Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder accept the award for favorite on-screen chemistry for their show "The Vampire Diaries" at the 2014 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California January 8, 2014.
Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder accept the award for favorite on-screen chemistry for their show "The Vampire Diaries" at the 2014 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California January 8, 2014. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

TVD series creator and executive producer Julie Plec was faced with a huge problem when main cast member Nina Dobrev decided to exit from the CW TV series. Plec shared in an interview what she did to continue “The Vampire Diaries” without the lead female character Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) in Mystic Falls.

Spoiler Alert: This feature contains major “The Vampire Diaries” spoilers.

Plec revealed in an Entertainment Weekly (EW) interview that she always looks back at the time when Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark (Sean Bean), one of the main characters in HBO’s fantasy drama television series “Game of Thrones” got killed off in the pilot season. “At first I said well, ‘How could there be a show without Ned Stark?’” Plec said in the EW interview.

Plec assured the fans that “The Vampire Diaries” will not replace Elena Gilbert and the CW TV series will still keep Elena’s presence alive in the new season. In the finale episode of “The Vampire Diaries” Season 6, Kai Parker’s spell has linked Elena’s life to her best friend Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham).

Kai (Chris Wood) explained in a video recording that Elena will remain asleep as long as Bonnie is alive. Elena’s absence in “The Vampire Diaries” Season 7 has allowed the other characters to grow in the CW TV series through fresh storylines.

Plec admitted that the change of story format in “The Vampire Diaries” has cleared the way for characters Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes (Candice Accola) to a certain extent. Plec explained that the show has already established Bonnie as the rescuer and Caroline as the bossy hero, so their roles in the new season are given more room to breathe while Elena sleeps safely in the Salvatore crypt.

As for the Salvatore brothers, the bond between Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) will be put to the test in “The Vampire Diaries” Season 7 because of the presence of their Ripper mother, Lily Salvatore (Annie Wersching), and her Heretics family in Mystic Falls.

The flash-forward scene in the finale episode of “The Vampire Diaries” Season 6 already teased the kind of trouble that Lily and the vampire-witch hybrids place in Mystic Falls. “The Vampire Diaries” Season 7 will premiere on Thursday night, Oct. 8, at 8/7c on the CW Network.

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