The Vampire Diaries series finale airs Friday night on The CW, and here's how you can watch the finale episode live.

The CW is going all out for The Vampire Diaries season 8 finale, which also happens to be the series finale. Fans have watched 170 episodes of the series since it premiered in 2009 and now it's time for one last installment before the diaries officially close.

The Vampire Diaries finale event begins with a one-hour retrospective on the series as a whole. The special, called "Forever Yours", features interviews with various cast members from the show's past and present in addition to guest stars and an extended conversation with executive producers Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson. The "Forever Yours" special will include highlights from the past eight seasons in addition to behind-the-scenes footage.

Then it's time for The Vampire Diaries series finale at 9 p.m. ET/PT, which is titled "I Was Feeling Epic". In the series finale, "With the fate of Mystic Falls at stake, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) must fight their greatest enemy for one last battle," says the brief CW synopsis.

The Vampire Diaries series finale won't be available for live streaming, but it is expected that the special and the final episode will be available on The CW website and the various CW apps after the initial broadcast. As fans may already know, you do not need a cable subscription or anything else to access new episodes.

To live tweet and follow along with others watching The Vampire Diaries series finale, use hashtag #TVD and/or #TVDForever on Twitter.

Tags: the vampire diaries television the cw