Yesterday Julie Plec answered some burning questions about what we can expect in The Vampire Diaries sixth season – and yes, this includes the screen time of two very important characters.
The Vampire Diaries executive producer Julie Plec did the rounds with a couple of different news outlets yesterday, and we’ve taken the liberty of putting together all the juicy tidbits you’ll want to know for season 6.
Ian Somerhalder and Kat Graham will definitely be seen in season 6
When asked about whether we’re going to see Somerhalder or Graham in the sixth season, Plec was very straightforward, stating that “we will definitely see Ian Somerhalder and Kat Graham on the show. I mean, there’s a million different ways that you can do that. But as far as in what context — how, why, and where? — that’s part of the mystery.”
What’s particularly interesting is that Plec also revealed that the Other Side is absolutely gone for good. So these “million different ways” are going to be more creative than just a ghost appearing from nowhere.
Who’s human, and who’s not?
When Tyler Lockwood came back from the Other Side without the ability to heal, viewers were instantly trying to figure out what Tyler was. Our own comment section on the recap was littered with explanations for why he’d not heal, and if he was human or a werewolf.
Plec explains this entire thing rather succinctly: “What got stripped away from him when he got thrown over the border were the elements that made him both vampire and triggered-werewolf. So he is back to being a boy with a werewolf gene. And so it puts him in a really interesting predicament next year because it’s almost like a do-over in a good way, but also a scary way. Now with that comes that testosterone, needing to work out his aggressions and find a way to not lose his s–t, so to speak, so that he doesn’t re-trigger the curse. I think after having gone through everything he went through, re-triggering the werewolf curse would be possibly a fate worse than death at this point.”
What does this mean for our favorite Mystic Falls vampires? Well, they’re all still vampires. Plec explains this by saying, “Stefan and the rest of them died still being supernatural beings, so they came back the way they were left. They are not human. Everybody’s circumstance is the same, except for Tyler, who specifically got everything stripped away from him down to the guts.”
Also, this means that Alaric is still that crazy Original vampire creature that Esther made him in the third season. Now that he’s back, we’re going to see him cope with the fact that he’s something he never wanted to be: A vampire. But there’s also the added fact that’s he’s way more powerful.
Season 6 will jump in time.
Yep, you read that right. There’s going to be a bit of a time jump when season 6 starts this fall. We don’t imagine it being unreasonably far of a jump, but far enough that some of our characters have stopped mourning for Damon and Bonnie.
Plec reasons this by saying, “It gives us the opportunity to find these people again with enough time having passed that the grief has settled into a reality that is making them either actively move forward with their lives, spiral to a different place or make really bold and rash decisions in how they’re going to live their lives without these people in them.”
Despite this time jump, we can expect some of our characters to still worry about their friends, wondering where they are and how they could save them while other characters have given up completely. Nothing’s revealed about which character does what, but you can probably make an educated guess.
Alaric and Enzo are here to stay
And no, they’re not going to like each other very much. As we previously reported, Matt Davis has been promoted back to a series regular for season 6. And now we know that Michael Malarkey is also a series regular for the season, so you can expect him in more episodes next season.
Season 6 is not being planned as the last season
There was talk about whether or not this next season will be the show’s last, but Plec and company aren’t planning that way, at least. “It’s not on our radar yet. You could ask 10 different people that question and you’d get 10 different answers, in terms of how long the life of the show is. Warner Bros. would say, ’17 seasons!’ And I think I would say, ‘Seven!’ Presumably we’ll land somewhere closer to my wishes or theirs, depending on the circumstances.”
Caroline will address her feelings for Stefan
You saw it, we saw it, everyone on earth except Stefan saw it: Caroline Forbes has a crush on Stefan Salvatore. In the season finale this week we saw Lexi egg Stefan on about this romantic possibility, and that romance will be going somewhere in the next season – the thing is, we don’t know where.
“The one thing we know pretty clearly is that Caroline, in her heart of hearts, is starting to accept she has feelings for Stefan. In fact, we cut a scene in the finale where that was even more clear. I think she’s finally admitting it to herself, losing him woke that up in her, the question is will Stefan reciprocate those feelings? That’s what we’ll have to explore in Season 6 and see where we go.”