The Vampire Diaries’ Greatest Villain Debuted 15 Years Ago Today (And Entirely Changed the Franchise)

When it comes to television series of the 2010s, there are few more beloved than The Vampire Diaries. The supernatural teen drama, based on the YA book series of the same name by L.J. Smith, debuted on The CW in 2009 and soon became a fixture for the network with its love triangle drama between a pair of vampire brothers and a teenage girl. By the time the series ended in 2017, it had become a pop culture moment and even had its own spinoff with The Originals. But while the dramatic romance of it all was certainly a draw, it’s the series’ most iconic antagonist that really enchanted fans and changed everything — and he made his official debut 15 years ago today.

At this point, it’s hard to imagine The Vampire Diaries without Klaus Mikaelson. The equal parts charming and terrifying Klaus originally arrived in Mystic Falls to break a curse but brought with him so much more. An “original” vampire — meaning he was one of the very first vampires along with the rest of his family — he brought with him expanded lore for the show as well as plenty of drama of his own. While he was first mentioned in the Season 2 episode “Rose” and appeared having possessed Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis) in the episode “Know They Enemy”, Klaus made his full first physical appearance as played by Joseph Morgan in the episode “Klaus” which initially aired on April 21, 2011.

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Klaus Was Supposed to Die in Season 3 But Ended Up Getting His Own Spinoff

It’s hard to imagine The Vampire Diaries without Klaus, but that is actually how the series was originally intended to play out. The character was meant to come in for a few episodes in Season 2, be a major antagonist in Season 3, and ultimately be dispatched. It’s something that Morgan himself confirmed back in 2021 when reflecting on the role. So, what happened to keep Klaus around from a short-term villain? Fan support.

“Then a few things happened,” Morgan has previously explained. “One was of course the degree of passion with which the fans responded to the character and the other was that I was just having so much fun playing [him] and I always felt that for the character there wasn’t enough room to grow in the setting of The Vampire Diaries.”

Season 3’s “Original Family” storyline largely proved Morgan’s assertion that there was simply more Klaus than The Vampire Diaries had room for. The story of the Original Family became so popular that it led to the spinoff, The Originals, that saw Klaus and his family return to New Orleans, a city where they had a deep history and drama of their own. So, instead of being killed off, Klaus survived, becoming the main villain for the third, fourth, and fifth season of The Vampire Diaries, firmly establishing his importance in the overall Mystic Falls story before going off to be a complex hero in his own right.

Giving Klaus His Own Series Was the Best Movie TVD Ever Made

Spinning Klaus off onto The Originals is, for many, the best thing that happened in The Vampire Diaries. While the Mystic Falls story continued and remained great, The Originals gave viewers a little something different. Klaus’ story was more mature and more family centered. The series offered greater character development and darker plots, digging deeper into the other areas of the overall The Vampire Diaries Universe mythos and political structures.

It also offered up the messy, brilliantly done redemption arc for Klaus. On The Originals, viewers got to further explore not only his general story, but his deep history and understand why he was who he was as well as come to understand that he was never exactly a straight up villain, but more a complicated and misunderstood survivor who ultimately tried to better himself for the sake of the one thing he never thought he’d have: family, in the form of his daughter Hope. By the time The Originals ended in 2018 after five seasons, the character had become one of the most beloved characters on television — and gave us one of the greatest villain arcs of all time.

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