“ | I heard about your graduation. The whole freak mining fire thing. I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose half of my class... Sorry you had to go through that. | ” |
— Penny to Matt in Things We Lost in the Fire
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Penelope[1] "Penny" Ares was a character in the seventh season of The Vampire Diaries. She made her first appearance in Things We Lost in the Fire, when she arrested Matt for drunk-driving.
After the three year time-jump, it has been revealed that Penny was killed at some point (and originally thought to be killed by Stefan Salvatore), which is the main reason why Matt agreed to work with Rayna to try and bring Stefan down. It is revealed that she got engaged to Matt Donovan shortly before her death. However, it is revealed that Matt accidentally shot Penny while hunting down Stefan.
Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series[]
Season Seven[]
In Things We Lost in the Fire, Penny appears and pulls Matt over for drunk driving despite him arguing that he is a fellow officer. After the scene, it is revealed that she arrested Matt and got him sent to jail. Soon, she informs Matt that he is relieved of his crime. After Matt refused to go and decided to wait it out, Penny discusses the death of Matt's class, stating she feels sorry for what had happened and would be devastated if the same incident happens to her. She then showed Matt a bag full of weapons, asking Matt what they found in his truck.
In Postcards from the Edge, Matt is still in his cell while Penny studies the weapons they found last night. Matt evidently lied to her and claimed that the weapons they found originally came from zombie apocalypse survivalist, in which she believed. She releases Matt and told him to cheer up because a friend of hers, named Doug, got a call from the Mystic Falls city planning office to reclaim his house. Penny believes that this is a sign of support for Mystic Falls, however, Matt asked suspiciously which street Doug lives on. It is revealed that Penny did not believe anything Matt said as she followed the latter into a house in Mystic Falls. She asks Matt what he is doing as a vampire appears before them. Matt shoots the vampire and told Penny that if she's coming to Mystic Falls, she better bring some wooden bullets with her. In the woods, Matt and Penny are sitting on his truck, drinking. Shocked by the existence of vampires, Penny asks Matt if there are more things he should tell her. Matt tells her that one is enough. Penny then claims he is different from what she thought he would be, describing him as cute, a little damaged in a sweet way, and insanely brave.
In I Would for You, Penny is seen assisting Matt with killing vampires in Mystic Falls. However, after she witnesses Matt choose to side with Damon Salvatore against Rayna Cruz, a fellow vampire hunter, she then accuses him of the state Mystic Falls is in and leaves Matt mad at him.
While she doesn't make a physical appearance in Days of Future Past, it's been revealed that Penny has been killed by Stefan Salvatore at some point during the three-year time jump. Matt approaches her grave in tears and says that he finally made Stefan pay for his actions.
In Kill 'Em All, it is shown in a flashback that she got engaged to Matt Donovan shortly before her death. However, when she hears that Stefan Salvatore is in town even though he was told to stay away, she goes to confront him in the woods. Matt arrived shortly after and is spooked by Penny, shooting her by mistake. Stefan then showed up and tried to help Matt save her by giving her his blood. It did not work so Stefan compelled Matt to believe that Penny's death was caused by a fatal car accident.
In Requiem for a Dream, she is seen in a photo in her file while Matt was looking over the case of her death in his office.
In Gods and Monsters, after Matt got into a huge car crash, Penny's ghost appeared next to him (in Matt's dream). Barely conscious, the two had a conversation where Matt apologized for killing her and that he is willing to die in order to be with her once again. Touched, Penny told him that there's a better life for him out there and that he should find happiness somewhere else. After she told him to wake up several times, Matt finally became conscious and was found by an EMT officer.
Personality[]
Overall, not much is known about Penny's persona, however, she was depicted as a strict and law-abiding young woman. As a police officer, she always tried to maintain people on following the rules, even if their standard was higher than or equal to her, as shown with Matt Donovan. However, despite this, she felt compassion to other people and their misfortunes, showing concern to Matt's attitude and feelings after discovering his class' demise in the past.
Physical Appearance[]
Penny was portrayed as a beautiful woman in her 20s with medium-length, dark brown hair, often tied in a ponytail and emerald eyes. She is also described as cute, but also a very formidable young cop.
Relationships[]
Matt Donovan[]
- Main article: Matt and Penny
Penny meets Matt when she pulls him over for driving drunk. They became allies, friends and were eventually engaged to each other after Matt explained the supernatural world to her. Penny's involvement with the supernatural world and Matt eventually got her killed. After Penny's death, Matt was influenced to hunt all vampires that threatened his hometown because he believed a vampire caused her death. The last time Penny appears to Matt is when he hallucinates seeing her and she tells him to move on with his life, without her.
Other Relationships[]
- Penny and Rayna (Former Allies)
- Penny and the Salvatore Brothers (Former Allies/Former Enemies)
Appearances[]
- Things We Lost in the Fire
- Postcards from the Edge
- I Would for You
- Days of Future Past (Mentioned)
- Kill 'Em All (Flashback)
- Requiem for a Dream (Photo)
- Gods and Monsters (Dream/Hallucination)
- The Next Time I Hurt Somebody, It Could Be You (Mentioned)
Trivia[]
- Her casting call describes her as a "cute", but "formidable" young cop who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty when it comes to the supernatural.
- The sides for her character reveal her to be a cop who catches Matt drunk driving and finds out he has vampire killing weapons in his truck.
- With confirmation that human souls are found in the dimensions, she either found peace or went to a dimension similar to Hell, if one exists.
Gallery[]
References[]
See also[]
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