But Not As Elena!

Nina Dobrev Headed to The Originals — But Not As Elena!

We knew that Julie Plec and co. had already filmed a crossover between The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff series The Originals this season, and now we finally have the details. Vampire Diaries starNina Dobrev will be appearing in Season 2, Episode 5 of The Originals — but she won’t be showing up in the Big Easy as Elena. Instead, she’ll revive the original doppelganger for the episode. (And you thought you were done with doppelgangers!)Executive producer Julie Plec gave E! Online the crossover scoop, saying: "There was a character's name introduced a long time ago in season three in association with Klaus [Joseph Morgan] and Elijah [Daniel Gillies] and how they became vampires and a girl that they both loved a long time ago who was the original doppelganger, Tatia.”

"What we remember from The Vampire Diaries, for those who watch both shows, is that [Klaus and Elijah] both loved her, so it's a little bit of history repeating itself like with Stefan [Paul Wesley] and Damon [Ian Somerhalder]," Julie added. "And then Esther [Alice Evans], their mother, killed her so that she could make Klaus not a hybrid. There's lots of secrets and scandal and romance and terrible tragedy attached to her character. We'll get to go back into the past to see how that all played out."

So it sounds like the brothers Mikealson will (yet again) have a very contentious relationship in the first few episodes of Season 2. We’re excited to see the The Originals utilize some of the mythology that was briefly unearthed in The Vampire Diaries. Tatia, the original doppelganger, is one of the reasons there’s such a huge rift between Klaus and Elijah — yes, even centuries later — so it will be interesting to see this story unfold in more detail. Was she playing both Mikaelsons? Or did she have feelings for one and not the other?

Plus, Tatia’s blood was used to make Klaus a hybrid, which will certainly add to the tragedy of the situation, seeing as she was one of the few women Klaus has loved. She’s also the reason for Klaus’s life motto: “Love is a vampire’s greatest weakness.”