vampire diaries
The Season 5 finale of "The Vampire Diaries" will air on May 15. Bob Mahoney/The CW

Get ready to say goodbye, “Vampire Diaries” fans. Season 5 of the hit CW series is quickly winding down. But don’t start shedding those tears … because the Season 5 finale is going to be epic.

The episode is set to air on May 15, but details are scarce. But executive producer Caroline Dries was kind enough to drop a couple of clues to E! News. She says the coming episode’s cliffhanger will rank “up there” when it comes to jaw-dropping moments on “The Vampire Diaries.”

Intriguing, right? Well, that’s not all. The finale will also reportedly feature the return of some familiar faces.

Who might those familiar faces be? We’re thinking of nine characters who we’d like to see return in the Season 5 finale of “The Vampire Diaries”:

Alaric

Everyone loves Alaric, so it’s easy to assume that the dead history teacher will be making a return in Season 5. Alaric has returned from the grave before, and with Elena and Damon’s relationship in trouble we can totally picture him popping up to give Damon some advice about how to win back the girl.

While the return of Matthew Davis’ character hasn’t been confirmed, he was recently photographed with “Vampire Diaries” co-stars Michael Trevino and Zach Roerig.

Kol

Kol resurfaced on “The Other Side” in episode 18. And since “The Other Side” is still in jeopardy, we have a feeling that we’ll be seeing Nathaniel Buzolic’s character show up again.

Vicki

In a heartbreaking moment in episode 18, Matt was reunited with his dead sister Vicki on “The Other Side.” Matt wanted desperately to bring Vicki back to the side of the living, but a strong wind tore them apart, dragging Vicky into a black hole in the sky. It’s unclear where Kayla Ewell’s character went, but the Season 5 finale could dive into that.

Aunt Jenna

Sara Canning’s Aunt Jenna was talked about in Elena’s alternate universe dreams, but she never made a physical appearance. We’d love to see Jenna return to bestow some advice upon her niece and nephew.

John Gilbert

David Anders' character made a brief appearance in the 100th episode of “The Vampire Diaries,” but that wasn’t nearly enough for us. Since John Gilbert is the biological father of Elena, we’d love to see him return from the grave and reveal some sort of involvement with the Travelers and the doppelganger prophecy.

Katherine

Katherine was only recently ripped from our hearts, but that doesn’t mean she can’t make a return. Elena’s doppelganger made it to the other side before getting pulled by some force into the darkness … perhaps she’s with Vicki?

Mrs. Lockwood

Tyler mentioned his mom in episode 18 … which leads us to believe that she might make an appearance in the Season 5 finale. The only thing is that Mrs. Lockwood was a human when Klaus killed her. And that means that she’s not on “The Other Side” with the other supernatural beings.

Silas

We said goodbye to Silas too soon. It would be cool if the original doppelganger returns from “The Other Side” to help take down the Travelers and their need for the doppelgangers. But we can’t picture Silas being too helpful, being that he was evil and all.

Lexi

“The Vampire Diaries” never misses an opportunity to bring Lexi back from the dead. Stefan’s dead BFF seems always willing to make the return to Mystic Falls and help her old friend out of whatever trouble he ends up in.

Who do you want to see return in the Season 5 finale of “The Vampire Diaries”? Let us know in the comments section or send a tweet to @AmandaTVScoop.