Alaric Saltzman, a recurring character throughout The Vampire Diaries and Legacies has “died” a staggering 9 times. A teacher at Mystic Falls High School turned Vampire Hunter after a Vampire killed his wife, Alaric has been involved in various close encounters with his prey. Every time he resurrected it was for a different reason, but many stem from his use of the Gilbert Ring, which kept him alive long enough to feature in all 3 Vampire Diaries shows.
Alaric’s hatred of vampires was not without reason, and he was on the hunt throughout season 1 of The Vampire Diaries for the Vampire who killed his wife, Isobel. He recognized Damon as guilty and that’s where his direct relationship with the Vampires of Mystic Falls all started. His reappearance in Legacies made audiences wonder if this count would go even higher, but throughout the series, he only came close to death. That was, until season 4.
With many of his deaths only counted as a “technicality” in the supernatural timeline of the Vampire Diaries, Alaric possesses the highest death count of any human throughout the franchise. Though the supernatural nature of the show inevitably leads to resurrection, Alaric’s relationship with death ought to be considered unusual in the Vampire Diaries canon. Made complicated by his connection to the Gilbert Ring, here is every dead of Alaric Saltzman in The Vampire Diaries and Legacies.
Damon stakes Alaric
After finding out that Damon ostensibly killed his wife, Alaric was understandably angry. In The Vampire Diaries season 1, episode 15, Alaric has his first encounter with Damon, where Mrs. Lockwood introduced Alaric to Damon at the bachelor fundraiser. Damon mentioned he knew Alaric’s wife and “found her delicious.” Seeking revenge, Alaric traveled to the Salvatore house with a stake in hand. Damon tried to explain he didn’t kill Alaric’s wife before Alaric attacked him. In the fight, Damon got the stake and killed Alaric. Stefan arrived and stayed with Alaric’s body when he suddenly came back to life. While Stefan thought Alaric must have been given Vampire blood, Alaric was convinced his wife’s ring protected him.
Alaric was stabbed by Stevie the Werewolf
Damon told Alaric of his plan to kill the original vampire Elijah in season 2, episode 14 of The Vampire Diaries. Later on in the episode, Damon and Alaric were attacked by werewolves. In this attack, Alaric was stabbed by Stevie the Werewolf. Similar to his previous death, he was brought back to life by the mystical Gilbert ring.
Damon snaps Alaric’s neck
In The Vampire Diaries season 3, episode 4, Damon and Alaric’s ever-complicated relationship became even more complex. By this point, Damon has not killed Alaric once, but twice. When the town was considering putting vervain, a potent herb, known as a vampire’s ultimate weakness, into the water supply, Damon was angry. Damon even used to test everything he drank by dipping his finger in before consuming it. He stepped out of the Town Hall and expressed his frustrations to Alaric and Elena. When Elena suggested vervain may be a good thing for the town as it could allow Damon to control himself, they argue. Alaric stepped in between them as it became increasingly heated and, subsequently, got his neck snapped by Damon. Damon knew Alaric would be able to come back to life due to the protection of the Gilbert Ring but Alaric remained justifiably angry when he awoke the next day.
Alaric gets hit by a car
Not long after his previous death, Alaric got hit by a car in The Vampire Diaries season 3, episode 10. When Klaus was coming up with ever-more cruel ways to torture Elena, Jeremy placed himself in front of an oncoming truck driven by one of Klaus’ loyal hybrid vampires. When Alaric tried to save Jeremy, he lept in front of the car. This time, the Gilbert ring took longer to revive him, but he was unconscious for the entirety of the episode.
Elena kills Alaric
Alaric was one of 5 characters Elena killed in The Vampire Diaries. When Elena returned home from the hospital in season 3, episode 13, she is shocked to find Alaric stabbed and fighting for his life on her kitchen floor. Since Alaric’s ring only protects him if he dies through supernatural causes and Elena’s doppelganger status was confirmed, he begged Elena to stab him so he could come back to life. Though Alaric wasn’t entirely sure that Elena was supernatural, it was the only way Alaric could survive. Elena was reluctant and first, but, realizing this, stabbed him. Alaric woke up several hours later, healed, and finally confirmed Elena’s supernatural status.
Klaus breaks Alaric’s neck
To kickstart Alaric’s dark-side, Klaus broke Alaric’s neck for him to come back to life and embrace his “heart of darkness.” The Vampire Diaries season 3, episode 19, solidified Klaus’ place as a major antagonist of the series. Though Klaus’ killing of Alaric doesn’t work originally, his fight with Stefan made Alaric feel threatened and sparked his psychopathic alter-ego. Alaric accompanies Rebekah, or Esther, to retrieve a stake from the cave and helps her in her attempt to kill off the Originals.
Alaric dies through Elena
After a particularly emotional plotline, the original vampire Rebekah resolved to kill Elena in The Vampire Diaries season 3, episode 22. Since Alaric and Elena’s lives were linked through a spell cast on the pair by Esther in the past, when one dies, so does the other. As the show switches back and forth between Elena’s accident with her parents in the past and her accident in the present with Matt when Rebekah stood in front of the car, Stefan came to the rescue in the present. Elena insisted Stefan save Matt, and she died. As Alaric was battling Damon at the same time, cameras panned to his passing, too. When Alaric presented himself as a ghost to Jeremy, the latter soon realized that due to their link, Elena must also have died. In a last-minute twist of the episode, it transpired that Elena was given Vampire blood to prevent her death and thus, Alaric survived as well.
Alaric’s Legacies Death
Alaric’s death in season 4 was as much of a death as his previous brushes with the end of his life. Though the audience was concerned that Alaric may have truly died in Legacies after dying of non-supernatural causes, Alaric still managed to survive. Over the next few episodes after his coma from extensive brain damage, the show followed his journey in Limbo. His quest for forgiveness from the Necromancer and his journey in the afterlife ended in a promise Alaric made both to Landon and the Necromancer to save Hope by working with his students.
