1. The wolfman cometh: Tyler (Michael Trevino) will finally wolf out during the Dec. 9 episode. If you think the wait for new episodes will be torturous, the transformation period will be even more torturous for Tyler. “We’ll learn a lot about the mythology and the rules of the transformation over the next two episodes before we actually see it,” says Plec. “You’ll learn that while it gets a little bit easier the more you do it, the first time is not easy.” She adds that the show will not shy away from that painful process. “We wanted to show that in its entirety and really make the most of that because it’s a very, very difficult thing that Tyler is going have to go through and we wanted the audience to be able to experience it with him for the first time.”
The experience will be “pretty life altering for [Tyler] in a lot of ways” and have far-reaching effects. “What happens after that is going to be a big part of what happens in Mystic Falls, and how our other characters get involved in Tyler’s story,” says Plec. “A lot of secrets start to come out and it becomes very complicated after he turns.”
2. And a wolf makes three: One of the relationships that will get more complicated as a result of Tyler's transformation is Tyler and Caroline's (Candice Accola) blossoming friendship. “They are sort of biologically destined to be separated because of the fact that a bite from him could kill her, but they are emotionally growing closer and closer as she helps him through this really rough experience,” says Plec. “We’re going to see a lot between them as a result of those two things.”
So what does that mean for Caroline's ex-boyfriend and Tyler's best friend Matt (Zach Roerig)? “We’ll start to see Matt taking stock of his feelings about Caroline and starting to notice a closeness that’s growing between his buddy and his ex-girl. He’s going to have a few things to say about that,” teases Plec. If you're hoping that Matt will finally learn the truth about what's going on in Mystic Falls, don't hold your breath. Plec says it's important to the writers right now that Matt and Jenna (Sara Canning) stay in the dark, but “that can change when it needs to change.”
3. Pick your love triangle: Tyler, Caroline and Matt aren't the only complicated love triangle in town. “We’ve kind of set a lot of these little triangles in motion,” says Plec. “So the next episode...really gets us deep into all the triangles in the show.”
Even though Bonnie (Katerina Graham) bonded with warlock Luka (Bryton James) in the last episode and forgot all about Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), don't count him out just yet. Elena's (Nina Dobrev) little brother Jeremy will continue to step up and come into his own. “Jeremy kind of does something in the next week episode to let his feelings be known in a very dramatic and risky way,” says Plec, adding, “His actions make his feelings clear.”
And you can't talk about love triangles without talking about Elena and Damon (Ian Somerhalder). The bad boy vampire has come a long from where he started in Season 1. “We’ve watched Damon’s journey as he struggled with his role as hero and leading man and the knocks that come along with that and the problems that’s given him,” says Plec. “His own personal transformation is a big part of this year and the rest of the season.” He delivered perhaps his most unselfish moment when he told Elena he loved her and then erased her memories of the confession. Plec says there wasn't a lot of debate in the writers room about whether it was too early for such a reveal. “It felt right,” she says. “We felt like it was exactly the right time given the journey that he had just experienced with his brother when Stefan made a very profound admission. It was time for Damon to make an admission of his own.”
Although Damon is growing and he and Elena have been less combative lately, they're not quite on equal friendship footing yet. “I think that Elena, given that she doesn’t know that he said that, there’s still a little bit more growth for Elena to return fully to friendship with Damon,” she points out. “But that path is set definitely.”
Follow the link to check out the other three teasers.
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