4x01 'Growing Pains' Stills

Julie Plec And Nina Dobrev Talk Graduation

Vampire Diaries fans have already heard that season 4 may very well end with Elena (Nina Dobrev) graduating from high school. But here’s why: “Paul Wesley looked at me this year, and he’s like, ‘I don’t have to go back to high school, do I?’” exec producer Julie Plec tells EW with a laugh. “I said, ‘Yeah, you do. You’re in high school.’ He goes, ‘That’s ridiculous.’ I’m like, ‘You’re in high school. If you don’t go to high school, what’s the point?’ ‘I look so ridiculous. We all look so ridiculous. We’re 100 years old, we shouldn’t be in high school.’ I said, ‘Well, there’s one more year to go, so suck it up.’”

Of course, while Plec says she’s targeting an end of season ceremony, things could change. “But look, what I’ve been saying a lot about this season to the people at the network and in general is that the writers and I are really focusing on that time in your life as your adolescence is coming to an end, that milestone of graduation, and you are making decisions: Do I leave home for good? Do I stay? Can I part with this town that’s been so important to me? Do I part with these people who have been so important to me? Am I going out into the world and starting a life and growing up? Or am I gonna hide here where I’m comfortable even if it’s not the best place for me? There’s a lot of great questions that come along with graduation that our characters — both human and supernatural — are gonna be asking themselves about who they are, who they’re supposed to be, and what they’re supposed to do with their life moving forward.”

Dobrev, who sees Elena not only transitioning into a vampire this season but also into her womanhood, is definitely on board with the graduation plan. “Prom. Hello. Pretty dresses. Corsages,” she jokes. “But it is gonna be nice. Paul’s right. We’re all growing with the show and we’re becoming adults, and we can only play high school for so long and be believable and also challenged. I think it’s definitely time, and it’ll be a good button for the end of the season and for the next phase of The Vampire Diaries.”

P.S. Since she mentioned “pretty dresses,” we took the opportunity to ask where Elena scored that gorgeous ball gown on such short notice last season. “Trust me, I asked that exact same question,” Dobrev admits, laughing. “I’m pretty sure she was at school an hour before like, ‘We should go to the ball.’ And then she shows up in full hair and makeup and ball gown like it’s no big deal. I don’t know. Maybe her mom had it lying around? Maybe Bonnie has a hair and makeup spell, like a Cinderella story that happened off-camera that none of us saw?”

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Spoiler From TV Guide - 11th September 2012

I'm so excited that Daniel Gillies was included in the new Vampire Diaries cast gallery! What can you say about his role this season?

Elijah will definitely be back. In fact, Gillies just told us about a recent flashback scene he filmed. "It was the 11th century," Gillies says. "It was an episode that depicted a brand new menace on The Vampire Diaries and not just a menace to the beautiful boys and girls of Mystic Falls, but also to the Originals. A big threat."

Spoiler From TV Line - 11 September 2012

The first seed of Jer’s big Season 4 arc will be planted in Episode 2, airing Oct. 18. Meanwhile, that same episode may set a new Guinness record for featuring the highest concentration of bloody puke in a single hour-long episode of television.

Spoiler From TV Line - 6th September 2012

PREVIOUSLY ON... Where to start? Elena chose Stefan and then it was revealed that Damon met her first, Rebekah ran Matt and Elena off the road and into the river, Bonnie helped Klaus take possession of Tyler's body and Alaric died. Did we forget something? Oh yeah -- Elena became a vampire! 

COMING UP NEXT... With her grief magnified, Elena won’t handle her new vamp state very well, says executive producer Julie Plec. But she won't be questioning her decision to pick Stefan even as Damon's compulsion wears off. Still, the regained knowledge – his confession of love, that she met him before his brother – will “imbed itself in her brain a little bit.” Vamp/hybrid couple Caroline and Tyler will have to deal with Klaus' “mistaken identity hijinks” – don't fret, he won't be taking residence in his siree's body for long – and the arrival of Hayley (The Secret Circle's Phoebe Tonkin), a friend of Tyler's “who's been very important to him in the past.” Another fresh face coming to the show: Grace Phipps’ Mystic Falls returnee April, who shares a history with Jeremy and Elena and has no idea what has become of her hometown. “But of course, as most new, innocent, beautiful young women that enter our show do, she gets very caught up in it very quickly,” adds Plec. As if all of that weren’t enough, Bonnie will suffer some “witch consequences” from her decision to help Klaus, and a new, powerful vampire hunter with an agenda (played by Todd Williams) shows up in town. 

TVLINE BONUS SPOILER... Look for a pivotal-ish death during November sweeps, as well as the return of a familiar face. 

More On Grace Phipps' Character, April

"TVD" is getting some fresh blood in Season 4, which premieres Thursday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. Grace Phipps is set to star as April, a former Mystic Falls resident who returns to town after her father is killed.

Executive producer Julie Plec tells us that Phipps' character brings a "new spirit, a new energy, and a youthful quality" to the show. "She is human; I'll tell you that. She's in high school, and she doesn't know the secrets of the town. She's, in a lot of ways -- and very deliberately so -- like Elena in Season 1. So she'll be a girl who reminds Elena a lot of herself, and Elena in her new phase in life will feel very fiercely protective of this girl. It'll be a fun relationship, a fun dynamic," Plec adds.

