The Vampire Diaries: What Will Happen After Nina Dobrev’s Exit?

Nina Dobrev’s announcement Monday night that she is leaving “The Vampire Diaries” after the end of Season 6 has caused quite a stir among fans of the series. The CW’s supernatural show is one of its better-performing programs, and in fact, it’s still set to go on for Season 7 in the Fall. But how will the show cope without its leading lady?
First, the series will have to address Dobrev’s departure by writing off her character, Elena Gilbert. The easiest way out is to give Elena the cure for vampirism, which both Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) know about. This storyline has actually been reintroduced in the series in the last few episodes despite being one of the least favorite storylines by fans. Why would the show bring it back if not as a plot device for Dobrev’s departure?

While “The Vampire Diaries” is essentially a show about Elena, Dobrev’s exit will mean that Season 7 could put more focus on the Salvatores – Damon and Stefan (Paul Wesley). As the show’s producer Julie Plec said via TV Line, “We will miss Nina and the four hundred characters she played, but we look forward to the insane and exciting challenge of continuing to tell stories of our Salvatore Brothers and our much-loved and gifted ensemble.”

The Salvatore’s mother, who’s appearance is an ongoing arc this season, may shift the story from a romantic drama to a family drama. However, there’s still the matter with Caroline (Candice Accola) and Stefan, whose romance has become a big part of the season as well.

On the other hand, while Damon has been persistently aboard Team Elena from the beginning, the chemistry between him and Bonnie may just develop into something that their shippers have been wanting to happen. Bamon might actually get together next.

Also leaving the cast is Michael Trevino, who plays the werewolf Tyler in the series. The actor is set to star in “Kingsman,” an upcoming drama series on ABC. But the producer from “The Vampire Diaries” hint that Tyler could still be part of the later episodes, so his absence isn’t going to be essentially a permanent one.

Here is Dobrev’s full statement below as posted on her Instagram:

Dearest TVD Family, I’ve just spent the most beautiful weekend on Lake Lanier in Georgia with my own TVD Family, the cast and crew of The Vampire Diaries. I want to be the first to tell you that it wasn’t just a holiday celebration, it was a goodbye party. I always knew I wanted Elena’s story to be a six season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime. I was a human, a vampire, a doppelganger, a crazy immortal, a doppelganger pretending to be human, a human pretending to be a doppelganger. I got kidnapped, killed, resurrected, tortured, cursed, body-snatched, was dead and undead, and there’s still so much more to come before the season finale in May. Elena fell in love not once, but twice, with two epic soulmates, and I myself made some of the best friends I’ll ever know and built an extended family I will love forever. There’s more to come before we wrap this up, and I promise you’ll get to hear all about my experiences over the next month as we approach the season finale (I have given an exclusive interview for the June issue of SELF Magazine that I am excited for you to see!), but until then I invite you to hop on the roller coaster ride that is Elena Gilbert’s life and join me as I celebrate her and prepare to say goodbye to her — and to my work family — as I move on to the next chapter of my life. I want to share this goodbye with all of you (this weekend’s pictures were just the beginning). You, the wonderful fandom who gave more love, support and passion than anyone could have ever imagined seven years ago, when a young Degrassi girl from Canada showed up in LA to audition for ‘that Twilight TV show.’ 😉 I love you all. Fasten your seatbelts. If you think you know what’s coming, you don’t. Love, Nina

A photo posted by Nina Dobrev (@ninadobrev) on Apr 6, 2015 at 5:01pm PDT