All of you see/look at the whole situation as some kind of a mercy death or whatever, like she was dying from a terrible diseases/illness or she was hooked to a machines, and what he did was respect/honor her dying wish sorry guys that was NOT the situation at all far from it Elena was in perfect health the only thing that was killing her was lack of air/oxygen that’s it, he had a choice because unless Elena had some super power that we all didn’t know about or missed that prevented him from saving her he had a choice to save her.
Elena from since S1,S2 tried a lot of times to give her life up/sacrifice herself so that people she loves won’t give up their own lives and if it wasn’t for both of the Salvatore brothers, her friends and family she would have died a long time ago because when it comes to her loved ones Elena she doesn’t think rationally she doesn’t consider all of her options she just rush in to save them, Damon think of the best plan to save the people she loves and keep them alive at the same time (if it’s possible to do both, but when he’s cornered to choice between them or her he ALWAYS choose to save Elena) like what he did in 2x18 with the whole faking boonies’ death, and in 2x20 when jumped Tyler to save Caroline & matt from a possible werewolf bit and gave matt the wooden bullets so they can defend themselves from werewolf Tyler.
You want talk about respecting decisions/choices or life style, well how about the time “saint” Stefan, Damon, and the rest of the gang (Caroline, Jeremy, bonnie, Alaric) planed on killing Katherine without telling Elena in 2x07, now I know a lot of you would say Damon didn’t tell Elena and made the decision for her but guess what “saint” Stefan was/is her boyfriend and he KEPT IT from her, he DIDN’T even mentation it to her about it because he knew that he would ACTUALLY HAVE to make the decision for HER that he would HAVE to make her stay home while him, Damon, and her friends would risk their lives taking down Katherine, he knew that she would want to be part of the plan that’s why he told Alaric to keep her at home, doesn’t that sound like controlling her decisions and NOT RESPECTING them? Yes it does because it is, “saint” Stefan just didn’t have the guts to do it himself or how about the time Elena asked Caroline to distract “saint” Stefan so she can go and talk to Katherine in 2x09, AGAIN Elena knew “saint” Stefan would never approve so she sent a distraction (Caroline) like he did (Alaric) and the mint “saint” Stefan respecting stupid decisions vampire learned about what she was doing he went to STOP HER, is that “RESPECTING” her decisions NO MATTER WHAT?? Um… how about a BIG NO, or how about the time Elena went behind “saint” Stefan and Damon’s back in 2x10 and offered herself to vampires who were going to deliver her to Klaus, she didn’t let anyone know. Avoiding big decisions that both of them disagreed on is NOT RESPECTING her decisions, is being too much of a cowered to actually stand up to the person you love when they are wrong or making rash decisions, is actually DISRESPECTFUL, that you even have enough respect or guts to disagree with the person you love.
Since we are talking about “saint” Stefan being team “respecting decisions” of that people he loves and all, then how come “saint” Stefan back 1864 did NOT respect his brother’s decision to keep Katherine’s secret a secret?? (He went to their father and gave enough hints about Katherine) Or Damon’s decision of not becoming a vampire after he thought Katherine was “dead”?? How come “saint” Stefan team “respecting decisions” did NOT respect his brother decision to stay low and stop killing council members, to keep both of them safe?? how come “Saint” Stefan didn’t respect Damon’s decision to kill himself in 2x22 when he was ACTUALLY dying from something as far as both of them knew there’s wasn’t a cure for, instead he locked Damon up and made suffer a very painful dying process that as far as “saint” Stefan knew there’s wasn’t a anything he can do. How come he did NOT respect Damon’s decision not to tell Elena about him dying?
The REAL reason “saint” Stefan LET Elena die was NOT about “respecting” her decision far from it. The reason is he doesn’t want her to hate him, the idea of her hating him for not saving her friend and being blamed for his death is too much for him, he did NOT save her for his own selfish reasons, the same thing he did to Damon in 1864 when he turned him into a vampire AGAINST his well, he did it for his own sake and not for anyone else sack, “yeah but she would be alive, and she hate me thus the eternal difference between you and me brother” - Damon to “satin” Stefan about Elena 3x22. Damon is welling to live with her hating him, he doesn’t care about the damage it might cause to their relationship as long as she’s alive, safe and happy (she would be happy because she still have Jeremy, Caroline, bonnie, ”saint ”Stefan) and if you going to start about the things “Saint” Stefan did this season to make her stop looking for him or hate him, none of it worked because Elena like all the others excused because first he was compelled then after he was free he didn’t want to feel the pain, everyone excused for his actions because he “wasn’t himself” or whatever CRAP but now that he’s back to “real, good” “saint” Stefan, Elena would never excuse him and she would hate him if he didn’t save matt. Please don’t try justifying “saint” Stefan not saving Elena as some kind of heroic or respecting her decision or whatever CRAP, it’s really simple you love someone more than yourself you do EVERYTING to SAVE her/his life and keep her/him safe.
Here’ some other examples from other TV shows, that really shows you the meaning of loving someone truly loving them and doing EVERYTHING to SAVE them NO MATTERWHAT their decisions are:
1- In GA (grey’s anatomy), when izzie singed a DNR ( DO NOT RESUSCITATE) contract so if something does go wrong, the doctors are NOT ALLOWED to RESUSCITATE/not save the patient life, specifying the patient wishes/decisions, but the mint she stopped breathing, Alex her husband (who is a doctor himself who understand all about the DNR she singed) called a code blue and tried to RESUSCITATE her/SAVE her life.
