Well, it’s finally time to end my time with this franchise. I mean to post this a while ago, but I've been kinda busy. Life does that sometimes. I gotta say that it’s been fun visiting these shows. I didn’t think I would’ve found these shows cool, but here we are. I got my wife to thank for that. She can be good with choosing some shows at times. This made for a fun binging.
While I wouldn’t throw any of the Vampire Diaries shows on my “Greatest TV Shows Ever” list, they were decent shows for the most part. They hit great highs and fell into some pretty bad lows. Their respective areas were pretty interesting, and the characters made these shows work even when the writing failed. Each show tried to do something unique. Of the three, I’d say that The Originals was my favorite of the bunch. The Mikaelsons made for some fun characters, and the conflicts between the supernatural factions in New Orleans were good television.
I really couldn't keep the count low for my favorite characters, so 18 should do it. It’s not a ranked list, but I will have the best ones up first. I had to include all three shows with this. I know some don’t like Legacies, but that was where it really started for me. I got some main characters and even some side characters that I really liked from all three shows.
1. Klaus Mikaelson – If you want to know how I got mesmerized watching The Originals, Niklaus and his lot are to blame! Seriously, it’s like he came out of the pages of a comic book with how unpredictable he could be. He felt like Doctor Doom to me, and he even had the accent to match! It was cool to see him evolve from this evil guy to a much less evil guy. Joseph Morgan was awesome in the role and made both shows a watch. Even his small cameo in Legacies was good. He made everything better when he was on screen.
2. Caroline Forbes – While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Caroline (Candice King) initially, she really became the MVP of the trio on TVD. She was your typical preppy, blonde girl with a knack for dangerous boys. Things changed when she was forced to become a vampire. After that, her character really grew on me. She took her affliction and made it her own. Yeah, she had some unlikable moments during the show, but it didn’t stop her from being one the best characters on the show.
3. Vincent Griffith – Vincent (Yusef Gatewood) just another reason to keep watching The Originals. Even when he was first introduced as a possessed Finn Michaelson, he felt cool. After that mess, he began to grow on me.If there was one witch who never put up with the vampires, it was him. Heck, he didn’t even put up with the multiple covens’ bull either. He was just that cool. His backstory with The Hollow was also pretty interesting.
4. Stefan Salvatore – And here’s the OG vampire boy who almost put Edward Cullen to shame. Even though I was kind of tiring of the boy in the end, Stefan Salvatore was an interesting vampire. Unlike most of the vampires on the show, he tried his best to be not like the rest and give into his more violent tendencies. Even when he lost control, he still seemed kinda cool. His back and forth with Elena and Damon made the show. Even when his relationship with Elena came to an end, he was still a good character… not too sure about the Stefan/Caroline pairing though. Paul Wesley brought a lot to Stefan. It’s good to see that’s he made it to space as Kirk.
5. Kaleb Hawkins – Kaleb (Chris Lee) was one of the vampires from Legacies, and I didn’t like him at first. I think that’s a trend with most vamps. Looking back at it now, he really felt like he could’ve been another Damon in how he treated the unafflicted and others. Luckily, it didn’t go that way, and he became one of the better characters on the show. I loved his friendship with M.G., and his budding relationship with Cleo was pretty cute.
6. Bonnie Bennett - Of the three girls, Bonnie didn’t have a lot going on at first. She had her witch powers and her cool grandma, but it took a while for me to fall for her character. It didn’t help that she kinda got crapped on when compared to the other girls. They kept throwing her into the martyr role at times. I’m like “Girl, get out that town!” at some point. Still, Bonnie was cool. I’d say that she was the best friend of the three and her banter with Damon was gold.
7. Elena Gilbert – Elena wasn’t always my favorite character. She wasn’t a bad character, but of the three lead girls, she was usually my least favorite. Still, Nina Dorhrev did a good job portraying our lead lady. While her taste in men was sketchy, she was an interesting character to follow with all the death and destruction around her. It was interesting to see her deal with it all especially when she ultimately became a part of the vampire problem. Her trysts with the Salvatore boys were fun and infuriating at times. Still, you could also tell that the show wasn’t the same when Dorhrev left.
8. Rebekah Mikaelson – And here’s the Mikaelson who might be the only nice one of the group… or just the prettiest. That girl had one mean streak on during her time on TVD. Rebekah, aka “REBEKAHHHHHH!!!”, was another Mikaelson who showed off her horridness in TVD and The Originals. Even though she could be pretty batty along with her family, she would also show her softer side at times. Claire Holt played her wonderfully during her times on the show. She was always a sight to see when she became a guest character. I also gotta credit Masie Richardson-Sellars who filled in for Holt during some of The Orignals’ second season.
