Bob Mahoney/The CWFrom a pom-pom cheering human to a bloodthirsty vampire, Elena Gilbert has certainly come a long way over the past four years.
With the season five premiere of The Vampire Diaries still a month away, we've got something to help curb your cravings and get you excited for all the college-centric drama that's headed our way this fall.
We've snagged you an exclusive bonus feature from The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fourth Season (Out on DVD and Blu-ray today!) featuring our favorite Mystic Falls doppelganger, Nina Dobrev, reflecting on our favorite heroine's journey into vampirism.
Last season we all witnessed Elena's new diet of cheerleaders and frat boys and we were reminded that becoming a vampire is not just rainbows and blood bags like Caroline (Candice Accola) made it seem in season one. There are serious emotional consequences for indulging in your undead natural urges.
TVD creator and executive producer Julie Plec says there is a very clear reason why Elena's transition into a vampire was a dark and difficult one. She explains,"We knew we didn't want it to be an easy journey for her. I think some of our audience would have loved that, they would have preferred it even if Day Two she woke up and life was an endless party and we were having all the fun in the world."
Plec continues, "But our love for Elena and our protection of her as a heroine, we wanted to show the cautionary tale attached to vampirism. It's not wish fulfillment."
Take a look at our exclusive sneak peek clip above to find out how Dobrev feels about her character's emotional torments as a newbie vampire and check out more on the DVD or Blu-ray copy of The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fourth Season.
Season five of The Vampire Diaries premieres Thursday, Oct. 3 on The CW.