Goodbye Elena - A Lesson In How Not To Give A Proper Tribute

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It's been 5 days now since the TVD fandom heard the news about Nina's departure. Her goodbye was heartfelt and eloquent - fitting of someone who has been long-considered the face of the show.

I wish the same could be said for all involved with the show.

While I understand Nina's news didn't come as a shock to the showrunners and other TVD staff, it did surprise the fans. Rather than giving the TVD family a time to grieve what felt similar to a real death for many, one showrunner immediately gave an interview saying that everything would be fine because the fans would tune in to hear one of the lead actors reading the phone book.

The cast was largely silent apart from a handful of interviews again suggesting Nina's void would be easily filled.

Today, just when it appeared the initial surge of emotion began to pass, a cast member who views himself as the face of the show finally broke his silence - not by any type of acknowledgement that Nina would be missed or that she was the other half of the pairing that made the show the hit show on CW as well as an Internet sensation. No, he elected to plug an article that was entirely devoted to pointing out Nina didn't leave because of him.

My friends in the TVD family feel betrayed.

While I don't try to speak for them, I see their posts and I feel their anger, their loss, and their sense that no one is listening...and they weren't given the time to process their thoughts and feelings before those that run the show began to tell them how awesome next season would be, ignoring how the show's dynamic (and the most-popular pairing for years) would be affected.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but the TVD cast, crew, and showrunners still have time to address some of those mistakes and, perhaps, show they've heard the voices from "their" family.

It's my hope that they do.
Thank you for your time....and for reading to the end. (There's no unicorn emoji, but you can pretend I've put one here.)

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