RECAP: Ian Somerhalder Opens Up About 'The Vampire Diaries' Damon And Elena

by uInterviewOctober 12, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

When Elena (Nina Dobrev) almost died afer a violent car crash on the cliffhanger of season three of The Vampire Diaries, fans knew that their heroine would have a disturbing decision to face — whether or not to take her second chance at (undead) life by feeding on another human within the next day and thus transitioning into a full vampire, or to forego the chance and die just like any other mortal person who was in a fatal car accident. And most knew that love interests Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) would have different reactions to Elena's predicament.

That's right — based on the conventions of this particular vampire-verse (in case you get them all mixed up), you have around a day to figure out if you want to forge ahead with life as a member of the undead when you die your mortal death, provided you have vampire blood in your system at the time, which Elena did, thanks to Meredith (Torrey DeVitto).

While Wesley's Stefan wanted the poor girl to chicken out and forego the life of being a blood-sucking monster, Somerhalder-as-Damon was pretty cool with the whole idea. In the midst of Elena's tumultuous transition, she begins to remember things that Damon previously wiped from her memory — like him telling her he loved her — and wonders if choosing Stefan over Damon was the right choice.

Perhaps The Vampire Diaries is hinting that Elena's feelings will become more aligned with Damon's, especially in light of her new transition, which was made complete when a random guard was killed and Elena drank the blood that poured from him. So she got off light with her decision to become a heinous bloodsucker, not even having to make her first kill.

So what do we have to look forward to as season four of The Vampire Diaries progresses? "All of Elena's relationships will change going forward. It affects every character's dynamic — Elena's love triangle, her friendship with her girlfriends, her relationship with her brother and with herself … as she starts to wonder what she really wants and who she really is," said series co-executive producer Caroline Dries, reports the New York Post.

But Damon's attitude toward Elena won't change now that she's transitioning. "It doesn't really matter whether she's a vampire or human being," Somerhalder, who has been in a real-life relationship with Dobrev for some time now, told Entertainment Weekly. "He loves her either way."

See how Elena's undead life unfolds on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Check out this clip from next week's episode: