Candice Accola on the Vampire Diaries Season 4 Finale: There Are Happy Moments — Exclusive

Candice Accola: No. I think Season 1 was really emotional, and I think by Season 4 — we did 23 episodes this season and the episodes were just so big, I think it was more like everyone just got in to marathon mode. Just trying to make it to the finish line. So by the end, I think everyone was just seeing the finish line in the horizon, but we did it. Everyone did it. We usually finish towards the beginning of April, so this is a big, long season for everyone, but everyone made it.

It's so funny because Julie's teasing another death, and I feel like when I ask you guys about it if it's sad to say goodbye, you're like, “What do you even mean? Everyone comes back all the time, dead or not.”
Yeah, there was a really sweet sadness to those death storylines happening in Season 1 because it was all just happening so fast, but I think now, we've seen just so many characters just go and come back. And the mythology has opened up so many doors. There's no really final good byes it really feels like. At this point, I think we understand its part of the storyline as opposed to like, “This is it. You will never see this person again.”

Can you tease the last two episodes just in broad strokes?
Last two episodes, we're going to see unity within the whole group. I think there's been a lot of separation with all the different mythology-based storylines this year, and also because the Originals, everyone kind of has gone to New Orleans. We're going to see the core group of characters within the show working together and not as separate as they’ve been throughout the season. And we’re also going to see everyone graduate. Graduation is a real thing, and we're going to see a lot of big storylines come to an end. And we're actually going to end the season with a new beginning.

I think it's inevitable because high school is over, finally.
Yeah, I know. I know. It's very funny to be in the cap and gowns.

Was it really? Did it feel nostalgic, weird?
Yeah, I little bit. It was kind of nice because when I actually graduated, I had graduated with bright red hair. I was a redhead for three years, and so I had this bright red hair but then our caps and gowns were red. So I just was red. There was like a pale face popping out. I felt a little bit more put together for this one, but I wish I could swap out the pictures. It was really fun. It is something that got everyone together talking about when they graduated and their senior year. It was definitely a really nostalgic time to be on set.

Are you saying there's actually a moment of levity in this really intense and dark season?
Oh, yes. There's some bright moments within the graduation episode. There are really good, happy, normal, high school days moments that come up.

When you say new beginning, is there something else in the cards?
I know that Julie and the writers have a great plan for next year, and none of it will be touched upon within the finale. But from what I've heard, college definitely is in the future. And there will be a forward-moving storyline that would make sense for our ages whether we're vampires or not. So whether that's new jobs or college, it's all open ended right now.

Now, Claire Holt mentioned in an interview that the last two scripts were just overwhelming. Is it scale because the episodes this season have not been exactly small either?
It's been a very, very big season. The episodes have been huge. And these last three episodes in particular, it was just really big, and there's no really way to say anything without giving it away because there's just so much going on.

Do we get closure in the Silas matter?
We will have some closure. That won't be completely left open-ended in an effort to confuse anyone. They will actually have a lot of questions answered when it comes to Silas, and we're going to get to know him better. And yeah, that's definitely going to be a storyline that will not necessarily close or left completely open. There's going to be a lot more answers.