It’s no secret that the allure of The Vampire Diaries lies in the romances and love triangles, but none of that would have been possible without engaging characters. The supernatural drama had a large ensemble of characters, and almost all of them had some stellar character development throughout eight seasons. The result was fleshed-out, realistic characters who drew audiences into the show even more.
That said, not every character was created equal. While characters like Caroline Forbes were written with care, others like Alaric Saltzman were not as well-developed as others. Many even got satisfying redemptive arcs that fans love to watch. Each character had their turns and contributions in The Vampire Diaries that made the show what it was.
10 Alaric Saltzman
As the history teacher of Mystic Falls High School, Alaric had to fall in with the gang and help them figure out all the supernatural folklore of the town. However, he hardly changed from the first episode to his last. Alaric’s story began with his failed marriage to Isobel because of her desire to become a vampire.
During the next few seasons, he continued to have relationships with women who were also steeped in the supernatural world, like Jo and Meredith, and these also had disappointing outcomes. It also didn’t make sense how he continuously hung out with teens. While he acted like a guardian to them, his character regressed when he fell in love with Caroline, who was essentially a surrogate for his kids and had been his student.
9 Jeremy Gilbert
Their parents’ death hit Elena’s brother particularly hard, so he resorted to drugs to cope. He first had a tragic relationship with Vicki, and after she died, he moved on to Anna. Much of Jeremy’s plot lines involved him trying to escape his own reality, resulting in him trying to become a vampire in Season 1. He also barely supported Elena and was used like a pawn in most situations.
Jeremy grew up and transformed a fair bit, notably becoming a part of the Brotherhood of the Five in Season 4, where he trained to become stronger. However, this story didn’t last long, as Jeremy was killed by Silas and Katherine soon after. He was resurrected, then departed the show in Season 6 to become a vampire hunter. Fans never heard back about his character.
8 Tyler Lockwood
Tyler’s arc started with him being an arrogant jerk who bullied people and had little respect for women and consent. His journey showed great potential when he turned into a werewolf and shed some of his hostility in the process. He and Caroline even became one of the best The Vampire Diaries couples for some time.
Sadly, his progress was backtracked when he got obsessed with revenge. Klaus had ruined his life in many ways, but Tyler gave far too much importance to him and forgot to live his life as a result. He returned to being an untrustworthy and unreliable character who met an untimely end at Damon’s hands.
7 Katherine Pierce
Katherine was one of the most iconic teen drama villains, but her reappearance in Season 8 ruined her otherwise wonderful character arc. She had entered the scene as a certified antagonist, intent on messing with the Salvatore brothers and destroying Elena’s life. However, many of her evil ways were redeemed when her violent history with her parents and Klaus was shown.
She was seen as a young woman who had to resort to unsavory means to survive, and her transformation back into a human was quite thrilling to watch. If Katherine had been laid to rest, then her character would be one of the most nuanced ones, but her return as the big bad in the series finale reversed most of her arc.
6 Bonnie Bennett
The Vampire Diaries mishandled one of its most potent characters, Bonnie Bennett, by giving her peripheral plot lines. As a Black witch in Mystic Falls, she had the most interesting origins, with her grandmother being a legendary witch and her mother becoming a vampire. Bonnie was the strongest witch of her generation, but the writers only used her character to rescue her friends at the cost of her well-being.
She had some riveting treks into Prison Worlds and the dark side of the magical world, but Bonnie could go missing for whole episodes. The young witch was killed and resuscitated so many times that it became tiring. Her romance with Enzo was a breath of fresh air as she was always unlucky in love, but his unnecessary death proved that the show would never give her a good plot point.
5 Klaus Mikaelson
The Original vampire was terrifying and ruthless but also charismatic and cool. He was immensely powerful, and fans learned that his cruelty stemmed from years of abuse and neglect at the hands of his parents, Esther and Mikael. However, his first great subplot emerged when he fell for Caroline. In an attempt to get closer to her, Klaus controlled many of his basest urges which fans loved to watch.
Klaus was a great foil to other vampires like Damon and Stefan, who tried their best to be better and more humane. Sadly, he exited The Vampire Diaries to star in his own spin-off, The Originals, where his great character development continued when he became a parent. Viewers of the original show, however, did not get to see it as he shifted to New Orleans.
4 Stefan Salvatore
The younger Salvatore brother had one of the most fascinating arcs. The Vampire Diaries always depicted Stefan as the morally better Salvatore, so fans were shocked to discover that he used to be a wild, humanity-free vampire who killed his father for blood. After gaining a reputation as a serial killer, he met his best friend, who set him straight.
The fact that Stefan was always on the edge of becoming evil added many layers to his character. It allowed Klaus to use him as a pawn and added further tension to his and Elena’s relationship. Despite all this, Stefan stayed a caring partner, friend, and brother, eventually finding true love with Caroline. His death hurt many fans, but it made him one of the best characters in the series.
3 Caroline Forbes
When Caroline first appeared on-screen, nobody thought she would become the most beloved character. As a human, Caroline was bitter, judgmental, jealous, and petty toward her closest friends. However, when Katherine turned her into a vampire, she did Caroline a favor.
Being a vamp heightened the best of Caroline’s personality: her intelligence, organization skills, love for her family, and even her confidence. She shed her insecurities and became strong and capable in her own right. As a vampire, Caroline could protect her friends and stand up to those who tormented her as a human. She may have turned off her humanity and gone off the rails in the middle, but her journey in The Vampire Diaries was always memorable, with her attraction to Klaus being a highlight.
2 Elena Gilbert
The reason why The Vampire Diaries still holds up today is because it had a relatable protagonist in Elena. She was a grief-stricken teen in the initial episodes who grew stronger and found herself as she dove into the world of the supernatural. Elena found love in Stefan Salvatore but greatly excited viewers when her feelings for Damon grew.
Elena’s two greatest romances were not her only narrative, though. She went to the dark side when she became a vampire, operated without her humanity, and still came back to life. Elena lost many friends and family to vampires like Klaus and Katherine but never grew bitter or jaded. She always had love for her friends, and her selfless behavior was on display when she accepted the Sleeping Beauty curse instead of making Bonnie go through hell. Fans were especially pleased when she lived out her dream of becoming a doctor.
1 Damon Salvatore
Damon Salvatore entered the show as an antagonist and left it as a hero. Initially, he was a thoughtless and cruel vampire who killed for fun and abused many of Elena’s friends. His redemptive arc began early when he started to fall for Elena. He made a concentrated effort to be a better man, even opening his heart to friendship with Bonnie, whom he hated at first.
Damon had always been afraid of what his heart wanted: to be a human again and regain his innocence. As the show continued, he allowed himself to entertain the possibility of being kinder and living a human life with Elena. He suffered greatly when she was cursed to sleep by Kai, but Damon waited for her. He mended ties with his brother and improved overall but retained the enigma that he had when he was the bad guy.