Question: I've only recently started watching The Vampire Diaries, as I wanted to wait for the overall reception of Season 1. But once I started, I got fully sucked in and I'm absolutely loving it now. However, I'm having a hard time letting go of my lovely namesake Anna. With her ambivalent personality traits and the story line she was given, I thought she was one of the most interesting characters on the show. I have to admit that her demise in the finale hit me quite hard. Is there really no chance at all that she survived somehow? — Anna

Matt Roush: Looked to me like she was a goner, but you know how it goes on shows like this: Just because you die, or die again as the case may be, doesn't necessarily mean you're dead for good. And even if she did bite the eternal dust, I'd think there's potential for some juicy flashbacks as we get more of everyone's back story. And don't you imagine she'd at the very least haunt Jeremy's dreams? Beyond that, I haven't a clue whether we'll see Anna again, as I refuse to get ahead of the story, especially on shows like this. From a critical point of view, though, it's important to believe that characters like this can actually perish even in a supernatural series, or there'd be nothing at stake (pun unintended). Keeps you caring, I'd think.