I Have Some Strong Opinions On The Vampire Diaries Finales So I Ranked Them From Best To Worst

You know I had to do it to 'em...

🚨 WARNING: This post contains lots of The Vampire Diaries spoilers. Read at your own risk! 🚨

See the post on One Tree Hill finales here.

1. Season 1, "Founder's Day"

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The Vampire Diaries never got better than this. The main storylines of the season converge - AKA the tomb vampires AND the council trying to kill the tomb vampires - putting all our favs in danger. Anna dies, Damon almost dies (which becomes a finale staple), Jeremy tries to become a vampire, and in the last five minutes ELENA KISSES DAMON and then reveals herself to actually be KATHERINE!!! Then she tries to kill John and the episode ends. WILD.

2. Season 3, "The Departed"

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Okay, this one's a close second. Season 3 was my favorite season, as it featured the budding romance between Damon and Elena. But she's still torn between the brothers, who are being hunted by Alaric, her father figure turned original vampire hunter. Our favs have made a deal with the Originals to leave town, but then Klaus is killed, meaning basically every vampire on the show is about to die. Elena decides to say goodbye to Stefan rather than Damon, finally making her choice. But then Rebekah retaliates and drives Elena and Matt off a bridge. Stefan comes to safe Elena, but she makes him save Matt instead, and she dies. ONLY TO WAKE UP AS A VAMPIRE IN THE LAST FEW SECONDS!!

3. Season 2, "As I Lay Dying"

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I would argue the episode before is actually better, but the finale deals with the fallout of the ritual well. Damon's dying and hallucinating, Elena is mad at Damon for giving her his blood instead of trusting in Elijah's method to save her, and Stefan is making a deal with Klaus for his blood, which is the only thing that can save Damon. The personal stakes are high, plus we finally see Damon and Elena kiss even if it's a sweaty you're-about-to-die peck. It sets up the next season well, but the cliffhanger is kind of meh compared to seasons 1 and 3.

4. Season 8, "I Was Feeling Epic"

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Imma let you finish, but The Vampire Diaries had one of the best series finales of ALL time!! OF ALL TIME!! It had everything a series finale should have: fan service, the return of beloved characters, dramatic stakes, a satisfying wrap-up, and a hint of what happens to the characters after the show. The central relationship of the show had really become Damon and Stefan, and the finale paid tribute to that while still giving us Steroline, Delena, and Elena reuniting with Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline. Also, we got Katherine back.

5. Season 6, "I'm Thinking of You All the While"

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It's never fun to say goodbye to the main character of a show, but The Vampire Diaries actually made it both make sense and give a solid goodbye to the actress and character. Kai (arguably the best villain besides Katherine) has linked Elena's life to Bonnie's: as long as Bonnie is alive, Elena will remain asleep. Bonnie's life is in danger, giving Damon the perfect opportunity to let her die so that Elena can wake up. Instead, he kills Kai and saves Bonnie, showing great character development, and lets go of Elena. All of the main characters enter Elena's mind to say goodbye, and Damon and Elena have a beautiful last dance.

6. Season 7, "Gods and Monsters"

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I actually really liked season 7. The flash forwards were a great way to increase the mystery and suspense, and the refocus on Stefan and Damon's relationship paid off. But the standout relationship of the season was Damon and Bonnie, just like in season 6. In the finale, Damon puts himself in danger to save Bonnie and Enzo, forcing Stefan to let him do it alone. It works, but then Damon hears Elena's voice calling to him, and gets taken basically by the devil. Enzo goes to save "his girl's best friend", and gets taken by a clearly-not-himself Damon. In the end, we see them murdering people across the country, featuring the first time we've seen Damon with his humanity entirely off. Also, Stefan and Caroline finally officially get back together.

7. Season 5

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Season 5 sucked and I'm not afraid to say it. But the very end, which focused on the Other Side getting destroyed, was pretty good. We saw lots of characters come back, which was fun, in a bid to save Stefan, Tyler, and Luke. In the end, Damon got left behind on the Other Side, leaving him and Bonnie to seemingly blink out of existence. Bonus: Alaric came back!

8. Season 4

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Look, there was some good stuff in the season 4 finale. Elena proclaimed she does love Damon, and she's not going to apologize for it. There's a great Caroline and Klaus scene, and a great Rebekah and Matt scene. Bonnie dies (again) bringing Jeremy back to life (again). Katherine shows up and tries to kill Elena, who jams the cure in her mouth, making Katherine human. It's a solid finale, but the stakes are kind of low. Damon has yet again been bitten by a werewolf, which at this point only really requires a call to Klaus. Some of the villains have come back to life for the day, but they've all already been defeated, so it's not that scary. Also, the cliffhanger of Silas being Stefan's doppelgänger was kind of lame and set up a lackluster and somewhat confusing season of travelers and doppelgängers. Finales should wrap up the current season with a dramatic culmination of the events and set up a solid next season, and this did neither.