Not every series gets picked up for eight seasons, but The Vampire Diaries did. The CW hit premiered in 2009, breaking viewership records and garnering a faithful following. Even with Nina Dobrev exiting the series at the end of Season 6, the show had two more seasons after that, which helped to develop the relationships between other characters. For instance, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) start as siblings who take pleasure in making each other miserable. Yet, throughout TVD’s run, their relationship evolves and leads to the series’ ultimate brotherly love story. Still, according to Samantha Highfill‘s I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries, the series’ resolution could’ve looked entirely different.

The book diving into the behind-the-scenes stories and never-before-divulged revelations about the series also discusses the showrunners’ original plans for the Season 8 finale. Believe it or not, Damon and Elena were not supposed to get a happy ending. Co-creator Kevin Williamson shared that he wanted Stefan and Elena to get back together in Season 8, only for them to be parted in the series’ finale. Instead of Damon and Elena reuniting after Bonnie (Kat Graham) is able to break the sleeping beauty spell that kept Elena locked in a coffin for two seasons, Damon and Stefan were supposed to die in order to save Elena. At the end of the episode, she would be compelled to forget the love she had for both brothers and carry on with her life as a human.

Stefan i Elena byli końcem w oryginalnym zakończeniu serii

Die-hard fans will remember that Elena and Stefan come from a long lineage of doppelgängers. In Season 5, when Silas (Wesley) is introduced as one of the oldest vampires to ever exist, viewers find out that he spent centuries trying to reconnect with his long-lost love Amara (Dobrev). It is because of their fated love that the doppelgängers were destined to be together, meaning that it wouldn’t be far off if Elena and Stefan were endgame. Yet, the whole reason why a large portion of TVD’s fanbase were supportive of Damon and Elena’s relationship was because they tricked fate. When Elena chooses Damon over Stefan, she basically goes against the natural inclination that the doppelgängers had of pairing up.

According to Williamson, the idea was for Dobrev to return for multiple episodes in Season 8, so that the romantic reconciliation between Stefan and Elena had enough room to happen. Yet, given that Dobrev was only able to negotiate her return for the finale, it would’ve been too abrupt to put these two characters back together without proper development. “We wanted desperately to bring her back and create an entire storyline that would be a will they or won’t they. In another universe, that would’ve been the ending,” Williamson told Highfill.

‘The Vampire Diaries’ Zakończenie zostało zmienione z powodu negocjacji płacowych Niny Dobrev

There is a deeper reason for Dobrev’s return for an episode only. The actress left the series in Season 6 because she was paid less than her fellow co-stars, Wesley and Somerhalder, despite playing Elena and Katherine interchangeably since Season 2. Dobrev would often have to work more days a week than other members of the cast because she would have to shoot scenes twice. Whenever Elena and Katherine would be in the same scene, it meant that she had to record that same scene as one character and then switch to playing the other. The whole reason why Katherine (or even the other doppelgängers Dobrev portrayed) were written out in Season 5 was because the studio refused to raise her salary.

The one condition Dobrev posed to return for Season 8 was to receive equal pay. Unfortunately, she was only able to get the studio onboard for a single episode. Due to this, the series’ original ending was changed to Elena and Damon getting their happy ending while Stefan sacrifices himself for his brother to get reunited with the woman that he loves. This selfless act made for one of the best finales in TV history, proving that Stefan and Damon’s relationship was TVD’s most treasured love story. In Highfill’s book, Wesley shares that he was very emotional when he read the script for the finale and thought the series’ ending was powerful. Somerhalder was also satisfied with his character’s resolution, agreeing that the Salvatore brothers' bond was at the heart of the show.

Oficjalne zakończenie serii podkreśla historię miłości braci Salvatore

The truth is, if Stefan and Elena were brought back together in Season 8, the brothers would likely have continued in their rift by the finale because they would still be fighting for the affection of the same woman. If they were to die protecting Elena, we wouldn’t have had the scene where Caroline (Candice King) and Damon talk about whether the latter would reunite with his brother in the afterlife. From Damon’s perspective, Stefan was in his essence a good person, and he was always the black sheep. The last scene of the series features Damon uttering his famous line, “Hello brother,” after reuniting with Stefan, which couldn’t have made for a more perfect ending for the two characters.

Elena’s ending is also ideal given the limited timeframe Dobrev had onscreen in Season 8. After Elena wakes up in the finale, she is reunited with the man that she loves and is no longer a vampire. Elena’s only wish in Season 1 was to remain human, and although she was turned into a vampire halfway through the series, her arc resulting in her becoming a human again and living a happy life alongside Damon seems like the most satisfying ending for Dobrev’s character. It’s also sweet to see Elena reuniting with the members of her family that she lost throughout the series’ run. At the end, she gets to spend the afterlife alongside her adoptive parents, her biological father, and Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning). Similarly to Wesley and Somerhalder,Dobrev told Highfill that she’s pleased with the show’s ending. “I cried at the end when I read that Elena was writing in the diary again when Elena basically says the same sentence that I did in the pilot eight years ago,” she said.

All things considered, <em>The Vampire Diaries</em>' official ending was for the best. Although it would’ve been nice to have Dobrev back for the entire season getting paid what she rightfully deserved, the original ending wouldn’t have made way for key moments that made the series’ finale stand out. From Stefan sacrificing himself for his brother and reuniting with him in the afterlife to Elena getting to live the rest of her life as a human next to the person that she loves,the main trio got an ending treatment that made most sense for their characters and fans couldn’t have been more pleased.