How ‘The Vampire Diaries’ is thriving in a new era without Nina Dobrev

Last year when Nina Dobrev announced she would be exiting “The Vampire Diaries” permanently at the end of the shows sixth season fans were shocked and saddened about what this meant for the future of the series.

Hopes for the quality of the new season were not high. I was fully prepared to accept that “The Originals,” aside from one huge misstep, would remain my preferred series of the two. But, now six episodes into season seven I can safely say I believe in a post-Elena “Vampire Diaries;” so much so that for the first time since the spin-off began I find “Vampire Diaries” to be on the same level as it’s brother series.

The lack of Elena is felt, but in a way that is subtle and understanding. Long time underserviced characters like Bonnie and Enzo, who are my new favorite couple by the way, are finally getting deserved attention and love. Damon is thriving and living instead of wallowing in the loss of his one true love. For the first time in a long time the entire group is standing on a united front, no girl stands between the Salvatore brothers, no enemy is tearing apart the dynamic friendship trio of Damon, Bonnie and Alaric. Even Matt is included in the big fight against the new enemy in town (AND HE’S ONLY DIED ONCE THIS SEASON, NEW RECORD!).

Which speak of the new enemy, the heretics are proving to be one of the best big bads in the history of the show. They have made the fight personal and emotional on multiple fronts.

Almost everything is working to make the show better, including the thought provoking glimpses into the future each episode begins with.

I say almost everything because hours after I began writing this the show introduced a new, strange storyline involving Alaric and Caroline. I, like the rest of the fan base, had assumed they would just hide Candice King’s real life pregnancy, so I was shocked when they opted to write it in. I’ve never been particularly invested in the Caroline/Stefan romance, so its eventual end is of no consequence to me, but we’ll just have to see how that whole situation plays out.

Aside from the potential strangeness of a new storyline, “The Vampire Diaries” is truly thriving without Dobrev’s presence. Is she missed? Sure, but the impact she made on the characters remains clear. It might not be exactly like “The Vampire Diaries” used to be, but that doesn’t make it bad, it makes it a new, exciting and unexpected era of a long running show.