Season 7 of "The Vampire Diaries" is going to experiment with time shuffle that will see the characters in future, as well as explain what Elena's friends have been up to since the events of season 6 finale.

"We're actually picking up all over the place," executive producer Julie Plec told Entertainment Weekly. "We're picking up a little bit in the future, we're picking up a lot in the future, we're doing a little bit of a time shuffle as we launch into the season. One timeline is set very much in the future and the other timeline will catch us up to the events of the final scene of last season."

Season 6 saw Alaric's wife Jo and their unborn twins being killed by Kai, who later cast a sleeping spell on Elena, the character essayed by Nina Dobrev. The final episode saw Elena saying goodbye to all her friends, and asking Damon (Ian Somerhalder) to enjoy his life for the next 60 years as she will be away.

The upcoming season will see Kat Graham's Bonnie and Damon bonding over their grief of losing Elena, and Stefan and Caroline coming to a decision regarding their relationship.

While the first few episodes might see Caroline trying to escape the feelings she has for Stefan, the writers aren't going to keep the lovers separated for long. "Ultimately, I think hopefully, Caroline will realise that Stefan is an amazing guy, and she'd be an idiot if she kept drawing this out any longer," executive producer Caroline Dries said, according to TV Equals. "So obviously, there's going to be obstacles that get in their way, but that's going to be sort of the big, huge, epic love story."

One of the obstacles could be Lily Salvatore, Damon and Stefan's mother who returned to Mystic Falls in the previous season. Lily and her friends, the Heretics, are expected to be the main villains of season 7.

"The Vampire Diaries" Season 7 premieres Thursday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. EDT on the CW.

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