The Vampire Diaries' Biggest Elena Book Change Secretly Revealed Her Ending 7 Seasons Early

When The Vampire Diaries changed Elena’s appearance from her original book incarnation, the show secretly gave away her eventual romantic fate. The Vampire Diaries ran for eight seasons from 2009 to 2017, adapting LJ Smith’s paranormal romance novel series to the small screen. The series followed the story of Nina Dobrev’s Elena Gilbert, a small-town high school girl from Mystic Falls who discovers a world of paranormal intrigue when she encounters brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore. The Vampire Diaries’ cast of characters grew larger as the series continued, but Dobrev’s Elena was the show’s original main character.

After The Vampire Diaries series finale aired in 2017, the show was followed by the spinoff The Originals. The Originals then spawned a spinoff of its own, Legacies, which ran from 2018 until 2022. Although both had solid fan bases, neither spinoff managed to replicate the popularity of The Vampire Diaries. Even the worst seasons of The Vampire Diaries drew in a larger viewership than most of Legacies, and this was likely because of the enduring popularity of the show’s heroine. However, The Vampire Diaries’ Elena wasn’t all that similar to her novel counterpart in appearance or attitude.

Elena’s Changed Appearance Foreshadowed Her Ending The Vampire Diaries With Damon

Elena’s Book Appearance Was Switched With Caroline

In The Vampire Diaries book series, Elena is a blonde, blue-eyed popular girl in school. This shapes her persona in the novels, with Elena acting like a confident, somewhat mean and self-centered figure before undergoing character development. Although both of them improve over time, Elena’s original book appearance and attitude mirrors Caroline’s persona in The Vampire Diaries TV show. This secretly foreshadowed another major difference that the TV series made to its source material, as Elena and Caroline’s swapped characteristics don’t end with their personalities and looks. The duo also swapped partners, which adds up given their altered characters.

Elena ultimately chooses to be with Stefan in the books, but in the show, Caroline marries Stefan and Elena is with Damon. Elena and Caroline’s eventual romantic pairings were inadvertently spoiled by their new looks, since anyone familiar with the source novels could have guessed that Caroline’s show character owed some inspiration to Elena’s book incarnation. Although this was one of the major differences between The Vampire Diaries show and books, the book’s versions of Caroline and Elena still made it to the small screen. Elena’s popularity and self-centered attitude were simply transferred to Caroline, maintaining their appeal.

Why The Vampire Diaries Changed Elena’s Appearance From The Books

The Show’s Creators Cultivated A Relatable Girl Next Door Look

Although it was fun for The Vampire Diaries to have a character as morally ambiguous as Caroline, the show’s creators wanted its heroine to be more relatable. As such, Elena’s blonde hair and blue eyes were jettisoned in favor of a classic “Girl next door” look, as executive producer Kevin Williamson described it. Dobrev told Saturday Night that the show’s version of Elena was an “Average girl,” a far cry from the popular, stunning, somewhat self-involved heroine of the books. This gambit clearly worked as the series became a success and remains popular with viewers years after The Vampire Diaries ended in 2017.

The Vampire Diaries

Cast

Nina Dobrev , Ian Somerhalder , Steven R. McQueen , Paul Wesley , Kat Graham , Michael Trevino , Michael Malarkey , Zach Roerig , Candice King , Matthew Davis

Seasons

8

Writers

Julie Plec , Kevin Williamson , L.J. Smith

Directors

John Dahl

Franchise

The Vampire Diaries

Expand