The Vampire Diaries Season 8 Confirmed as Final Season

That’s right ladies and gentleman, Kevin Williamson confirmed at SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con) that season 8 will be the final season of The Vampire Diaries. As someone who has been hooked since “Hello Brother,” this news stings but really doesn’t come as a surprise. Rumors of TVD ending at season 8 have been swirling ever since lead actress Nina Dobrev (Elena Gilbert) left the show at the end of season 6.

Fans who attended the panel this morning at SDCC were shown a touching tribute to the fandom by showrunners Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, along with long standing members of the cast like Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Candice King and Kat Graham. You can watch the heartwarming tribute here:

Also announced at the panel was that co-creator Kevin Williamson would be back writing for the 8^th season. A sizzle reel of what’s to come in TVD’s final season was also shown to panel attendees. According to Deadline.com, Plec also teased a new villain for TVD, though she won’t give many details except to say it was unlike anything the show has had before. “We have a finger so far,” she joked of the character that was developed after the WBTV series found out it was coming back one more time. According to TVline.com, an intro video, featuring that creepy hand from the Season 7 finale, teased: “This season, get ready to meet evil herself.” (That’s right, herself.) Describing the new Season 8 villain as the “final bad,” Williamson noted that it’s a “cool way to infuse Mystic Falls with this ultimate evil. It’s like a cherry on top of the entire mythology of Mystic Falls. Meanwhile, Somerhalder said, we’ll see “Damon and Enzo doing some gnarly s–t,” adding that “the mind control thing is actually quite interesting. … In their minds, they’re still them. That conflict and that struggle is what we always look for.” Sadly, Bonnie is “literally at ground zero” when Season 8 begins. “A lot of last season was about the development of the relationship Bonnie had with Enzo, and obviously Bonnie and Damon,” Graham said. “You saw the crumbling of her in the finale. She also doesn’t have her magic. The thing that made her feel like herself, and also her best friends, are not there. It’s going to be really exciting to see Bonnie’s journey this season.” Poor Stefan is “just crying, constantly,” Wesley teased. “[He’s] missing his bro, his bro-ham. It’s back to the original dynamic of the brothers. The dynamic was always Damon getting in trouble and Stefan trying to save him. … We’ll see how long that lasts, but for the current time, he has a broken heart over his big bro.” Caroline is “very busy” in Season 8, trying to maintain a connection with Alaric and the twins while also “helping Stefan and Bonnie track down Damon and Enzo.” As for everyone’s favorite human, Matt Donovan “had to make the decision to let go of that love [for the vampires].” Also every Season 8 episode title will be a line of dialogue from previous seasons. Pretty cool, huh?

Will this season’s big bad be played by actress Nadine Lewington (Containment another show written and developed by Julie Plec), seen at a table read/celebration of season 8 with the rest of the cast and crew? Or will it be Kristen Gutoskie, also from Containment, who is listed as Seline in the first episode of season 8? We shall see.

There is still no word as to whether or not Dobrev will return for season 8, although Plec has previously said she would want her to return for the series finale. Season 8 is slotted to have 23 episodes and will premiere on The CW Friday October 21^st, 2016. Here’s hoping season 8 will answer all our questions, tie up loose ends, throw in some epic stories and surprises and have a satisfying ending. It’s a tall order to fill but if any cast/crew could pull it off it would be The Vampire Diaries.

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