Introducing Damon's New Afterlife

If the Season 5 finale of The Vampire Diaries didn't cause you to weep into your Ben & Jerry's, then you may not have a soul after all. (Sorry.) The finale of the supernatural series culminated with the death of not one, but two main characters, which on any other show might be shocking but on The Vampire Diaries is basically just business-as-usual. The thing that made these TVD deaths different was the fact that Bonnie and Damon won't have as easy of a time getting back to Mystic Falls — the Other Side, the place where supernatural beings chill after their earthly death, is gone for good, and there's no telling where Bonnie and Damon will be when the show comes back for Season 6. Death really is business-as-usual for Bonnie, who has died almost as many times as Jeremy has, but for Damon, it was a particularly harsh blow, considering he had just gotten back the love of his life, Elena, and had to watch as she begged his ghostly spirit to come home to her. Now the question is, if Damon isn't coming back to Elena right away, as the new TVD Season 6 trailer suggests, where is he?

The short answer? Right now, we have absolutely no idea. We know that the Other Side has deteriorated, but we don't know what has replaced it... if anything has. Damon is lost to Elena, but where he's going isn't clear: Basically, he's just gone.

So where could Damon be when The Vampire Diaries picks up again? Here are a few ideas:

He's In His Own Personal Hell

Ian Somerhalder recently Instagrammed a pic of himself back on set where he looks awfully vampiric, which led many fans to think that Damon will return to his usual, bloodthirsty self in Season 6... but that's not the only thing it could mean. What if Damon's "after life" involves him living out eternity watching the Worst of Damon Salvatore reel? Sounds like a personal hell to me.

He's Reincarnated

Reincarnation hasn't been a very big part of The Vampire Diaries, even though we have seen many characters unite with their doppelgangers. What if Damon's soul goes into another person's body, similar to how the Travelers are able to place their own souls into whomever they select? (Let's just hope that, if this is the case, Damon finds a body with equally as perfect abs.)

He's Headed To Heaven

Damon may not be the best guy around, but he changes for the better when he and Elena are solid... that has to count for something, right? If there is a heaven in the TVD universe, Damon may be given a chance to attend the party... and will then have to choose between living his life with Elena or staying in a place without any pain or thirst for human blood.

He's In Purgatory

Hell is bad, but there's something particularly desperate about purgatory. If Damon ends up trapped and unable to move on, he may do everything he can to find a way back to Mystic Falls and to Elena. He may even be able to see the world that he once resided in, but unable to communicate with anyone currently living in it. For a vampire, becoming a permanent ghost without the ability to effect any change would really, really suck.

Fingers crossed that whatever happens to Damon — and wherever he ends up — he finds his way back to Elena (and the rest of the Mystic Falls gang) really, really soon.

Images: The CW; Giphy (5)