was a seminal drama that redefined the fantasy genre, and the villains were what made the show great. The Mystic Falls gang was always battling a new bad guy every season, but the writers managed to develop engrossing antagonists who kept the series exciting with their evil deeds. Humans, vampires, werewolves, witches and even demons made it into the story.
Most of these villains targeted Elena, and Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, and Caroline rushed to protect their friend. These antagonists could be extremely clever and manipulative, resorting to torture, murder, or blackmail as the means to their wicked ends.
From the plethora of dishonorable characters, a few stood out as the most formidable adversaries in .
Wes Maxfield proved that humans could also be pure evil in . Initially introduced as a reserved university professor, his depravity slowly started coming to light when his work with the Augustine Society was revealed. Wes captured vampires, dissected and tortured them to figure out their physiology so that he could program them to feed on other vampires instead of humans.
This was unhealthily obsessed with the supernatural and lost his sense of humanity in the process. He did not think of vampires as sentient beings with feelings but as lab rats. Damon, Enzo, Elena, and countless others suffered from Wes' torture, but he didn't last too long as he was only a human, and that humanity lands him in the bottom slot on the list.
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TVD was full of vampires, witches, hybrids, heretics, and many other immortals. Who was the most powerful?The exit of the Original vampires from Mystic Falls after Season 4 left a villain-sized void, which Markos filled. He led a rogue faction of witches called the Travellers who possessed others' bodies to survive. Markos was extremely powerful, and he took over the whole of Mystic Falls after he had taken blood from Stefan and Elena. Unfortunately, he didn't strike fear into the hearts of audiences because of how civil he could be. He did not feel dangerous, and it was too easy for Damon to destroy their entire coven by blowing up the Mystic Grill.
If Markos had presented more challenges and shown more personality, he could have been a greater villain.
, especially since she came back as a villain. She had sired a terrifying breed of vampire and witch hybrids known as Heretics, who had little empathy. Lily got her Heretics back to Mystic Falls from the Prison World, allowing them to wreak havoc in the small town. Lily herself struck up unsavory deals with Kai to get her "children" back, but this group of adversaries was ineffective overall.
Valerie, Lily, Nora and Mary-Louise eventually became friendly with the Mystic Falls gang and helped them in various situations. Their sympathetic turn didn't make them anti-heroes, but characters who were confusingly good or bad.
introduced a new supernatural threat when they made Grecian Sirens the villains of Seasons 7 and 8. Sybil was a true monster who hunted down humans and ate their flesh while sending their souls away to hell. She tormented the group when she made Damon and Enzo her lackeys for hunting down immortal humans.
She and her sister Celine were ruthless, and Sybil never minded sacrificing children for her immortality. However, her arc was more irritating for audiences than riveting. She tried to take Elena's place in Damon's mind and kept Enzo away from Bonnie. Despite being an , Sybil was reduced to an annoying, jealous girlfriend of sorts.
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Bonnie Bennett went through more grief and trauma than any other character in The Vampire Diaries, and deserved a happily ever after with Enzo.Qetsiyah, also known as Tessa, was the most potent witch in the world. Her disappointments in love led to her villainy, but no one took her lightly. Thousands of years ago, she loved Silas and created the immortality spell for them. Silas cheated on Qetsiyah with her handmaiden Amara, which put Qetsiyah on her path for vengeance. She created the Other Side and the cure for immortality in her attempt to punish Silas forever. Qetsiyah's story and her personality were riveting, but she hardly had the chance to prove her might on screen.
Tessa left the show when she left Bonnie to become the Anchor, but if she had stayed on the show, she would have created a lot more trouble.
Silas wasn't just a love who scorned Qetsiyah but an immensely powerful and manipulative man who became immortal. He may have been frozen with the cure, but he used his telepathic powers to call people like Shane toward him and do his bidding. His powers of persuasion and mental manipulation were terrifying. Moreover, Silas' physical appearance, identical to Stefan, made him even more enigmatic.
He killed and maimed as he pleased and was eventually slain by his own doppelganger. Silas may have wanted to reunite with Amara, but his maliciousness and lack of respect for others made him a less sympathetic character. Still, his cruelty and manipulation are enough to grant him a spot mid-list.
The Mikaelson sister was often painted as a damsel in distress, but Rebekah could be a sharp and exacting villain when she had to be. Granted, Klaus tortured and kept her locked away for centuries, but she was unpredictable and vengeful too.
Elena made an enemy out of Rebekah, and she ensured that Elena paid for her mistake. Rebekah may have formed one of with Matt, but she initially wanted to kill him. She deliberately caused the car accident that turned Elena into a vampire. This Original vampire was not to be messed with, even if she became much more amicable towards the end of her arc.
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The Vampire Diaries has several heart-stopping, heartwarming, and heartbreaking episodes that fans will never forget.Elena's doppelganger Katherine was a chilling antagonist from the start, and her reputation stayed intact to the end. Katherine may have been an innocent young woman at an early point in her life, but her quest for survival turned her into a stone-cold villain who would cut down everyone else so that she could live. Her antagonism with Elena because of the Salvatore brothers was one of the best plot lines. Katherine became one of the show's greatest villains when she returned from literal hell, but not as a victim.
After becoming human, going to the Other Side and then getting sucked into hell, Katherine became its queen alongside Arcadius. With her charisma and wicked charm, Katerina stayed a memorable part of even when she wasn't around.
Sociopathic and completely heartless, Kai Parker was an utterly unique adversary. Locked away in a Prison World to keep others safe from his malevolence, Kai turned on the Gemini Coven when they didn't accept him for his unique, siphoning abilities.
Malachai had no issues with murdering his family, hurting Bonnie or forming unholy alliances to gain more power. What made him so distinct from other villains was his personality. Kai came from a different generation, but he quickly adapted to the modern world with a Twitter account. He left a stream of casualties in his wake, like Elena and Jo, but his innate charm made him one of the most likable but dangerous villains. He was capable of anything.
Klaus Mikaelson was the worst of the Originals. Years of neglect from his parents made him a bitter man with unlimited strength and power, making him incredibly callous.
With both vampire and werewolf identities, Klaus was virtually unbeatable. He could create his own army to do his bidding, and nobody could touch him. Klaus didn't have much of a conscience, so he took as he pleased and didn't repent for his sins. and also killed Jenna and Tyler's mother. He killed countless people over the centuries, and some had been solely for fun. Even his own family wasn't safe from him, as he threatened them with the White Oak Dagger and punished them when he felt like it. His actions kept audiences on their toes, and even his romantic arc was well-loved, and that alone is enough to land him in the top of the rankings as the best
villain of them all.
TV-14
Fantasy
Horror
Romance
The lives, loves, dangers and disasters in the town, Mystic Falls, Virginia. Creatures of unspeakable horror lurk beneath this town as a teenage girl is suddenly torn between two vampire brothers.
Release Date September 10, 2009
Creator Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson
Cast Nina Dobrev , Paul Wesley , Ian Somerhalder , Kat Graham
Main Genre
Seasons 8 Seasons
Production Company Outerbanks Entertainmen, tAlloy Entertainment, CBS Television Studios
