SPOILER! Vampire Diaries Season 6: New Villain Will Combat Sheriff Forbes!

Have you heard the news? Eureka’s Colin Ferguson has been cast as villain Tripp in Season 6 of The Vampire Diaries! Executive producer Julie Plec took to Twitter yesterday, July 14, to give some more details about who this new character is and who he will be combatting in Mystic Falls. Read on to find out more!
We will meet Tripp, a character described by TV Guide as a “strong and disciplined head of a community militia and surrogate father to his young trainees who will do anything to protect his town,” in the Season 6 premiere. And with whom will Tripp be clashing? None other than Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) herself!
“[Tripp]'s in town to give Sheriff Forbes a run for her money. #TVD,” Julie tweeted yesterday, making us happy on several levels. First (and most importantly), because this seems to be confirmation that Liz not only survived the explosion at the Mystic Grill, but that she will play a role in the beginning of Season 6. Her character has been somewhat neglected in recent seasons of TVD. We’d love to see more of her, and other characters — such as Tripp — who don’t fall into the 18-35 demographic. Not to mention that this storyline seems to imply a larger role for Mystic Falls, as well. We’ve missed hanging out with the townsfolk and attending overdone town functions in recent episodes. (No, blowing up the Mystic Grill did not count as a town function.)
So, why might these two characters be clashing? You’d think Sheriff Forbes would be on board with protecting Mystic Falls. Well, we see two likely options. One: Tripp’s willingness to “do anything to protect his town” will put his trainees in danger and target some of the people Sheriff Forbes’ loves. Two: Tripp stands in the way of breaking the lingering Traveler spell that keeps Caroline and her friends from returning home to Mystic Falls. Frankly, if we lived in Mystic Falls, we might be for keeping the town a supernatural-free zone, but for Liz, whose own daughter is unable to visit, we’re guessing she feels differently.