Elena Gilbert Season 4 Appreciation Week
Best overall moment: 4x21 "I am not okay"
Elena Gilbert is not okay. She hasn't been okay since the day her parents died and she didn't. Since then, she's looked into the mirror, faked a smile and pretended that she was fine for the sake of everyone else and to get through each day. But here, it shows how far she's come, because Elena can outwardly admit that she's not okay. That maybe it's okay for her not to be okay right now, with the sudden onslaught of all of her guilt and pain and grief that came back with her humanity. That the girl who forced herself to smile for others and shove down her own emotional needs can't exist anymore, because now Elena knows the true price of denying yourself the ability to feel.
But that it ends with "I'll get better" speaks to Elena's survival instinct. It's not enough to admit that she's not okay, because she needs to be at some point. She needs to keep going, because Elena Gilbert can never stop, can only move forward. She might not be okay right now, but she will be better someday. And maybe then the smile in front of the mirror will be truly hers and she can say "I'm fine, thank you" and actually mean it.