Across three shows, The Vampire Diaries Universe introduced villains that we love to hate and hate to love, and these ten are the absolute best. Although The Vampire Diaries has lovable heroes and protagonists, the franchise really shines when it comes to the villains. Few villains are forgettable. Almost none of them, minus Malivore, are outright boring. However, not all of them rank the same.
Some characters, like Marcel and Enzo, don’t land among the best villains because they were never truly villains in the franchise. Instead, they read more like complicated anti-heroes who sometimes do bad things. Meanwhile, other villains, like Cade or Dark Josie, were memorable but underutilized. However, these ten villains are not only well-developed and entertaining to watch but also powerful and committed to truly wicked deeds. They gave the main characters a run for their money, making them the best of the best.
10
The Hollow
When it comes to epic Vampire Diaries Universe, Rayna Cruz and The Hollow are neck-in-neck. They are both formidable foes who have an undying drive to kill their targets. For Rayna, it’s any marked vampires. For The Hollow, it’s the Lebonair bloodline, the Original family, and anyone who gets in the way of her power. They both have interesting backstories, and The Hollow’s even connects to the werewolf origin story.
Ultimately, The Hollow beats out Rayna because of the witch’s lack of morals and her ability to influence others. Rayna Cruz can manipulate her targets by normal human means. She can use Caroline to get to Stefan. However, The Hollow can naturally manipulate people, supernaturally manipulate people, and take over bodies. She can be almost anyone, anywhere, making it extremely difficult to fight back. Additionally, she has no qualms with killing children or humans.
9
Elijah Mikaelson
Elijah is an interesting character because he is a villain in The Vampire Diaries, but one of the least villainous in The Originals. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a Mikaelson in the spinoff, but he actually feels like he’s trying to do good most of the time in the spinoff. He’s equally great in both roles, though. Unlike most of the villains, Elijah Mikaelson looks civilized from the outside. He has a calm voice and speaks eloquently. He wears a nice suit. He manipulates rather than uses brute force.
However, he’s actually stronger than the ordinary vampires, wicked smart, and will do anything for his family. He lives “always and forever” to a fault, even when it means betraying Elena or saving his murderous brother’s life. However, he ranks lower on the list because he spends more time in the franchise as a positive-leaning anti-hero rather than a straight-up villain.
8
Silas
Katherine Pierce might be the better doppelganger villain, but Silas certainly deserves a place among the “bests.” The immortal being, who would probably kill me if I called him a vampire, is full of confidence and snark, making him an extremely entertaining villain to watch. He has all the charm of Stefan without the nonstop brooding and self-hatred. On top of that, he’s ruthless and sees everyone as ants beneath his shoe, which is a dangerous combination.
Adding to that, Silas’s psychic abilities are so strong that he can compel people, look like anyone, and inflict physical pain with just his mind. His powers are strong enough to trick two of the strongest witches of all time, Qetsiyah and Bonnie, and incapacitate the Original hybrid, Klaus. He makes Klaus think he is dying.
7
The Trinity
When it comes to the Trinity, each of them has a claim to a spot on the “best villains” list. Aurora is the most likable and vindictive of the three. Tristan is the most manipulative and hateable. Lucien is the most calculated and powerful. If only one could exist on the list, it would have to be Lucien, since he becomes an Enhanced Original Vampire and has the biggest impact on the storyline in The Originals.
Still, the three are ultimately better together than they are apart, which is why they belong on this list as a group. The three are almost always presenting a different front. One is evil. One is vengeful. One is a friend. The three shift back and forth, instead of staying stagnant. Plus, they have the Strix at their disposal, even if the group only thinks they’re following Tristan.
6
The Necromancer
Because of Legacies’ monster-of-the-week format, there are few truly memorable villains that last. Malivore is a walking mudman with virtually no motivation and no personality. He’s the least interesting villain of all time. Clarke is great, but not on the level of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries’ villains. The Necromancer is the one villain worthy of that ranking.
