The Vampire Diaries Season 6: Alaric will help Elena work through her grief

Though The Vampire Diaries Season 6 will see Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) without Damon (Ian Somerhalder), she does have the miraculous return of Alaric (Matt Davis) to help soften the loss. What will their relationship look like in the upcoming season? Will Elena’s quasi-father figure help her deal with her grief?
Alaric is the best. Everyone knows this. And, it sounds like he will be continuing his awesome history of being there for the Gilbert kids in the wake of the devastation the Season 5 finale wrought. Executive producer Julie Plec had this to say to TV Guide about Alaric’s role in Season 6: “Him [returning] is a really beautiful circle back to that dynamic where he's going to be there for her as a friend and as emotional support. But also now he has to come to terms with what it's like to live life as a secret vampire. So she has something to teach him too. The Elena and Alaric friendship is something we're really looking forward to next year and I'm super excited to have Matt back. He's not only a fan favorite, but a cast favorite.”
Conclusion: Everyone is glad Matt Davis is back as a series regular. His relationship with both Elena and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) has been one of the most surprising and compelling on the show. He started as their teacher, then became a friend through their supernatural crime fighting and when he started dating their legal guardian Aunt Jenna. When Jenna died, he took responsibility of watching over Elena and Jeremy until his death in Season 4. What a mensch!