Julie Plec about Klaus/Caroline and the spinoff

Where does Caroline stand with Klaus right now? Did the spinoff change the direction they were going in, at all?

No. If anything, the spinoff is just another version of an obstacle. Caroline and Klaus is a very, very tricky relationship, in that we can all understand why she's drawn to him, because we're drawn to him. But Caroline is not the kind of character who would ever comfortably let herself go there. It's a constant battle of fighting the attraction that's very clearly brewing, but knowing she can never go there and still be true to herself. Something would have to change, whether it's Caroline's character who changes or Klaus's character who changes, or circumstances that change, before we as writers would ever legitimately think about putting them together. You can look at the Caroline/Klaus relationship as something that will live on, in a way, even when he's not on the show. The want is still there.

I remember a few years ago, you used to say that no matter what bad thing Damon did, the fans would never condemn him; now Klaus is in that position. No matter what he does, the fans love him.

We fight with each other and with ourselves as writers, because we genuinely love Klaus in spite of all his effed up behaviors and his darkness and his terrible, terrible attitude and his evil. Joseph gets a little tear in his eye and gives Caroline a puppy dog look and you just want him to have everything he wants. We get mad at ourselves for being so weak about him. Our goal has always been not to over-compromise the moral core of our characters even as they're making really, really complicated decisions about their romantic lives or their sex lives. Caroline has been a very interesting character to have in the center of those relationships.