Changes: Elena and John

Revision as of 00:06, 17 July 2019

“	It's no easy task, being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I have failed in that task. And, because of my prejudices, I've failed you. I'm haunted by how things may have played out differently, if I'd been more willing to hear your side of things. For me, its the end. For you, a chance to grow old and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. It's for that child, I give you my ring. I don't ask for your forgiveness, or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this: whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same, as I have always loved you, and always will.	”
	— John's goodbye letter to Elena.

The relationship between Elena Gilbert and her biological father John Gilbert.

Elena grew up with the belief that John was her uncle, and eventually discovered his identity as her biological father. She was shown to be one of the few people he genuinely cared for, and though he was raised to hate vampires, his last act was to ensure that Elena knew that he would love her, regardless of whether she were human or a vampire. When he returned to town in the second season, he was intent on protecting her from Klaus. However, he made the mistake of trusting Isobel, when in reality, she had been conpelled into working for Klaus to gain possession of Elena and sacrifice her to break his hybrid curse. Eventually, Elena told John that she would learn not to hate him. After Damon fed Elena his blood to ensure that she would come back to life after being sacrificed, John was intent on making sure his daughter would never become a vampire, and he urges Bonnie to perform a spell which transferred his life force to Elena. When she returned to life as a human, he died, leaving her just a final letter and his Gilbert ring to protect any future children she may have.

Early Life

John dated Isobel as a teenager in Mystic Falls. After discovering she was pregnant, he took her to his brother, Grayson, who was a doctor. Grayson helped Isobel deliver a baby girl, Elena. A few days later, Isobel ran away from home, and John ultimately decided to leave Elena with Grayson and his wife, Miranda; they were both trying to have a baby of their own, but their efforts had not been working up to that point. At age seventeen, Elena was in a car accident with her parents on Wickery Bridge. She managed to survive, thanks to Stefan rescuing her, but both of her adoptive parents died.

Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series

Season One

Elena and Jeremy are shocked when John returned to town shortly after the death of his brother and sister-in-law. Elena confessed to Matt that she never liked John. Damon began to suspect that John may be Elena's biological father. He revealed his suspicions to his brother Stefan, who ultimately chose to tell Elena before she found out a different way. Elena wondered if she should confront John about it and demand to know the truth. When John refused to let Elena help Stefan save Damon from the fire, she coldly told him that he should care about how she feels, as her father. He confirmed that her suspicions were true, and allowed her to go save him. Later, John confessed his true feelings for Isobel, Elena's biological mother, to Katherine, who he believed to be Elena. Katherine attacked him by cutting off his fingers with a butcher knife and stabbing him in the gut. Elena returned home to find him injured just after the attack, and just barely missed an altercation with Katherine herself.

Season Two

Johnhospital — Elena visits John in hospital.

Elena and Stefan visited John in hospital, where he refused to talk to his as long as she continued to have a vampire boyfriend, and suggested that she should have staked him before then. Elena insulted him, and informed him that his hatred of vampires would get him killed. After she left his room, Stefan then threatened to turn him into a vampire if he didn't leave town within 24 hours, for Elena's own wellbeing. She later confessed that she wanted John out of her life for good.

2x13-Daddy-Issues-john-gilbert-19118374-400-225 — John tells Jenna that he's Elena's father.

When Stefan tried to contact Isobel to look for a way to end their problems with Elijah and Klaus, John returned to town instead. Jenna and John argued about his presence in their home, and John ended up revealing that he was Elena's biological father, which was not common knowledge at the time. John used this to his advantage so that Jenna would let him stay with them, despite how much she disliked him. John goes against Elena's wishes and tried to get her to trust Isobel, in hopes of saving her from Klaus. However, Isobel inadvertantly betrayed them by killing John (who was wearing the Gilbert ring) and kidnapping Elena, under Klaus' compulsion. When John woke up, Damon confronted him, but Elena ultimately stopped Damon from hurting John, as she wanted to talk to him herself. John promised that he believed Isobel wanted to help Elena, and sweared that he was shocked by her betrayal. Elena eventually decided to learn not to hate him, as he was her last remaining parent.

