TVLINE | Is the plan to catch up to the three-year jump by the end of the season?
Yes, that’s the plan — probably about three-quarters of the way through the season, actually.
TVLINE | So you must have everything pretty well mapped out.
Oh, yes. The thing about flash-forwards is that you do your best to map everything out at the beginning, because if you screw up, you’re stuck with it forever. We laid out the broad strokes of what we wanted to do and what little surprises we wanted to drop along the way. But we’ve also made some new discoveries in doing that; characters who perhaps weren’t going to live to see three years from now are now alive in their own flash-forwards. [Laughs] It’s good for our actors to know they might survive the time jump.
TVLINE | Let’s talk about that woman coming after Damon and Stefan with the crossbow. Is she someone we know? Someone we’re going to meet?
That’s Stephen Amell in drag. [Laughs] I can’t say, but a lot of people have told me their theories and there have been a couple doozies. I think it’s more fun to keep people guessing.
Yes, that’s the plan — probably about three-quarters of the way through the season, actually.
TVLINE | So you must have everything pretty well mapped out.
Oh, yes. The thing about flash-forwards is that you do your best to map everything out at the beginning, because if you screw up, you’re stuck with it forever. We laid out the broad strokes of what we wanted to do and what little surprises we wanted to drop along the way. But we’ve also made some new discoveries in doing that; characters who perhaps weren’t going to live to see three years from now are now alive in their own flash-forwards. [Laughs] It’s good for our actors to know they might survive the time jump.
TVLINE | Let’s talk about that woman coming after Damon and Stefan with the crossbow. Is she someone we know? Someone we’re going to meet?
That’s Stephen Amell in drag. [Laughs] I can’t say, but a lot of people have told me their theories and there have been a couple doozies. I think it’s more fun to keep people guessing.
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What can you share about the flash-forward device? Will it be utilized every episode? Is there a chance we could get a full flash-forward hour?
We are going to spend this season catching up to the three years from now. These flash-forwards are a lot of fun, because they give you little pieces of mystery, and it's going to leave you wondering what the big story is. How did these people get to where they are? There should be a flash-forward in almost every -- if not every -- episode this season.
That mysterious figure who was attacking the brothers -- can you say if it was Caroline (Candice King)? Or was it meant to be ambiguous?
It is supposed to be ambiguous; you're supposed to wonder who it is, and one day we will tell you!
Before the brother got attacked by the mysterious woman in the future, Damon got angry with Stefan (Paul Wesley) for waking him up before Elena (Nina Dobrev) was revived. What pushed Damon to that point where he opted to just put himself to sleep versus live without her?
This entire season's journey is taking us to the place where Damon makes that decision. He starts the season trying his best to live his life without Elena Gilbert. And over the course of his run, he'll have a lot of highs, a lot of lows, and ultimately, in a very sad and strange and poetic -- and probably selfish -- decision to put himself down. We'll get to see what happens along the way to that point.
We are going to spend this season catching up to the three years from now. These flash-forwards are a lot of fun, because they give you little pieces of mystery, and it's going to leave you wondering what the big story is. How did these people get to where they are? There should be a flash-forward in almost every -- if not every -- episode this season.
That mysterious figure who was attacking the brothers -- can you say if it was Caroline (Candice King)? Or was it meant to be ambiguous?
It is supposed to be ambiguous; you're supposed to wonder who it is, and one day we will tell you!
Before the brother got attacked by the mysterious woman in the future, Damon got angry with Stefan (Paul Wesley) for waking him up before Elena (Nina Dobrev) was revived. What pushed Damon to that point where he opted to just put himself to sleep versus live without her?
This entire season's journey is taking us to the place where Damon makes that decision. He starts the season trying his best to live his life without Elena Gilbert. And over the course of his run, he'll have a lot of highs, a lot of lows, and ultimately, in a very sad and strange and poetic -- and probably selfish -- decision to put himself down. We'll get to see what happens along the way to that point.
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The big bad in the future
This person is after Stefan, and we won’t know why for quite some time but it’s a very specific agenda this person has and Stefan’s demise is the sad, tragic goal of this person’s agenda. Astute viewers will connect Beau’s scar to Stefan’s and it all ties in to the mystery of who this weapon-wielding shadowy figure is.
Alaric’s mysterious stone
This particular stone would not blend in well with Damon’s soaps. [Laughs] We have things in the writers room that we call moonstone shenanigans and witchy hijinx, which involve usually a prop — a medallion, a locket, a mysterious stone — and every year we’re like, “This year we’re not going to tie our fates into a mystical prop” and then every year we’re like, “But what about a …” [Laughs]
So this year we have the Phoenix Stone. All I can say about its purpose is that for one little pink stone it can do a lot of damage. A good portion of the season is going to be wrapped up in what that stone means, what it can accomplish, what the consequences of and the fall-out of what it does means to our heroes. For example, I just got a script for episode 11 last night and the damage done by that stone is still causing a ripple effect. It packs a punch.
This person is after Stefan, and we won’t know why for quite some time but it’s a very specific agenda this person has and Stefan’s demise is the sad, tragic goal of this person’s agenda. Astute viewers will connect Beau’s scar to Stefan’s and it all ties in to the mystery of who this weapon-wielding shadowy figure is.
Alaric’s mysterious stone
This particular stone would not blend in well with Damon’s soaps. [Laughs] We have things in the writers room that we call moonstone shenanigans and witchy hijinx, which involve usually a prop — a medallion, a locket, a mysterious stone — and every year we’re like, “This year we’re not going to tie our fates into a mystical prop” and then every year we’re like, “But what about a …” [Laughs]
So this year we have the Phoenix Stone. All I can say about its purpose is that for one little pink stone it can do a lot of damage. A good portion of the season is going to be wrapped up in what that stone means, what it can accomplish, what the consequences of and the fall-out of what it does means to our heroes. For example, I just got a script for episode 11 last night and the damage done by that stone is still causing a ripple effect. It packs a punch.
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