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"The Vampire Diaries exec Julie Plec has discussed the season finale&amp;#039;s shock twist. Elena (Nina Dobrev) died in third season ender &amp;#039;The Departed&amp;#039;, but was later revived by the vampire blood in her system. Discussing the character&amp;#039;s potential transformation into a vampire, Plec told Entertainment Weekly: &amp;quot;The ending had been in the works for about two years. In the first series of books [that the show is based on], that&amp;#039;s what happens to her.&amp;quot; Though Elena becomes a vampire earlier in the novel series, Plec revealed that she and co-showrunner Kevin Williamson had taken the decision to delay the transformation. &amp;quot;That felt... too soon, and rushed,&amp;quot; she explained. &amp;quot;We didn&amp;#039;t want to make a show about a teenage girl who instantly becomes a vampire. But we always knew that her journey would take her there eventually, and we just kept riding the wave of when it felt right.&amp;quot; Plec also promised that Vampire Diaries fans will not be disappointed by the show&amp;#039;s new direction. &amp;quot;There will be a discussion to be had about [Elena&amp;#039;s transformation] at the beginning [of next season], but the road we&amp;#039;re going down is pretty balls out,&amp;quot; she added. The Vampire Diaries will return for a fourth season in late 2012. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/vampire-diaries/news/a381210/vampire-diaries-exec-talks-shock-finale-twist/>