A Vampire Diaries Post-Mortem and a Preview of the Shocking Finale

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from this week's episode of Vampire Diaries.]

We promise, it's going to be all right — maybe.

Thursday's episode of Vampire Diaries was a kick to the gut, thanks to Damon's decision to feed his blood to Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Jenna (Sara Canning) being turned into a vampire by Klaus (Joseph Morgan). And it's not even the season finale yet! Executive producer Julie Plec is here to calm — or in some cases heighten — your fears for what's ahead for the Mystic Falls gang. Will Damon (Ian Somerhalder) die? Will Elena turn into a vampire? Get the scoop below! 

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Jenna is becoming a vampire: Yes, Klaus has taken the life of what may be the only pure person left in Mystic Falls. Shortly after finding out that vampires exist, Jenna has become an integral part in the long-awaited ritual. "The next episode takes place over the rest of the night," Plec says. "It is Klaus' attempt in executing the sacrifice ritual to break the curse and the part Jenna is meant to play in that, and what everyone else has to do to try to keep her from being the vampire that Klaus sacrifices."

Damon was fatally bitten by a werewolf: Remember Rose (Lauren Cohan)? The ancient, yet sweet vampire that formed a bond with Damon only to be bitten by a werewolf and slowly die in his arms? Yeah, there is no cure for a werewolf bite! "The finale is basically the end of the road of Damon's journey for the year," Plec says. "He's done so many things and made so many choices that have been so screwed up and now he's at the end of his life, so he believes, and he needs to come to terms with all the decisions he's made in the year. Not just in the year, but since Katherine seduced him 145 years ago. [He'll be] reliving those mistakes that he made with Katherine [and] trying to get Elena's forgiveness."

Stefan will try to save Damon: Stefan (Paul Wesley) is "determined to do anything he can possible to save his brother," Plec says. "Stefan's whole cross to bear is, 'Wait a second, my brother is finally showing his humanity? The humanity that I took away from him 145 years ago? I can't let him die now!' But there's no cure, so what the hell is he going to do? That's the finale."

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Elena does not want to be a vampire: With only slight hope that the elixir Elijah (Daniel Gillies) procured would save Elena, Damon took matters into his own hands and force-fed his blood to her, essentially ensuring she would turn into a vampire if Klaus succeeds in the ritual. "When we started the show, the similarities to Twilight were so extreme," Plec says. "This was our way of closing the book on that chapter of similarities. For Elena to say, 'I've never even wanted this for a minute because I'm still a kid and I still have choices to make in my life, choices that I wanted to make'; I was happy to let her have this introspection when the choice has already been made for her."

Damon will try to get Elena's forgiveness: Damon will have to deal with the aftermath of damning Elena to an eternity of being a vampire. "This is [Damon's] biggest lesson to learn," Plec says, "You can love someone with all the power in your soul, but you still have to remember who they are and what they want. In the final episode, Damon needs to seek her forgiveness for what he did and he desperately wants it. He now has the extra reason with the werewolf bite. 'I can't die with you hating me,' that's his point."

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The producers wouldn't really kill Damon, right? Right? While Plec playfully joked, "Anybody can die!" and "Who needs Ian Somerhalder?" the producers are not afraid to make some tough choices. "There will be severe and tragic consequences, and loss of life [will] be extreme over the last several episodes," Plec says. "It's a vampire show, and in a vampire show, the stakes are high and the death count has to match that. If you guys don't believe the consequences aren't life and death, then we're not doing our job. Unfortunately we've set into motion this ritual that needs a lot of sacrificial elements. We hope that the audience trusts our decision as storytellers to make those right decisions. There will be decisions that are not popular, always."

Even if characters die, it may not be the last we see of them: Case in point, Lexi (Arielle Kebbel) was killed in her first episode on the show, but the producers were able to bring her back in flashbacks. "There will be characters that you think are gone, so we do have ways of letting our audience see their fan favorites again over time," Plec says.

Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on the CW.