'The Vampire Diaries' season 7 spoilers, plot & news update: showrunner Julie Plec says the series was inspired by 'Game of Thrones'

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With the departure of one of the show's main stars and pivotal characters, one would think that "The Vampire Diaries" would quietly conclude the six-season-long fight to declare who is the better Salvatore brother (Team Damon or Team Salvatore?). Instead, the franchise, which has spawned another series called "Originals," is a train that won't stop chugging, as executive producer and creator Julie Plec recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about how she envisioned the show post-Elena Gilbert.

"I always look back at 'Game of Thrones,'" Plec explained. "At first I said well, ‘How could there be a show without Ned Stark?’ And then by season 2 I was like, ‘Ned who?’ And then after the Red Wedding I was like, ‘How could there be a show without the Starks?’ And then by season 4 I was just as invested in other characters, so there’s a way there that if you can tell good stories, people can survive the loss of their favorite. And we may come to learn that that’s not true for our show, we’ll see, but it feels good."

In May, the Hollywood Reporter spoke with Dobrev about her exit, and the 26-year-old actress said, "I always felt Elena's journey would be a six-year journey, and I felt that I did so much in those six years, and I wanted to always feel that passion, and that excitement and fond memories. And I do. I have nothing but love for every single person there. The show must go on, and it is going on, and I'm excited to see what next season is going to be like."

Plec admitted that she saw Dobrev's departure as an opportunity to put the spotlight on other characters in the story. She told EW, "I read all the time [fans] talking about characters that don’t get their day in the sun, well, maybe this is a chance for them to get [it]. Maybe not, maybe they’ll still be lingering on the sidelines as story dictates, but it’s fun to just write a show about brothers and about the other people in the show and not have to worry about what predicament you’re going to get your heroine into this week."

Without downplaying Dobrev's role in the series, Plec said that Caroline and Bonnie "were already heroes in their own right and very much definitive story providers. Caroline playing the bossy heroine, and Bonnie’s always playing the rescuer. So their roles are allowed more room to breathe."

Find out how Caroline, Bonnie and the Salvatore brothers' stories unfold without Elena as The Vampire Diaries returns to television on Oct. 8, 8 p.m. ET on The CW.