CAROLINE DRIES TALKS ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT FOR CAROLINE FORBES

SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s be real: No fang fan tuned into The Vampire Diaries Christmas special with the expectation that the show’s main characters would get to enjoy a bit of yuletide cheer. After all, the last time the series aired a holiday special, we witnessed Klaus get his jolly on by murdering twelve hybrids and drowning Carol Lockwood all while classic carols streamed in the background.

However, though we figured romantic debacles and violence among the Gemini family members would come into play, no one expected the dreaded C word to make an appearance. You know….cancer. Let’s just say poor Caroline Forbes and the Sheriff won’t be hanging their stockings by the chimney with care this year; they have bigger issues to worry about a.k.a. finding a cure for Liz. And in case that wasn’t depressing enough, Matt Donovan, who had his little heart set on staking Enzo, has found himself at the vamp’s mercy; Kai Parker has siphoned all the power from the Traveler’s anti-magic border and abducted Elena as part of his wicked scheme; and Bonnie Bennett continues to remain trapped in Bizarro 1994 World. These are some merry times, indeed.

Thus, in anticipation of the Vampire Diaries‘ return in 2015, we chatted with executive producer Caroline Dries about what viewers can expect in terms of supernatural drama. From Bonnie’s return to the status of Steroline’s relationship to Delena’s potential reunion, she had plenty of juicy spoilers to tease! Check out our exclusive interview below for the latest details.

Alloy Entertainment: So Julie Plec confirmed on twitter that Bonnie escapes. However, since this is TVD we know it won’t be that easy. What can you divulge any details about our beloved witch’s return?

Caroline Dries: You know how we have all that news about the Sony hack going on? Well, Julie is like Sony Hack 2.0; she spoiled the whole rest of the season. [Laughs.] What I can say is that Bonnie is in the process of basically being in hell. Unlike being trapped on the Other Side [in Season 5], where she had access to our plane of existence and sort of participate in her friends’ lives indirectly, she’s stuck in a repeating loop of the same day and it’s driving her insane. As we saw in the mid-season finale, she just couldn’t take it anymore and burned a Christmas tree down. So she’s going to suffer, and then ultimately accept the challenge [at hand] and become a stronger person in order to heck out of there. She’s going to face some obstacles before seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but she’s going to come back a different Bonnie for sure. (continue below)

Candice Accola: I Don’t Think Caroline and Tyler's Relationship Can Recover

• Are Caroline and Tyler over for good? And is there even hope for a friendship?

Although Tyler was the one to walk away from the relationship, Caroline committed the ultimate act of betrayal by sleeping with his mortal enemy, Klaus. With the cat out of the bag, and Tyler sure that he wants nothing to do with her, Caroline walked into this episode's Bitter Ball and shredded remnants of both men.

But does Caroline ever remain single for very long? Although there were hints of jealousy over watching Stefan and Elena/Katherine dance, Accola tells TVGuide.com that those two are destined for great friendship.

"Things are going to get really tricky (...)" - Julie Plec, Exclusive Interview.

• SPOILER! --> If you haven´t seen Episode 100, 500 Years Of Solitude (#5.11) don´t read this.

Katherine Pierce spent the majority of the episode, "500 Years of Solitude," lying on her deathbed believing her end was near. In celebration of her impending doom, Damon, Stefan and Co. took shots as they reminisced about the terrible things Katherine has done since season one. But after Nadia introduced a Plan B for how Katherine could skirt death, she jumped at the chance. By the end of the hour, Katherine took over Elena's body -- but only Nadia is in on the plan. R.I.P. Elena?

The episode also featured a long list of cameos, listed here in order of appearance:

1. Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre), 
2. Klaus (Joseph Morgan), 
3. Emily Bennett (Bianca Lawson), 
4. Rebekah (Claire Holt), 
5. Aunt Jenna (Sarah Canning), 
6. Uncle John (David Anders), 
7. Elijah (Daniel Gillies), 
8. Vicki (Kayla Ewell), 
9. Tyler (Michael Trevino),
10. Alaric (Matt Davis).

Julie Plec talks to THR about the episode's memorable returns and that shocking Katherine/Elena body-snatch in the final minutes.

The 100th episode featured a ton of cameos, including characters we haven't seen in a while. Since you couldn't feature everyone who made an impact, what were the guidelines with who would appear?

We knew we wanted to bring back everybody that had ever been a series regular for part of our family long-term. On top of that, we just love shouting back to little things, little characters, over the course of the series that were either embedded in the story or had great moments like the Uncle John moment [in season one] or Emily Bennett who, of course, was Katherine's sidekick back in the day.  

The opening was quite comedic, with the major characters reminiscing about Katherine.  How did you want to open this particular episode?

In the beginning, we're reminding the audience that Katherine used to just be a human girl who accidentally got pregnant -- and losing that baby, or having it taken away from her, was the catalyst for the rest of her life and the very thing that turned her into the person that she is. Coming off something so intense and learning that she's going to die, we loved that idea of kicking off the episode with what felt like a celebration.

It was also one of the rare moments where you had a lot of the major players in the same room.

Let me tell you, it takes some time to shoot when you get more than four people in a room too.