There’s a reason we’ve seen so many love triangles on television.

The classic storytelling equipment is a surefire way to drum up drama in any situation.

It taps into a fandom’s desire to root for something, to feel competitive about something.

Well, because it can get complicated.

For as often as we see love triangles on television series, they don’t always work.

Love triangles are a high-wire act.

The two relationships need to feel different enough, though both must feel valid.

You have to give each couple their moments without making the central person’s preference obvious.

And most of all, it has to feel right when that central person finally chooses someone.

Audiences should be able to look back at the story and understand that decision.

(They might not like it, but it should make sense.)

So yeah, love triangles are fun.

Will Joey choose Dawson or Pacey?

Will Rory choose Jess or Dean?

It’s a way to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

But when handled correctly, it should be about more than suspense.

It should be about great storytelling.

(He left town with Klaus as part of a deal to save his brother’s life.)

Enter Damon (Ian Somerhalder), Stefan’s older brother.

But again, high-wire act.

The key words being “while he was gone.”

And once that bond with Damon was set, Stefan started to make his way back into the picture.

Just as Damon started to win Elena over, Stefan proved that she shouldn’t give up on him.

We’re not talking about epic, sweeping romantic moments.

We’re talking about a look here, a touch of the knee there.

You have to be when your season contains 22 episodes.

Damon and Elena didn’t share a kiss until episode 11 of the season.

At no point did she forget Stefan in favor of her new relationship with Damon.

She struggled with both, all season long.

As she told Stefan in episode 18, “I never stopped loving you.”

Somehow,The Vampire Diariesmanaged to build a new love story without destroying the one that launched its series.

After all, her options were very different.

Damon is either the best thing for her or the worst."

So the question became: Is Damon currently the best thing for her?

She had to choose which one got the goodbye.

And ultimately, she chose Stefan.

And in the end, she made her choice.