The Vampire Diaries Ruined My Life

Okay, yes... I am once again being dramatic.

If you're currently watching The Vampire Diaries, or either of the two spin offs (The Originals or Legacies), I would recommend skipping this article. If you plan on watching any of them in the future, I would also recommend leaving now. My goal isn't to drop major spoilers here, but it's bound to happen.

~~~~~ Potential Spoilers Start Here ~~~~~

Alright, are they gone? I hope so.

So how did TVD ruin my life? You're probably wondering... It's plain and simple. This entire fictional universe ignores the finality of death. Yes, some other movies and TV shows occasionally have characters come back to life. Supernatural is a great example. However, for some reason as a viewer I felt like I could tell when there seemed to be no chance for a character to return.

The Vampire Diaries universe, on the other hand, regularly kills people, only to have them come back to life. Now, let's ignore the hundreds of vampire neck snaps that happen, as vampires need to be burned or staked to actually die. Vampire deaths happen constantly, so counting them doesn't feel fair. However, even without those, we're still looking at dozens of returns that I could not have anticipated before watching any of the show.

They happen so often, in fact, that after a season or two, I expected dead characters to come back. It felt inevitable. I immersed myself in this fictional universe, watching all three shows, 330 episodes in total. When I emerged on the other end, and went back to other movies and TV shows, suddenly all death felt temporary. Scenes that would normally reduce me to tears, barely affected me. Permadeath felt like a myth. Even processing death in real life took longer than usual.

You're probably thinking "Shelby, that's ridiculous. People don't come back from the dead." Yeah I know that. But let's look at what this show did.

Bonnie, a witch and Elena's beat friend, came back to life twice. Her returns were dramatic, both happening nearly a season after her death.

Jeremy, Elena's brother, died and came back at least five times, several of which can be attributed a magic ring. After his last death, his body was actually burned to nothing, and yet he still came back by the end of the season.

Alaric, an ex-vampire hunter, died over and over again as a human, his resurrections also thanks to a magic ring. He later died as a vampire and was resurrected two whole seasons later.

Matt, Elena's ex-boyfriend and friend, died and came back multiple times with the help of the magic ring as well.

Caroline, Damon, Elena, Stefan, Tyler, and many others all come back to life at least once as well... And that's just the main TVD cast.

When you dive into The Originals and Legacies, there are countless more. Legacies is arguably the worst, as we spend considerable time with different characters in Limbo (and some escaping it), where those who have died go before finding peace.

I'm someone that gets easily pulled into a good fiction universe. Books, movies, TV shows. When a story is good, if there's a mix of drama, sexual tension, exciting lore... I'm a sucker for it. The TVD universe has it all, including my favorite "bad boy" story arc. I couldn't get enough of the universe, which is why I quickly dove into the spin-offs. I even dabbled in some fanfiction (with a less than satisfactory return).

After finishing it all, I've found it difficult to pull myself away. I may have re-started TVD... Just a few episodes here and there. Whoops. And I may be planning a TVD themed Halloween costume...

My point though is that TVD has made it extremely difficult to watch any other media. I've watched more reality TV lately because I can't fully get into fictional worlds, especially those where death is a common theme or an important plot point.

I've obsessed over different TV shows before, but not one that has drastically changed the way I watch other media. In some ways, I guess that's a tribute to the writers, producers, cast, and other crew of the shows.

I don't regret having dived so deeply into this fictional universe, but I think that it will be a while before I can truly appreciate the art of an on-screen death again.

"An art?" You might say. Yes, an on-screen death is an art. While as a writer (and a viewer), I hate using deaths simply as an easy way to further a plot-line, there are on-screen deaths that are incredibly important, heartfelt, gut-wrenching, and so much more.

The Originals had one or two of these, but TVD lacked them. Most of the deaths were easy ways to further the plot OR led to emotional resurrections. In some ways, that's giving the viewers what they want - an eventual happy ending. However, it's not always what the viewers need.

Death is a part of life. It is painful, but it's also important. The lack of permadeath in this fictional universe is a reminder that our lives are fleeting, and we need to take on every moment as if it could be our last.

Anyways, these thoughts have been haunting me for weeks. Thanks for making this far.

After all this, if you're still interested in looking into these shows, The Vampire Diaries is currently streaming on HBO Max. Legacies and The Originals are on Netflix. Good luck.