's . "To judge just by the death count would be a mistake however; the bombs that were dropped in the season finale may not have resulted in any (permanent) deaths, but the consequences promise to be far - reaching ." </P>

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