Deaths are a common occurrence in The Vampire Diaries, but they are almost reversed via some sort of resurrection. There are plenty of characters that got killed only to be resurrected later. The main characters like Stefan, Damon, Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie had a habit of dying and coming back to life.
However, there are some major characters, humans as well as supernatural beings, that were permanently killed on the show. They may have appeared again in flashbacks or as ghosts, but they never would be alive again in the series.
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Jenna Sommers
One of the main characters in the first and second seasons of The Vampire Diaries, Jenna was turned into a vampire by Klaus and killed in season 2 episode 21, “The Sun Also Rises”. Even though she never returned, she had a big impact on the lives of Elena and Jeremy as she was their guardian after their parents’ death.
She was a kind and loving person, who cared about Elena and Jeremy. Due to this, they never forgot Jenna even years after her death. She is mentioned multiple times throughout the show and she even makes appearances in flashbacks and as a spirit.
Olivia Parker
Olivia or Liv Parker was a witch of the Gemini coven who made appearances in seasons 5 and 6 of the show. A student of Whitmore College, she was killed in the season 6 finale, never to be resurrected again.
Liv had to lose all her family members throughout her life. She saw her twin brother Luke and her sister Jo die in front of her, signifying that she had a hard life. Ultimately, she gave her boyfriend, Tyler, consent to kill her so that he can remain alive by activating his werewolf curse. She was a great character and a powerful witch, who could have partnered up with Bonnie to help her in times of crisis.
Lexi Branson
Lexi was the best friend of Stefan Salvatore, who was killed by Damon. She first appeared in the first season of the show and her friendship with Stefan was endearing because they both cared a lot about each other.
Damon killed her because he liked to torment his brother like that. However, Lexi continued to make appearances as a ghost or a spirit, to always help Stefan. She was one of the most important people in Stefan’s life and when Stefan finally dies in the series finale, she is there to greet him.
Jo Laughlin
Jo was a doctor and a former witch. She died at her wedding with Alaric, when her twin brother, Kai kills her. She wanted a normal magic-free life with Alaric but unfortunately, on The Vampire Diaries, no character can hope for a “normal” life. She later made appearances in further episodes but she never came back alive.
Jo was pregnant with Alaric’s kids when she died but her children were transferred to Caroline’s womb, who later gave birth to them. Her twin daughters, Josie and Lizzie, can be now seen in the spin-off show, Legacies.
Tyler Lockwood
Tyler was a recurring major character from the beginning of the show until the end. He had plenty of storylines that directly affected the protagonists and he was the first werewolf to make an appearance on the show. Tyler was killed permanently by Damon in the season 8 episode, “An Eternity of Misery.”
Tyler’s character was mainly used by the showrunners to further the plot of the main characters when he started as an interesting character. Tyler was a brat in season 1 whose father was horrible to him, so it’s a shame that his character wasn’t developed properly. After his death, he appeared in the series finale as a spirit watching over his best friend, Matt.
Annabelle
Annabelle or Anna first appeared in season 1 episode 11, who was a vampire. She starts dating Jeremy Gilbert later on. Anna was staked by John Gilbert and met her end in the season 1 finale, “Founder’s Day”, in the same manner as her mother.
She did some questionable things to achieve her goal of opening her mother’s tomb-like turning Logan Fell and Ben McKittrick into vampires. However, compared to other vampires on the show, her crimes are much less villainous. Anna permanently died in season 1 but she kept on appearing as a ghost until season 3 when she finds peace in the Ghost World and reunites with her mother.
Enzo
Much like Damon, Enzo or Lorenzo St. John was more of an anti-hero than a true villain of the fantasy series. Enzo’s past was filled with pain and he is betrayed by his best friend, Damon, who leaves him to die. Enzo was killed in the final season of the show by Stefan, whose humanity was turned off at the moment.
Also like Damon, Enzo’s character transformed into a much more compassionate character when he fell in love with a woman, in his case, Bonnie. The interesting thing to note here is that the show likes to kill many characters when they have turned from villainous to good-hearted and caring beings, to elicit sympathy from the fans.
Liz Forbes
Caroline’s mother, Liz Forbes was arguably the most virtuous character on the show. She always stayed true to her principles and also cared for the town of Mystic Falls, being the sheriff. This could be the reason that despite many threats to her life through the show, her death was the least gruesome of them all as she died from cancer.
Her death played a huge part in Caroline and Stefan’s relationship as it brought them closer. However, it also made Caroline go evil as she switched off her humanity to not feel the pain of her mother’s death. Liz is mentioned constantly even after her death, mostly by Caroline, and she also appeared as Caroline’s subconscious manifestation and as a spirit in the series finale.
Matt Donavan’s sister, Vicki, was the first main character to die on The Vampire Diaries. She was turned into a vampire by Damon and later staked by Stefan when she couldn’t control her hunger.
However, despite her early death in the show, Vicki keeps on appearing as a ghost and is constantly mentioned, mostly by Matt and Jeremy, who truly loved her. Vicki’s death was a major plot point as it was the first time fans saw the true nature of vampires and how humans can be turned into vampires. It also started one of many atrocities of Damon in Mystic Falls.
Stefan Salvatore
One of the main protagonists throughout the entire show, Stefan Salvatore died and was resurrected innumerable times. Once, he was locked in a safe at the bottom of a lake by his doppelganger, Silas, where Stefan was condemned to a continuous loop of drowning and coming back alive. He stayed that way for months, so, it’s hard to figure out how many times Stefan has died on the show.
However, his final death came in the series finale. After taking the cure and becoming human, Stefan sacrificed his life to save his brother’s life as well as the entire town of Mystic Falls. This sacrifice marked the end of his life, never coming back alive. Stefan, then, reunites with his best friend, Lexi, as a ghost, which made up for a bittersweet goodbye to all of his many fans.