From the beginning, it was clear that barely anyone was safe in The Vampire Diaries. While some deaths resulted in vampire transitions or temporarily existing on The Other Side, others remained permanent. Notable supporting characters were not the only ones whose lives were lost throughout the show. Many of the main characters repeatedly died by the time The Vampire Diaries concluded. But, while some main characters had more heartbreaking or meaningful deaths, others were used as plot devices. Although it was pretty understood that death in The Vampire Diaries Universe tended to be quite fluid, as characters would be brought back to life afterward, that was not always the case with everyone.

Some character deaths also had an integral role in how the characters responded to them. They were deeply mourned by the rest of the show's main characters as someone vital to the group. Others were left to be briefly grieved before the show moved on to dealing with other central characters or enemies. Some of the show's more permanent deaths resulted in characters finding Peace, such as Tyler Lockwood and Stefan Salvatore. However, which characters' deaths made more significant impacts on the other characters and series in its entirety?

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6 Enzo St. John

Vampire Diaries Damon and Enzo
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As The Vampire Diaries would have it, Bonnie Bennett could not be happy for long. Her prospering romance with Enzo is cut devastatingly short just as he decides to take the cure for vampirism. Stefan had already proven how ruthless he could be throughout the years without his humanity, and one of his final acts as a vampire is proof of that. So to get to Elena and kill her, to force Damon to go all in with him, Stefan must get through Enzo and Bonnie. Except, it is not much of a fight.

Stefan quickly kills Enzo leaving Bonnie devastated. Although the series finale suggests Enzo continued to watch Bonnie after his death, Enzo's ending comes across more as a plot device for Stefan's storyline than a natural conclusion for Enzo.

5 Tyler Lockwood

Vampire Diaries Tyler
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Tyler's journey comes to an abrupt and unnecessary end in the final season for a person who has been vital to the plot since the first episode. Tyler's death is not the result of his choice to sacrifice himself, nor does it occur during a fight with the villain of the season where he is trying to protect his friends or Mystic Falls. Instead, Tyler's life ends when Damon is being controlled by Sybil, a Siren encouraging Damon to do the unforgivable. Tyler dies to show how far Damon may be gone, and in his last moments, Tyler suggests that Elena will never forgive Damon when she finds out.

However, the aftermath of Tyler's death is murky at best. Matt has the most critical reaction, being devastated and angry that his best friend is dead. However, while the rest of the group is angered by Tyler being killed, The Vampire Diaries never shows Elena or Jeremy finding out what happened. However, "I Was Feeling Epic" shows Tyler and Vicki contently watching Matt from the afterlife, suggesting they had found Peace.

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4 Alaric Saltzman

Vampire Diaries Alaric
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Although Alaric is brought back to life in the season five finale, his season three death means far more than just his end. It also means Elena and Jeremy lose another parental figure, and Damon loses a close friend. However, when Alaric dies on screen, it also signifies that Elena is passing as well, as Esther had tied the two together when she transformed Alaric into an original vampire hunter. When Bonnie brings Alaric back to life, he is a vampire until he crosses the no-magic barrier. Alaric is quickly saved by Jo, allowing Alaric to continue his life as a human.

3 Jeremy Gilbert

Vampire Diaries Jeremy
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In season two, Jeremy is accidentally killed and brought back to life by Bonnie. But, there is an unforeseen consequence. Jeremy gains the ability to speak to the dead and is gifted a connection to The Other Side. Jeremy's resurrection allows him to talk to Anna, Vicki, and Rose. However, that is not Jeremy's only death.

Even though Jeremy technically dies numerous times throughout The Vampire Diaries, having all his blood removed from his body by Silas in season four feels permanent. Jeremy does not get revived by the Gilbert ring, nor does he become a vampire. Instead, Jeremy is left on The Other Side. However, Jeremy's death is also a breaking point for Elena. This is the first time Elena has lost someone so vital in her life with a vampire's heightened emotions, and Jeremy's death mixed with Damon's sire bond results in Elena shutting off her humanity and going on a rampage.

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2 Bonnie Bennett

Vampire Diaries Bonnie
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When given the opportunity, Bonnie brings Jeremy back to life. But, she uses too much power resulting in Bonnie being left stuck on The Other Side. Bonnie has died, and Jeremy is the only one who knows the truth. At least for a while. Although Bonnie may have had good intentions in reviving Jeremy, it is a part of Bonnie's self-sacrificial arc that tends to put her and those she loves in imminent danger. The worst part of Bonnie's death is that no one notices for months. Jeremy has been responding to Bonnie's messages at her request to keep the suggestion that she is alive. Bonnie's death is one of the most devastating in the series. She stands beside her friends, who can not see her, watching them continue their lives.

But, it does not work forever. Finally, when everyone learns the truth, Bonnie is given a funeral as her guilt-ridden and heartbroken friends try to contemplate how Bonnie could have died, and they missed it. Bonnie's revival comes at a cost as well, though. Becoming the anchor to The Other Side comes with the side effect of feeling immense pain whenever anyone passes through her. Being the anchor means she is capable of bringing her friends back to life, but it also results in being trapped with Damon in Kai's prison world when The Other Side collapses.

1 Stefan Salvatore

Vampire Diaries Stefan
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Stefan's death is permanent in "I Was Feeling Epic." Determining that killing Enzo was at the top of a list of unforgivable actions and putting Damon above himself, Stefan sacrifices himself to die alongside Katherine and save Mystic Falls. Granted, it could still be argued which Salvatore brother should have died in the series finale. But Stefan's death results in protecting the town. Furthermore, The Vampire Diaries reveals that part of what Stefan's last wish would have been for Caroline and Alaric to turn the boarding house into the Salvatore Boarding School to create a safe supernatural educational place for Josie and Lizzie to learn magic.

However, Stefan's death is also one of the most heartbreaking. Stefan had just gotten married to Caroline, which also would have made him a permanent fixture in Josie and Lizzie's lives, had he lived longer to see them grow up. Although Stefan's death allows his loved ones to live, it is devastating that Stefan believed the best way to be released from his guilt was to die.