TVD - spoilers and promos #2 - Page 3

he sacrifice ritual is finally upon us, and no one is pretending that tonight's game-changing episode of The Vampire Diaries (The CW, 8 p.m. ET) won't have a body count. It was an emotional hour for the cast to shoot. "The big sacrifice is very tragic. A lot of people die, and it's all people that we love and care about, and so when you're on set filming it and you're looking at these people in their eyes and you know that they're dying, it's like losing a family member for real," Dobrev tells EW. As always, the cast had to find the light at the end of the tunnel. "The show is so dark, and dangerous, and scary, and there's so much blood and death, we have to make ourselves laugh, we have to make sure that we have fun. During the sacrifice episode, we shot mostly nights, about an hour or hour and a half outside [Atlanta], so we would drive an hour and a half twice a day after working 16 hours a day for a week. We worked on a Saturday night as well. We were joking around saying, 'If we have to work on Saturday night, we should be able to drink on Saturday night at work. We didn't obviously," she says, "but then on Sunday morning, when we wrapped at like 9 a.m., we all went out for brunch, which was basically like our dinner." So mimosas all around? "We tried, but in Georgia there's a law that you can't drink before 12:30 on Sunday," she says.

Speaking of tragedies, we asked Dobrev to tease tonight's episode. Here's what she told us:

Image Credit: Art Streiber/The CW

• John (David Anders) has been MIA because independent Elena's been avoiding him despite their truce, and frankly, she's had so much on her mind, she hasn't even thought about keeping him in the loop. "We saw a lot of him this episode, and you're gonna see him be as selfless as we've ever seen him," she says. (RIP, John?)

• Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning), who's in transition and will become a vampire if she drinks human blood, will go through hell either way. So will Elena. "Jenna will have to make the choice, and Elena will have to sit there and watch her go through this terrible thing. When you think about it, Jenna found out that vampires existed and then become one in, like, a day. And now she's fighting all these different emotions because when you're a vampire, all your senses are heightened — the feeling for love, and regret, and sadness, and pain," Dobrev says. "The one thing Elena has been fighting so hard to achieve all season is to protect her friends and her family, and now she's in this circumstance where she's very vulnerable and helpless and she has to sit there like a spectator and watch those around her die knowing that she's basically next."

• By episode's end, we will know one way or another whether Elena, who Damon (Ian Somerhalder) force-fed his blood last episode, will be turning into a vampire herself.

• Expect captive Katherine to play a role in the sacrifice… "She somehow surprises everyone," Dobrev says. Vague, yes, but we're pretty sure she meant "surprise" in a good way.

• Damon will hide his werewolf bite from Elena and Stefan (Paul Wesley). That sets up next week's season finale, during which Damon's dementia kicks in while Mystic Falls is hosting a screening of Gone With the Wind in the town square. "It's a very, very interesting turn of events. Because Damon force-fed Elena his blood, and she was just so heartbroken by it, and so angry and upset, it's almost like something finally clicked in his brain and he realized that he did something that was not right. It's his final act of good grace — he doesn't want to burden them with it. He's already kind of written himself off, and he doesn't want to make everyone around him suffer because of it. He just wants to go gracefully and try to redeem himself before he dies. It's actually a really beautiful episode." (Note to Damon fans: All she's actually said there is that Damon thinks he's dying. Let's remember that Rose didn't die from the werewolf bite, she died from Damon mercy staking her. Let's also not forget that one myth — the curse of the sun and the moon — has been busted.)

Bonus burning questions:

• Last episode, Damon convinced Katherine to tell him where Klaus (Joseph Morgan) was holding Caroline (Candice Accola) and Tyler (Michael Trevino), because if Katherine loves Stefan, she wouldn't want the ritual to happen as scheduled since it would mean spending eternity competing with vampire Elena for Stefan's affection. Does Katherine really love Stefan, or is that just a lie she's still selling? "There's so many ways it can go, and nobody truly knows the answer to that except for [executive producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec], and they're very ambiguous about it to even me," she says. "But the way I play it, it's your classic 'I want what I can't have' syndrome. Damon was so available to Katherine for so long. He was like a little puppy dog. She liked playing with him, but she didn't always keep him around. And Stefan almost represented what seemed like a solid ground in her so inconsistent world. She's been running for 500 years, and he was sort of indifferent about her, and the fact that he's fallen in love with someone else but he's still being this good guy — Katherine at the end of the day had a family and loved her family, and like anyone, she wants to be loved and is looking for a family and to be accepted. I think she believes she loves Stefan, but I think it could change at any given time. Katherine loves herself more than anyone else. There may be people who she finds compatible, or endearing, or interesting, or playful, or flirtatious, and everyone will feed a different part of her existence for that moment in time, but ultimately, Katherine loves herself. Maybe one day, she will get to a point where she gets lonely, and she's gonna want to find a greater purpose. Maybe she'll have to hit bottom and completely shut down and lose everything to realize that she needs to have a greater fulfillment in life."

