‘The Vampire Diaries’: Paul Wesley Thought Elena Should Have Ended Up With Matt
The Stefan-Elena-Damon love triangle was one of the highlights and most contentious topics of The Vampire Diaries. The threesome divided TVD fans, who couldn’t decide which Salvatore brother was better for Elena. But the show chose for them when Elena ultimately picked Damon over Stefan. However, Stefan actor Paul Wesley thought Elena should have ended up with Matt.
Paul Wesley thought Matt would have been the best partner for Elena
Elena and Stefan’s relationship laid the foundation for TVD. The two had an on-again/off-again romance that, although toxic, made them fan favorites. However, things between them got complicated when Stefan’s brother Damon glided into the picture.
Damon and Elena got into a similarly complicated relationship, eventually ending up together when the series wrapped in 2017. The relationship may have angered half the TVD fandom and satisfied the other, but Damon actor Ian Somerhalder didn’t want that to happen.
At a Comic-Con panel, Somerhalder said neither Salvatore brother was good for Elena and explained why.
“By the way, does no one recognize that this woman should not be with any of these guys?” Somerhalder asked. “We’ve killed every person in her family, everyone in her family’s dead, her house is burned down. She’s a wreck.”
Somerhalder’s onscreen brother, Wesley, who played Stefan, interjected, “I think she should end up with Matt. It would be great.”
Matt Donovan was Elena’s best friend and boyfriend when The Vampire Diaries premiered. But their teen romance ended when she laid eyes on Stefan.
Nina Dobrev defended her character’s decision to date the Salvatore brothers by joking that Elena probably wasn’t satisfied with Matt in bed, so she turned to the blood-sucking siblings.
‘The Vampire Diaries’ showrunner revealed the original ending circled back to the love triangle
Stefan and Elena were cute together, but she and Damon had a passionate romance that fans enjoyed more. However, according to showrunner Julie Plec, the original ending saw Stefan and Elena reunite as a callback to their relationship in the early seasons.
“I thought that by the time we came back to the end of the series, whenever it was, that Elena would’ve found her way back to Stefan, and Damon would’ve found a different path,” Plec told Entertainment Weekly.
As viewers know, their plans never came to fruition because the show ended with Damon and Elena reuniting and Stefan dying while saving everyone. According to Plec, the show had to revise the original ending after Dobrev left in season 6.
Plec said they also wanted the Salvatore brothers to die to allow Elena to live her human life, but when Dobrev left two seasons earlier, they didn’t feel the need to make the ending about her character’s happiness.
“Her departure sealed the romantic contract between Damon and Elena,” Plec said. “There was no way in hell I was killing both of them and leaving neither of them with the happy ending.”
Ian Somerhalder wanted the Salvatore brothers to die together in ‘The Vampire Diaries’ finale
It turns out Somerhalder loved the original ending. At the 2019 Warsaw Comic-Con, the actor revealed he wanted the Salvatore brothers to die together, Klaus and Elijah–style.
“I never would have let Damon live either,” he said. “These two brothers showed up in this little town, and they completely devastated the town.”
So, what would Somerhalder’s perfect ending look like? His Vampire Diaries finale would see the Salvatores jet off to the Caribbean, open a 60-year-old bottle of rum, and watch the sunrise as they take off their daylight rings and die together “as brothers.”
