Kevin Williamson: ‘Vampire Diaries’ Finale To Defy Expectations

Kevin Williamson: ‘Vampire Diaries’ Finale To Defy Expectations

Last summer, executive producers Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson took L.J. Smith’s books and turned them into the ‘Vampire Diaries.’ The show was initially marketed as a ‘Twilight’ clone. In a few episodes, though, ‘Vampire Diaries’ proved that it was the heir to the great ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.

Indeed, what began as a love triangle between a noble vampire, a teenage girl, and his gloriously evil brother evolved into a sophisticated series with a complex mythology and the best cliffhangers on television. The much-anticipated finale, airing May 13 on the CW, promises to be a best episode yet – as Plec and Williamson told us, they hope it defies expectations.

They answered five questions for Fancast.com’s finale special.

1. What were the high points of the season? Everything. But if I had to pick some favorites…I always lean toward the OMG moments. For me, Vicki’s death was a high point because it helped define what type of show we were. I thought Elena finding the picture of Katherine post-sex, pre-car wreck was a high point. And the opening of the tomb revealing that Katherine was NOT in it was a biggie.

2. Do you have a favorite episode, line, or scene from this season? If so – what? There are a few moments in the finale that qualify as my favorite but you’ll have to wait for it. I’m particularly proud of 105. It was early on and we were still finding the show. I felt this episode brought all the elements together for me. The writing, directing, design, acting, photography, wardrobe, hair/make-up, everything came together for me and I truly saw the “epic” that Julie and I had envisioned.

3. Take us inside your approach to the finale, and what you wanted to accomplish. We wanted to entertain, defy even the most avid viewer’s expectations, and leave everyone wanting to tune in next season to see how things will unfold.

4. Did anything disappoint you about this season? Anything you wish you could have done, but didn’t have the time, forethought or resources? We wish we could have spent considerably more time on set with our great production staff and cast. Shooting in Atlanta, with the writer’s room in LA, it was difficult to make that happen sometimes. I wish we had more prep time with the scripts — time is always a factor. A few more bucks and we might have seen that church burn to the ground in an 1864 flashback — but I’m genuinely happy. I think our cast and Atlanta team did an amazing job of making or scripts sing. It was a tough first year and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

5. What should fans look forward to next season? Stefan and Elena. Damon and Elena. Damon and Stefan. Shirtless.