Yesterday’s Vampire Diaries panel at Comic-Con was anything but satisfying. We learned nothing new, basically. It was all AU — if the cast were ever in a Hunger Games arena, who would they kill first? Who’s the one character they want their character to hook up with? Nothing cannon, really. They might as well have written a fanfiction then and there. And that, of course, pissed me off because I had stayed up till 2 AM after being exhausted all day just to read tweets and live-blogs about what’s next on TVD. But some of things said at the panel did get me thinking, what do I really want from the next season of The Vampire Diaries?
6. Gone But Not Forgotten
One of the pieces OLD news that was “revealed” last night was that Matt Davis will contractually be able to appear on TVD next season. One of the fans suggested that he returns in flashbacks, but I’m not really interested in those because I feel like we learned everything there is to know about Alaric and his past – unless they are Dalaric flashbacks with new footage; I would die for that. But the Alaric I really want to see in season 4 is the Alaric Jeremy saw after he died, the guy that told Jeremy he’d always be there watching over him. I want him to return when day when all hell is breaking loose in Mytsic Falls and only he can help them from the Other Side. I cannot imagine the show without Alaric, so they better bring him back next season. But I’m pretty optimistic, to be honest. The show has proved to be loyal to its dead ones over the past three seasons and that gives me lots of hope.
5. The Return of Katherine Pierce
Julie Plec has repeatedly said that Katherine won’t return to Mystic Falls until the Klaus threat is gone (and she said it again last night), and since we know Klaus is not leaving anytime soon, where does that leave Katherine? I don’t think there’s a time as ideal for Katherine to return as now. I mean, Elena’s a vampire, for crying out loud. How freaked out will Katherine be when she finds out? That scene is probably the one scene I’m enthusiastically waiting for, as long as the wait might be. Fighting with her over Stefan’s affection for eternity? That is bound to leave her angry as hell. And there’s nothing more fun to watch than angry Katherine!
In addition, it will be interesting to see how Elena pulls off being a vampire without becoming Katherine. And having her around will probably add the sufficient pressure on Nina Dobrev to create a vampire Elena with an identity different than that of Katherine’s. And let’s face it, we are going to make those comparisons. Having her around will make it a tad easier.
4. Phoebe Tonkin, please?
“I love Phoebe. I love her. I want her on Vampire Diaries. I ought to write her in,” Kevin Williamson told IGN’s Eric Goldman back in May, and I really, really wish he would. It doesn’t seem like she’s going to be on the show anytime soon, though, because when Julie Plec was asked on Twitter if Tonkin has officially been cast as April Young, the new 16-year-old character on the show, Plec said that the character is meant to be younger than Tonkin. And I haven’t heard yet of any other female characters joining the show next season.
The show has cast few of the most epic guest stars from our YA world, though: Taylor Kinney, Arielle Kebbel, Cassidy Freeman, Torey freakin’ DeVitto! So Tonkin would fit right in.
Plus, can you imagine how AWESOME it would be if she played some sort of evil vampire coming to town to kill everybody? Her teaming up with Klaus and Rebekah against everyone in town, or vice versa? It would be SO good. Oh, Kevin. PLEASE write her in.
3. Decent story-lines for both Matt & Bonnie
The writers were too distracted last season by all the triangles they were creating that they forgot two major characters on the show: Matt and Bonnie. I mean, besides dying, almost dying, and seeing Vicky’s ghost, what did Matt do last season? NOTHING. As for Bonnie, all they did was make the audience hate her more instead of making them embrace her. I love Bonnie, but I do understand the hate surrounding her character.
