Vampire Diaries Julie Plec Bubble - H 2012
The CW; Getty Images[Warning: Some spoilers ahead.]
Now that the Originals are bonded in life — and death — on The Vampire Diaries, what does this mean for their fates?
As executive producer Julie Plec tells The Hollywood Reporter, that will quickly be addressed in Thursday’s episode, “All My Children.” “It’s [the Originals’ mother] Esther’s big move against her family,” Plec says. “She’s taking very extreme measures, using Bonnie and Bonnie’s mom” in her attempts to eradicate her children.
When the Originals (Klaus, Elijah, Kol and Rebekah) find out about their unfortunate bind (“the cat’s out of the bag pretty quickly,” Plec says), they “use Elena as leverage in hopes to try to get the Salvatores to intervene on her behalf.”
“It really becomes all about ‘Will the original family be able to save themselves?,’ ” she says.
Plec spoke to THR about the Originals’ tragic bond; the state of the never-ending love triangle between Elena and the Salvatore brothers; Klaus and Caroline’s newfound connection; the returns of Tyler and Jeremy; and much, much more.
The Hollywood Reporter: “All My Children” is a big episode for Elena and Elijah. What can you share about where their relationship goes during the course of the hour?
Julie Plec: Elena’s in a real bind because they’ve all been trying to rid themselves of Klaus given everything that he’s done to them. Now, Elena unwittingly has pulled Elijah into it as potential collateral damage. Elijah and Elena’s friendship is complicated and strange but there is something special at it’s heart there. There is something she sees in him and something he sees in her that connects them in a deeper way than one might expect. It’s not sitting well with her that she just signed his death sentence. She’s feeling the burden of that betrayal very heavily and every single person in her life is telling her to suck it up.
THR: During the Originals’ formal ball, a deeper connection was forming between Klaus and Caroline. How far will that go?
Plec: I think that Klaus took a fancy to Caroline. She caught his eye kind of surprisingly and he’s playing that out a bit and trying to see where this goes. She’s no dummy and won’t let herself get swept up and seduced by this creature in spite of the fact that he’s almost being relentlessly seductive.
THR: Is this relationship merely a reminder to viewers that Klaus is not purely evil or is there more to this than meets the eye?
Plec: There’s something for us that felt right about Klaus, who clearly has a very deep and rich emotional life in spite of all of the incredibly screwed up and violent things he does and will continue to do, getting taken by surprise by this girl who was really just a pawn in his game and win favor in Mystic Falls to show up Stefan. Yet something about the sight of her nearly dying struck something in his heart and he’s letting himself act on it. We’ll see if he gets what he wants or we’ll see how he takes rejection.
THR: In some ways, we don’t even know what he wants at the end of the day ..
Plec: No! I’m sure Klaus has had a thousand years of the occasional crush and girlfriend but we don’t know much about what drives him and what makes him love and has he loved as an angry hybrid. Has he felt any of this stuff? Is this a new thing for him? Is this a first since he became a vampire a thousand years ago? There are all kinds of questions about Klaus’ romantic point of view that we haven’t even begun to ask, much less answer.
THR: That will be uncovered as the season goes on?
Plec: Klaus is a villain and villian’s days on this show are sometimes numbered so we’ll see. We’ll see if he survives long enough to tell these stories.
THR: What does that mean for Tyler, since he’s been off dealing with his sire bond? How does he come back into the fold?
Plec: He will come back into the fold, I won’t say when. He is not going to be happy when he hears that after all this time spent trying to break free of this bond he has to Klaus that Klaus has been moving in on his girlfriend. Things will definitely come to head between Klaus and Tyler before the season’s over.
THR: Will Jeremy set foot in Mystic Falls again?
Plec: Yes, he will, I won’t say when though. After all the efforts to keep him safe, ultimately [Elena and company] are going to realize he may not be safe anywhere. Mystic Falls, where people can look out for him, may be the best place for him to be.
THR: When Sage (guest star Cassidy Freeman) makes an appearance in a future episode, where do Elena and Damon stand?
Plec: We’ll meet Sage in the flashback in March and we’ll get a flavor of how she had a hand in making Damon more of the Damon he is in present day. We’ll see her show up in Mystic Falls [in modern times] with her own agenda.
THR: To clarify, is she a love interest or is she someone from Damon’s past?
Plec: She’s someone from his past. There is always some confusion with any new female character who gets anywhere near Damon Salvatore’s orbit.
THR: In a recent interview, you said there’s going to come a point where a decision needs to be made with Elena and the Salvatore brothers. Will that come before the season’s over or will that be series long?
Plec: The current state of the triangle will definitely come to a head by the end of the season. The most important thing people need to understand now is that “end game” equals end. All conversations about the endgame should be tabled until the end. We’re not going to get out of this season without Elena realizing that she cannot keep fighting her feelings for these two brothers and that there’s a decision that has to be made.
THR: In the past few episodes especially, there have been some touching moments between the Salvatore brothers. More to come?
Plec: You’re going to see a lot of contention between Elena and the brothers You’re going to see the brothers defining them and their relationship and what they’re willing to do to make each other happy even though they’re both in love with the same girl. There’s lots of stuff coming up that is heavy on the relationship between these three people.
THR: There have been hints of old Damon and Stefan as of late. Will they begin to take on their previous roles?
Plec: Both characters, we talk so much about Stefan’s journey and his darkest parts but we’ve also witnessed Damon’s journey and his strongest and lightest parts. Both brothers are not feeling entirely comfortable in their own skin and there are definitely shades of their past selves that are going to break through.
THR: What will it take for the three of them to be content and co-exist happily?
Plec: According to Matt Davis, it would take a polyfidelic society. That’s his theory on the happiness between the three of them. Outside of that, I actually don’t know. Certainly it will be very difficult this year for everybody to find their happy ending.
The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.
