Vampire Diaries: Paul Wesley directs the dismantling of Steroline

Stefan Salvatore isn’t one to shy away from a scary situation. This is a guy who has offered to sacrifice himself countless times over the course of The Vampire Diaries, whether he’s trying to save his brother, Jenna, Elena, Caroline, and the list goes on. But in this week’s episode, he could make one of his last big sacrifices.

Because Seline has taken Caroline’s daughters, tensions are running high, and Stefan will find his relationship more strained than usual — after all, the only people Caroline loves more than Stefan are her girls. “This episode is a bit of a weird dismantling of Stefan and Caroline,” Paul Wesley says, noting that the girls being taken becomes “a major issue” for the formerly happy couple.

As for that sacrifice, we’re not sure what Stefan’s going to do, but we do know that the hour, which Wesley also directed, features Stefan diving into Enzo’s subconscious to prevent Sybil from killing him. Then again, there’s always the chance that Stefan’s big sacrifice has more to do with his brother. “I don’t think he ever gives up on his brother,” Wesley says. “No matter what you do, you’re always thinking about your family. It’s family over anything, over rationale and logic. He’s always going to back up his brother no matter what.”

Whatever it is, Wesley admits that Stefan’s big decision is going to change things moving forward. “It’s all gonna shift a little bit,” Wesley says. “He won’t be making as many sacrifices soon.”

Regardless of what happens, this hour marks Wesley’s final time directing for the show. “There was I suppose a little bit of nostalgia, but after I locked this episode I still had 10 more episodes to shoot as an actor,” Wesley says, “So it wasn’t all that emotional for me.”

The Vampire Diaries airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.