The CW series The Vampire Diaries has done the impossible – wrapping up on its own terms, after eights seasons and over 170 episodes of television, and ending on a high note. The penultimate episode, entitled “We’re Planning a June Wedding,” has a looming threat that puts the fate of Mystic Falls in eminent danger, but at the same time, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Caroline (Candice King) get to share a moment of beauty at the wedding that they’ve been fighting to have, all season.

To celebrate the end of the run for the show, the network hosted a screening for a handful of media outlets, and actors Paul Wesley (“Stefan Salvatore”), Ian Somerhalder (“Damon Salvatore”), Michael Malarkey (“Enzo”) and Zach Roerig (“Matt Donovan”) chatted about all things The Vampire Diaries and what’s still to come for the final episode, airing on March 10th. During the interview, they talked about their favorite memories from the run of the series, the experience of filming the wedding, the emotions that came with reading the final script, returning characters, how fans might react to the final two episodes, what the atmosphere was like on set for their final scenes, what they took from the set, what they would say to their fans to help them get over the end of the series, and why they think it’s important to close this chapter of their lives now. Be aware that there are some spoilers discussed.

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Image via The CW

Question: What are your favorite memories from the past eight seasons?

PAUL WESLEY: Off the top of my head, I don’t really have a favorite memory, but in the general sense, as an actor, you audition for something, you get a job, you shoot that job, and then you go away and shoot the next job. It all comes and goes. And with something like this, I never knew, walking into that room, that it was going to be eight years of my life. I started the job as a certain kind of person, and I left a completely different person. It’s shaped my entire existence, or at least a lot of my formative years, in my 20s. This show is going to forever be ingrained in my personality, which is a major deal. I didn’t sign up for that, when I walked into the audition, but I’m very grateful for it. It’s amazing! I’m scarred for life.

ZACH ROERIG: My favorite memory would be the pilot. A lot of us were very young, and it was early in our careers. There was a certain excitement. There was an electric buzz in Vancouver, that we all felt, especially around the casting of Stefan. Most of us were there in Vancouver, waiting to see who they were going to cast. 

WESLEY: Yeah, I was the last guy cast.

ROERIG: I remember Kayla Ewell and Nina [Dobrev] floating around pictures on their phones of who they might pick, and I saw a picture of Paul. It was the beginning of the very formative years of all of our lives, I guess. Vancouver definitely sticks out in my mind.

MICHAEL MALARKEY: For me, it was also the beginning. That first episode that I shot, with Ian [Somerhalder] in the cell, felt like we were shooting this little short film. All my scenes, we were shooting together, and we just had this instant connection and understanding of each other. When you come onto a show late in the game, it’s rare you have that synergy with one of the main actors on the show. I found that, subsequently, with the rest of the cast and was embraced into this world. I feel like I’ve been there forever. It all started with that episode, so that’s my most pivotal and favorite memory. 

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IAN SOMERHALDER: You have to realize that it’s 171 episodes, at a minimum of eight days per episode and sometimes ten, so you’re look at hundreds and hundreds of days. The newness of it, in the beginning, was really special, with the bonding of this cast and crew. That’s what you miss most, when you leave these things. It’s not performing every day, or the writing. You miss the cast and the crew. You miss all the people who make it work because you, effectively, become a family. Paul and I have been joking for years, while we’re killing each other or staking people. In the middle of it, all of a sudden, there’s a fart joke, and you’re just hysterically laughing while everyone is covered in blood. There were these really funny juxtapositions, and there are just too many to count. It’s an era of our lives. I’m 38. Eight years of that is a substantial part of your life. 

WESLEY: We watched Episode 5 in my apartment, with a bunch of people. I think that’s when we were like, “Oh, shit, this show is pretty good!” It was this episode called “Lost Girls.”

SOMERHALDER: It’s my favorite episode, ever. 

WESLEY: Mine, too. Ian and I watched the episode together, and that’s when we were both like, “This is really good!” That was a great moment.

SOMERHALDER: My business manager was in town, and he’s like a big brother of mine. We were sitting in Paul’s gorgeous apartment in Atlanta, and the episode ended and he was just like, “Wow! This is gonna go, guys. This is going to be here for awhile. You should probably dig your heels in.” Go back and watch “Lost Girls.” It’s a really phenomenally crafted episode of television. It might be a teen vampire soap opera, but it’s a great piece of television. 

