Ian Somerhalder on Elena's Presence in TVD' Final Episodes: 'She Is Still the Light in Damon's Life 

Even if Nina Dobrev doesn’t return to film new scenes,

fans will be getting a whole lot of Elena as the CW drama barrels towards its March 10 series finale — and you have Sybil to thank for it.

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Having already spent much of Season 8 warping Damon’s mind with memories of his sleeping beauty, Sybil kicks things up a notch in Friday’s episode (8/7c), which finds the gang reliving one of the series’ most iconic events: the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. As Stefan recalls in the promo below, Damon and Elena’s dance at the 2010 pageant marked the beginning of their “vomit-inducing love story.”

As you probably also noticed in the promo, Sybil is back to her old tricks, attempting to do… whatever it is she’s doing.

“I don’t know exactly what’s happening,” Ian Somerhalder admits to TVLine. “But I do know one thing: Elena never really left. She’s always ever-present, and she plays a great deal into Damon’s morality, his understanding of who he is — especially in these last episodes. Despite everything he’s gotten involved with, he’s still trying to make decisions Elena would approve of, because she is still the light in his life, even cast in the darkness of her absence.”

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Sadly, Somerhalder has no update to share on Dobrev’s tentative return: “How much she’s going to physically play into things, I’m not really sure. I think they’re just finishing writing the finale now.” (Disclaimer: This interview was conducted several days before Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson completed the series finale.)

‘ home stretch? Drop ’em in a comment below.

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I just want to see it all span out to where we the fans will enjoy it and sorry to say… you’re chemistry u had once upon a time should be how it ends not like a Bobby Ewing wakeup dream sequence… not a How I met your mother disappointment in how I ended up with your step mom.. just make it happen and give some time and new scenes with Elena and Damon and give that #DelenaHappyEnding and bonnie her powers back and Matt being happy at the end address Caroline goes to be with Klaus since Alaric hid with the girls…

NO, we’ve had enough of the aptly called ‘vomit inducing’ dullena! I do want the last 4 seasons to be Elena’s nightmare starting when her and Matt went off the bridge. That’s the only thing that will make sense of this senseless show.

Yeah that was Stefan who said that and nobody takes Stefan seriously, jack all is apt by him. Just because you never get what you want doesn’t make it senseless. Too bad someone that they can find no more joy in a series because of their own bias and blinkers. Too bad last EP, this EP, and next EP, and so on are so full of Damon and Elena, and Damon centric. My advice stop watching because it isn’t going to stop. Unless people like to stew in their own vile. Elena returning to Stefan circa S4 would be the most senseless of all especially current Ripper Stefan and his all vomit inducing attacking of children shows how he is the worst of all things here. Damon and Elena story started long before then anyway =)

Honestly not a big fan of either pairing but i think both stefan and damon have there own story with elena regardless of which pair you like but i think the show is going a little to far with elena it is getting kinda boring i get that is all they have left at this point but watching damon spin out of control is getting old. Clearly humanity less stefan isn’t so over what damon did back then. Stefan and Damon are equally as bad the only difference is that Damon has control where stefan never does and damon can except who he is but with that said i am not really sure what Ian is talking about because up to this point damon has not been doing things that elena would approve of.

I so wanted this final season to be good. I actually had high hopes for it. But it’s just not good at the moment. The first half wasn’t good either. I’m sad.

I’m mostly just reading the recaps until the finale’ episode. You’re right, it’s not good.

I am totally with you! I just read Andy’s recaps to stay aware of what’s going on. Such a disappointing final season!

Sadly if Nina was to appear they would’ve already started to toss it around to bring in more viewers. Smth like “she’s coming but watch to see when” kinda thing. They can keep Klaus as a secret to not break sc just yet. Anyhow I expected more reappearances, we more than half way into the season and have only seen Tyler (barely) and Sarah (don’t care) so far

Well there is that Dorian dude and Henry is supposed to appear next week, that Damon’s war buddy guy xD Think Liz might have been in a flashback as well. Julie said in a question and answer we will see Tyler again as well.

I still really enjoy this show and really hope that no matter what they pick it up on a different network. I’d like to see them continue this show, there are lots of storylines that they could go down. I for one think they could even have Elena wake up in a different body, different actress, and it would be fine. Or they can just show new adventures with a few of the cast members. I just want the show to continue in a new direction that would give us more seasons.

Sadly they really are ruining the end of the show. Everyone wants Elena an Damon to end up happily ever after! And all the other loved characters in the same way!

No not everyone, only de fans. Please refrain from saying everyone, that’s simply not true.

Yeah…not everyone gives a crap about Elena and Damon, together or apart. I’m indifferent, personally!

Oh meaning the fans who carried the show for so long and the pairing that won them so many awards. TVD would have been nothing without them.

Oh yeah and Klaus isn’t going to be anymore healthy for Caroline than Stefan. Everything Sybil said there could also be said about Klaus.

