‘The Vampire Diaries’ Season 8: Why the Bench Dedicated to Matt Is Profound
The series finale of a TV show is always full of conflicting emotions. There’s the joy of seeing a story reach a conclusion on its own terms, but it also means saying goodbye to characters and a world you enjoyed experiencing. The Vampire Diaries fans certainly felt that way as the credits rolled on its 171st episode. The series finale, aptly titled “I Was Feeling Epic,” ties together a lot of loose ends but leaves enough unanswered questions for fans to fantasize about the future of certain Mystic Falls residents. Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) ended The Vampire Diaries on a high note, but he also had eyes on his next goal.
‘The Vampire Diaries’ concluded with Matt finding his purpose
The series finale’s climax is the showdown between Stefan and Katherine over the future of Mystic Falls. Stefan sacrifices himself to take her out once and for all, dying in redirected hellfire to save the town.
Stefan’s death plays into The Vampire Diaries’ overall themes around family, love, and purpose, and Matt’s character arc also reflects this message. He became a sheriff in season 6, and in a montage at the end of “I Was Feeling Epic,” Matt receives a commemorative bench for his efforts to save the town from various supernatural threats.
His ambitions don’t stop there. Matt is also shown considering making a run for mayor.
The bench represented Matt’s path to maturity
Matt Donovan came a long way from being the Mystic Grill busboy he was in season 1. At the beginning of The Vampire Diaries, he has little involvement with the show’s main narrative, but he gradually becomes a more morally grounded person willing to put himself at risk to make his community safer.
In an interview with TV Guide, co-creator Kevin Williamson talked about Matt’s journey and how the bench was more than just a piece of furniture.
“I think when we first started, Matt didn’t know who he was. He felt like the bad pawn of some reckless parents. He had such a dysfunctional family. And he came into his own. He became a man people look up to and applauded,” Williamson told TV Guide. “He’s turned into this beaming light of responsibility and courage and he’s truly — I think he’s a hero. We just see a bench, but the thing about having a bench dedicated to you, you usually deserve a lot more than that. I have a feeling that bench was representative of a lot more.”
Matt is not the main focus of The Vampire Diaries spinoffs The Originals and Legacies, but he makes guest appearances in both. In Legacies, he has left the sheriff’s office to become the mayor of Mystic Falls.
1 version of the ‘Vampire Diaries’ finale showed Matt’s future romance
Romantic relationships often defined The Vampire Diaries, and series co-creator Julie Plec’s original plan for the ending was to set up a new couple. She revealed in an episode of Entertainment Weekly’s Binge podcast alongside co-stars Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley that the finale initially included a flash-forward scene that showed Matt and Bonnie Bennett as a married couple.
Bonnie was previously in a relationship with Enzo St. John before he was killed by Stefan. Despite that romance, Plec had thought she and Matt should get together because Bonnie had saved his life in the season 3 episode “The Reckoning.”
“I shipped Bonnie and Matt from that day,” she said. “And in my head, the end of the series would be a flash-forward that Bonnie and Matt had gotten together and had a family.”
Plec still liked the idea, but when it came time to make “I Was Feeling Epic,” she and her creative team chose to use their flash-forward scene to show Damon and Elena at the end of their lives, finding peace and ready to move into the afterlife.