WESLEY: Not every episode is, “Oh, my god!”

SOMERHALDER: But, that one was special.

This show premiered at the height of the vampire fandemonium and has outlived every other vampire saga. Do think that we’ll ever get over this? Is this the nail in the coffin?

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SOMERHALDER: That depends if it outlived it by virtue of just shoving it down everyone’s faces and the market wasn’t necessarily asking for it. 

WESLEY: I think it comes and goes. The vampire story is something that has existed since Nosferatu, and I don’t think it’s gonna go away. It’s just a matter of whether you can create inventive storylines using that symbolism.

MALARKEY: You have to revamp a genre, in order to validate it coming back. So, if it does swing back in, it will be different. 

WESLEY: But I don’t think anyone is going to automatically watch something because it’s vampires anymore, like they used to.

Paul, can you talk about filming the wedding and it being so emotional?

WESLEY: I haven’t seen the episode yet. It’s funny, I heard about this “June wedding,” for the first time, at Comic-Con. I had no idea what everyone was talking about. I still don’t really know what it’s about, but the fans were talking about a June wedding. So, when they told me we were going to have a June wedding, I was like, “Oh cool, we’re going to pay homage to the fans.” It was amazing! Stefan and Elena were like the pair for so many years, and I never, in a million years, thought Stefan and Caroline would end up being – I don’t want to say true love because I think true love can exist in many forms – equally as powerful, as a couple. It was pretty surprising to me.

When you first did the proposal at the beginning of Season 8, did you believe that they’d actually make it to the wedding?

WESLEY: I did. I know how the show works, in that sense, if we hadn’t gotten married, it would be a real twist. Once they dangled that carrot, we were going to have to get married.

MALARKEY: Some things you have to pay off. 

WESLEY: (Executive producer) Julie [Plec] is way too nice of a person. She wouldn’t do that. There needed to be a pay-off. 

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Obviously, you can’t reveal the events of the series finale, but can you talk about your reaction to reading the script?

WESLEY: I read the script on the plane. It was just a culmination of so many emotions. I was like, “Okay, this is the last script I’m ever going to read for this show.” I got a bit teary-eyed, and I’m a cold-hearted bastard. I took a selfie of just a little bit of red eyes and I sent it to Julie and (executive producer) Kevin [Williamson] and said, “Good work, guys!”

SOMERHALDER: As you were going down it, you were ticking boxes. You were look at how all of this was going to sum up into one 44-minute episode. By the way, I’m surprised we don’t have a two-hour finale. I thought, “Wow, they really summed it all up into one 44-minute piece,” and I think people will be pretty satisfied. It’s funny, although I wasn’t on the show the whole time, on road trips, I’ll walk into a convenience store or get gas, and people are like, “Hey, man, that fucking Lost ending!” And I’m like, “That was eight years ago, man. I just want to get my gas and get out of here.” You’re never going to able to satisfy everyone, but I think there’s a very beautiful orchestration to how this is laid out.

MALARKEY: The thing is, with a long-running show, it interweaves itself into every watcher’s life. It means so much to them, for different reasons, hence why it could never fully satisfy everybody. Your own perception of your reality of that show has become greater than that show, itself. But, I think we do it justice. 

In these final episodes, you had some returning cast members, like Melinda Clarke, Kayla Ewell and Nina Dobrev. What was it like to work with the returning cast again?

ROERIG: It was very fitting. It was nice having Kayla come back to say goodbye, as a friend, and getting to work with her again. 

WESLEY: And on that note, I think it would be strange to not have Nina come back for the finale. The whole story is about two brothers, essentially fighting over a girl. Obviously, there were a bazillion other storylines, but I felt like it would have been a real shame for the fans and for the show not to wrap that up, to a degree.

What does it mean for your characters to have Elena and Katherine back in their lives?

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SOMERHALDER: Well, Katherine is a disaster! There’s nothing good about that, for anyone. 

WESLEY: She’s fun, though. She causes a lot of trouble. It’s just great to have old characters back.

SOMERHALDER: Having the old characters back is a nice little peak into the past. 

