While The Vampire Diaries featured plenty of supernatural drama, it remained a story of love, loss, and redemption at its core. The series finale was a fitting tribute to the characters who had become so beloved by fans throughout its eight-season run.
One of the most iconic relationships of the series was between Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). The final episode gave viewers a bittersweet glimpse into their future.
In the end, Damon and Elena eventually grow old together. When they die, they both still looked incredibly young. According to co-creator Kevin Williamson, there’s a simple reason why the couple didn’t age.
Elena and Damon in ‘The Vampire Diaries’ finale
In the series finale of The Vampire Diaries, viewers were treated to an emotional and bittersweet ending for Damon and Elena. Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) sacrifices himself to save Mystic Falls and the rest of the town’s inhabitants from the destruction caused by Katherine Pierce.
While Stefan’s death is devastating, it ultimately allows Damon and Elena to live long, happy lives as humans. The two continue to live in Mystic Falls and raise a family. After the two die, they reunite with their loved ones in the afterlife.
‘The Vampire Diaries’ co-creator reveals why Damon and Elena looked young when they died
In Damon and Elena’s death scenes, both look very young despite having lived long human lives. Many fans wondered if their youthful appearances had to do with their lives as vampires or other supernatural causes. According to Williamson, showrunners wanted to make sure fans saw them at peace.
“You know, it is interpretive,” The Vampire Diaries co-creator told TV Guide. “The idea that this whole show was about loss and grief and losing people and ultimately, I guess the final message is that all these people who shaped and guided us along the way live within us, and if you look within, you find peace.”
“And so we kind of stepped out of reality in that moment and showed what that would look like,” Williamson continued. “In reality, they did live lives, and they did grow old.”
Williamson noted that in the voiceover during the death scene, Elena talks about Damon finally finding peace. “And we know what that peace looks like,” he added. “And then she looks to the porch and sees her family, and then Damon returns to his home and sees Stefan.”
‘The Vampire Diaries’ showrunner Julie Plec details how Elena and Damon lived their lives after the finale
The series finale of The Vampire Diaries was bittersweet, as it gave viewers a happy ending for Damon and Elena. While it only revealed that the couple went on to live a happy life together, series creator Julie Plec later detailed how they lived in Mystic Falls.
“I have a lot of different versions of what they had together over the decades,” Plec told Variety.
“Probably, for me, it’s influenced by the enthusiasm of the fandom to want them to have gone to [their loft in] Tribeca and raised their children before they came home to Mystic Falls. So, somehow that’s been embedded in my head, and maybe that’s what they had.”
