First of all,
"Vampire
Diaries" fans, allow us to give you some great news:
Zap2it has learned that an extra episode has
been added to the show's Season 4 order, bringing it to a total of 23 episodes
this year, as compared to last year's 22. The first episode will premiere
Thursday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. EST.
When the season begins, all of our Mystic Falls monsters and friends are in
precarious situations, but none more so than Elena (
Nina Dobrev), who
will begin her transition into a vampire in the first episode. She and Stefan
are, for all intents and purposes, back together, but this time, their reunion
is even more complicated.
It's safe to say that vampire Elena won't be
on the Stefan Salvatore bunny diet right away -- and given Stefan's ripper
history, her consumption of human blood definitely troubles him. "He's not going
to have an easy time with it," executive producer
Julie Plec confirms.
"This is a guy who can't really get too close to human blood for too long
without losing his mind, so it's like he's a guy who just got sober, and his
girlfriend just turned 21 and wants to party. There are going to be some
complications in their relationship as far as that."
Paul Wesley
has never been shy about the fact that he loves playing Stefan as a dynamic,
dark character, as opposed to a martyr who cries on a regular basis. "I feel
like Stefan had a Season 3 ride of darkness, and I think Season 4 is going to be
a little more of a gray zone, which is nice, too," he told us at Comic-Con. He
speculates that Elena's transformation will create some distance between them.
"Maybe he won't be attracted to her as much, because it'll remind him of
himself... Men like the opposites. He hates himself because he's a vampire,
right? So, I don't know; maybe he's going to project."
The way it plays
out could bring about some of Stefan's darker side. "I can't say we'll ever be
back to 'good' Stefan for good," Plec says. "I don't think 'good' Stefan is
'real' Stefan. I think Stefan is very damaged, and he's got some deep darkness
and, within that, a beautiful soul with what humanity he can muster. I think
until the end of the series, the darker Stefan will always be the truthful
Stefan."
We're all very much looking forward to Elena remembering the two
moments that Damon (
Ian Somerhalder) compelled her to forget -- both of
which were actually very sweet, positive scenes between the two characters.
The memories will come back to her in the first episode in a very
interesting way; in a sense, she'll experience them as if they're happening
anew. She'll have a conversation with Damon about that right away. Don't expect
those things to have an immediate, drastic impact on her feelings for him,
though. When we asked Plec whether the moments would have a profound impact on
Elena's view of Damon, she said it would be more subtle.
"It's more just
a bonus of being a vampire. For Elena to turn around and be like, 'Oh, I changed
my mind now that I have all the information!' would be insane. She's not that
literal, and that would be really sad for Stefan," Plec says.
What it
does is help Elena to have a more complete, more accurate view of her friend.
Fans who want Damon and Elena to get together have been frustrated by her
continued underestimation of his character throughout last season, and the new
memories of his sweet moments may lead to a positive turn in that
department.
"If you look at the marathon of the Damon/Elena friendship
and relationship, so much of their conflict is predicated on the fact that she
still believes that he's more selfish than he actually is, and more hateful than
he actually is, and more self-destructive than he actually is," Plec agrees.
"These memories get added to her lexicon of Damon knowledge, and given how close
they are, at this point it's important that she knows everything about
him."
As always, Damon and Elena's relationship will evolve this season
-- that slow burn is, of course, what makes it so interesting to watch. In the
meantime, Damon will need a new friend to share his bourbon with at the Mystic
Grill -- and, despite the rumors, it definitely won't be Tyler.
Plec
confirms that Meredith (
Torrey DeVitto) will be a significant part of the
fourth season. Though not a love interest, Meredith might be a stabilizing force
for Damon. "Damon is minus a drinking buddy and minus a friend," Plec says.
"We've already established Meredith as a day-drinker, so if I was going to pick
somebody out of a hat, to be Damon's new drinking buddy, it would be Meredith.
The question is whether she's down with that. Is she okay with being his
vampire-human partner in crime? I don't think she's going to be as easy to sway
as Alaric was, but there's going to be a buddy bond that forms between them,
which will be fun."
Thanks to
ZAP 2 IT for this:)
Love, Janne :)