Is [spoiler] really gone for good?
Spoilers below
I really thought Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) would find a way to save Rafael, but in a way, she did. She was able to give him peace, even if she couldn’t save his life.

That’s Hope Mikaelson for you, always finding a way. She’s a lot like her aunt Freya. Other than the darkness at the end of The Originals, Freya always found a way.
It was a beautiful goodbye for Rafael (Peyton ‘Alex’ Smith). He was reunited with not just his dad, but he also finally got to meet his mom. And now, he can spend eternity with them.
As great as it is that Raf has found peace, it is amazing that both of his parents chose to give up their lives to spend forever in a prison world. Especially his mom, who just met him.
Hope also made it possible for him to say goodby to all his friends.
It was so bittersweet as he said goodbye to Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) as his parents waited for him in the truck. He was saying goodbye to his brother, his first family, while the family he never got waits for him. It was a beautiful moment.
Rafael made Landon promise to be all in with his last life.

Which, speaking of, why did the writers make him a phoenix to make him human again? He wasn’t a supernatural very long. It seems pointless to write that in and then undo it pretty quickly. Did he use up all his lives, or did the Necromancer (Ben Geurens) putting him back into his body mess with his power? The Necromancer also said that Landon wasn’t really dead. It doesn’t make much sense.
Landon may be trying to live his last life to the fullest, but it looks like it won’t be with Hope. She wanted to send him back to the prison world to keep him safe, but he didn’t want to be there without her.
Handon is not a beloved couple by fans, but I do like it when Landon sticks up for himself. He doesn’t like to be the victim, the one that always needs saving. In these moments, he reminds me of Elena. She wasn’t about to run and hide when her friends needed her. And Landon would never leave his friends behind either.

But Hope has lost too many people. Her mom, her dad, her uncle. She can’t bear to lose anyone else, so I get where she’s coming from. And there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground to where they can agree on.
Does this mean there’s an opening for Hosie? That’s what fans are asking for, but as we all know, not all of our ship requests become canon.
While the wolves were getting Rafael’s dad, Alaric (Matthew Davis) was tracking down his mom, and Hope and Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) were finding him peace, Alyssa (Olivia Liang) and the Necromancer were plotting their plan. To bring back Malavore to be the Necromancer’s servant and free all the other monsters. And according to the oracle, they succeed.
We should be worried, yes, but we’ve seen fate be changed before. Is this what the season finale was going to be? It definitely feels like the big showdown of a finale.
We’ll have to wait and see if Alyssa and the Necromancer succeed. Next week the Salvatore school is putting on a musical about The Vampire Diaries.
Do you think this will be the last we will see of Rafael? Comment below.