The Vampire Diaries‘ showrunner Julie Plec has spoken about season 4 in a new interview, previewing the new dynamic between Elena and everyone else.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Plec discusses Elena’s transformation into a vampire and how it will change The Vampire Diaries as we know it, and the character dynamics.

“It’s a whole new Elena and it’s a whole new day,” she says. “It’s a different dynamic between [her, Damon and Stefan] especially. Some people have to watch and wait.”

Elena will be torn between the two brothers’ approach to drinking blood; Damon will try to lead her to drink from humans while Stefan will try to get her on his “bunny diet” (as Nina Dobrev puts it). Plec says, “It’s a constant back and forth about what kind of person she is now that she’s a vampire, how she’s going to survive this and if she’s going to survive it.”

Plec reveals that going forward, for Elena, “her greatest challenge is not to become the self-fulfilling prophecy of a vampire who takes a life.”

She also talks about who Damon will turn to, now that he’s lost Alaric and that Elena has chosen Stefan. “It’s very important for us to have Damon have somebody that he’s that connected to,” Plec says. “The question this year is: Who will that be? Will he be able to grow stronger with his brother? Will he be able to find a new wingman, a new team bourbon replacement? Will that person become Elena or somebody that we wouldn’t expect? He’s trying to mask it but he’s feeling a little lonely.”

On Matt, Plec calls him “the human hero this season, definitely in the beginning.” Matt will be working to earn the fact that he’s still alive while so many of his circle have turned and/or died, and “it’s a challenge he wants to rise to.” She also hints that Rebekah may continue to pursue him romantically, but “he can’t quite forgive her for running him off the road.”

The Vampire Diaries is back tomorrow night at 8/7c on The CW with “Growing Pains.” Don’t forget to check out Hypable’s podcast Vampire Hype, where we’ll be discussing each new episode of season 4!