“I don’t know if this is the Season of Matt, but this is the season of Matt trying to stay human,” Zach Roerig said in last night’s panel. He’s going to feel guilty about what happened to Elena because of him so he’s going to offer whatever part of his body to her to feed on. Also, expect Damon to go batshit crazy on Matt because he’s going to blame him for what happened to Elena, according to Ask Ausiello. But you guys, this guy NEEDS to get laid. At SDCC, Roerig joked that he wants his character hook up with Sheriff Forbes, but that would be a little creepy, don’t you think? I always thought he and Rebekah would make a cute couple, actually. Because, like Elena once said, Rebekah is “Just a girl. She loves blindly and recklessly even if it consumes her.” But now that she drove them off the Wickery Bridge, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
As for Bonnie, just ANYTHING that will make her resonate with the audience as the amazing character that she is. If there’s one disappointing factor about the show for the last three seasons, it’s her story-lines; they’re either awful or unnecessary and they’re never enough to keep you invested with her as a character. The show left off with quite the twisted reveal when it comes to Bonnie: she helped Klaus inhabit Taylor’s body. I’m sure this is going to make a lot of fans like her less but if you think about it, for once, she’s not the righteous judgmental witch. She was just like everyone else on the show – doing anything, even if it’s something no one will understand, to keep her friends and family alive. So I hope the show explores that further – the teenager stuck in a messed up supernatural world. I’d also like to see her smile more often, if that’s possible. Mopey Bonnie really pisses me off. Oh, and no more Jamie, please? I feel like the show created a relationship between those two just to shut the fans up. We gave her a love interest, now calm down.
2. Less “I Don’t Knows” and More Badassness
Besides creating enemies within the TVD fandom, all that the Delena/Stelena triangle has caused is make the fans of the show like Elena less – just like with Blair on Gossip Girl. She has become nothing more than a part of this triangle, the girl that gets around. She made a decision in regards to which of the Salvatore brothers she wants, but we all know this show too much to think that this decision will stick. Now that she’s a vampire, Damon’s compulsion on her is going to wear off. She’s going to remember that he told her he loved her but that his brother deserved her more and that she met him first. Of course, that’s going to confuse her even more. And we’re going to return to that all-consuming triangle. But with her emotions heightened, maybe her decision will be easier this time around? Oh God, I hope so.
I can’t take another season-long arc of Elena kissing and leaning on both brothers and then saying, “I don’t know” whenever she’s asked which Salvatore brother she really wants. Julie Plec stated last night that she likes to root for both ships, and I think that’s why she’s going back and forth with them. But like Elena needs to make a decision, so does Julie. I won’t get into what I want as a shipper to happen, so let’s move on.
Not everyone is thrilled about Elena becoming a vampire, obviously. (By the way, it’s a twist the writers intended to create since the second season.) But think about it, with Elena a vampire, she’s no longer a damsel in distress. She’s no longer Klaus’s blood-bank. And she can defend herself from now on something Ian believes will create a new dynamic between her and the Salvatore brothers.
1. More of Human Klaus
Neither Candice or Joseph were at last night’s panel, so we basically got ZERO information about the two. But the way the show dealt with the Caroline and Klaus pairing last season, and the way the season ended, you have to expect the writers to dig deeper when it comes to that couple. You’d be a fool to think the writers are going to neglect one of the most intensely shipped pairs on the show.
But the truth is (and I know I’m going to piss off a lot of fans while writing this, but bear with me), Caroline cannot be with someone as evil as Klaus (he is evil, let’s not argue about that) at the moment. She was there before, with Damon. And she was hurt and abused and manipulated. Klaus will definitely treat her better; I know that for a fact because whether you like him or not, you have to admit, he has feelings for her. He’s almost obsessed with her. But she’s been scarred too badly to let someone like Klaus in that easily. The writers have to humanize him the way they did with Damon over the past two seasons. There has to be more scenes where Klaus pours his heart to her for her to trust him. He has to stop randomly killing people, and he has to leave Tyler alone. I cannot and will not accept a Klaus/Caroline heart to heart after she finds out he’s possessed her boyfriend’s body because that would just be ridiculous.
I’m not saying the writers should change who he is, but in season 3, as much of a villain as Klaus was, we got a glimpse of what and who he really is behind his lunacy. There’s more to him than an Original who wants to create an army of hybrids for his service. He’s a guy that needs a family. He’s a guy that needs human contact, that needs a friend, a brother – one that he saw in Stefan. He has crushes and his heart breaks. And I would like to see more of that Klaus in the next season because the writers are brilliant in forming this thin line between good and evil – it’s not all black or white to them. And Klaus shouldn’t be black or white, either.
At the panel, as well, Ian said that Damon will no longer try to be the nice guy. I hope that doesn’t mean he’ll go on a killing spree again because I would totally hate that.
Well, that’s probably about it. What would YOU like to see in the fourth season of The Vampire Diaries?
All information about last night’s panel are from Hitfix, Digital Spy, and EW’s SDCC live-blogs.