Felicity vs. The Vampire Diaries

First things first, I did not plan to fall in love with this series.

It was suggested to me by my older brother and a couple of my friends, but I didn't find it all too appealing at first. The Vampire Diaries? It sounded like another teen drama show filled with a poorly developed plot, bland characters and corny love triangles that made no sense whatsoever. At this point, a lot of people - including me - were getting a little tired of the whole vampire-werewolf thing since the Twilight saga; the novelty was exhausted.

However, this particular supernatural tv series caught me by surprise. Yes, the vampire thing did seem a little cliché in the beginning, but it was easy to warm up to the idea after a couple of episodes, and I've been hooked ever since. Like, watch-seven-episodes-in-one-night kind of hooked.



Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) is your typical broody male protagonist with a pretty face and troubled backstory, pining after the girl he thinks that he shouldn't be with. The trouble is that his brother, Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), also develops a thing for the same girl. Who would have guessed it, right?

So who is this girl? Cue Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), the small town girl known for recently losing her parents (and who also looks eerily like elusive vampire Katherine Pierce) who is finally pulling herself together for her final years in high school - though not much can be said for little Gilbert, Jeremy (Steven McQueen), who rebels against legal guardian Aunt Jenna by getting high. As Elena juggles high school and home life, a handsome set of brothers wander into her life.

The thing that saves this love triangle from being a painfully giant, walking déjà vu moment is the interaction between them.

*spoiler alert* Elena remains loyal to her feelings for Stefan a lot longer than would happen in some other teen dramas, and never ignores Damon's bad behaviour or her unwillingness to bend her morals for him. It's obvious Damon tries to be a good person for her, but it's pretty clear by his ongoing lack of concern for human/vampire/hybrid/heretic life - even with his humanity switch on - that he doesn't completely lose his bad-guy vibe as the series go on. What's even better is that she doesn't end up with the first guy, the good guy, the safe guy that a lot of people (fans and characters alike) want her to be with. It takes some time, but Stefan accepts that and moves on. It's practically unheard of in this modern age!

If I have to be completely honest, I really liked Stefan Salvatore in the beginning; he was like how I'd always imagined Edward Cullen to be. Smart, sensitive, and at times pretty funny, he was the safe choice to pick. He'll  Stefan still holds a place in my heart, but I no longer keep him in my top favourites. Maybe it was the character development being slightly off as the series developed, or just that other characters began to interest me more, but I started to lose that initial connection to him over time.

Elena Gilbert is a slightly different story. Due to many unfortunate encounters with Mary Sue characters, I tried not to get my hopes up straight away. Although after I saw Dobrev play Elena and Katherine, I reaffirmed my faith in her. The fact that they were played by the same actress didn't cross my mind for the first few episodes; Elena was the weak but passionate human, and Katherine was the 'evil' vampire who liked to stir the pot. Whenever you see Katherine, you know it's Katherine. Pretty impressive for a young a ctress.

Damon Salvatore next. I may be guilty of a little bias for this account, so bear with me.

For me, Damon was a slow burner onto my favourites list. He is unapologetic about being a vampire and the pesky bloodthirsty side of it, and makes it obvious that he is less inclined to save a life if it endangers his own or someone he cares about. After snapping a few necks and staking a few hearts, it's pretty clear why the people of Mystic Falls will often go to the younger Salvatore brother for help first. That being said, his character has remained fairly consistent throughout each season, allowing the audience to grow to love him over time (if they weren't enamoured by him already).

One thing that I really didn't expect, was how attached I became to some of the characters. I felt a tug to my heartstrings when Jenna died, and an even bigger one when I thought that little Gilbert had died. And I don't know whether it was because of the emotional episode or lack of sleep during my binge-watch, but I even shed a few tears when Alaric passed on to the other side.

Anyway, with the final season underway, fans are gearing up for an emotional roller coaster as the big goodbye looms ever closer. We've grown to love Mystic Falls with all of its troubled inhabitants, so much so the words vervain and doppelganger now fall off of our tongues as easily as bread and milk. And now we're just supposed to move on?

As shocking as may be to hear, some people have already moved on. Since Season 6, if you want to be specific.

The departure of Elena may have alienated some fans, and heavily impacted the already declining viewership in Season 6. As one of the integral characters since the series began, it was hard to see how the series could function as easily as it did without one protagonist out of the main three. Whether you liked her or not, Elena has consistently been one of the major plot devices throughout each series, and it was hard to imagine a series without the old college trio (Bonnie, Caroline, Elena) and Delena romance scenes.

In my opinion, the writers handled it fairly well. Was it as good as previous seasons? Maybe not, but it did explore some interesting avenues that they may not have entered otherwise. It was fun to learn a little more of the backstory behind the heretics, as well as learning a little bit more about the Salvatore brothers through their ordeals with the phoenix stone and some of the after effects, as well as developing some relationships. It was nice to see some more Damon and Bonnie action, as well as the on-off relationship between Mary Louise and Nora.

As a devoted Delena shipper, my hopes are that we see a romantic reunion before the series ends. There are still no definite confirmations over whether or not Dobrev return for the final season, but there have been some indicators that we have not seen the last of Elena Gilbert yet. Despite fears over the cancellation of the spin-off series The Originals, there are rumours that some of The Vampire Diaries' cast members will be joining to save falling views.

It's not all doom-and-gloom though! There are still fifteen episodes left of tying up loose ends and saying goodbye to this well-loved tv series, and at least another season left for the Mikaelson family and friends. At least we've had these seven memorable seasons so far (and hopefully an eighth).

After all, all good things must come to an end, right?