[Warning! The following contains major spoilers for the series finale.the vampires' diaries. Read at your own risk!]
the vampires' diariesThe series finale was not playing. After viewers made Damon think (Ian Somerhalder) forced Stefan (Paul Wesley) until the elder Salvatore sacrificed himself to save Mystic Falls, I Was Feeling Epic took the devastating twist that Stefan was actually the one who died.TVDit's the last hour.
But the series finale wasn't all tears and heartbreak. He also gave us Damon and Elena (Nina Dobrev) their happy ending together, Caroline (candice konig) and Alaric (matt davis) to open a school for gifted children (magically) and, most importantly, Stefan and Damon finally find peace.
co-creatorkevin williamsonspoke to TVGuide.com about why Stefan had to die, that letter from Klaroline, and Delena's proposal that had to be cut in time.
Why did you choose to end the series with Elena and Damon reuniting with their family in the afterlife?
Kevin Williamson:Well that's a bit interpretive if you ask.July [exit],I believe. The idea was that the montage would have a direction and we would let our characters suggest what happened to them. And Damon, as the voiceover tells us, was worried that he would never see Stefan again. It was only Elena who assured him that there would be peace. That we've been dealing with that other side of darkness for several seasons, but there's also light and peace out there, and Damon will find it. If you seek it, you will find it. And we wanted to have that last moment to see, yes, Elena found him, and yes, Damon found him, too, and he looked like his brother.
Final summary of the series The Vampire Diaries: Goodbye brother
All the others appear to be the same age as they were when they died. Why did Damon and Elena look so young? Did she just not want to mess with age makeup?
Williamson:You know, it's interpretive. The idea that this whole show was about loss and grief and losing people and I think the bottom line is ultimately that all of these people who have shaped us and guided us along the way are live within us and if you look within, you will find peace. And so, at that moment, we stepped out of reality and showed what that would be like. They actually lived one life and got old. But in the voiceover, I can't remember word for word, but I think she's saying, "Damon will find peace." And we know what that peace is like. And then she looks out on the porch and sees his family and then Damon walks back to his house and sees Stefan.
I loved that the last shot of Stefan and Damon was together.
Williamson:That was important. Well, the most important thing for me, I can't speak for anyone else, but the most important thing for me was that I wanted the last lines to be the last lines.
"Hello brother" has become such a big line on this show. While you were working on the pilot, did you have any idea what that phrase would mean later?
Williamson:No, but there are always these lines. Like inDawson's CreekIt was, "See ya, Joey." And then it's kind of the same. And I wanted a "Dear Diary." That was the other line that was really important. I wanted Elena to say, "Dear diary." Originally in Montage it started with everyone else and ended with Elena. And then, at the last second, I thought, “No, no, no. We have to start with 'Dear Diary'. We have to take her to the cemetery.” And Julie said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" And then we start and end with her.
Do you have any other favorite callbacks that you could include in the ending?
Williamson:My favorite line was: "I need to know that and you need period, period, period." I have always liked that phrase and have always said it. That was something I would say all the time as a writer because you always wrote period, period, period. And so he used to say, "You know, blah blah blah, period, period, period." So he always said it in the newsroom when he was explaining something. "Well, you know the rest, period, period, period." And then I put it on the line and I was like, 'You know what? Katherine is older than Damon. Where did Damon get the line? Oh, he got it from Katherine. Let Katherine tell it.
The show started with two brothers fighting over a girl, but it was much more about the intricacies of the brothers' relationships than it was about romance. When did you first notice this change?
Williamson:From the beginning we wanted to write a series about a family. The show was about family and loss and grief because it was really about Elena losing her family. And it started with her and Jeremy dealing with the worst case scenario. And then of course how do you find this family? And for Jeremy, it was finding her way, and for Elena, finding life again, and then, when she comes back to life, how can she trust someone who loves her? And then the triangle opened up. But it was always about Stefan and Elena dealing with loss and grief and trying to live again. And he turned to some good vampires along the way.
The stars of The Vampire Diaries reflect on filming the emotional series finale
juliatold methat up to two weeks before the script was written, someone else would have to die. Can you reveal who it was?
Williamson:Oh, they should all die. There were so many conversations in the newsroom. They all had these great ideas. I'm sad we couldn't pack everything in because it was only 42.5 minutes. But there were so many options. It was very important to us not to kill Bonnie. Bonnie shouldn't have to die for Elena's happiness. It was this conversation of, "Oh, Bonnie can be with Enzo because that's exactly what she would want." Enzo wouldn't want that. Bonnie needs a rich and fulfilling life. She needs a happy ending. That was important to us, so we couldn't kill Bonnie. And we can't kill [Matt] because if he's lived as a human for that long, he has to move on. If we were going to kill him off, it had to have been in season 4. You can't do it in season 8. It really was between Damon and Stefan. You know, we got rid of Katherine. We kill Katherine. We knew we would get them out. She is told about the death of Damon and Stefan. And then there was a conversation that ended with Damon killing Katherine and saving the city and saving everyone. For me, where the story was when I came in and got involved, Stefan had been the Ripper for a long time and had killed Enzo. And I felt that the only way for him to recover from this was to kill him. That's why he had to die.