• Fans are talking about chemistry between Elena and Elijah (Daniel Gillies). Should we be? "We can obviously tell that there was something between Elijah and Katherine, and there is now something sort of building between Elena and Elijah. Is it the same thing that's been going on with every guy who's encountered Elena after having survived Katherine?" Dobrev asks. (She has no answer.) "It's funny," she says. "Daniel Gillies is such a sweetheart, and he's so amazing and so funny, and we're really, really good friends, so we have a lot of fun on set. That kind of chemistry and friendship definitely can be caught on camera. I'm glad that it plays."

• If we ever meet the person Katherine was a doppelganger of, what demand will Dobrev make when asked to play three roles? "I have no idea when that will happen," she laughs. "The only thing I'd probably ask for is 12-hour turnarounds [between leaving the set at night and arriving in the morning] a few times a week. That would be my only request because that doesn't happen all the time."

Mystic Falls may be consumed by fire on The Vampire Diaries finale, but nothing's hotter than badass ancient vampire Klaus.  

We just had the pleasure of swooning over chatting with Joseph Morgan, who plays the fangtastically evil bloodsucker out to destroy Elena (Nina Dobrev) and her inner circle. This man is so enchanting we'd probably stab ourselves in the leg like Katherine if he asked nicely in that charming British accent.

Read on to hear what Joseph teased about TVD's "thrilling" season finale episodes—and his possible return next season!

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What was it like playing such an eagerly anticipated character?
It's obviously daunting at first—when I first realized, that was kind of a wakeup call, really. I found once I started to get into it and do the research and really kind of figure out a way through it, it became more and more fun, more and more enjoyable. Everything I found out about the character, read their ideas for this character—other than what people have said about him—then it just got more and more exciting. Absolutely kind of thrilling. I was excited as each script came out to see what else they had in store for me, who else Klaus would have a run-in with.

Does Klaus have any redeeming qualities other than just being really hot?
Well, I think he has an appreciation of culture. [Laughs.] I think he's been around long enough, he has an appreciation for the finer things in life. I like to think he can be charming when he wants to be, although he probably has ulterior motives most of the time. We'll see—like I did, you guys will discover along the way, as the episodes come out the end of this season, you learn a little more. Each character becomes more three-dimensional the more we watch them, the more things we learn about them. So yeah, I hope so, maybe there's something we haven't seen.

What have you heard about next season?
Listen, all I've heard is that Vampire Diaries have been picked up for next season and [show runner] Julie [Plec]'s teased that it will delve into origin of the Originals, but other than that everyone's waiting on decisions about whether they go back or not. I mean, regardless of whether Klaus survives the sacrifice or not, there's still possibilities to go back, isn't there—in flashback and that kind of thing—so we're just waiting to find out.

Can you confirm that Klaus turns into a werewolf, or at least begins the transition, in tonight's episode?
I can't confirm or deny that rumor. I will say that if it does go down—look, the point where Klaus is transforming, or where he's in transition, in theory is supposed to be the point where he's at his most vulnerable, so just because you've seen something like the beginning of a transformation or something like that, is no guarantee that he's going to survive through the night.

What can we expect with Bonnie's return tonight?
Channeling the power of 100 dead witches really kind of has changed Bonnie [Kat Graham]—changed her permanently. I think we're going to see a more fearsome, more powerful side of Bonnie this week.

What can you tease about the "interest" Klaus will take in Stefan [Paul Wesley]?
[Laughs.] I'll tell you what. I've been reprimanded for teasing too much in that area already. I'm going to have to begrudgingly apologize and not go any further in this sort of pit that I've already gone. I stand by what I said: He will take a special interest.

Can anything stop Jenna's [Sara Canning] transformation into a vampire?
That's interesting. Can vervain slow a transformation down? I like to see this as a "YP" not an "MP" in terms of the show—it's a "your problem," not a "my problem." [Laughs.] If anything can save Jenna from becoming a vampire it's up to Bonnie and her gang of merry men to figure it out.

Anything else you can tease about the final two episodes?
It's an overused word in terms of the show, but they really are epic. I saw a rough cut of episode 21 last night and it really isn't going to disappoint. It's gonna be every bit as thrilling as we want it to be. Episode 22 is going to be a thrill ride. I really don't want to spoil anything, [but] I'll be there watching it with you guys. I'm really excited to hear people's reactions and see what everyone writes on Twitter about it.

What do you think about being called the hottest vampire on the show?
That's pretty flattering. You'd have to see me first thing in the morning getting out of bed trying to make a cup of tea. [Laughs.] I think if I told my 5-year-old self one day you're going to be voted "most hottest vampire" I'd get a kick out of that for sure. Thank you very much. That's a wonderful way to start my day.

Don't miss The Vampire Diaries final two episodes of the season, airing tonight and next Thursday at 8 p.m. on the CW.