The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diariesran for eight seasons , and part of the intellect it was so beloved by audience was that it stood out from other YA dramas in one big way . The Vampire Diaries , ground on the ' 90s Holy Scripture series by L.J. Smith , was an instant bang when it debut in 2009 . number one yr after the release ofTwilight . The Vampire Diariescaught the wave of supernatural romance and a renew interestingness in vampiresand blow up , with the show immediately gaining a large following and the books experiencing a resurgence of popularity . Seven years afterThe Vampire Diaries ' end , masses still miss it .
However , The lamia Diarieswas far better than theTwilightseries for a few reasons , not the least becauseThe Vampire Diaries ' characterswere far well developed . TVD ’s main supporter and love interest , Elena Gilbert , played by Nina Dobrev , also improved uponTwilightby having an literal personality and demanding agency in her life , rather than being a limp dishrag with few friends and no graphic symbol development outside of her boyfriend . Elena ’s quality and tarradiddle are a microcosm of the great way thatThe Vampire Diariesimproved upon not justTwilight , but YA paranormal Latinian language as a whole and , in doing so , set itself asunder .
Elena ’s fiber and story are a microcosm of the greater fashion thatThe Vampire Diariesimproved upon not justTwilight , but YA paranormal romance as a whole and , in doing so , set itself aside .
Vampire Diaries Often Gender-Flipped The Damsel-In-Distress Trope
The Men Were The Damsels - Or Dudes - In Distress
Too often in YA dramas , and especially those that lean to a great extent on romance or supernatural panorama , distaff characters are subject to the damsel - in - distress trope . Too many storylines with distaff characters involve them being unnecessarily fridged to advance the plot . This inclination get even more exacerbated when the male love interestingness is supernatural or superhuman in some way and the distaff love pastime is a normal man . It ’s an ever - present trope ; Lois Lane always need to be salve by Superman was such a unconstipated natural event that it became a working joke , but that ’s just one exemplar of many .
I finally watched The Vampire Diaries for the first metre in 2024 , and although I went in with certain first moment , the serial publication manage to surprise me .
In an strange twist , The Vampire Diariesregularly sex - flipped the situation , with its male characters ask to be economize just as much as or arguably even more than its female fictional character . In hindsight , Vampire Diarieswas a pretty brutal show , with its teenaged part on a regular basis being looker to ( or committing ) murder and death . twisting was a common occurrence , and it happened across the board to all characters , but , interestingly , it was often the virile characters being tortured and requiring saving by others . In one memorable plotline , Stefan was quite literally fridged - or rather , stuffed in a safe - to come on Elena ’s plot of ground . While he was n’t killed off , it was a horrific storyline commonly appropriate for the female love interest .
Custom image by Yeider Chacon
While the saving usually postulate , of path , the Salvatore blood brother , Elena , Caroline , and even Katherine were just as involved in the rescuing . Despite being the manful romanticist principal , Damon and Stefan both had plenty of episode where they were captured and tortured , only to be saved by one of the cleaning lady in their lives . All of them , specially the men , were regularly saved byVampire Diarieshero Bonnie ; entire plotlines and seasons would have collapsed without Bonnie pulling out one of her witchy conjuring trick and saving the day . It made for a really refreshing watch , one where the female romantic pursuit were n’t reduced to waiting for their boyfriends to write them .
Male Main Characters Are The Only Ones Who Stayed Human
The Only Main Character To Never Be Supernatural Was A Guy
In a long - scarper show rife with supernatural character reference , most of the human character will inevitably be supernatural by the end . That was certainly the case withThe Vampire Diaries , with most of the chief reference undergoing a supernatural shift and staying that way to the ending . Caroline and Elena became vampire , Tyler buckle under to his family ’s werewolf curse , Bonnie discovered she was a witch , etc .
One could argue Matt and Jeremy were the damsels of the show – both of them were regularly in danger when they were n’t wearing the ring or Jeremy was n’t in monomania of his questionably inconsistent Hunter powers .
