“ | You need to get out of here, Tyler. You need to figure out what it is you want to do, who you want to be, and then just really fight for it. You're gonna be fine, Tyler. You're a wolf now. Embrace it. Don't fight it. Let it be the thing that makes you extraordinary. | ” |
— Elena to Tyler in I'm Thinking Of You All The While
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The relationship between the cured vampire/human doppelgänger, Elena Gilbert and the werewolf, Tyler Lockwood.
They are known as "Tylena" by fans.
Early History[]
Elena and Tyler presumably met sometime during their childhood. They are both members of the Founding Families of Mystic Falls, Tyler belonging to the Lockwood family and Elena belonging the Gilbert family. They both went to Mystic Falls High School together. They are long time friends and were classmates.
Throughout The Vampire Diaries[]
Season One[]
Tyler and Elena attended the same school together, and despite being friends, their relationship could be seen as strained as Tyler continuously fought with Elena's brother Jeremy.
In The Night of the Comet, Tyler and Elena with their other friends are seated in Mystic Grill together. When Jeremy storms to the table, Tyler makes a comment about his drug use, which suddenly peaks Elena's interest. She's not too happy.
In Friday Night Bites, Tyler and Matt are discussing Elena and Stefan's budding relationship in which Tyler vehemently tells Matt "she made the wrong choice" since she broke up with him, before trying to embarrass Stefan by tossing the football at him, to which he catches, much to Tyler, Matt and Elena's disbelief. After Tyler and Jeremy are caught brawling again after the football game, Elena tries to stop Jeremy from attacking Tyler with a broken glass bottle. Just before the Founders' Party and Heritage Display, Tyler arrives at the Gilbert home to collect a box for his mother in which Elena has to break up a potential fight between her brother and Tyler once again before telling him to leave.
In Family Ties, Tyler shows up at the Gilbert House to retrieve something for his mother. Although Jeremy opens the door initially and tries to slam the door in his face, Elena shows up and hands over the 'box of stuff' and pleads for him to be careful with it. Jeremy butts in and before they can have another quarrel, Elena tells them both to behave and then turns to Tyler once more before telling him to inform his mom that she'll be seeing her that night.
Season Two[]
In Crying Wolf, Tyler texts Elena from Caroline's phone to find her whereabouts so Jules and the other werewolves could find her. However, once he finds out that to break the curse, they would have to kill Elena, Tyler has a change of heart. He apologizes to her and shares that he 'doesn't want to be like this anymore' and they embrace, with her telling him that it's okay.
Season Three[]
In The Birthday, Elena, Tyler and Caroline are all at the Salvatore Boarding House, setting up for Elena's birthday bash as they discuss Damon's possible disinterest in finding Stefan. Tyler states that Damon possibly doesn't want to find him because he's into Elena. Elena, however, is sure Damon wants to find him. The conversation comes to an abrupt stop though, when Tyler brings up that Elena kissed him, leaving Caroline mortified considering she told Tyler. Elena then assures Tyler it was a goodbye kiss because she thought he was going to die and he shrugs.
In The Hybrid, Elena meets up with Tyler at Mystic Grill to get information on werewolves and the full moon. As he pulls up a map on Elena's phone to find a possible area Stefan and Klaus could be, she thanks him for helping her out, and he explains that he owes her one for supposedly 'putting Stefan in this mess.'
In The Reckoning, Elena and Tyler are Mystic Falls High School, helping out with the senior prank when Klaus shows up to find Elena still alive.
He informs the group that whenever he attempts to turn a werewolf into a hybrid, they die during transition. Then, in order to get Bonnie to figure out a way to fix his predicament, he feeds Tyler his blood and breaks his neck. Elena gasps in horror as she watches and later tries to assure Bonnie and Matt that he'll wake up and turn into a vampire. Later, after Klaus compels Stefan to turn off his humanity and feeds from Elena, Klaus feeds Tyler her blood and realizes her blood is the key to making hybrids.
In Before Sunset, after Klaus flees the high school with Elena, he has compelled nurses to drain her of her blood so he can kill her and still be able to make hybrids. Tyler later walks in on this and is mortified. He attempts to rescue her but Klaus demands him to get more blood bags. So Klaus doesn't know he's no longer sired to him, he leaves. Later, when Klaus leaves, Tyler sneaks back in and unties her. Klaus, however, is watching this and is none too pleased. Tyler sticks up for himself though and continues to try to help Elena, but Klaus knocks her over and then attempts to kill Tyler until Damon and Stefan show up. At the end of the episode, Elena returns to home to find her friends in her kitchen, throwing a 'victory party' since Klaus has been put down. She thanks Tyler for standing up to Klaus and he says it was a long time coming. The group then toast to a 'Klaus-free life' and Elena refers to the group as her family before they celebrate together.
Season Four[]
In We'll Always Have Bourbon Street, Tyler and Elena are in the woods, searching for Caroline since Kim and the other hybrids have kidnapped her to 'prove she's the alpha.' Tyler is frustrated as to why the hybrids won't submit to him considering how much they hate Klaus. He tells her that the sire bond doesn't affect how one feels, only how they act. Elena has an epiphany at this. Later, when they find Caroline, Elena and Tyler are forced to fall witness to watching Kim attempt to kill Caroline. Elena, however, speaks up and informs her that if she wants to get back at Klaus, kill her. Kim is about to until Tyler breaks free and grabs Kim, plunging his hand into her. He tells the hybrids that if they attack, he'll rip out her heart, but goes on to inform them that he won't kill Kim because he's not Klaus and won't kill and torture his friends to get what he wants. Elena watches as the hybrids then submit to Tyler.
