Over the eight years that The Vampire Diaries was on TV, the show underwent a lot of changes. TVD is easily one of the most popular shows to come out The CW during the height of the channel’s popularity. From 2009 to 2017, fans of the show were enthralled by Damon and Stefan Salvatore as the vampiric brothers found themselves struggling with one another, other supernatural creatures and their peers in Mystic Falls.
However, while the show started life as a series where a love triangle set two brothers at odds, the series transformed into something very different by the time the show had entered into its final season. Not only did the core cast have some big shifts, but the stories, the tone of the show, and the supernatural lore all underwent a significant shift from the beginning of TVD, to the end. And despite these changes, it still worked within the world of TVD and Mystic Falls.
10 The Vampire Diaries Got Darker, Broodier, And More Violent
Yes, the show kicks off with a young couple being murdered when they stop in the middle of a quiet dark road, but this scene is largely suggestive and avoids showing the couples deaths. As the show progressed, the subtlety around the vampires killings also faded away. In later seasons, there are brutal scenes where people are literally ripped apart, and TVD really leans into this darker tone in later seasons.
In fact, throughout the final season, the show swaps between a dystopian future where death and destruction run rampant, and the bleak present, where Mystic Falls is a ghost town run by the Heretics. The show does not hold back in showing the hopeless state of Mystic Falls, the brutality of vampires like the Heretics Coven, and the potentially imminent deaths of some fan favorite characters.
9 TVD Focused More On The Supernatural
This did feel like a natural progression for the series, as it quickly moved beyond the show’s central figures, the Salvatore brothers, and spent time building out the supernatural world. Witches were introduced early on, but before long, werewolves, hybrids, the Originals, and many other fringe supernatural figures joined the party. This transition from a story about a young girl in high school and her romance with a vampire then became a show that explored many corners of mythology and lore.
By about halfway through the series, every character that the show focuses on is supernatural in some way. Whether they be vampires, doppelgängers, hunters, witches, or hybrids, the show left behind the somewhat grounded story that it started with and adopted a more mystical approach. Again, this felt like a natural progression, as those closest to the Salvatores were not able to escape the supernatural, and it took its toll.
8 Damon Became The Softer, More Emotional Brother
When the show first began, Damon was established early on to be the villain. His uncaring, reckless, and destructive ways impacted countless lives, and he gladly played that role. Meanwhile, Stefan was the more level-headed, reasonable brother, who sacrificed greater powers to ensure he never harmed people by going on the vampire vegetarian diet. Before long, the show unpacks why exactly Stefan avoids drinking blood, and Damon drops his selfish facade which reveals a much more emotional and caring man.
Stefan avoids blood because he has no self-control, and when he starts to drink, he drinks until the humans he is feeding on are completely drained. Meanwhile, Damon likes to party, and frequently allows himself to cross lines that others dont, but he always has the strength to stop. As the show reveals more of the brothers’ history, it reveals that Stefan was actually the one who pushed his brother to turn, and made a lot of terrible choices, but Damon is struggling to live as something that he ultimately feels like he was forced to become, and he feels the need to claim it as his own.
7 Caroline Grew From The Needy It Girl To Becoming Self-Assured And Strong
Another character who undergoes a complete transformation from beginning to end is Caroline. In the start of TVD, Caroline is extremely jealous, rude, selfish, and clueless. She becomes a victim of Damon’s early on, and her home life is difficult considering the distance between her and her mother. This all adds up to making Caroline an extremely pitiable character who can be annoying, and disdainful, but is ultimately just a struggling young girl with no control.
All of this changes, however, when she transitions into a vampire. Most new vampires struggle when they change to get a handle on their newfound appetite. Caroline had an uncanny ability to maintain control, however, and learned to adapt to the vampire lifestyle in record time. This gift continued to benefit her, and she was able to lead and help other vampires better transition. As a vampire, Caroline reached her full potential and became a more well-rounded, confident, and generally better person who became one of the most interesting characters on TVD.
6 Elena Stopped Being The Main Character
While others like Caroline and Damon stepped into a main character role, Elena, the original protagonist, disappeared as the show progressed. The show outgrew the love triangle plot, and despite Elena’s presence being felt thanks to Damon’s continued love for her, the character remained largely absent in the last couple of seasons. While Elena was an interesting character to follow, she was not the most compelling person in Mystic Falls, and her absence did not diminish the story.