We know that someone is dying in the finale. Without spoiling who it is, can you say what your reaction was to finding out who it would be?

WESLEY: It’s definitely a main character. I don’t want to react because I feel like this is a test and you’re going to deduce who it is. So, I’m going to do my poker face. Someone needed to die, in the finale. If someone had not died, I would have been disappointed, personally.

What do you think fans will feel when they watch the last two episodes of the series?

WESLEY: Based on what we shot, I think the finale will be very satisfying.

SOMERHALDER: I think it really cinches it up. The retrospective is also a great companion piece. 

WESLEY: Everyone should watch it, and hopefully live. It would suck, if our ratings were the worst.

SOMERHALDER: It holds water and has leg. I think it cinches it all up beautifully. 

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You all got to do so much on this show, and you got to go on so many different tangents with your characters. What were your favorite moments, in playing these characters?

SOMERHALDER: I’ve been through a lot of it with [Paul]. We shot 171 episodes of television. That’s like 80 movies. [Michael] Malarkey got there in Season 5, which was a pinnacle moment. Matt’s whole role changed, at the beginning of Season 7, with being the law of the land. 

WESLEY: I’ve died 17 times and killed 18,000 people, and I’m still the hero!

SOMERHALDER: There was enough seasons spread out that these characters had their specific times and days. I’ve just always loved Season 1. I think that’s when the show really solidified itself. All these characters were still innocent enough, to the viewer and to ourselves. We didn’t judge them.

WESLEY: In Season 1 and 2, there was so much mystery, which is why everyone watched the show. They were like, “What’s going to happen?!” But, those stories eventually run their course. And then, Season 3 was selfishly exciting for me because it was the first time, in two years, that I got to play a villain. Everyone has their favorite seasons, moments and storylines. For me, the introduction of Ripper Stefan and the genesis of that was the most exciting. As far as the show goes, Season 1 and 2, as a whole, was probably the most interesting, just ‘cause it was so new.

What was the atmosphere like, on set, for your final scenes?

SOMERHALDER: Up until the second they yelled, “Cut!,” it was the same shit. You’re still on a schedule. 

WESLEY: Yes and no.

MALARKEY: Those bastards filmed the aftermath, though, when we did our speeches. I didn’t realize how affected I’d be. I’m all business, when I get to work. I care deeply about what I do, and I just wanted to treat it like any other day, smash it, finish, and give Julie a hug. So, the last scene I was doing, I was pacing around, doing my thing, and then I heard this voice from Julie coming in the doorway, saying, “Michael, it’s time.” I wasn’t ready. But, she gave a great eulogy to everybody, about our place in the show. I remember being pretty deeply moved by that. And then, they wanted a speech, which I sputtered through. 

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ROERIG: I had an emotional scene to end on, so I was trying to keep myself well-calibrated, and make sure my emotion was based on the scene and not because it was my last scene of the show. At the end, Julie could see my lip quivering and the snot bubbling, and she said, “Zach, this is a free one. Just let it rip.” And I just completely let it out. She gave us all a really nice speech that was very tender and very fitting to end with. 

WESLEY: For my final scene, I finished and had my eyes closed, and someone sprayed Funfetti in my face. It was a direct shot, in my face. I was doing this emotional scene. I was crying, and then, all of a sudden, I had Funfetti in my eyes. It was really funny.

Zach, are you surprised that Matt is still alive and still human, and that he made it the entire length of the series?

ROERIG: Not to be too cocky, but I always thought he was going to pull through. If not, who’s going to be that grounding anchor? I was the human. That was my power, being the only human. Knowing our creator, Julie, she wasn’t going to kill Matty blue eyes. He’s the constant piece of meat, dangled in front of the dog. 

WESLEY: He demanded to be called “Matty blues eyes” on set. 

Were there any storylines you wish you’d had more time for, or was there anything you hoped you get to explore, but weren’t able to?

SOMERHALDER: I never got to see Damon at a Rolling Stones concert. 

WESLEY: We did a lot of flashbacks, but what were we doing in the 70s? What were we doing in the 80s? I would have liked to have seen something a little bit more modern, but still a flashback. We did the 1860s and we did the Prohibition era.