Season Five[]
In The Devil Inside, Tyler finds out that Caroline slept with Klaus and mentions all of the horrible things Klaus has done to everyone, including the killing of Jenna Sommers, Elena's aunt.
In Gone Girl, Tyler finds out that Katherine has been possessing Elena's body and isn't pleased, asking how to kill her so they can get Elena back.
In Rescue Me, Tyler, along with Matt, find out from Damon, how intimate the relationship between Elena and Damon really is.
In What Lies Beneath, Julian gains full control of Tyler's possessed body, much like Katherine did to Elena earlier in the season.
In Home, both are resurrected, while Elena remains a vampire Tyler returns as a untriggered werewolf.
Season Six[]
In I'll Remember, Elena and Caroline are talking on the phone, Elena is trying to convince Caroline to go to Tyler's football game, then Tyler shows up next to Elena and tells Caroline that she's going.
Later on in the episode, Caroline tells Tyler (via phone) about the fact that Luke is giving Elena witch drugs, Tyler asks if Elena is okay, clearly showing that he cares about her, and he tells Caroline that he will sort it out. He is angry and looks for Luke, who comes up to him asking if he's seen Elena. Tyler confronts him and since he is now a human with the wolf gene, he can't control his anger, so he starts choking Luke until Alaric interferes.
In Welcome to Paradise, Tyler meets Elena and Caroline in the woods, a place where they would go when they were younger and would get drunk while their parents were grilling, Elena offers him a shot but he tells her no because he's trying to control his anger and alcohol would only make it worse but Elena still wants to, so her and Caroline take shots while Tyler and Matt watch ,he and Matt then leave.
In "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" Tyler calls Elena telling her that his truck was ran off the road and that he was the one who was driving uncontrollably through the corn maze, Tyler also tells her that he ran someone over and that if she doesn't get there in time to helpthen he will die. Then Elena tells him that
he drove right through the maze and that there are injured people everywhere, she then tells him to hold on while she goes to find Jo. Elena finds Jo and she tells her that Tyler needs her help, Jo tells him that the guy is about to die.
In Fade Into You They attend "friendsgiving" in the dorms, Elena notices strange behavior Liv and asks Tyler that was wrong with her, but Tyler shrugs. during this time they learned that Liv, Luke, and Jo are siblings.
In I'm Thinking Of You All The While, Tyler is at the Salvatore Boarding House to say goodbye to Elena. In the vision, Tyler and Elena are somewhere away from Mystic Falls. Elena tells Tyler to leave town and find out what he wants to do in his life. She tells him to explore his wolf side and keep fighting for it. She tells him to let his wolf side turn him into something extraordinary.
Quotes[]
Elena (to Tyler): "Bonnie says no luck with the locater spell."
Tyler (to Elena): "They've got to be here. They're not dumb enough to risk getting caught by Klaus in town."
Elena (to Tyler): "Well, what do they want with Caroline?"
Tyler (to Jules): "That's Elena Gilbert. You know her? I've known her my whole life."
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Nina Dobrev and Michael Trevino who plays Elena and Tyler respectively, are really good friends in real life.
- Elena and Tyler have both lost everyone in their family.
- Elena lost both of her adoptive parents prior to the series' start, and lost her biological parents in season 2. Tyler's father died in the season 1 finale, and his mother, Carol Lockwood in season 4.
- Elena lost her aunt, and Tyler lost his uncle in season 2.
- In season 2, Tyler is looked out for by Jules after leaving home with her, and in season 3, Alaric takes over as Elena's guardian. Both adult figures die later those respective seasons, although Alaric returns.
- They have known each other since their childhood.
- Both Elena and Tyler have experienced the Sire Bond.
- Elena was sired to Damon Salvatore.
- Tyler was sired to Klaus Mikaelson.
- They both have broken the sire bond.
- In We'll Always Have Bourbon Street, Tyler told Elena that the sire bond doesn't effect anyone's feelings for whom he/she is sired to, it only influences his/her action.
- They both been possessed by Travelers and the passengers in them have been permanent at that time.
- The Travelers who possessed them have both been killed.
- Both of them were free and returned to their bodies around 4-5 episodes after they were possessed.
- In Before Sunset, Tyler stands against Klaus to save Elena exposing that his sire bond has broken.
- They are both descendants of the Founding Families.
- Tyler bullied Elena's younger brother Jeremy before they became friends.
- Tyler and Elena's younger brother Jeremy dated the same girl, Vicki Donovan.
- They are both orphans.
- In Home, they both die and are resurrected.
- In I'm Thinking Of You All The While, Elena advises Tyler to go out of town and explore his wolf side and turn it into something extraordinary.
- Actors Nina Dobrev and Michael Trevino, who play Elena and Tyler, left the show in Season Seven, although Tyler made an appearance in Season Eight, where he was killed by Damon Salvatore, Elena's boyfriend.
- Tyler and Elena have never had a romantic relationship throughout the series.