Still , there were a few chief characters who either remained human throughout the entirety , like Matt , or who temporarily were supernatural before revert to man by the end of the series , such as Alaric . Matt was the one character on the show who never became supernatural , even temporarily . The only understanding he was n’t all in a thousand sentence over was because he was saved by the Gilbert ring ’s power of resurrection , and the same drop dead for Jeremy . In fact , one could contend Matt and Jeremy were the demoiselle of the show – both of them were regularly in danger when they were n’t wear the band or Jeremy was n’t in possession of his questionably inconsistent Hunter index .
Based on the novels by L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries is a story about the developing love triangle between Elena Gilbert and two vampiric brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Set in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, the show follows the trio from high school through college as they battle for one another’s affection.
IMDB ’s Highest Rated Episodes of The Vampire Diaries
Episode Number
Title
IMDB Score
S3.E22
The deviate
9.4
S8.E16
I Was Feeling heroic
9.3
S1.E22
Founder ’s Day
9.2
S4.E23
Graduation
9.1
S2.E21
The Sun Also Rises
Supporting and recurring lineament also remained human during their time on the show , such as frenemy John Gilbert and villain Wes Maxfield , even pitiable , doomed Aaron Whitmore . Interestingly , the only major characters to stay put human or devolve to man were the men , further subverting the trope of female eccentric incline to stay human while the virile love interest or protagonist gain supernatural powers .
The Vampire Diaries Didn’t Excuse Toxic Male Behavior
Damon’s Actions Were Never Painted In A Positive Light Or Excused
There ’s no deny thatThe Vampire Diarieshad a destiny of problematic elements , but that could be say of virtually any YA play . That go doubly for supernatural dramas , specially when predatory monsters like vampire and werewolves are involved – it ’s not in their nature to be nice , ask for permission , or pull back on indiscriminate fury . Even as one of the main agonist , Damon Salvatore was arguablyThe Vampire Diaries ' worst in this respect , forever fighting between self - destructive villainy and the respectable Angel of his nature . He often had issues with consent and boundaries , with no human action more egregious than when he force - fed Elena vampire rake before her impend death , thus stripping her of her power to die on her own terms .
A bunch of The Vampire Diaries focused on the tension – and eventual romance – between Damon and Elena , but these episodes showed them at their best .
However , in a determination that madeThe Vampire Diariesstand out , Damon ’s actions and other worrisome characters ' action mechanism were never excused or border in electropositive terms . Damon ’s destructive spirals were the biggest thing that agree back his increment , and the other characters were more than felicitous to tell him so . Even Elena , who loved him , understood that there was something deeply unhealthy about her permissiveness and ability to forgive some of his most flagitious act and was open with him about his self - destructive spirals . To his mention , Damon also often apologized , an act that never excused what he did , but showed that he was also cognizant that his activity were unforgivable .
The Vampire Diaries Never Had A Problem With Gender Equality
The Women Threw Down With The Men
In all the morally refutable decision made by the characters , though , one thingThe Vampire Diariesnever fluff was its gender equality . distaff grapheme were cardinal to the story and had some of the most interesting arcs . Caroline Forbes ' arc from a flighty , insecure adolescent to a stiff and selfless friend was arguably the best in the show , and she ended up being a sports fan dearie – peradventure even the fan ducky . The Vampire Diarieseasily could have maintain her as a vain , shallow graphic symbol , but it chose to deepen her in a naturalistic and meaningful way , which is n’t always guarantee in YA show .
The Vampire Diaries ' two spinoff show , The OriginalsandLegacies , also maintained this gender check bit between the characters .
Female character had agency , especially once most of them turned into supernatural creature themselves , able to fight down and answer as protector just as well as the boy . None of them had a problem calling out the man in their collective life when they screwed up , instead of making excuses like a typical YA heroine . Best of all , The Vampire Diarieswas never preachy about it , and this change of pace made it one of the full supernatural dramas ever aired .
Based on the novels by L.J. Smith , The Vampire Diaries is a story about the develop love trilateral between Elena Gilbert and two vampiric brothers , Stefan and Damon Salvatore . Set in the town of Mystic Falls , Virginia , the show follow the trio from gamey school through college as they battle for one another ’s affection .