SOMERHALDER: You saw Damon once, in the 80s with Lexi, and that was a lot of fun. 

WESLEY: You can’t do everything.

SOMERHALDER: You can’t do it all.

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Did you take anything from the set, once you were done?

WESLEY: I took my daylight ring – the one I’ve worn for eight years.

SOMERHALDER: I took my ring. 

MALARKEY: I took a lot of clothes. And I took a suit. 

ROERIG: I stole Matt’s boots. They show, over eight years, how much I stub my toes. 

Looking back at eight seasons, what surprised you the most about your character’s evolution?

WESLEY: For me, the fact that a hero can be so flawed. That’s the most interesting hero, with darkness.

SOMERHALDER: The study of the human psyche, where a man who may be 170 years old, but looks 23 – or now looks about 60 – can be so very flawed, so very malicious, so very selfish and so very mean, but shows a vulnerability and a little bit of humor, and an audience will embrace that character in such a profound way. It was that way with Stefan and Enzo, too. I’ve never seen anything like it. With the grotesque things that this man did, people consistently made excuses for him. It was wild! Damon could have walked into an orphanage and, in cold blood, could have literally killed 20 orphans and people would have said, “Well, he was really upset about Elena!” I still can’t quite understand it, but I’m glad I was there for that ride. I take that with me. I soak it in. It’s very special.

ROERIG: Matt definitely taught me that you can be the most selfless person in the world, but you still need to take care of yourself, in order to actually be selfless and take care of the people around you.

MALARKEY: It didn’t really surprise me, thinking about it in retrospect, but the fact that he became such a romantic and a softie. Looking back, we always knew that Enzo had that inside. That’s part of what was broken in him, that made him act out and become such a violent anarchist vampire. In a way, it’s a beautiful full circle thing, honoring that goodness in somebody, no matter what, and getting all mushy about it. 

If there’s one thing you guys could say to your fans to help them get over the end of this series, what would you tell them?

SOMERHALDER: That we start shooting Season 9 next week. 

WESLEY: Ian and I are starting a cruise ship tour, where we’ll be dancing and performing in character. Look, all good things must come to an end, so let’s end it on a good not and a positive note, and not get canceled. We’re going out with some pride and some dignity, to a degree.

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MALARKEY: If I can get philosophical really quick, it’s a fundamental issue in human nature to need to possess things, to sink your talons into things, and to keep things and hold onto them. It’s in relationships, it’s in politics, it’s everywhere, and it’s a sickness. I feel like it’s important to be able to appreciate the things that come into your life, in passing, with love, and to send that outward and learn the lessons you’ve learned through these experiences, whether it’s The Vampire Diaries or Ayahuasca, and take them into your life with positivity. 

WESLEY: Do you want to be my therapist?

In a world of reboots, could you ever see yourself returning to this show, at some point down the line?

WESLEY: I think I’m closing the chapter.

SOMERHALDER: In ten years, I’m probably going to be living on a ranch in Wyoming, and you’ll never hear from me again. I think it’s good to close this chapter. There’s something beautiful about closure. If you think about relationships, whether it be a job, a significant other, or an animal, people and things come into and out of out lives. There’s so much beauty in that, and how it affects us. Now, in this digital age, television never dies. It’s called Netflix. I remember going into Season 7 and, while our live numbers were plummeting, our engagement and viewership was actually going up. 

WESLEY: And there are kids who are just watching it for the first time, as if it had never been out before.

SOMERHALDER: They were seven when it premiered, and now they’re 15. 

MALARKEY: There are also random countries in the middle of Asia, who now have access to Netflix. It does go on, in a way. 

SOMERHALDER: We live in airports. We travel a lot. And I have people, all the time – teachers, young people, anyone – who come up to me and say, “Oh, my god, I just started watching your show! It’s so good!” I also think, “That’s so crazy, man! You’re a 14-year-old kid! Eight years ago, you were six.” It’s never gonna die. We’re gonna continue to be able to watch it. I think that’s a really interesting, new thing with this modern digital world. 

WESLEY: Wouldn’t it be funny, if we did a reboot and we were all old as shit with grey hair. That wouldn’t work. We’re stretching it out, as it is.

The final season of The Vampire Diaries airs on Friday nights on The CW.

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