Of course, it did rely more on other characters to take the lead, and the eclectic cast meant the story jumped between groups, but arguably the show’s leads became Damon and Stefan. Damon was often seen to be the hero, and the figure who was able to right wrongs when others let things fall apart. His stepping up as the new lead character made perfect sense for the story, and when he is ultimately reunited with his love, it feels like that moment has been thoroughly earned.
5 Stefan And Damon Grew To Respect And Fight For Each Other
Early on, Stefan and Damon are brothers with a clear distrust of one another. In some ways, they bring out the worst in each other as they seek to compete and argue. However, beneath all of that, there was always a sense that the Salvatore’s loved one another. So it didn’t take long for the brothers to begin fighting for each other instead of against them.
When threats arose, Damon and Stefan would do everything in their power to protect and keep the other safe. Often, this comes at great personal cost, and could lead to further danger and problems down the road. However, by the time the show concludes, the brothers have grown to understand each other’s motives, and feel empathy about their traumatic pasts. And, as a result, they are closer than ever before.
4 Vampires Stopped Being The Biggest Threat In Mystic Falls
Of course, when Damon stopped being the biggest threat in Mystic Falls, the show had to introduce other elements to keep the tension going. While Katherine was one of the first other vampires to present a threat to the community, the show moved beyond these figures as the primary threat to the community of Mystic Falls. The Founders had been dealing with vampires for hundreds of years, but when the Originals arrived, and later the Heretics, the town is not equipped to fight back.
These monsters proved considerably harder to kill, more powerful, and with a greater array of abilities at their disposal. The unfortunate town of Mystic Falls even became a desolate hunting ground for the Heretics toward the end of the show, before the core group were able to wipe out the threat and restore their home to its former glory. But the fall was made even worse by the fact that, immediately before, the town had a protection spell that provided the community with greater peace than it had ever known.
3 The Town Of Mystic Falls Was Destroyed & Rebuilt
As briefly mentioned above, Mystic Falls went through a lot of changes in the series as well. The town historically had a connection to vampires, but due to the Founders’ determination and knowledge, they were able to trap a large group of vampires in a crypt. Hundreds of years later, trouble brewed in Mystic Falls as these spells began to fall apart, and old faces returned to threaten the community once again. Mystic Falls went through periods of great tragedy, with many students being killed, and prosperity, when the town was protected and safe from anything supernatural.
However, it was after this point that the town suffered the worst, with the Heretics moving in and breaking the protection spell. The entire town was evacuated, and the abandoned streets of Mystic Falls became a lawless hunting ground for the Heretics. Fortunately, Damon and the others are able to find a way to overpower the Heretics and make Mystic Falls safe for people to return. With the help of core members of the community, like Matt Donovan, the town was rebuilt, stronger and better than before.
2 Bonnie Learned To Love Vampires
Initially, Bonnie was unaware of her heritage and witch powers, but when the Salvatore’s moved back to Mystic Falls, her grandmother was forced to share the secrets of the Bennett witches in order to protect her. However, her lessons in magic also came with a burning hatred for the vampires who plagued the community. This anger only grew when her grandmother was killed, and vampires stole the heart of her best friend, Elena Gilbert, figuratively speaking.
However, eventually, Bonnie had her biological mother turned into a vampire. She was trapped in a mirror dimension with her nemesis, Damon Salvatore, and she later found herself stuck with Enzo. All of these moments could have intensified her hatred of the vampires, but instead, she learned to embrace them and see them as individuals who were victims of their transformation.
1 TVD Spent Less Time Exploring The Past, And More Time On The Future
Early on, TVD often spent time establishing the history of the Salvatores, as it included many flashbacks to when the boys were growing up before becoming vampires. This continued when the Originals were introduced, and it helped to establish their history as the first vampires, and again when Damon and Stefan’s mother came back. However, the final season of the show changed this.
Rather than constantly showing flashbacks to establish characters’ backstories, it included a flash forward in each episode which detailed a dystopian future. In these scenes, Stefan was being hunted by a mysterious figure, and relationships that had been established previously were broken up. Eventually, the show caught up to these flash forward moments, and the series concluded. Leading to a satisfying end for The Vampire Diaries where the timelines lined up, characters got their happily ever afters, and nothing was quite the same as it was at the start.