20 Most Iconic Elena Gilbert Moments

18. Going to Chicago to rescue Stefan from Klaus (3.03)

After marching into the woods was a bust – Damon nearly getting bitten by another werewolf, no Stefan sighting (well, for Elena anyway), clearly Elena is no less determined. If there’s one thing about Elena Gilbert – she never, ever gives up on the people she loves. Period. Elena was willing to put her life on the line and go to the ends of the Earth to rescue Stefan from the grips of Klaus – even when Damon had tried to convince her to abandon hope days earlier.

When Katherine calls and lets Damon know that she knows where Stefan and Klaus are – the windy city – Damon drags Elena along to try to get Stefan back one more time. (After his encounter in the woods with Stefan, he’s convinced Stefan is still with Klaus to protect them – not on a killing spree for fun). Coming dangerously close to Klaus isn’t wise, but Elena is gung ho – whatever she can do to convince Stefan to just come home with them, even if it means her life is on the line. Again.

She finally gets her chance at the end of the episode, when Stefan tells Damon he should’ve never brought Elena and put her in danger, to bring her home. Damon tells Stefan to tell her himself – and there, in a parking lot in the middle of Chicago, Elena makes a heartwrenching, vulnerable plea with Stefan to come home, saying she still loves him, she still knows who he is. Come home.

And he doesn’t. He breaks up with her, tries to scare her away, and still, she doesn’t give up hope. Not on Stefan, and not on life.