Vampire Diaries' Candice King Previews Holiday Revelations, 2017 Time Jump

If you’re dreading Christmas with your dysfunctional family, just be glad your last name isn’t Salvatore. Or Forbes. Or Donovan.

Friday’s Vampire Diaries winter finale (The CW, 8/7c) doubles as this season’s big Christmas episode, and Candice King tells TVLine to brace for information overload.

“Basically, you’re going to get a lot of answers to questions you’ve had for a while,” King says, adding, “and we, of course, pose more questions. You’ll learn a lot about Matt’s dad, and the history of [the Donovan] family in Mystic Falls. You’ll also see Damon and Stefan, and what happens next for them.”

(The history of the Donovan family, eh? During a recent visit to the Vampire Diaries set, Zach Roerig told TVLine how bummed he was that the producers dropped an early storyline about Matt’s mom being a succubus, which would make Matt an incubus. Can you even imagine?)

OK, now here’s the biggie: “When we come back in January,” King says, “there’s going to be a time jump. Not another three-year one, but it’s a time jump.”

As for what the rest of the season has in store for Mystic Falls’ finest, King admits she’s totally in the dark.

“[Executive producer Julie Plec] hasn’t been in town, so I haven’t been able to give her a big ol’ glass of wine and get answers out of her,” she says. “I knew a couple of different options from before, but I think they might have changed at this point.”

So, how are you hoping The Vampire Diaries will end in 2017? Drop your ideas in a comment below.