'The Vampire Diaries': Every Season Finale, Ranked (original) (raw)
Published Jun 27, 2023, 9:00 PM EDT
Hannah Furnell has six years of experience writing about pop culture and entertainment. She graduated from Montclair State University College of the Arts with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. She began her career as an intern for Floor 8 where she covered the MCU, 'Game of Thrones,' and celebrities. Her work was also published on Mental Floss. Then, as a Freelance Writer for The Things, she wrote evergreen articles about celebrities and little-known movie facts. As a Staff Writer at Showbiz Cheat Sheet, she wrote about similar topics until she was moved to the music team, where she became a top performer writing about classic rock stars like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Hannah is currently a list writer for Collider, where she likes to cover 'The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power,' 'Downton Abbey,' 'The Vampire Diaries,' and 'What We Do in the Shadows.' She is also a staff Showbiz and TV reporter at The Daily Express US, covering entertainment news and everything from The Bachelor franchise to 'Outlander.' She is also a freelance writer at Ranker, writing listicles of the best scenes of shows like 'Schitt's Creek' and movies like 'Harry Potter.' Outside of writing about entertainment, her hobbies include scrapbooking and writing in calligraphy, which her father taught her when she was 12.
The Vampire Diaries hasn't aired on TV since 2017, but some fans still haven't left Mystic Falls. The hit CW drama show never failed to give audiences all the drama, romance, and tear-jerking moments of our favorite vampires, witches, werewolves, and hybrids. It always built up to an epic finale.
However, some were anticlimactic or didn't give as many surprises. Others had memorable cliffhangers, satisfying happy endings, or had fans on the edge of their seat, hoping no one they loved died. Not every The Vampire Diaries season finale can be created equal. Some season finales made our hearts pump faster or made us cry harder than others.
8 "Gods and Monsters" - Season 7
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The Vampire Diaries Season 7 finale is one of the least memorable. Once again, Damon is left to take matters into his own hands, which doesn't always work. He has to kill the last Everlasting and save Bonnie. With the help of Caroline and Alaric's twin girls, they get into the vault at the Armory. Damon kills the Everlasting, saving Enzo and Bonnie.
Besides some heart-to-hearts and car chases, "Gods and Monsters" isn't as action-packed as other The Vampire Diaries season finales. Everything in "Gods and Monsters" is a life-or-death situation, but that can be said about every episode. This finale doesn't stand out as being especially nerve-wracking.
7 "Founders Day" - Season 1
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There's a slow build-up to "Founder's Day," but that's because it's the first season. The plot isn't thick enough yet. The season finale has a slow start too. It doesn't get juicy until Anna tells Damon the tomb vampires are coming to kill the founding families, and John activates the device that reveals them.
Unsurprisingly, John stakes Anna. Then, Bonnie mercifully aids Stefan in saving Damon from a fiery death. Compared to the rest of the show's season finales, "Founder's Day" seems more like a mid-season finale or even an average episode. There is the ending twist, though. Fans finally meet Katherine Pierce, who we love to hate, but don't know it's her until the last minute. The doppelganger hijinx is also one of the most memorable moments in the show.
6 "As I Lay Dying" - Season 2
"As I Lay Dying" was one of the tamer Vampire Diaries season finales, especially after the climactic penultimate episode, "The Sacrifice." The epic fight to kill Klaus fails. He successfully performs the ritual that transforms him into a hybrid. In the aftermath, Elena is left without a father and an aunt, and no one knows Damon is dying of a werewolf bite.
Season 2's finale almost seems calm compared to "The Sacrifice," but it's no less drama packed. Now the gang has to figure out how to save Damon as his bite worsens. Other than his hallucinations and Jeremy's near-death experience, "As I Lay Dying" depicts any other day in Mystic Falls.
5 "Graduation" - Season 4
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Even after a long and exhausting search for the cure, our favorite characters still have to deal with the veil being down, which lets anyone from the other side cross over. Kol returns and riles up those who died in Shane's massacres, but at least Lexi is back, comforting Stefan. Meanwhile, Bonnie's dead, and no one knows, and Damon almost dies of werewolf venom again.
There's not too much action in "Graduation," but there is plenty of drama. Even though Jeremy (who returns with Alaric) enforces a no-crying rule, there are many tear-jerking moments. Bonnie is dead and now Jeremy isn't. Stefan is heartbroken because Elena loves Damon. The finale closes with two of the best cliffhangers: Silas locks Stefan in a box, and Katherine takes the cure.
4 "The Departed" - Season 3
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"The Departed" is one of the most epic season finales. In between incredibly revealing flashbacks of Elena before the car crash that killed her parents, scary Alaric hunts Klaus' body to kill off his bloodline. Elena is on the run when Alaric stakes Klaus, leaving everyone waiting to die. She can go back to Stefan and everyone or keep going toward Damon. She chooses the former.
However, Rebecca causes Matt to crash on the Wickery Bridge because if Elena dies, so does Alaric, and she needs to protect her remaining family. Elena drowns just like her parents did, but she has Damon's blood in her system. The cuts between her parents' death and the present are chilling, and the dramatic music doesn't help. It's one of the most monumental moments in Vampire Diaries. Elena is a vampire.
3 "Home" - Season 5
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"Home" kept fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The events of The Vampire Diaries Season 5 finale are unlike anything we've ever seen before on the show. The Travelers take over Mystic Falls, and all our favorite characters can't enter without dying. At least Bonnie is the anchor to the crumbling Other Side, and the gang can pass through her.
However, to take out the Travelers, Damon and Elena have to blow them up at the Grill where Sheriff Forbes gathered them. As Bonnie and Liv grow weaker, Damon is the only one who doesn't get to return. After finally getting everything he ever wanted (Elena), it's all taken away from him. The ending is incredibly emotional, raw, and powerful. Damon and Bonnie disappear when the Other Side explodes.
2 "I'm Thinking of You All the While" - Season 6
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Losing Elena is a massive moment in The Vampire Diaries. Again, Damon can't win once his love goes into a coma to save Bonnie. Damon used to swear that he'd always choose Elena, but even he couldn't fight Elena on this.
"I'm Thinking of You All the Time" has a vibe that fans never felt before on the show. Kai linked Bonnie and Elena, meaning that if Bonnie is alive, Elena won't be. If Damon kills Bonnie to wake Elena up, Elena will never forgive him. It's one of the biggest twists of the series. Fans hadn't felt loss like that since Bonnie's funeral or Damon's death in Season 5.
1 "I Was Feeling Epic" - Season 8
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The best season finale of The Vampire Diaries has to be the series finale. It's, of course, epic. There's so much to unpack, but everyone's storyline ties up nicely. It wouldn't be The Vampire Diaries series finale without one last fight from Katherine. This time, she wants the entire town to burn, literally.
Damon is ready for redemption and to sacrifice himself to save everyone, but Stefan won't let him. He gives Damon his blood, which turns him human, and daggers Katherine. Then, Bonnie saves the world with her fellow Bennett witches by sending the hellfire back to hell. After an emotional ending montage, the series ends with everyone reunited and at peace, leaving fans full of emotion.