After several days of not hearing from Elena, John visited Damon, looking for her. Damon revealed that Klaus had taken her that night for the sacrifice, and added that she would at least return as a vampire, because she had vampire blood in her system. Horrified, John met with Bonnie, Jeremy and Alaric. He informed Bonnie about a spell he found in Johnathan Gilbert's journal, in which he described a spell of Emily Bennett, which transferred one person's life force to someone else, saving their life. He requested that the same spell be done for him and Elena. After Bonnie, Damon and Elijah left, Jeremy realized that in order to transfer a life force to another person, the person donating the life force must die. He asked John if he knew this, and John admitted that he did. He then gave Jeremy his ring and a letter he wrote to give to Elena. When Damon returned with a dead Elena after the sacrifice, John watched as Jeremy and Alaric waited for Damon's verdict. Once he learned that she was both alive and human, John smiled to himself before he walked outside the house and collapsed in the yard, dead.

Before John and Jenna's funeral, Jeremy gave Elena the letter John wrote, and the ring. She read the letter and learned of his sacrifice. She also discovered just how much he truly loved her, despite their differences, as he admitted that he would love her just as much, even if she had become a vampire. Elena later laid a rose on his grave at his funeral.

Season Four

Following Jeremy's death, Elena tearfully listed all the people she had loved and lost who have lived in her house. She mentioned John in that list, and seemed surprised at how much she missed him, too.

Quotes

John: "That means nothing to me."
Elena: "As my father, it should."
John: "You know...?"
Elena: "I wasn't sure... Now, I am."

- Founder's Day.

Elena: "You ruin everything, John. Everything you touch, it just... turns to dust. But you're the only parent I have left. So maybe I could learn... not... to hate you..."
John: "Okay."

- Know Thy Enemy.

Elena: "You may be my father, but I'm never going to be your daughter."

