'Vampire Diaries' preview: New characters, the old Damon, 'no happy endings'

When we left The Vampire Diaries last season, Mystic Falls had become a vampire-free zone, Damon and Bonnie had died, and Alaric had returned to the land of the living. But four months later, whats everyone up to?

This season is about how to bring everyone back together, executive producer Caroline Dries said. Its like, How can you come back together if you dont even have your home? But theres a deeper, hopefully more profound, resonance with it where its like, Their home is their friends.'

And with that in mind, Dries also promised that not everyone will have given up hope for saving Damon and Bonnie, though that mystery will not be short-lived. According to Dries, the mystery of what the heck happened to them will be solved within the first (of four) chapters of the season, but it will spread out through the course of the season, she said. It will have ripple effects. But in general, thats the big thrust of the beginning of the season.

Oh, and dont expect another super-complicated mythology right off the bat. Were not inundating the audience with really dense mythology. Were trying to keep it very simple in changing up all of the character dynamics. Thats actually whats creating the drama, not like this outside force, Dries said.

As for what everyone within this world is up to, check out our character-by-character guide below:

Mystic Falls Where we left off: The Travelers had cast a spell over the town that would kill any vampire who entered. Then, Damon and Elena blew up The Grill to kill enough Travelers for Livs spell. Whats next: Mystic Falls has officially become what Dries referred to as the anti-magic bubble, therefore exiling all of our favorite vamps from their hometown and forcing Sheriff Forbes to meet her daughter at the border. But dont worry, Dries promised that The Grill will be renovated post-explosion.

Elena Gilbert Where we left off: Luke cut Livs spell short, trapping Bonnie and Damon on the Other Side as it disappeared and forcing Elena to say goodbye to her best friend and the man that she loved. Whats next: When we catch back up with Elena, she will be in the second phase of her grief, which Nina Dobrev said will be the most extreme version of all the characters. However, extreme doesnt necessarily mean dark. I definitely get to have lighter moments, and thats part of what makes it so eery. You wouldnt expect somebody to have any light moments in the wake of this kind of an experience, Dobrev said.

Jeremy Gilbert Where we left off: Jeremy got a goodbye phone call from girlfriend Bonnie as she disappeared with the Other Side. Whats next: Executive producer Julie Plec has said that everyone will be grieving in their own way, with some coping better than others, but as for Jeremy? Plec said the youngest Gilbert is flat-out spiraling. And considering hes human and living in Mystic Falls, Jeremy spends most of his time with Matt and Tyler. Dries added: Jeremy continues to live in Mystic Falls so its basically like he doesnt have any adult supervision because they literally cannot get to him.

Alaric Saltzman Where we left off: Alaric made it back from the Other Side. Whats next: For the first time, Alaric is going to have to deal with being a vampire (minus his Esther-induced homicidal tendencies). The problem hes dealing with is that everyone else around him is even more fked up, so he doesnt exactly have a shoulder to cry on because hes supposed to be the adult in the room. Hes kind of left to his own devices, Dries said. And one of those devices might not work as well as it used to. He still is a day drinker, but one of his issues is he is a vampire now and he cannot get drunk. His favor hobby basically was taken away from him.

Damon Salvatore Where we left off: Damon held hands with Bonnie as the Other Side disappeared and the two of them went somewhere. Whats next: After evolving from the bad guy to the romantic lead, it sounds like Damon could return to his season-one ways. According to Ian Somerhalder, This guy is 170 years old, and in three years of his life, he totally turned into a Hallmark card? No, thats not him. Go back to season oneand two. This is a guy who would murder his family, and this is what I want to bring back.

Originally posted here:

'Vampire Diaries' preview: New characters, the old Damon, 'no happy endings'