TVLINE | Damon did break the sire bond, sort of, but it was a little too late where Stefan’s concerned. What does that mean for their relationship?
That’s unfortunate. Damon was a little bit late in his realization that he was being selfish and needed to do the right thing by Stefan. The jig is up as far as Stefan’s awareness of what Elena and Damon have been up to. It’s not going to be pretty. Stefan is heartbroken. He feels incredibly betrayed and angry. We’re going to see a lot of his point of view as we move forward.

TVLINE | Are Caroline and Tyler OK?
Tyler’s going to struggle, and Caroline’s going to struggle in trying to help him. But if there’s one thing those two have proven again and again, it’s that when situations are at their most dire and their most extreme, they find a way to be there for each other. I think we can rest easy that that won’t have changed yet.

TVLINE | Klaus is a great bad guy, and Joseph [Morgan] has said in the past that he doesn’t want to soften him up too much. But at some point, for the longevity of the character, does he have to soften up?
The beauty of Klaus, much like Damon, is that his horrible misdeeds are all born out of a place of a complete lack of  trust and faith as a result of being repeatedly betrayed and rejected in his life. I’m not saying I excuse his horrific behavior, but it’s born from a very human place. Once someone’s got a strong core of humanity, there’s hope for them – [they may] just not necessarily wake up tomorrow as Man of the Year. Klaus will continue to be a very complicated character. Much like Damon in the first couple seasons, when he feels backed up against the wall, he lashes out in very, very destructive ways. It makes it impossible to forgive. And yet, the redemption of Klaus as a character-long arc is something we always talk about.

TVLINE | There was a Jeremy/Bonnie moment in the winter finale. Is that a romance that picks back up?
It’s in there to remind us that they had a history together that was really deep and important. For Bonnie to be Jeremy’s emotional touchstone and to find a closeness with each other that was abruptly shattered back in Season 3 definitely brings up memories of that relationship and makes us wonder if there’s any road for them to travel together.

TVLINE | The next episode is kind of Breakfast Club-y. Who’s trapped together, and what emotions does it bring out?
It has a lot to do with what Rebekah’s up to. She’s been gone for quite some time. She’s missed a lot. So [in] her efforts to try to get information out of everybody…she gets caught up on the goings-on in Mystic Falls in her absence, including that Stefan and Elena are broken up, that Elena slept with Damon, that there’s a sire bond at play, that the cure hasn’t been found yet – all kinds of great things which she gets out of them in the form of a pretty malicious detention at school.

NI KAN LÄSA HELA INTERVJUN HÄR!!