Why is Katherine the perfect villain to end the series with?
Julie Plec: Well, when you think about it, Katherine is the villain who launched the series. We didn’t know it at the time, but she was the reason our brothers were vampires. Their shared love for her was the thing that put them at odds, which was then repeated 145 years later with Elena. She has had a hand in the torture, discomfort and/or misery of pretty much every single regular character that’s ever crossed through the doors of Mystic Falls. And so to be able to bring it full circle and say that she is the ultimate Big Bad was an idea that made us so excited when we landed on it. And we were really happy we were able to get Nina back so we could execute it.

How early in the episode does Elena wake up? Will we get to spend a lot of time with her?
Plec: I’m not going to speak about at what point she wakes up, but I will say that between Elena and Katherine there is quite a lot of screentime. And I think fans who are excited to see Nina back are going to be really happy with what they get.

Damon has been through so much since Elena was put in her magical coma. What is it like for him to see her again and experience this moment he’s imagined so often?
Plec: I think poor Damon has just been knocked down and dragged through the mud so much in his efforts to be the kind of man he wants to be for her return in allegedly 80 years, that seeing her right right now in the present is shocking and probably a little bit of a concern for him that he’s not quite there, that he’s not quite ready for her yet. Continue Reading at TV Guide