Last season on The Vampire Diaries viewers bid Elena (Nina Dobrev) farewell, but she wasn't the only one they said goodbye to.

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Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino) also left, but Tyler actually left town unlike Elena's sleeping body that is inside a casket that Lily (Annie Wersching) is currently holding as a chip in her evil game against Damon (Ian Somerhalder).

Anyway, with the way things were left it was made clear Elena wouldn't be returning and it seemed like Tyler wouldn't either, but then in last week's episode called "Age of Innocence" fans were delighted to see a brief flash-forward, which Tyler was included in.

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TVLine revealed Monday why Tyler was in the episode.

In regard to his minor appearance last week, the show's executive producer Caroline Dries said, "We wanted to remind the audience that Tyler's still very much a part of [the show's] universe."

"When you're fortunate enough to leave Mystic Falls - and not because you died - we try to exploit and embrace that. Tyler got away, so to speak, and just seeing a little glimpse of him in the show told the audience, 'Look, three years from now, the guy's still alive. So there's some hope,'" she explained.

Dries also dished Tyler will appear again this season!

"We will see him again," she noted, while talking about how he is "one of the success stories of Mystic Falls" since he managed to get out of there alive and is living in the future with what seems like a happy life.

The Vampire Diaries airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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The vampire diaries, Television, The cw