Vampire Diaries Season 4: Will Elena Ever Revert to Her Old Self?

A couple of game-changing things went on before The Vampire Diaries went on hiatus, not least of which was Elena finally flipping the switch and going full-on vamp. Now we’ve seen the fallout from that decision, and know that an Elena without feelings isn’t one you’d want around puppies and children. She’s really taken to this whole ‘evil undead monster’ shtick, and has even given Damon a run for his money in selfish and reckless behaviour.

But is this the end of old, whiny, moral Elena – the girl who would do anything for her friends but who couldn’t make a decision to save her life? I have to admit, it’s lovely to have a break from that girl, who was increasingly sucking the fun out of the show with her various crippling traumas, and have her replaced with this fun-loving carefree teenager we’re enjoying now. My hat comes off for Nina Dobrev, who has now made me believe in three completely separate characters, often at the same time.

But isn’t that part of the problem? We already have an evil Elena – Katherine. With the original object of the Salvatores’ affections hanging around in the background threatening a return, is there enough room for both girls to do their thing? It was always a joy to see Dobrev sweep around the place in her leather simply because Katherine was so vastly opposed to what Elena represented. Now that they’re on equal footing, if not quite the same person, how can we expect the two to react to each other?

This extends right down to their love lives, since Damon and Stefan’s attraction to Elena seemed to at least partially be about how different the two girls were. They loved Katherine but hated her repeated betrayals and evil nature so – particularly for Stefan – Elena was a second chance for them to create the perfect woman. She was put on a pedestal and, when she was turned into a vampire, Stefan was desperate to ‘save her’. He didn’t want an undead Elena, and so made her into a problem for him to fix.

Thus was born the ‘hunt for the cure’ storyline,
which has dominated the bulk of season four. Part of the reason why a lot of us have been enjoying current episodes is the dull nature of that long build-up, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s glad Katherine ran off with the cure when she did. This could be the show’s big chance to test out a brand new character without making it permanent or official. We all thought that Elena driving off of that bridge was a huge game-changer, but it’s not until now that the promise has been capitalised on.

And we must remember that Klaus and Rebekah are both leaving Mystic Falls at the end of this current season, leaving a space for more morally grey characters to emerge. We’ll always have Damon committing evil deeds, no matter how eager to impress our heroine he is, and now that Elena has turned to the dark side they can properly indulge their bloodlust together. One thing’s clear, this twist in the tale is brilliant news for Delena fans since, with Stefan inherently unable to let himself go, Damon is much better suited to Elena right now.

This will probably change again once the writers get bored, but for now we can enjoy a little respite from the perpetual love triangle. The sire bond was a horrible idea in the first place, making both the break-up with Stefan and the romance with Damon feel dirty and tainted, so at least Damon’s final act of Elena’s sire has meant that the disastrous plot wrinkle can disappear forever. All in all, there isn’t much downside to this new development, so are the writers still poised over the ‘switch-on’ button?

With the sire bond gone, Elena will have to decide to do this herself, and I’m stumped as to why this would happen. But that’s why we’re not writing the show, but putting our considerable trust in Julie Plec et al to thrill and surprise us each week. While Vampire Diaries season four has been a little uneven, I really hope they keep Elena in this altered state for a good long while. Will she ever revert to her old self? There’d have to be a darn good reason.