I’m good xD Just saying if they do KC again there will likely be a lot of issues they still have to go through since Klaus is far from perfect and has done a crap ton and is also very dangerous. So it won,t be all sunshine and rainbows right away. I just hope she doesn’t end up with Alaric just because it is safe and for her daughters. Being in a relationship with someone just for your children’s sake when you don’t actually love the other person comes with it,,s own issues. Caroline,s own happiness and what she wants is important too. Children can sense when your unhappy and if a sadness permeates a family.

At least Klaus owns his actions and doesn’t pretend he’s holier than thou, like Stefan. Stefan has no self control, he’s a horrible person, but somehow believes he is better than Damon and everyone else. I want my former favorite character, Caroline, to come back, I haven’t seen her since season 5. I just want her to be happy. Klaroline would be wonderful, but I’ll take her single and exploring the world, like she always wanted to do, any day of the week. Hopefully Bonenzo will get a happy ending too.

Yes, Caroline single is still better than Caroline-hypocrite, who presumably despises bad guys, but engaged to an on/off ripper when her main priority should’ve been not Stefan, not Klaus, but kids. Alaric took them away and she was like “sad, but what can I do?”. Break off an engagement with a ripper might be a step one.

And I wish the writers worked harder on Bonenzo. They created smth like KC in no time, surely they could’ve done better with Bonenzo.

I know, she’s been preoccupied with this dumb wedding to a mass murderer when her kids are in danger. Girl has to get her priorities straight. Agreed about Bonenzo!

I loooove Bonenzo! They could be more sophisticated with their storylines, but they could be more sophisticated with ALL the storylines. Bonenzo has managed well, considering.

Also if nothing else a Damon and Elena ending or a Defan with Elena being Damon’s last and one and only true love, last girl forever, so all those who want to take away or destroy this pairing for everyone are not vindicated the vindictive souls that they are wanting to destroy all about and the memories of a pairing so many love so much. Disgusting. It ending their way would be heartless and cruel, they don-t want people to have a happy ending.

Different people want different “happy endings”, JP can’t make all of us happy. As for SE/DE, it might be too late to give a proper ending to DE, let alone SE. As for SC, that’s one pairing I honestly can’t digest (and yes, I am a KC fan, so that might be why). And as you said in a previous comment, there are indeed many things that would need to be sorted out between Caroline and Klaus. But then there is no limit for future TO seasons, if JP bothers to improve the writing. So far, not impressed with TVD final season.

That’s where this show went wrong. Keeping the focus on a character that left two seasons ago. Tiresome. Pure fan service at it’s best, when it could of had a fresh turn.

I hate this show is gonna end. I do hate the whole Sybil bit. A little of it was ok, but I didn’t know the end of the show was still going to be that story line until the end. I hope they finally kill her..Damon and Elana reunite, Bonnie gets her powers back and lives happily with Enzo…Stefan and Caroline get married and Alaric finds a new love that he can live with the east of his life and raises those beautiful witch daughters. As far as Matt he needs a special someone in his life and be head Sheriff until he retires.

I agree with everyone who has said once Elena left they should have killed her off and let Damon and everyone else move on! We would have happily watched anything NEW with the brothers and others of Mystic Falls but they blew it big time by keeping the focus on Elena.

I think they just weren’t brave enough to kill her off. They could have. Damon could have gone over the edge (Ian never got to play as crazy as Paul did as the ripper so it would have been a treat), but then Stefan could have brought him back to help save the gang he has come to actually care about. Yes, some fans would have had a fit and left immediately, but the usual usual quality writing and fresh ideas could have revived the show and brought in new viewers if Julie Plec hadn’t restricted the writers to an Elena future.

Instead, the tiredness and mediocrity of the last two season (granted with a few exceptions) has been much worse than losing some “ship.” It has given TVD a slow painful death. It has broken my heart. In some ways it is even worse when we do get a good episode (like the Christmas one) to remind us why we keep having hope. But no, this week my hope for a redemptive final season has finally died. (R.I.P. TVD)

So now my only hope is that they kill them all! I think Bonnie’s scheme should somehow result in Elena dying. Then, at the end, when Matt rings the bell to kill the sirens I hope the “super bell” kills ALL supernatural creatures – including witch Bonnie. (We have already seen the tuning fork does affect her.) Heck, I wouldn’t even mind if while dying one of them kills Matt too! I would prefer sudden horror to banal mediocrity. And, it would be much truer to how TVD started.

It seems Julie might be headed this way anyway. I would have preferred them all dying heroically really still loving each other as great friends but it looks like Julie is intending to turn every single person against each other and burn all bridges. (Ironic) Wrong choice! But. at least she would have made one bold choice in two years.

JJ Abrams ruined both of my former favorite shows Alias and Lost at the end so I guess Plec will be in good company at least. I just hope she doesn’t expect me to follow her to any other projects after ruining my all time favorite show. Nope, can’t even give her credit for originating it now because I have scars I wouldn’t have had if I had never watched.

Some fans are very talented with their editing systems and make great TVD YouTube videos. Maybe when this sad season is finally put out of its misery we can all go to work editing something together that we can still feel good about? Looks like it is up to us. I would have expected this final season of TVD to kick butt. Instead it has become clear that even for the fans the who watched faithfully for 8 years they didn’t care enough to even try.

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