A look at the 20 best things about The Vampire Diaries in 2010, plus the 10 worst.
#30 The Bad : Elena and Stefan’s Seesaw Relationship
I need to take off my shoes to count the number of times Elena and Stefan have broken up, gotten back together and broken up again. Whether it’s for real or for show, it seems like every single episode ends with their relationship status changing, which probably annoys the crap out of their Facebook friends. Let them be together or let them break up, but whatever you choose, let it stick, at least for more than two or three episodes.
#29 The Bad : An Early Death for Slater
If there’s one thing this show could’ve used, it’s a cool nerdy vampire who is a walking encyclopedia of vampire history. Instead, Slater was killed in his first episode, a tragic waste of a character with huge potential.
#28 The Bad : Too Many Events in Mystic Falls
Every day is a holiday in Mystic Falls. There’s either a dance or a carnival or a historical society gathering or a town clean-up or some other event for the townspeople to gather. Enough is enough! When does this town rest?
#27 The Bad : Is Witchcraft Racist?
Bonnie, Luka, Jonas, Lucy, Bree, Grams and Emily are the only major recurring African-American characters on the show, and they are all witches. Not only that, but they are the only witches we’ve seen. It’s not necessarily racist, but it’s a little off-putting that every black character is a witch.
#26 The Bad : Jeremy and Bonnie’s Love Lives
Jeremy’s girlfriend Anna died in the first season finale while Bonnie’s love life has consisted of a vampire, vampire food and a manipulative warlock. Jeremy and Bonnie had a chance to be together, but she shot him down. As such, these two have spent the entire year being unlucky in love, which can only go so far. Let them be happy for once.
#25 The Bad : The Expendable Girls of Mystic Falls
Aimee and Sarah were just two high school girls who flirted with Tyler, Matt and Jeremy, yet within a matter of a few episodes, both were killed. Basically, the lesson was that all girls not in the main cast are perfectly expendable, which is disappointing because Aimee was actually starting to grow on me before Katherine killed her in public.
#24 The Bad : Where Are Alaric and Jenna?
Alaric shows up to supply weapons, Jenna shows up to let vampires into her home, but other than that, these two have no real purpose or storyline. The show needs to seriously consider giving them a bigger role. Or really, any role.
#23 The Bad : The Doppelganger Explanation
There have been references to the doppelganger, but it’s still very unclear why Elena looks like Katherine. Did the people who put the curse on the moonstone also make it so once every 500 years an ancestor of someone very old is born and becomes the new doppelganger? If Elena and Katherine are both Petrova doppelgangers, were there more before them? It’s not bad that these questions aren’t answered, it’s bad that no one seems to have any interest in them.
#22 The Bad : Too Many Magic Rings
I’m fine with Damon and Stefan having daywalker rings, but then Uncle Jonathan came with his magic invincibility ring and after Caroline was turned, Bonnie made a daywalker ring for her. If it’s that easy, why doesn’t every vampire have one?
#21 The Bad : Matt
While nearly every other character has a decent subplot, Matt has gone the entire series without being remotely interesting. His relationship with Caroline was rather dull and as soon as it got interesting when she turned into a vampire, they broke up and Matt went back to being a glorified extra. Either find something to do with him or kill him.
#20 The Good : The Chunky Monkey Scene
Painfully realistic in its awkwardness, Elena bumped into a nearly nude Alaric in the middle of the night and the entire scene was perfectly funny and uncomfortable.
#19 The Good : Matt’s Mom
Melinda Clarke added a nice flair to the series as Matt’s mom who shacked up with both Damon and Tyler, who had already hooked up with Matt’s sister.
#18 The Good : The Hunky Guest Casting
No other show on TV takes as much pride in casting hunky guys for every major or minor recurring role. From Sean Faris to Taylor Kinney to Daniel Gillies, the male cast of TVD is so drenched with hotness that they could probably unveil a 24-month Hunks of Mystic Falls calendar.
#17 The Good : Elena’s Real Parents
In the pilot we thought Elena’s parents were dead, but her real biological parents were a sociopathic vampire and her vampire-killing uncle. They were both great additions to the show.
#16 The Good : Bad Stefan
After Stefan started drinking human blood at the end of season 1, he temporarily went over to the dark side, attacking innocent humans and proving that, just like Angel and Angelus, it’s always more fun to be evil.
#15 The Good : Alaric’s Vampire Slaying Weapons
Buffy could’ve used a man like Alaric with his vervain bombs, stake guns and countless other ingenious vampire slaying inventions.
#14 The Good : Mason Getting Tortured
When Damon finally got his hands on Mason, he used wolfsbane and hot pokers to get what he wanted before killing the werewolf.
#13 The Good : Stefan Getting Tortured
Torture is very popular on TVD, and when Stefan was captured and strung up, it was the most disturbingly sexy moment of the series.
#12 The Good : Elijah’s Bad-Ass Tricks
Not only can he survive a stake through the heart and compel other vampires, but he can knock a man’s head off with one punch and rip a man’s heart out without blinking. That’s pretty awesome.
#11 The Good : Sheriff Forbes
Marguerite MacIntyre is one of the great unsung heroes of the show, providing the perfect balance of compassion and ruthlessness that it takes to be a sheriff in Mystic Falls.
#10 The Good : The Flashbacks
Whether it’s flashing back to the Civil War or even further back with Katerina, the historical flashbacks are always a great addition to the story to help feed the history of the characters.
#9 The Good : Jeremy Becoming a Man
Somehow Jeremy has come from the foolish little kid brother to a fighting member of the team with the willingness to get involved, making him one of the more interesting characters to watch.
#8 The Good : Damon Getting Frisky
Whether it was with Isobel, Mrs. Donovan, Katherine or Rose, Damon got his groove on all year long, which is a very good thing.
#7 The Good : The Masquerade Ball
Not only was this the big event where Katherine was finally captured, but the set design was impeccable and made it look like a massive, lavish party.
#6 The Good : Mason and Katherine
When it was revealed that the evil werewolf and the evil vampire were actually a romantic pair, it was a huge and brilliant twist that added some fiendishly delicious love to the equation.
#5 The Good : No Sophomore Slump
There’s a reason this term exists and it’s because most shows that shine in their first season lose some of that mojo in season 2. But TVD has kept it going and is every bit as strong in its second year, if not stronger.
#4 The Good : Tyler’s Transformation
As long and difficult to watch as it was for Tyler to go through, the show managed to do a superb job of depicting the horrors of turning into a werewolf.
#3 The Good : Damon’s Declaration of Love
After saving her from being kidnapped, Damon poured his heart out to Elena in a beautiful speech about how much he loves her before compelling her to forget.
#2 The Good : Nina Dobrev as Katherine
I never thought much of Dobrev as Elena, but as Katherine she’s proven a much wider range and a whole new facet of her talent.
#1 The Good : Caroline as a Vampire
Turning the blonde cheerleader into a vampire was the best move the show could’ve made and suddenly turned a simple minor character into a major player.
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