2- In supernatural, when dean was sent back to the past to understand what happened and he saw an opportunity to save his parents he was going to try and save them even if it meant saving their lives the death of 100+ people “you realize if you do alter the future, your father, you, Sam will never become hunters and all those people you saved they’ll die” – castile, “ I realize”- dean, “and you don’t care”- castile, “oh I care, I care a lot but these are my parents I’m not goanna let them die again I can’t, not if I can stop it”- dean 4x03
3- Smallville, when Lana died in 5x12 Clark, rewind the time just to save her, no matter what the consciousness were.
4- In H5-O, chin had to choose to either save his wife’s life or his favorite cousin’s life, and he choose to save his wife’s life 2x23
5- In charmed, by the end of S3 both piper & prue were dying and Leo came too late, he only could one of them, and even though he loved prue as his sister in law and as his charge to save and protect, he saved his wife “you saved because I’m your wife” piper to Leo 4x01
6- Prison break, well I don’t I need to explain this one he (Michael) did everything possible to save his brother’s life things that went against his own nature, even though his brother gave up and accepted his fate.
The point is simple enough you love someone, you do everything in your power to save them not matter what they say or want, don’t try to make it/justify what “saint” Stefan did as a “noble thing” or having “respect” or being selfless or whatever, because he was being selfish he cared more about her love for him more than her life it’s simple as that. And as for it being Rebekah’s fault she called “saint” Stefan before she caused the accident, yes she caused but guess what she wasn’t the person in under the water and who had the choice to save Elena or matt, and as far as the whole blaming Meredith thing goes (which is ridiculous) she’s the ONLY reason Elena is still alive right now, if she hadn’t given her vampire blood earlier she would be dead not because of the accident but because “saint” Stefan did NOT SAVE her, Elena was still alive after the accident until “saint” Stefan left her to die alone.
3 more things I would like to point out:
1- Why didn’t “saint” Stefan just unbuckle her seat belt? Instead of wasting time arguing with her
2- Damon was 10o miles away fighting a vampire 10 times stronger than him and the idea/remembering Elena gave him the well to fight back, “saint” Stefan was face, face with her yet somehow he couldn’t find the well/determination to save her first what does that tell you?
3- when “saint” Stefan was with Klaus all summer long (2 moths),and during his compelled period (2 weeks or 1 moth) and then during his revenge I don’t care about anything or anyone period (2 moths or however long it was) Damon was able to save Elena from hybrids, original vampires, Klaus trying to steal her blood 3x05……and so on, all this time/all that long no matter how hard the situations got he was able to keep her safe and protected, but “saint” Stefan couldn’t even keep Elena alive for 24 hour, and couldn’t save her life from a drowning what does that tell you??
one last thing i would like to add i find really funny that the fans are welling to blame "saint" stefan for matt's death if he didn't save him and yet somehow they don't blame him for elena's death we all know that elena would have blamed him if he didn't save matt.
Tyler woke up and found himself chained onto a chair. “What the hell?”
“Oh, no, not hell. Heaven. That’s where you’ll soon be” a voice said. A voice that sounded horribly familiar. A shadow came over Tyler and Klaus came in vision.
“Seriously? You again? If I wanted to see your ugly face again I would’ve given you a call” Tyler said annoyed. Being imprisoned by Klaus was getting really old. “Look, whatever you want with me, can you just get it over with already?”
“Oh, but of course” Klaus said. He bit his wrist and forced Tyler to drink his blood. Then he grabbed Tyler’s neck and snapped it.
“And now we wait” Klaus said.
“Oh, no, not hell. Heaven. That’s where you’ll soon be” a voice said. A voice that sounded horribly familiar. A shadow came over Tyler and Klaus came in vision.
“Seriously? You again? If I wanted to see your ugly face again I would’ve given you a call” Tyler said annoyed. Being imprisoned by Klaus was getting really old. “Look, whatever you want with me, can you just get it over with already?”
“Oh, but of course” Klaus said. He bit his wrist and forced Tyler to drink his blood. Then he grabbed Tyler’s neck and snapped it.
“And now we wait” Klaus said.
Damon tried to open his eyes, but the vervain burned too painful. Now he had lost his sight he had to count on his hearing. And Bonnie gladly took advantage of that. She slowly step around Damon, waiting a few seconds after each step.
“What are you doing?” Damon asked anxious.
But Bonnie didn’t answer.
She held a horn in her hands and held it right next to Damon’s ear.
“What are you doing?” Damon repeated. He tried to feel where Bonnie was with his free hand.
Bonnie grabbed his hand and turned it on his back, until she felt it break. While Damon cried she pressed the horn, which drowned his voice.
“What are you doing?” Damon asked anxious.
But Bonnie didn’t answer.
She held a horn in her hands and held it right next to Damon’s ear.
“What are you doing?” Damon repeated. He tried to feel where Bonnie was with his free hand.
Bonnie grabbed his hand and turned it on his back, until she felt it break. While Damon cried she pressed the horn, which drowned his voice.
