The Vampire Diaries is entering a new era in season 4, as Elena goes from the human who needs to be rescued to a powerful being in her own right.

While past seasons of The Vampire Diaries have done their best to make Elena a strong female character, there is no denying that her lack of superhuman abilities has meant that the vampires around her have made it their mission to keep her safe and alive.

But now that Elena is becoming a vampire, everyone essentially failed at this task. Everything the show had been building for the past three years is lost, because now that Elena is a vampire, what are they going to be fighting for?

Whatever the new enemy is that will keep the characters in Mystic Falls and threaten the lives of the few remaining human friends they have, expect Elena to take a much more pro-active role in her new form.

Speaking to E! Online, Nina Dobrev teases that in season 4, “I’m getting to kick some more ass. Elena is becoming a tough cookie.”

While season 4 in some ways will seem like an entirely new show, Dobrev also expresses that Elena becoming powerful is something which has been a long time coming. She says, “Before, she used to talk about being independent, and now she has a chance to be.”

E! likens this new Elena to Katherine, but we could see a bit more Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this particular development. Either way, it’ll be great to see our main female character get some superpowers to match those of her enemies, and to see her take them down with more than her own cunning and the Salvatore brothers’ brawn.

And speaking of Katherine – now that the stakes are matched, are we not all just waiting for an epic Elena/Katherine showdown?!

The Vampire Diaries returns to The CW on October 11, at 8/7c.