Major Vampire Diaries Character Almost Died in the Finale Instead of Stefan
The creators of The Vampire Diaries had a very different ending in mind, and for a long time they wanted to kill off another character, but in the end they went with the pitch that was the perfect way to end the series.
The Vampire Diaries ended five years ago, but some fans still can't get over Stephan's death in the finale. The CW show's main character sacrificed himself so that every other character could live a normal life. Caroline and Ric opened a boarding school. Bonnie left to travel the world. Damon and Elena ended up together.
However, this was not the first version of the ending, according to The Vampire Diaries creators and writers Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson.
Plec told EW that they originally had two different endings in mind. One was Stefan's death, the other was Damon's. The Salvatore brothers just can't be left alone! Plec said that while killing Damon was the original plan, the writers realized over time that Stefan's death would make more sense. Kevin Williamson explained that Stefan had done terrible things after losing his sense of humanity, so there was a need to make up for it.
"He killed Enzo; there's no coming back from that," Williamson said. "As a Ripper, how many people did he kill?"
Stefan has spent most of his time on The Vampire Diaries playing a hero, so he needed a hero's death. His sacrifice also became a good turning point for Damon, who had to step up and become the hero worthy of Elena's love without his brother.
Elena became the second reason why the writers decided to kill off Stefan instead of Damon. Nina Dobrev left the show in the Season 6 finale and was only scheduled to return for one final episode.
Plec explained that Elena and Damon's relationship had been building for six seasons, and when Elena left, fans of the show were promised that she and Damon would one day be reunited.
Even though Williamson has always been a fan of Stelena, he had to agree that their happily ever after would be illogical. If Nina Dobrev agreed to return for the entire season, the ending could be very different because the writers would have had more time to bring Elena and Stefan closer together.
As for The Vampire Diaries fans, the finale seems to have divided the fandom. Some celebrate the writers' decision to kill Stefan and give Delena a chance, others would have much rather seen Damon die, and then there are those who think that no one had to die at all.