- Daddy Issues

Gallery

Trivia

Elena believed that John was her uncle for most of her life.
- She discovered in Founder's Day that he was her father.
Elena realized in Stand By Me that she did love John, despite everything.
John sacrificed himself for her so she could live as a human.
He wrote her a letter, revealing that despite his hatred for vampires, he would have loved his daughter even if she was one.
John was the second of Elena's birth parents to die.
John wanted to get Elena away from Stefan and Damon because of their vampirism.
John was present during Elena's birth.
Elena is John's only child.
Elena said that she would never be John's daughter in Daddy Issues, but lists him in Stand By Me as one of the people she loved who had died.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Relationship
+|nickname(s) = Johnlena, Elejohn
-|name= Elena and John
+|name = Elena and John
-|image= 2x13-Daddy-Issues-john-gilbert-19118374-400-225.jpg
+|image = Elena_john.gif
-|intimacy level=
+|intimacy levels = Were Family, Biological Father/Daughter; Former Allies, Former Enemies, Frenemies; Loved each other, Elena thought that John was her uncle growing up, Elena resented John for lying to her about her real parents, John tried to look out for Elena before he sacrificed himself for her.
-|first met= When Elena was born
+|first met = When Elena was born
-|started dating=
-|status= Father/Daughter}} {{Character_Quote|Elena,
+|status = Were Family, Father/Daughter; Reunited <small>(In death, in a flashforward.)</small>}}
+{{Character_Quote|It's no easy task, being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I have failed in that task. And, because of my prejudices, I've failed you. I'm haunted by how things may have played out differently, if I'd been more willing to hear your side of things. For me, its the end. For you, a chance to grow old and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. It's for that child, I give you my ring. I don't ask for your forgiveness, or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this: whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same, as I have always loved you, and always will.
+|[[John Gilbert|John]]'s [[Letters|goodbye letter]] to [[Elena Gilbert|Elena]].}}
+'''The relationship between [[Elena Gilbert]] and her biological father [[John Gilbert]]'''.
-Its no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I have failed in that task. And because of my prejudices, I've failed you. I'm haunted by how things may have played out differently, if I'd been more willing to hear your side of things. For me, its the end. For you, a chance to grow old and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. Its for that child I give you my ring. I don't ask for your forgiveness or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this: whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same, as I have always loved you... and always will.
+Elena grew up with the belief that John was her uncle, and eventually discovered his identity as her biological father. She was shown to be one of the few people he genuinely cared for, and though he was raised to hate vampires, his last act was to ensure that Elena knew that he would love her, regardless of whether she were [[human]] or a [[vampire]]. When he returned to [[Mystic Falls|town]] in the [[Season Two|second season]], he was intent on protecting her from [[Niklaus Mikaelson|Klaus]]. However, he made the mistake of trusting [[Isobel Flemming|Isobel]], when in reality, she had been conpelled into working for [[Niklaus Mikaelson|Klaus]] to gain possession of Elena and sacrifice her to break his [[The Hybrid Curse|hybrid curse]]. Eventually, Elena told John that she would learn not to hate him. After Damon fed Elena his blood to ensure that she would come back to life after being sacrificed, John was intent on making sure his daughter would never become a vampire, and he urges [[Bonnie Bennett|Bonnie]] to perform a spell which transferred his life force to Elena. When she returned to life as a human, he died, leaving her just a final [[Letters|letter]] and his Gilbert [[Gilbert Ring|ring]] to protect any future children she may have.
-John|[[John Gilbert|John]]'s [[John's letter|goodbye letter]] to [[Elena Gilbert|Elena]].}}
-'''The relationship between [[John Gilbert]] and [[Elena Gilbert]]'''.
-Elena originally believed that John was her uncle, but eventually discovered he was her biological father. He was shown to genuinely care for her, making her one of the few people. When he returned to [[Mystic Falls|town]], he was intent on protecting her, however trusted [[Isobel Flemming|Isobel]] when she was really working for [[Niklaus Mikaelson|Klaus]]. Eventually, Elena told him she would learn not to hate him, however to protect her from becoming a [[Vampires|vampire]] in the [[The Sacrifice (event)|sacrifice]], he made [[Bonnie Bennett|Bonnie]] perform a spell which transferred his life force to Elena. When she returned to life as a [[Humans|human]], he died, leaving her just a [[John's Letter|letter]] and his [[Gilbert Ring|ring]].
