The Vampire Diaries’ Jeremy Gilbert has had a rough year. He’s lost the closest thing he has to a father figure and may be losing his own sister, Elena, as well.
We caught up with Steven McQueen (Jeremy Gilbert’s portrayer on the hit CW show) this summer in San Diego and talked about what his character has gone through and shared what he could on what’s to come.
“He’s lost a lot of people,” says McQueen of his character Jeremy. “At the end of last season he contributed to the death of his last family member. I feel like he’s imploded a lot. He’s had a lot of situations that were out of his control and to see him kind of fight back next season and take control and do what he can to get his power back.”
The final moments of Season Three saw Elena’s awakening and the start of her transition into a vampire. McQueen discusses his interest in seeing how Jeremy will take on this new big change in his life. “I think he loves his sister and he wants to keep her safe,” he explained. “That’s the main thing. Now that she’s the living dead, so to speak, I don’t know if it’ll cause a wedge between them or bring them closer. I don’t know.”
Jeremy’s life has become overwhelming, what with vampires, werewolves, witches and ghosts in his every day life. “This last season he wants normalcy. He wants to escape from the craziness that these vampires and other supernatural beings have brought to his life and it’ll be interesting to see if he tries to do something about it this season.”
Losing Alaric (Matt Davis) was a big shock to the cast of The Vampire Diaries, but how will Jeremy handle it? “I think Jeremy’s always been looking for a father figure, someone to give him guidance and help him understand. As we’re growing up we want to understand who we are, so I think he’s made protecting his family his priority and now that he’s got no family left to protect he might not know what to do with himself this season.” When asked about the possibility of Alaric’s return to Mystic Falls, he exclaims, “I hope so!”
Steven McQueen also brought up a little hint that has showed up in one of his promotional photos for next season — a crossbow hiding behind him suggesting that Jeremy becomes a vampire hunter, which would become a big conflict with Elena being turned.
As for how Jeremy will grow and what he will do this season, he closed the interview with this: “The family legacy has been hunting. Pick up that crossbow, kick ass and take some names.”
The Vampire Diaries Season Four premieres tonight at 8|7c on The CW.