Fans of 'The Vampire Diaries' tuned in for this week's season finale of the show to say goodbye to Elena Gilbert, the series' main female protagonist played by Nina Dobrev. Viewers witnessed how Kai (Christopher Wood) linked her to Bonnie (Kat Graham), meaning that as long as Bonnie was alive, Elena would be stuck in a "sleeping beauty" coma, perfectly preserved until Bonnie died.

Before Bonnie could seal Elena shut in the Salvatore mausoleum, everyone had the chance to hold her hand and let her in their thoughts so they could say goodbye, and in the most emotional scene of the episode, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena had one final dance as they said their goodbyes.

In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, 'The Vampire Diaries' creator Julie Plec said that they always knew that Elena's exit wouldn't be fatal.

"I knew, fundamentally, killing Elena Gilbert would be the worst possible way to say goodbye to that character," said Plec. "I don't know if anybody—Nina Dobrev herself!—could have talked me into that. We had to tragically put an end to a character for a moment and make it seem final and permanent—which it is—[while] also leaving a door open with hope for the future."

Meanwhile, executive producer Caroline Dries talked to THR about what's to come next season. When asked what Damon will be doing now that Elena will be asleep for about 60 to 70 years, Dries said, "It's not going to be easy to move on with his life because his life has been Elena…We have a good plan for season seven, but a big question is who is Damon Salvatore without Elena in his immediate life."

In the finale, Elena told Damon to live his life because when she wakes up, they will be together. Does this mean that Damon will be seeing someone else in the meantime?

"Damon's still in love with her," said Dries. "It's not like he's going to start sleeping around or having girlfriends. He needs to grieve, and see who he is. Any girl we set him up with, or we tried to force him into a new relationship with, the fans would just hate it—hate her, for sure—so it would just never click."

"We're very much aware of that, and we don't want to see that either," she added.

'The Vampire Diaries' returns in the fall on The CW.