-==Early life==
+==Early Life==
-When John was young he used to date [[Isobel Flemming]] who was an descendant of [[Katherine Pierce]], a [[vampire]] and the first [[Petrova Doppelgänger]]. Later, John discovered she was pregnant and he took her to his older brother [[Grayson Gilbert]] who was a doctor who helped deliver the baby girl. After giving birth, Isobel fled leaving their daughter, Elena, with the Gilberts. John also left Elena, who is the second Petrova doppelgänger, with Miranda and Grayson. Elena had been raised by them, as if she was actually their daughter. In a car accident, [[Miranda Gilbert|Miranda]] and Grayson died, but Elena, who was in the back seat of the car, was saved by [[Stefan Salvatore]] at the request of Grayson who was the only one still conscious. He made Stefan get Elena out before he would accept help himself. When Stefan returns to the car to help Grayson and Miranda however, they were already dead. Grayson and Miranda's deaths hurt Elena a lot, seeing as they brought her up and she believed them to be her birth parents.
+[[John Gilbert|John]] dated [[Isobel Flemming|Isobel]] as a teenager in Mystic Falls. After discovering she was pregnant, he took her to his brother, [[Grayson Gilbert|Grayson]], who was a doctor. Grayson helped Isobel deliver a [[Elena Gilbert|baby girl]], Elena. A few days later, Isobel ran away from home, and John ultimately decided to leave Elena with Grayson and his wife, [[Miranda Sommers Gilbert|Miranda]]; they were both trying to have a baby of their own, but their efforts had not been working up to that point. At age seventeen, Elena was in a car accident with her parents on Wickery Bridge. She managed to survive, thanks to [[Stefan Salvatore|Stefan]] rescuing her, but both of her adoptive parents died.
-==Season 1==
+==Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series==
-In a conversation with [[Matt Donovan|Matt&nbsp;Donovan]], Elena reveals that she never really liked John whom she believes to be her uncle. Elena is hurt and angry when she finds out she is adopted, and in complete shock when Stefan tells her that John might be her father in the season finale. Later, when trying to save [[Damon Salvatore]] from a burning building, she confronts John, saying that "as her father" he should care about how she feels for Stefan. John doesn't seem very surprised that Elena knows of their real biological relation, but still lets her pass to save Damon. After John is stabbed by Katherine, Elena returns home to find him lying on the floor bleeding. She comforts him, telling him everything will be alright.
-==Season 2==
+===[[Season One]]===
+[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] and [[Jeremy Gilbert|Jeremy]] are shocked when [[John Gilbert|John]] returned to [[Mystic Falls|town]] shortly after the death of his brother and sister-in-law. Elena confessed to [[Matt Donovan|Matt]] that she never liked John. [[Damon Salvatore|Damon]] began to suspect that John may be Elena's biological father. He revealed his suspicions to his brother [[Stefan Salvatore|Stefan]], who ultimately chose to tell Elena before she found out a different way. Elena wondered if she should confront John about it and demand to know the truth. When John refused to let Elena help Stefan save Damon from the fire, she coldly told him that he should care about how she feels, as her father. He confirmed that her suspicions were true, and allowed her to go save him. Later, John confessed his true feelings for [[Isobel Flemming|Isobel]], Elena's biological mother, to Katherine, who he believed to be Elena. [[Katerina Petrova|Katherine]] attacked him by cutting off his fingers with a butcher knife and stabbing him in the gut.  Elena returned [[Gilbert House|home]] to find him injured just after the attack, and just barely missed an altercation with Katherine herself.
+===[[Season Two]]===
+[[File:Johndying.jpg|thumb|left|206px|[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] tries to save [[John Gilbert|John]].]]
+[[File:Johnhospital.jpg|thumb|206px|[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] visits [[John Gilbert|John]] in [[Mystic Falls Hospital|hospital]].]]