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Spoiler From EW - 7th September 2012

What to expect this season: The Salvatore Brothers (Somerhalder's Damon and Wesley's Stefan) will disagree over whether ultra sensitive new vampire Elena (Dobrev) could handle hurting a human, but come episode 2, they'll have an additional worry: the arrival of a vampire hunter (Todd Williams) with an enigmatic origin story that piques the interest of Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and figures into the larger mythology for season 4. After deciding to hang around Mystic Falls while he investigates the mysterious vampire hunter, Klaus will also commit himself to his crush on Caroline (Candice Accola) for the long haul and ponder fun ways to screw up her relationship with Tyler. One will involve guest star Phoebe Tonkin (The Secret Circle), who'll recur as a friend of Tyler's (Michael Trevino) named Hayley. 


Plec says: ''All we know about Hayley thus far is that she shows up in the third episode and it's clear that she and Tyler have a history that we weren't aware of, that Caroline isn't aware of, and that Klaus learns of very quickly. So in the spirit of (how can I drive a wedge between Tyler and Caroline?), Klaus gets to have a little bit of fun with the existence of this girl.'' 

The Vampire Diaries Season 4 Description From The CW

The CW has finally released a write-up detailing The Vampire Diaries Season 4 complete with some minor spoilers. The new season begins October 11.

Returning for its fourth season, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is the story of two vampire brothers, obsessed with the same girl, in a small town where supernatural beings live in secret amongst its residents. In season one, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (IanSomerhalder), returned to their hometown of Mystic Falls, Virginia, for very different reasons. Stefan was determined to get to know Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who bears a striking resemblance to Katherine Pierce (also played by Dobrev), the beautiful but ruthless vampire the brothers knew and loved — in 1864. Damon, on the other hand, was intent on releasing Katherine from the tomb where he believed she was trapped by a witch’s spell all those years ago. The explosive season finale set a plan in motion that resulted in Katherine’s return.

In season two, Katherine’s appearance threw a wrench into the Stefan/Elena/Damon love triangle. The brothers later faced their greatest challenge yet — the arrivals of Elijah (guest star Daniel Gillies) and Klaus (Joseph Morgan), two of the powerful “Original” vampires. Klaus was seemingly focused on breaking the “Sun and Moon” curse by sacrificing Elena. Ultimately, Klaus’ sacrifice ritual proved deadly not for Elena but for her Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning), whose violent death devastated both her family and her boyfriend, Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis), who had also become a trusted friend and guardian to Elena and her brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen).

Season three revealed the history of Klaus and The Original Family, as well as the surprising friendship Klaus and his sister Rebekah (guest star Claire Holt) shared with Stefan decades earlier. Klaus’ return led to Stefan’s descent back to his violent “Ripper” ways. Elena and Damon worked to bring Stefan back from the edge, even as they struggled with the guilt of their growing bond. Meanwhile, Klaus found himself irresistibly drawn to Caroline Forbes (Candice Accola), forcing her boyfriend, the werewolf Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino), to break his sire-bond to Klaus and claim Caroline as his own. A new threat to the Original siblings came from their own mother, Esther (guest star Alice Evans), who was determined to rid the world of the plague of vampires. Using witchcraft and the unwilling help of Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham), Esther turned Alaric into a powerful vampire whose only mission was to hunt down and destroy other vampires – the ultimate vampire hunter. Esther also linked Elena’s life to Alaric’s, making it impossible to kill Alaric while Elena is alive. In the chilling season finale, Elena’s longtime friend Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) tried to get Elena out of town to keep her safe, but Rebekah took matters into her own hands and caused Matt’s truck to plunge off a bridge, trapping Matt and Elena underwater. Despite Stefan’s attempts to save them both, he was only able to get Matt to the surface in time, and Elena drowned, causing Alaric’s death as well. Devastated by this unthinkable loss, Stefan, Damon and all their friends soon discover another horrible truth – thanks to the well-meaning efforts of Dr. Meredith Fell (guest star Torrey DeVitto), Elena died with vampire blood in her system.

Season Four begins with the knowledge that everything is in transition. Elena faces her worst nightmare when she awakens after the accident and finds she must now endure the terrifying transition to become a vampire – or face certain death. Stefan and Damon are torn even further apart over how to help Elena adjust to a life she never wanted, and everyone has to cope with the chaos Alaric created when he outed the vampires and their supporters to the Mystic Falls Council and local church leaders. Despite everything that has happened to them, as Elena and her friends enter into the final stretch of high school before graduation sends them off on different paths, they feel the bond to their home town of Mystic Falls take on a deeper meaning when a new mysterious villain is introduced who seems intent on destroying it.

Based on the series of books by L. J. Smith, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is from Bonanza Productions Inc., Outerbanks Entertainment and Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Kevin Williamson (“Scream,” “Dawson’s Creek”), Julie Plec (“Kyle XY,” “Wasteland”), Leslie Morgenstein (“Gossip Girl,” “Private”) and Bob Levy (“Gossip Girl,” “Privileged”).

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