Vampire Diaries Stood Out From Other YA Dramas In One Huge Way (& It Was Great)

The Vampire Diaries ran for eight seasons, and part of the reason it was so beloved by audiences was that it stood out from other YA dramas in one big way. The Vampire Diaries, based on the ’90s book series by L.J. Smith, was an instantaneous hit when it debuted in 2009. Coming one year after the release of Twilight. The Vampire Diaries caught the wave of supernatural romance and a renewed interest in vampires and blew up, with the show immediately gaining a large following and the books experiencing a resurgence of popularity. Seven years after The Vampire Diaries‘ ending, people still miss it.

However, The Vampire Diaries was far better than the Twilight series for a few reasons, not the least because The Vampire Diaries‘ characters were far better developed. TVD‘s main protagonist and love interest, Elena Gilbert, played by Nina Dobrev, also improved upon Twilight by having an actual personality and demanding agency in her life, rather than being a limp dishrag with few friends and no character development outside of her boyfriend. Elena’s character and story are a microcosm of the greater way that The Vampire Diaries improved upon not just Twilight, but YA paranormal romance as a whole and, in doing so, set itself apart.

Elena’s character and story are a microcosm of the greater way that
The Vampire Diaries
improved upon not just
Twilight
, but YA paranormal romance as a whole and, in doing so, set itself apart.

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 heavily on romance or supernatural aspects, female characters are subjected to the damsel-in-distress trope. Too many storylines with female characters involve them being unnecessarily fridged to advance the plot. This tendency gets even more exacerbated when the male love interest is supernatural or superhuman in some way and the female love interest is a normal human. It’s an ever-present trope; Lois Lane always needing to be saved by Superman was such a regular occurrence that it became a running joke, but that’s just one example of many.

In an unusual twist, The Vampire Diaries regularly gender-flipped the situation, with its male characters needing to be saved just as much as or arguably even more than its female characters. In hindsight, Vampire Diaries was a pretty brutal show, with its teenage characters regularly being witnesses to (or committing) murder and death. Torture was a common occurrence, and it happened across the board to all characters, but, interestingly, it was often the male characters being tortured and requiring saving by others. In one memorable plotline, Stefan was quite literally fridged – or rather, stuffed in a safe – to advance Elena’s plot. While he wasn’t killed off, it was a horrific storyline usually reserved for the female love interest.

While the rescues usually involved, of course, the Salvatore brothers, Elena, Caroline, and even Katherine were just as involved in the rescuing. Despite being the male romantic leads, Damon and Stefan both had plenty of episodes where they were captured and tortured, only to be saved by one of the women in their lives. All of them, especially the men, were regularly saved by Vampire Diaries hero Bonnie; entire plotlines and seasons would have collapsed without Bonnie pulling out one of her witchy tricks and saving the day. It made for a really refreshing watch, one where the female romantic interests weren’t reduced to waiting for their boyfriends to save 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-running show rife with supernatural characters, most of the human characters will inevitably be supernatural by the end. That was certainly the case with The Vampire Diaries, with most of the main characters undergoing a supernatural transformation and staying that way to the end. Caroline and Elena became vampires, Tyler succumbed 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 weren’t wearing the ring or Jeremy wasn’t in possession of his questionably inconsistent Hunter powers.

Still, there were a few main characters who either remained human throughout the entirety, like Matt, or who temporarily were supernatural before reverting to human 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 reason he wasn’t dead a thousand times over was because he was saved by the Gilbert ring’s powers of resurrection, and the same goes for Jeremy. In fact, one could argue Matt and Jeremy were the damsels of the show – both of them were regularly in danger when they weren’t wearing the ring or Jeremy wasn’t in possession of his questionably inconsistent Hunter powers.

Supporting and recurring characters also remained human during their time on the show, such as frenemy John Gilbert and villain Wes Maxfield, even poor, doomed Aaron Whitmore. Interestingly, the only major characters to stay human or return to humanity were the men, further subverting the trope of female characters tending to stay human while the male love interests or friends gained 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 denying that The Vampire Diaries had a lot of problematic elements, but that could be said of virtually any YA drama. That goes doubly for supernatural dramas, especially when predatory monsters like vampires and werewolves are involved – it’s not in their nature to be nice, ask for permission, or pull back on indiscriminate violence. Even as one of the main protagonists, Damon Salvatore was arguably The Vampire Diaries‘ worst in this regard, constantly fighting between self-destructive villainy and the better angels of his nature. He often had issues with consent and boundaries, with no act more egregious than when he force-fed Elena vampire blood before her impending death, thus stripping her of her ability to die on her own terms.

However, in a decision that made The Vampire Diaries stand out, Damon’s actions and other troubling characters’ actions were never excused or framed in positive terms. Damon’s destructive spirals were the biggest thing that held back his growth, and the other characters were more than happy 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 heinous acts and was open with him about his self-destructive spirals. To his credit, Damon also often apologized, an act that never excused what he did, but showed that he was also aware that his actions were inexcusable.

The Vampire Diaries Never Had A Problem With Gender Equality

The Women Threw Down With The Men

In all the morally questionable decisions made by the characters, though, one thing The Vampire Diaries never fumbled was its gender equality. Female characters were central to the story and had some of the most interesting arcs. Caroline Forbes’ arc from a flighty, insecure teenager to a strong and selfless friend was arguably the best in the show, and she ended up being a fan favorite – maybe even the fan favorite. The Vampire Diaries easily could have kept her as a vain, shallow character, but it chose to deepen her in a realistic and meaningful way, which isn’t always guaranteed in YA shows.

The Vampire Diaries
‘ two spinoff shows,
The Originals
and
Legacies
, also maintained this gender parity between the characters.

Female characters had agency, especially once most of them turned into supernatural creatures themselves, able to fight and serve as protectors just as well as the boys. None of them had a problem calling out the men in their collective life when they screwed up, instead of making excuses like a typical YA heroine. Best of all, The Vampire Diaries was never preachy about it, and this change of pace made it one of the best supernatural dramas ever aired.