-[[File:Johndying.jpg|thumb|left|206px|Elena trying to save John.]]John appears more often with an agenda which is to help Elena, to which she replies that she does not want him there and he[[File:Johnhospital.jpg|thumb|206px|Elena seeing how John is.]] should leave [[Mystic Falls]]. Isobel later returns and John, invited back home by Stefan, invites her into the house, making it harder for Elena to trust him. Later, after Elena witnesses Isobel's death by sunlight, John tells Elena that, despite Isobel's cold demeanor, she truly did care for Elena and was upset to leave her with Grayson and Miranda. John gives Elena the option on whether she wants him in her life anymore, saying he will leave her alone if she asks him to. Though Elena points out John's negative traits, she decides to give him a chance, since he is the only parent she has left. They stay in touch afterwards. When Elena is sacrificed in Klaus' ritual, John makes a sacrifice himself. He gets [[Bonnie Bennett]] to cast a spell, linking his life-force with Elena's so she won't become a vampire due to Damon's blood [[File:2x13-Daddy-Issues-john-gilbert-19118374-400-225.jpg|thumb|left|202px|Elena and John Gilbert.]]being in her system. [[Jeremy Gilbert]] asked John if he knew what the consequences of his sacrifice would be, and John said he did. The spell worked and Elena was brought back as a human, but to keep the balance of nature correct, John himself died as a result of the spell. It shows that even if Elena has trouble trusting John, he loves her and is willing to give his life to save hers. He leaves Elena his Gilbert ring for any children she may have in the future; as she is a supernatural occurrence, the Petrova doppelgänger, the ring will not work on her herself, and also a letter which says that he would have loved her as a human or as what he hated the most in the world, a vampire, because she is his daughter.
+[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] and [[Stefan Salvatore|Stefan]] visited [[John Gilbert|John]] in [[Mystic Falls Hospital|hospital]], where he refused to talk to his as long as she continued to have a vampire boyfriend, and suggested that she should have staked him before then. Elena insulted him, and informed him that his hatred of vampires would get him killed. After she left his room, Stefan then threatened to turn him into a [[vampire]] if he didn't leave [[Mystic Falls|town]] within 24 hours, for Elena's own wellbeing. She later confessed that she wanted John out of her life for good.
-John's letter:
+[[File:2x13-Daddy-Issues-john-gilbert-19118374-400-225.jpg|thumb|left|202px|[[John Gilbert|John]] tells [[Jenna Sommers|Jenna]] that he's [[Elena Gilbert|Elena]]'s father.]]
-:''Elena,''
+When Stefan tried to contact [[Isobel Flemming|Isobel]] to look for a way to end their problems with [[Elijah Mikaelson|Elijah]] and Klaus, John returned to town instead. [[Jenna Sommers|Jenna]] and John argued about his presence in their home, and John ended up revealing that he was Elena's biological father, which was not common knowledge at the time. John used this to his advantage so that Jenna would let him stay with them, despite how much she disliked him. John goes against Elena's wishes and tried to get her to trust Isobel, in hopes of saving her from [[Niklaus Mikaelson|Klaus]]. However, Isobel inadvertantly betrayed them by killing John (who was wearing the Gilbert ring) and kidnapping Elena, under Klaus' compulsion. When John woke up, [[Damon Salvatore|Damon]] confronted him, but Elena ultimately stopped Damon from hurting John, as she wanted to talk to him herself. John promised that he believed Isobel wanted to help Elena, and sweared that he was shocked by her betrayal. Elena eventually decided to learn not to hate him, as he was her last remaining parent.
-:''It's no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I have failed in that task. And because'' [[File:Johnletter.jpg|thumb|204px|[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] reads John's letter.]] ''of my prejudices, I've failed you. I'm haunted by how things may have played out differently, if I'd been more willing to hear your side of things. For me, it's the end. For you, a chance to grow old and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. It's for that child I give you my ring.''
+[[File:Johnletter.jpg|thumb|204px|[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] reads [[John Gilbert|John]]'s [[Letters|letter]].]]
-:''I don't ask for your forgiveness or for you to forget. I ask only that you'll believe this: Whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same, as I have always loved you and always will.''
