'The Vampire Diaries' Series Finale Recap, Latest News: Showrunner Explains Stefan's Death

By Amee Florence Payno, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, March 14, 2017

For eight seasons of "The Vampire Diaries," the small and fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia faced countless situations that threatened to lead to its complete destruction. In the series finale of The CW's supernatural drama, the town had been saved yet again and once and for all, but not everyone made it out alive. The ending of the series also marked the ending of the immortal life of a Salvatore brother — Stefan (Paul Wesley).

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner and series co-creator Julie Plec discussed the series finale of "The Vampire Diaries," Nina Dobrev's return and even the alternate endings for some of the show's characters.

Plec revealed that it wasn't always the plan to have Stefan sacrifice himself for the sake of his brother Damon's (Ian Somerhalder) happiness. She and co-creator Kevin Williamson initially came up with an ideal ending for the series back in season 2.

"There have been so many different versions of that in our mind," Plec told publication. "Back then, the show ended with both brothers dying and watching Elena go out and live her life as a human and grow up and be happy and have kids and get married. And all the sacrifices that they had made so that she could be human and safe made it worth it, and they could've gone and passed into oblivion."

However, the endgame changed when they created the Other Side and Elena (Dobrev) became a vampire. Then, when Dobrev left the show, plans for the series' conclusion had to "shift" as the show "became less about ensuring Elena's safety and future and more about the relationships between the brothers themselves and their own path to redemption."

There was also a pitch for the ending of "The Vampire Diaries" in which it was Damon who didn't make it to the end of the series. However, Plec said that the pitch they actually used for the ending remains to be "the best one."

In an interview with TV Guide, Williamson seemed to corroborate Plec's explanation about the ending, revealing that there were many other scenarios considered before choosing the ending in which Stefan was the one who had to die.

The storyline of "The Vampire Diaries" officially ended when its series finale aired on The CW on March 10. Though Stefan died in the series, the show also concluded on a happy note with the reunion of Damon and Elena.