56 EW.COM FEBRUARY 24/MARCH 3, 2017
( From left )Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder); Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Caroline (Candice King)ELENA GILBERT’S CRYING. STANDING
in the Mystic Falls cemetery where she’s
said many goodbyes—and even a few
hellos—Elena’s surrounded by everyone
she loves. Well, almost everyone. One per-
son is missing. Did we forget to mention
that this is a funeral?
It’s a sunny January day in Atlanta as theVampire Diaries cast films its last group
scene in the woods. In between takes, there’s
laughter and excited whispers about who’s
in town for the upcoming wrap party, but
when showrunner Julie Plec, the director of
the show’s final hour, calls “Action,” an emo-
tional fog sets in. This is a goodbye—and it’s
a big one. “We wanted to go big, emotionally,
with the action, and with the spectacular of
it,” says Plec, who co-wrote the episode with
co-creator Kevin Williamson. “We were
absolutely feeling epic.”
WhenThe Vampire Diaries premiered onThe CW in 2009, it found itself smack in the
middle of the vampire craze. With the suc-
cess of bothTwilight andTrue Blood, this was
network television’s chance to see if fans still
thirsted for blood, and when the Vampire
Diaries pilot attracted the largest audience of
any series premiere in CW history at that
time, all signs pointed to yes. “I remember
being in Vancouver with Ian [Somerhalder],”
Zach Roerig, who plays Matt, says of filming
the pilot. “In the hair and makeup trailer,
Ian’s like, ‘Hey, kid, get ready for the ride of
your life.’” Somerhalder adds: “Twilight was
very much the zeitgeist of pop culture. There
was just that sense that the market desired
this genre. This material was going to work.”
The Vampire Diaries took what fans loved
about the genre—suspense, shocking
twists, forbidden romance—and, to borrow
from the show, heightened everything. Out
of loss, it built an epic love story between
one girl and two brothers, the likes of which
launched some of television’s most pas-
sionate shippers. Eight years later, many
fans remain firmly Team Delena or Team
Stelena, or have dedicated themselves to
another ship entirely. But the one thing
everyone can agree on: The show can’t end
without Elena Gilbert.
And it won’t. Dobrev, who left the show
when her contract expired at the end of sea-
son 6, has returned to give a proper farewell
to the unflinchingly selfless Petrova doppel-
gänger. (The finale airs March 10.) “The nos-
talgia is insane,” Dobrev says of being back
on set. “I keep getting triggered by moments:
a piece of wardrobe, a person’s voice, a crew
member’s laugh. It’s like a trip down memory
lane, and I have so many beautiful memories
of the six years that I spent here. I’m really
glad that I got to be a part of it.”
Back at the cemetery, the emotional fog
is replaced by a literal one. This is Mystic
Falls, after all. And in an instant, heartbreakseamlessly turns into romance when one of
the show’s main couples share a passionate
kiss. Watching the kiss unfold, Plec gets
within an inch of the monitor. “I want to see
that tear,” she announces, prolonging the
scene until she gets the perfect blend of
romance and tragedy that has become the
show’s signature over the years. The
moment that tear falls, she calls “Cut.”JULIE PLEC’S CRYING. SITTING IN THE
middle of the town square, Plec watches as
two longtime characters walk off the screen
for the final time. “That was so good,” she
says through her tears as she makes a note
of the take. That one’s a keeper.
For Plec, her emotional roller coaster
started three years ago when the show hit
its 100th episode and she realized that,
unlike the vampires she’d created, it wasn’t
immortal. “I would cry just thinking about
what that would feel like,” she says. “So the
minute we started talking about this as
the last year, everything made me emo-
tional, because closure is so powerful both
in life and in fiction. Each goodbye is real.”