CW’s The Vampire Diaries had a long and memorable run from 2009 to 2017, mainly because it had fantastic characters, interesting story arcs, revealing redemptions, and a heartwarming finale which tied all the loose ends up beautifully (which is something that many shows struggle to do today.)
The show still holds a special place in the hearts of fans, and the best way to sum up the entire eight seasons of the supernatural drama is to use the language of the internet: memes. Viewers continue to make countless memes about the various aspects of the show, some hilarious and some nostalgic. This is The Vampire Diaries, in all its meme-worthy glory.
Nobody Was More Extraordinary Than Matt Donovan
While chock full of supernatural beings, The Vampire Diaries also had several human characters (both good and evil), but Matt Donovan was truly something else. His role shifted from ally to reluctant enemy, and he was one of the few characters whose human status stayed untouched — yet he seemed more immortal than others.
He survived every hurdle on the show, cheated death multiple times, and stayed alive right till the end, more so than the actually invincible characters who were killed off before him. Matt was a truly special guy.
A Doppelganger Fest
The Vampire Diaries is definitely known for popularizing the word “doppelganger” in public rhetoric. At first, it was only Elena and Katherine, but soon enough it was revealed that even Stefan had them. Both him and Elena were cursed with a long line of doppelgangers since the time of Silas and Amara.
This supernatural phenomenon played a huge role in the series, often being the key to breaking ancient Bennet spells, bringing down The Other Side, and angering the Original vampires. The number of roles Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley played were astounding.
Elena And The Salvatore Brothers
Who can forget the epic love triangle between Elena, Damon and Stefan, and the two big ships it birthed: Delena and Stelena. This classic meme really tells their tale simply and amusingly, with Elena thirsting after Damon while being with Stefan all along.
This was the crux of the show for a very long time, and continues to be a massive point of debate for fans of the two couples. Thankfully, the brothers reached an amicable solution when Stefan chose to be with Caroline.
The First Villain
Nobody can beat the all-powerful Katherine, the first and last villain on The Vampire Diaries. Her most defining characteristic was, well, her striking resemblance to Elena, and how she reveled in imitating her and fooling the unsuspecting brothers whenever she could.
She was a truly wily creature, and the complete opposite of the good and pure Elena whom she looked like. She didn’t die easy, and even when she did, she came back to haunt the gang from Hell.
Caroline’s Amazing Love Life
The romances on the show were sweet yet thrilling, but the one lucky girl who got to date all the gorgeous men of The Vampire Diaries was Caroline. She fell in love with humans, hybrids, vampires, werewolves, and even someone in between all the realms, and that was the magic of Caroline.
All of her love stories were equally compelling, and fans cheered her on with whomever she was with at the time. Her greatest partner of all time was Klaus, and the two still have the biggest fan following till date.
Stefan, And Ripper Stefan
Poor Stefan had to tussle with two parts of himself: the real Stefan, and the ripper version. As kind and compassionate as he was with his humanity on, that’s how vicious and cruel he would become when his humanity switch was on, and he became a full-on ripper.
The running joke during the show was his animal blood diet, which was restricted to small squirrels and bunnies to keep him from hurting people. Damon particularly enjoyed mocking him about that.
The Duality Of Damon
While Stefan struggled with being a serial killer, Damon also had two sides. He was always mean and ready to hurt people, especially at the beginning of the show, however, meeting Elena had a calming effect on him and he wanted to be better — but only with her.
He was cuddly and soft with his lady love, but ready to throw bodies with everyone else. His courtesy only extended to Bonnie, who became his best friend too.
The Town With All The Trouble
Mystic Falls. The name of the town is synonymous with trouble, especially of the occult kind, but this early scene in the show makes for a great meme. Elena met Damon while waiting on the street by herself, which is ill-advised for a mere mortal to do, let alone a doppelganger.
She naively tells Damon that the town was crime-free, and nothing ever happened here, soon after which everything starts to go wrong, mainly because the Salvatore brothers made a comeback.
Stefan’s Many First Loves
Just like Caroline, Stefan also had a long dating history, but his went back centuries. Funnily enough, the show kept retconning itself and calling almost every girl he was involved with his “first love”, which happened almost thrice.
Elena was his epic love, who looked exactly like Katherine, who was his first, first love. Then, the Heretics came to play, and Valerie was introduced, who was yet again, his first love. Stefan just kept forgetting his exes, it seemed.
A Heart Wrenching End
The long and beautiful saga of The Vampire Diaries ended well, but it took many beloved characters with it. Too many fan favorites, including Enzo, Stefan, Katherine, Tyler, and many more perished in the last great war in the show, and viewers were left heartbroken.
The show had seen lots of death already, and the last couple of episodes really hit hard when main characters died, so close to getting their happy ending.