9. Elijah Mikaelson - Next up is the “honorable” vampire in Elijah (Daniel Gilles). He’s the first Mikaelson we bumped heads with on TVD, and he was one of the remaining family members on The Originals. Unlike Klaus, he was a dude who kept his cool and knew when to really let loose with his power. Dude was always pretty dapper in a suit and so proper calling everyone at their long name. He would be one who'd definitely call me "Archibald" and that's not even my name. I'll let him do it! He was also one who tried to hold the family and Klaus together. Even when he had his more vicious moments (seriously, it’s like he and Klaus switched roles during Season 3), he was still cool.
10. Damon Salvatore – This boy kept falling further and further down the list, but he did make watching the latter seasons of TVD bearable. Damon was our vampire without a clue and some damn sense. As I said back in my review, “Damon is a lovable idiot,” and that carries through the whole show. If it wasn’t for Ian Somerhalder’s awesome performance, I wouldn’t have liked Damon. His interactions with everyone on the show were good, especially with Stefan and Elana. I’m not the biggest fan of “Delena” but it had its moments.
11. Cleo Sowande - Cleo (Omono Okojie) was a new addition to the Salvatore school during Season 3 of Legacies, and she was a breath of fresh air. We find out that she’s a witch with a unique relationship with Malivore, the primary villain of the series. Also, like most characters, had a bit of an antagonist streak with her. Even with all that, she really grew to become one of my favorites on the show. Her relationship with Caleb was especially adorable.
12. Marcel Gerard – Marcellus (Charles Michael Davis) was the leader of the vampires in New Orleans. He was basically Klaus’s surrogate son. Even though he was a different leader than Klaus, I can say that he took a lot from his vampire daddy. He ruled that city with some power and a smile to boot. Even though he was part of the family, he’d butt heads with them as well. His relationship with the family was messy but good. His relationship with Rebekah was that as well.
13. Sheila Bennett – I was surprised when I saw actress Jasmine Guy show up on TVD. I know her from her time on A Different World, one of my favorite sitcoms. Sheila was Bonnie’s grandmother and a witch to boot. She was a bit of a player in season 1 and shows up in small bits throughout TVD. I always liked her character. She was good to Bonnie and helped her out as best as she could. She also didn’t put up with Damon’s BS, but she like Stefen though.
14. Alaric Saltzman - Next up is the Van Helsing/Charles Xavier wannabe. I didn’t realize that Alaric (Matt Davis) was on the TVD from the beginning, and that made everything with Legacies make so much sense. I was like “how did this guy become a headmaster” at times. Even though his principal skills kinda sucked, he was a good teacher, and we saw that on both shows. He was also a good father to his girls, Hope, and even the Gilberts since all their parents were gone. Don’t have him get in a relationship because they might just end up dead or just gone from the show.
15. Hope Mikaelson- Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) was the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall. She holds the distinction of being “The Tri-brid”, a vampire/werewolf/witch combo. Hope was cool for the most part. She did have a bit of a martyr complex that could grate me, but she was a nice leading lady. I liked her interactions with Klaus, Alaric, the Saltzman girls, and rest of the Salvatore school. Even though I did think her relationship with Landon (who would never be on a list like this) started to peter out in those last two seasons, they were a cute couple.
16. Milton “M.G.” Grimsley - M.G. (Quincy Fouse) was another vampire from Legacies. Dude was pretty much the comic book geek of the group but tried to smooth talk the ladies at school. He was a newbie vampire that had a good head on his shoulders. He would try to step in and help lead when he could. His friendship with Kaleb was especially cool. Even his budding romance with Lizzie Saltzman was kinda cute… kinda, mind you. Lizzie was the better twin, but she had her unlikable moments too.
17. Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes - You didn’t have many recurring human characters on TVD, but one that always stuck out was Sheriff Forbes (Marguerette MacIntyre). She does start out as a bit of an antagonist because of the vampire problem. She starts to come around when she finds out about Caroline’s problem. Her friendship with Damon was surprisingly good too. She also had one of the more heartbreaking storylines in the show. I’ll let you find out about that yourself though.
18. Josh Rosza - Finally, I can’t leave everyone’s favorite gay vampire off, can I? Josh (Steven Kruger) was a new recruit to Marcel’s gang, and he was a hoot. He was funny, endearing, and honestly one of the few good vampires in any of these shows. He was a good friend to Marcel and also knew when to call him out on his crap. He was probably also one character no one hated on the Originals... except Klaus, of course.
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Well, that ends this overdue look on these shows. If you're a fan of the supernatural and can stomach some teen romance, you might like these shows. At least check out The Originals since it skips out on a lot of the teen romance. Just know you're not getting Twilight. Yes, I have finally seen those movies thanks to Liz. No, they may not become a post here, and if they do, just know I'm gonna have me some fun taking the mick outta those movies. Anyway, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
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