+After several days of not hearing from Elena, John visited Damon, looking for her. Damon revealed that Klaus had taken her that night for the [[The Sacrifice (event)|sacrifice]], and added that she would at least return as a vampire, because she had vampire [[blood]] in her system. Horrified, John met with [[Bonnie Bennett|Bonnie]], [[Jeremy Gilbert|Jeremy]] and [[Alaric Saltzman|Alaric]]. He informed Bonnie about a spell he found in [[Gilbert Journals|Johnathan Gilbert's journal]], in which he described a spell of [[Emily Bennett]], which transferred one person's life force to someone else, saving their life. He requested that the same spell be done for him and Elena. After Bonnie, Damon and [[Elijah Mikaelson|Elijah]] left, Jeremy realized that in order to transfer a life force to another person, the person donating the life force must die. He asked John if he knew this, and John admitted that he did. He then gave Jeremy his [[Gilbert Ring|ring]] and a [[Letters|letter]] he wrote to give to Elena. When Damon returned with a dead Elena after the sacrifice, John watched as Jeremy and Alaric waited for Damon's verdict. Once he learned that she was both alive and human, John smiled to himself before he walked outside the house and collapsed in the yard, dead.
-:''John''
+Before John and Jenna's funeral, Jeremy gave Elena the letter John wrote, and the ring. She read the letter and learned of his sacrifice. She also discovered just how much he truly loved her, despite their differences, as he admitted that he would love her just as much, even if she had become a vampire. Elena later laid a rose on his grave at his funeral.
-John's funeral is attended by the two surviving members of the Gilbert family, Elena and Jeremy, and also by [[Alaric Saltzman|Alaric&nbsp;Saltzman]], Stefan, Damon, [[Caroline Forbes]], and Bonnie. Elena lays a single red rose on his grave, as well as one on [[Jenna Sommers|Jenna]]'s grave and two more by the gravestone for Grayson and Miranda.
+===[[Season Four]]===
+Following [[Jeremy Gilbert|Jeremy]]'s death, [[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] tearfully listed all the people she had loved and lost who have lived in her [[Gilbert House|house]]. She mentioned [[John Gilbert|John]] in that list, and seemed surprised at how much she missed him, too.
 ==Quotes==
+*'''[[John Gilbert|John]]''': "''That means nothing to me.''"
+*'''[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]]''': "''As my father, it should.''"
+*'''[[John Gilbert|John]]''': "''You know...?''"
+*'''[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]]''': "''I wasn't sure... Now, I am.''"
+:- ''[[Founder's Day]]''.
+*'''[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]]''': "''You ruin everything, John. Everything you touch, it just... turns to dust. But you're the only parent I have left. So maybe I could learn... not... to hate you...''"
+*'''[[John Gilbert|John]]''': "''Okay.''"
+:- ''[[Know Thy Enemy]].''
+*[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]]: "You may be my father, but I'm never going to be your daughter."
+:- ''[[Daddy Issues]]''
 ==Gallery==
+<gallery>
-<gallery type="slideshow" position="center" widths="500">
-x13-Daddy-Issues-john-gilbert-19118374-400-225.jpg|'''Elena and John'''
+x13-Daddy-Issues-john-gilbert-19118374-400-225.jpg
+John_and_Elena.jpeg
-Elena e Jonh 2x21.jpg|'''Elena and John'''
+Johnlena.jpeg
-Jonh and Elena Gilbert.jpg|'''John and Elena'''
+-190~Elena-John-Afterlife.png
-tumblr_ljc40pdRDT1qfw4q0o1_500.gif|'''John and Elena'''
+-191~Elena-John-Afterlife.png
+-193-Elena-Jenna-John-Grayson-Miranda-Afterlife.png
+-194~Elena~Jenna~John~Grayson~Miranda-Gilbert_House-Afterlife.png
 </gallery>
 ==Trivia==
-*For most of Elena's life she thought John was her uncle. Grayson and Miranda were unaware of Elena's biological father.
+*[[Elena Gilbert|Elena]] believed that [[John Gilbert|John]] was her uncle for most of her life.
+**She discovered in ''[[Founder's Day]]'' that he was her father.
-*At the end of Season Two, Elena and John end their relationship on good terms as he dies so she will not become a vampire.
-*In ''Stand by Me'', Elena admits she misses John, something she herself is surprised by.
+*Elena realized in ''[[Stand By Me]]'' that she did love John, despite everything.
+*John sacrificed himself for her so she could live as a human.
+*He wrote her a letter, revealing that despite his hatred for vampires, he would have loved his daughter even if she was one.
+*John was the second of Elena's birth parents to die.
+*John wanted to get Elena away from [[Stefan and Damon]] because of their vampirism.
+*John was present during Elena's birth.
+*Elena is John's only child.
+*Elena said that she would never be John's daughter in ''[[Daddy Issues]]'', but lists him in ''[[Stand By Me]]'' as one of the people she loved who had died.
 ==See also==
@@ Line 52: / Line 79: @@
 [[Category:Relationships]]
 [[Category:Family Relationship]]
+[[Category:Enemy Relationship]]
+[[Category:Friendly Relationship]]