Vampire Diaries' Kevin Williamson: "Everyone's Going to Die on This Show" (RIP Vicki)

"People die around you," Elena tells Damon just after Stefan has staked Vicki, his brother's conquest, to prevent her from attacking Elena. In the end, Vicki was unable to control her newbie vampire hunger, and it cost her her life. The Vampire Diaries executive producer Kevin Williamson talks to TVGuide.com about how and why they decided to kill Vicki (Kayla Ewell), what her death will mean for Jeremy and whether Vicki could return.

TVGuide.com: Why did you decide to kill Vicki?
Kevin Williamson: No one's safe on this show. We've reached the point when we're watching TV that there's no jeopardy, no risk, no stakes, when we know our lead characters aren't going to be killed. Well, that's not true on this show. I'm starting with the supporting characters and I'm working my way in. Everyone's going to die on this show. This is a show where characters you love may die, and it'll be unexpected and shocking, so get ready for it. It's as simple as that. And [Vicki] was the first casualty.

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TVGuide.com: It must have been a tough decision.
Williamson: I thought what [Ewell] did in ["You're Undead to Me," when Vicki and Jeremy fight and Damon first feeds on Vicki] was brilliant and I loved her and I was so sad to see her go, but I wasn't quite sure how to play that story out beyond having her continue on as a vampire. We had to turn our attention to other stories. We were ignoring our other characters. You know, we've got Matt, Tyler, Bonnie, we want to dive into those characters, and just to have a vampire lingering out there was a little, I don't know -- we thought [her death] would be impactful.

TVGuide.com: Why now, when she just became a vampire?
Williamson: Where would that story go? A love story between a vampire and a guy? We're watching that on True Blood. And it's beautiful on True Blood. It doesn't mean we can't tell that same story in a different way, but we have other plans for Jeremy. I like Jeremy, I like bringing another guy to the show. I take him down another road. He has a big story line coming up. It begins when Alaric [a new teacher] shows up.

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TVGuide.com: Did you ever consider killing anyone else first?
Williamson: Well, no, we just thought this would end a chapter, Vicki would be the first vampire staked on our show. It was exciting to see it go down. She dies beautifully. It's really sad because this is about Jeremy. We're dealing with two people who have lost their parents. You can only imagine what it's going to do to him. It's pretty powerful, good stuff.

TVGuide.com: Since we're talking about vampires here, I have to ask: Is there a chance that Vicki could return?
Williamson: No. She could come back in a flashback or a dream. But no, she's done. I mean, she goes. She's dead. Dead is dead. I guess there's always a way, but I don't think so.

What did you think about Vicki's death? What does it mean that Elena was bit just before Vicki died? Do you think Damon's mind-erase on Jeremy will stick?

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