Nina Dobrev (Photo : Twitter/ninadobrev)
"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 will most likely see the return of Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert, but her storylines are expected to change tremendously.
According to Celeb Dirty Laundry, Dobrev's return may also be much sooner than expected because the actress may be seen reprising her role in the upcoming finale episode for season 7.
Elena's rumored return will see her haunting Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) inside the vault in the Armory.
The teaser for "Gods & Monsters" also hinted on the possibility of Alaric (Matt Davis) and Caroline's (Candice Accola-King) twins being trapped inside the Armory. With this, Damon and Stefan (Paul Wesley) would have to do everything in their power to make sure that they could save the twins before it's too late.
Other than potentially seeing Elena in the vault and saving Alaric and Caroline's twins, Damon will also be faced with the serious task of killing the Eight Everlastings so he could save his best friend Bonnie (Kat Graham).
Unfortunately, it's possible that Damon will not be able to get to the vault first and save everyone. In an attempt to make sure that all of his plans will come to life, Damon will sacrifice himself and submit himself into the vault.
Meanwhile, executive producer Julie Plec said that the finale episode for "The Vampire Diaries" season 7 will see a major shift with regards to its central characters.
Since then, there were speculations that not only will Elena actually return; but either Damon or Stefan will just have supporting storylines in the upcoming eighth season.
On the contrary, Hollywood Life noted that Elena will only return if Bonnie dies. And since Graham already confirmed her return to "The Vampire Diaries" season 8, it seems that her character wouldn't die just yet.
However, if Damon and Stefan will be successful in breaking the curse, this is when it would become possible for the Salvatore brothers to save Bonnie and resurrect Elena at the same time.
The publication is also speculating on the possibility of Dobrev returning as Elena's doppelganger Katherine.
"The Vampire Diaries" season 7, episode 22 will air on The CW on May 13 at 8 p.m. ET.