Lexi dies (Arielle Kebbel) Stefan's post-death appearance made his death much easier to bear. Why do you think Lexi was the perfect person to guide him to the afterlife?
Williamson:She was always there for him. She has always supported him since day 1. I think she appeared on the show and because of her you liked him more. Once you learn, oh, they're the best of friends. And once we found out who she was and what she did, Stefan was there for her in that little moment for Elena when they first met. And seeing Lexi gave us a whole different side of Stefan at a time when he was just a brooding vampire. She just opened it up a bit. You're like, "Oh man. How did you two become friends? I'm interested in this girl. Now I'm more interested in Stefan." It really helped shape him as a character. And she was always there for him. Turns out, she was the one who helped him. to being a Ripper. She was always there for him and had his back. She's perfect.
A recurring problem on this show was the idea that Stefan is the better man, but the ending shows otherwise. Do you think Damon is really the better man?
Williamson:I think that's what Katherine said, and I think she did it because Damon was becoming a better man. And I think that's the everlasting arc, that it really became everything her brother wanted. He became everything her brother expected him to become. And because his brother sacrificed herself for him, Damon has lived a better life.
Stefan sacrificed himself almost immediately after his marriage to Caroline. Are you nervous about the reaction of the Steroline fandom?
Williamson:Yeah, that could be a bit tricky. I hope the audience understands that the greater good, which is this Stefan, she told him. “You will never put your children in danger. It will always be about family. You understand it more than anyone. And since it's always about family, you'll understand what I'm going to do." And he understood. "It's always about family." And he didn't like it and life hurts and life hurts, but he understood. And we also have a little nugget from Klaus (Joseph Morgan) with the letter!
The second season of The Vampire Diaries was show business at its best.
Why did you decide to include this letter and point out that Klaus and Caroline have a future together?
Williamson:That is the only act we sacrifice. You know Klaus left for another series and we never got to play that story because if Klaus had stayed it clearly would have been a relationship and a path that we would have followed for at least one story. I miss this plot. I always wanted to see it. But things happen. No regrets for sure.
The letter definitely felt like a nice way to honor one of the show's most passionate fans. How did your desire to please the fans affect the process of working on the finale?
Williamson:That was the guiding force. That was it. Julie and the writers thought, "We have to say thank you." We started talking about Finale in general and why we like Finale and which ones we like and why they like it and why they don't. And we feel like we like to be rewarded by watching the finals. What you really want is for the ending to say thank you. So that was our goal and I really hope the audience understands that. And it is very difficult to please everyone. And in another universe, if Elena hadn't left the show in season 6, we might have had a different ending because I'm always a supplier to Stelena. But this ending makes me cry and smile at the same time, and we really wanted to do that. We wanted to cry, cry with laughter.
Based on the huge ring on Elena's finger, she and Damon got married in the future! Was there ever talk of showing some of the weddings on screen? Bonnie is now on her way to travel the world and live her life to the fullest, so how has her drive developed?Enzo (Michael Malekey) mind altered? Are they still actively involved or is he just watching her from a distance? The 18 Most Iconic Vampire Diaries Moments Of All Time Can you imagine if Bonnie (kat graham) finally dies, will he reunite with Enzo?
Williamson:Yes. In fact, we had a moment that we didn't have time for: everything was cut off. I think the first cut came in 18 minutes. And there was a moment on the show where he proposed to her and she wrote back after med school. And the point of that moment was just to show that she became a doctor. So we said, "Oh, we'll just put a gown on it and we can cut this piece out."
Williamson:He watches from afar. He will allow you to have his life and live his life. I imagine that this is what peace is like: that these people who have guided and shaped us and whom we have loved will always be with us. And we just visually showed what that looked like.
Williamson:If that's what he wants, I think he'll do it, because that's what peace is.
When we get a glimpse of everyone's future, everyone is gone to do these great things and be with the people they love, but Matt (Zach Roerig) great achievement is to get a bench in his honor. What do you think this says about who Matt is and what his priorities are?
Williamson:I think when we started, Matt didn't know who he was. He felt like the bad pawn of inconsiderate parents. He had such a dysfunctional family. And he came back to himself. He became a man that people admire and applaud. And now he's also been the guardian of Mystic Falls in many ways, and he's ready for that. And now he's going to have a whole community of people counting on him. He has become a shining light of responsibility and courage and he really is, I think he is a hero. We only see a bank, but the subject of a bank dedicated to you, you usually earn much more than that. I have a feeling that bank represented much more.
I hope thatthe vampires' diarieswill be the legacy
Williamson:I wish people would remember it with a big smile and that it's nothing but great memories. You want people to look back on it fondly and say, “Wow. I loved this show. Boy, was that a great show.” Big smile.