The Vampire Diaries has been teasing us with flash forwards throughout all of season 7. In episode 15, we finally caught up to them but there are still so many unanswered questions!
Julie Plec, the showrunner of The Vampire Diaries has promised (in her latest EW blog) that we will get all the information we need in a series of “bridge backs,” but why should we just sit around and wait for the answers when there is so much speculating to do? How could our favorite characters have ended up where they are in three years time?
Bitter Bonnie
The situation:
Our Bennett witch isn’t looking so magical when we check in on her in the flash forwards. She is in group therapy in an institution, and thinking a lot about something she did that “turned her life into something she doesn’t recognize” and resulted in her “losing someone she loves.” Another extremely notable fact: none other than everyone’s least favorite Mystic Falls resident, Enzo, shows up and Bonnie responds with much enthusiasm…a.k.a. they make out.
When we left her in present day she was having all the feelings for Damon betraying her, but also, unbeknownst to her, she was being pursued by the Armory. We still have so little information about who the Armory is, but if they’re into collecting magical artifacts, it makes sense that they would want a Bennett witch. That is, if you consider a person an artifact which evidently, they do. Sorry, Rayna!
Favorite theory:
The most obvious contenders for the person whom Bonnie “lost” are Elena, Damon, Jeremy, Caroline and Matt. Given the apparent safety of the first three from anything Bonnie would be doing, that leaves Matt and Caroline.
It’s probable that Bonnie would be spending some time around Enzo and the Armory for a while, since everyone else has pretty much scattered. Bonnie would still want to help Stefan if she could, and since the Armory knows a lot about Rayna it would make sense for her to get close to them.
Enzo is growing suspicious of the Armory, given the lack of information they’ve provided him and the fact that they want Bonnie. They could grow closer playing double agents together against the Armory (I’m kind of sad we don’t get to watch this happen fully, since they do have good chemistry and it would make it easier to get behind them as a couple).
The Armory could be intrigued with many things about Mystic Falls as a town, since literally every supernatural thing ever has happened there. They could ask Bonnie to help them retrieve something in the town where Matt is still trying to make a life. She could make a bad choice which ultimately results in Matt’s girlfriend getting killed. Matty blue blue has been pretty forgiving, but that would be a tough obstacle to get past.
Other contenders:
-The person she lost was Damon. The mistake she made was not stopping him from desiccating.
-The person she lost was Elena. The mistake she made was seeking revenge on Kai.
-The person she lost was Nora. The Armory has taken her and Bonnie grew closer to her as she worked with them. Eventually, Bonnie made a wrong choice for the Armory which cost Nora her life.
-The person she lost was Caroline. She was able to help Stefan but there were consequences that resulted in the Steroline break up.
Steroline…or should we say Stalerie and Calaric? (no, we shouldn’t)
The situation:
Nobody is surprised that Caroline is the success story that we all know she deserves to be in three years time or that she is busy being a super mom to her two “daughters” (who look a lot older than three…that just means she’s been taking really good care of them right?). It also makes sense that Stefan is still dealing with the huntress, even though it seems he found another temporary solution that got rid of his scar.
The only real shock when it comes to these two is their significant others. The shocking part being that they’re not with each other! Caroline is engaged to Alaric and not at all interested in even hearing from Stefan, and Stefan is hitting up his old stomping grounds in Chicago and locking lips with Valerie.
The pair weren’t exactly picking out engagement rings in present day, but they very clearly still loved each other and were going to try to make their difficult situation work. So what happened to drive them toward other people?
Favorite theory:
Well we actually only have seen Stefan and Valerie be affectionate toward one another. It is still possible that Caroline and Alaric’s engagement isn’t because they fell in love, but for some other reason. For example, the fact that they have two children together. It’s definitely possible that parenting together developed a bond between them that grew into something bigger, but they could also just be getting married since they are already a family unit and it just “makes sense.”
The biggest clue we got regarding how Steroline split up is Caroline’s apparent hatred of him. She tells her assistant to not even speak his name in front of her! This wall is eventually broken when she realizes he is in danger and she wants him to be okay, but her initial reaction is something pretty close to loathing. This means it was likely Stefan’s “fault” that the relationship ended.
I truly don’t believe that Stefan would cheat on Caroline or purposely do something to hurt her. It’s evident that he still cares for her in the flash forwards as his first instinct is to warn her that Rayna is back. My best bet is that he made her believe he did something unforgivable to help her move on so he wouldn’t put her and her children in danger. After they had broken up, Stefan’s feelings for Valerie resurfaced since they were on the run together.
Other contenders:
-Stefan actually did cheat on Caroline with Valerie *gasp*.
-Caroline is pretending to hate Stefan to avoid danger for her and her kids. Steroline ended amicably.
-Caroline is over Stefan and not really with Alaric and is going to New Orleans to be with Klaus so he can keep her and the girls safe.
Matt has HAD IT
The situation:
Matt had reached the end of his patience with vampires in present day when he threatened Stefan into leaving Mystic Falls after some heavy influence from Penny. In the flash forwards, it looks like he isn’t even friends with Caroline anymore and is actually helping Rayna! However, it appears that Rayna is blackmailing him in some way and Matt is eager to be free of her.
Favorite theory:
The Armory, with the help of Bonnie, Enzo and possibly others, did something to destroy Mystic Falls even further, which included killing Matt’s girlfriend (I’m assuming it’s Penny). Rayna escapes the Armory again during the aftermath and she offers to help Matt clean up the mess in the town for a price: Matt’s help in capturing Stefan. He agrees since he is really over the edge with his hatred of vampires after what happened, but soon realizes that Rayna is even more ruthless, and even reckless, after being locked up and wants to get out of the deal as soon as possible!
Other contenders:
-Damon woke up and killed Matt’s girlfriend. Rayna enlisted him because she knew he wouldn’t mind going after the brothers.
Wanted: Desiccated or alive
The situation:
Damon is catching some Zs next to his beloved Elena when Stefan wakes him up, which is right where we left him in present day. Things don’t quite add up for him in the flash forward though. First of all, his bourbon buddy Alaric looks to be scared of him, and he also knows more than he should for someone who has basically been hibernating for three years.
After Damon is caught by Rayna and infected with werewolf toxin, he hallucinates his mother and apologizes to her for his awful goodbye. He eventually offers Rayna a trade: him instead of Stefan, which she gladly accepts.
Favorite theory:
Damon was woken up long before now and wreaked further havoc in everyone’s lives. If his letter to Alaric was truly the last interaction they had, Alaric’s reaction should have been more angry (or even happy if he had forgiven him for disappearing) and less fearful. Bonnie and Stefan both would have had reasons to wake him up in the first place. After causing even more destruction for the people he cares about, Damon decides to desiccate again and stick with his original plan.
Other contenders:
-Damon has actually been desiccated this whole time and has regretted his decision, leading him to hallucinate his apology to his mother and taking Stefan’s place.
-Damon has been desiccating peacefully this whole time and agrees to take Stefan’s place now because he is infected with werewolf toxin and knows he will die since Klaus is nowhere to be found and Valerie wouldn’t siphon him if he got Stefan killed.
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