The Original family has some of the best villains The Vampire Diaries have had on their show. Fans fell in love with Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson from the moment we met their characters in season 3. After they left the show, things started to go downhill for TVD.
Of course, their characters were so well-loved, they managed to land their own spin-off series. While The Vampire Diaries focused on high schoolers and love triangles, The Originals instantly proved itself to be something entirely different. It was a show about vampires that embraced being thousands of years old instead of attending high school, and it revolved around a complicated family.
The Vampire Diaries will always have a special place in our hearts. Without TVD, there would be no Originals. But, there's no denying that there's a lot of reasons why The Originals is far better than The Vampire Diaries could have ever dreamed of being, and we're about to tell you why.
15 It Values The Importance Of Family
As much as The Vampire Diaries liked to focus on family, they usually turned it into a negative aspect that revolved around loss and mourning. The Originals, on the other hand, values family over any other aspect of the show. They're a family that would do anything to save each other.
14 It Follows Up With TVD Characters After TVD Ended
The Vampire Diaries ended before The Originals did, so it was nice to see some characters from TVD pop up on The Originals after its finale. The Originals gives fans of view of life in Mystic Falls after TVD came to an end, and we also got to see a reunion between everyone's favorite ship - Caroline and Klaus.
13 We Get To See More Of The Original Family
There's no doubt that the best seasons of The Vampire Diaries were the few that involved the original family. When they left the show, that's when things started to become less interesting. The Originals have something TVD didn't have in every season: Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah.
12 Elena Isn't The Center Of The Show
The Vampire Diaries completely revolved around Elena Gilbert. Her friends and family sacrificed so much just to save her. On The Originals, there's no Elena Gilbert, and it mostly revolves around saving Hope Mikaelson instead. The difference is, Hope is a baby that's actually worth saving.
11 It's Way More Mature Than TVD
The Originals has way more violence and it's ten times more intense than TVD. Klaus is the bad guy, and he remains the bad guy for the entire show (unlike Damon Salvatore). The Originals is much darker and more mature than The Vampire Diaries ever was.
10 There Are No More Doppelgangers
Nina Dobrev briefly made an appearance as Tatia on The Originals, but other than that, there's no mention of doppelgangers on the show. On TVD, the doppelganger storyline became nauseating, with Nina Dobrev playing 3 different characters and Stefan randomly being a doppelganger too. It's nice to have a break from that on The Originals.
9 There Are Way More Witches Involved
Other than the Bennett witches and the Gemini twins, there were very few witches on The Vampire Diaries, which is one way The Originals certainly differs. Witches play a huge role on The Originals, with even key members of the family being able to use magic because of their witch ancestry.
8 It Focuses On Action More Than Romance
The Vampire Diaries was all about a love triangle, to the point that it got tiring seeing couples constantly breaking up and getting back together. The Originals doesn't focus on the romance aspect as much as its parent show, instead, we see much more magic and action.
7 It's Not Repetitive Like TVD Was
The Vampire Diaries tended to repeat a lot of aspects of the show throughout the seasons, like Elena being torn between Stefan and Damon, vampires turning their emotional switch off, family members passing away... The Originals doesn't repeat itself, which made it so much easier to watch.
6 Werewolves Play A Bigger Role In The Story
Werewolves certainly took the back seat on The Vampire Diaries, especially when hybrids got involved. Tyler ended up being the only werewolf left on the show (and he was a hybrid), but then he ended up leaving too. The Originals is way more consistent with its werewolves with multiple packs being part of the story.
5 It's Way More Inclusive
The Vampire Diaries wasn't as open with its characters as The Originals was. The Originals gave viewers more modernized characters that were diverse and inclusive of LGBT relationships and people of color. There were multiple characters of color, unlike TVD that really only had Bonnie. It also had multiple characters that were part of the LGBT community, while TVD had none.
4 The Originals Isn't As Overly Dramatic
The Originals is less of a teen-drama than The Vampire Diaries is. For starters, the characters don't attend high school, characters don't pass away as often, and there isn't crying every other episode like there was on TVD. It's still a drama show, but it doesn't over-do it.
3 Vampires No Longer Turn Off Their Emotions
Characters turning off their emotions was something that happened almost every season on The Vampire Diaries, and it got annoying real quick. It was always the same thing - they turned it off, became evil, and then someone had to trigger their emotions back. Luckily, The Originals drops the "emotion switch" and focuses on real problems.
2 It Has A Better Final Season
The final season of The Vampire Diaries lacked a lot in comparison to the early seasons of the show. It lost the main actress and felt like it lost its direction, from being a show about a love triangle to losing a key character in that triangle. The Originals felt way more planned out, and its final season was consistent with everything we've seen on the show.
1 It Didn't Drag For Too Many Seasons
The Vampire Diaries went on for 8 seasons and it even continued airing after the main actress (Nina Dobrev) left the show. At times, you could tell that TVD was running out of ideas. The Originals only had 5 seasons, and not once felt like it was dragging. It told the story that needed to be told and ended at the right time.