The Necromancer might seem like a comic relief villain who wants fame, but he’s shockingly smart and resourceful. He uses Malivore to get monsters that will mindlessly serve him. His harmless exterior actually makes him more dangerous, as he can manipulate smart people like Hope and Dark Josie. On top of that, he has the obvious ability to bring people back to life and control their every move. That said, he’s still in the middle of the pack among great TVD Universe villains in terms of power and ruthlessness.
5
Esther & Finn Mikaelson
Esther is a terrible mother and a memorable villain. She caused the problem of The Originals, and then acts shocked when they become terrible monsters. She is happy to slaughter her whole family in the original show and steal people’s bodies in the spinoff. In both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, she partners up with her oldest son, Finn Mikaelson.
On his own, Finn is a sympathetic villain, and he likely wouldn’t rank on this list. He was staked and boxed for almost 900 years, so he has a right to hate Niklaus and the siblings who enabled the hybrid. However, his mother knows how to manipulate him. She uses his anger at his siblings and his love for her as a weapon. Ultimately, they are two of the more formidable foes and definitely up there with Katherine as one of the longest-lasting enemies.
4
Aunt Dahlia
Aunt Dahlia is, by far, the best villain of The Originals, and she’s one of the best in the entire franchise. The witch has incredible powers that rival those of Bonnie or Qetsiyah. The writing makes her feel like a serious danger even before she appears onscreen in the present day.
She kidnaps her sister’s child and threatens to murder her sister’s family because of a bargain made in desperation. Dahlia does this under the guise of protecting Freya when, in reality, she’s siphoning her niece’s powers so that she can stay young and live forever. On top of that, she is virtually the only villain who can make all of the Mikaelsons feel scared, including Esther. Aunt Dahlia has the ability to get under their skin in a way only a family member could.
3
Klaus Mikaelson
Klaus Mikaelson is the most powerful villain in The Vampire Diaries, and his bloodlust makes him one of the most destructive. He is calculating and dangerous before he even unlocks his hybrid abilities, and he becomes a force not to be messed with afterward. I have to appreciate his candor, as he never pretends to be a good person, unlike other characters in The Vampire Diaries.
On top of that, Joseph Morgan brings such charisma to the character, making it easy to forget that he’s a serial killer who will murder people on a whim. His acting is the biggest reason why people root for the character’s redemption and ship him with Caroline Forbes. That being said, Klaus is a little less interesting because there isn’t really a way to defeat him most of the time. Plus, he loses some of his edge when his whole family comes around, so he doesn’t make the top 2.
2
Katherine Pierce
When it comes to The Vampire Diaries villains, there is a good reason why Katherine Pierce stands out as one of the best. The vampire is a triple threat. She is resourceful, likable, and manipulative. She manages to survive multiple centuries on the run from the most dangerous person on Earth. She has no qualms with lying and stealing to get what she wants. She always has the best one-liners, making her extremely funny. Plus, she is unpredictable. It’s difficult to know what she is going to do or say because she is such a wildcard character.
That said, she lands in second place because her vendettas are much more personal, and her threat level is very narrow in scope. She wants to get back at the tomb vampires. She wants to hurt the people who wronged her. She hates Elena with a burning passion. However, even when she becomes the Queen of Hell, she keeps her focus on Mystic Falls’ destruction.
1
Kai Parker
The best villain in The Vampire Diaries was always going to come down to the top three: Klaus, Katherine, and Kai. They all have the power and ruthlessness. They all have an impeccable survival instinct. However, Kai really has to take the crown because he was bloodthirsty and lacked all morals before he ever became a threat to the world. Before he was even locked in a prison world, he was willing to slaughter his entire family. Then, he goes on a murdering spree the minute that he’s back in the real world.
He has no sense of right or wrong, and he doesn’t even become a better person after absorbing Luke’s emotions. When his emotions are intact, he is still willing to commit genocide at his sister’s wedding. He plots destruction on a grand scale. He will kill people for merely inconveniencing him. He’s like Klaus, except he has nobody he cares about to ground him. Kai Parker is the true GOAT of The Vampire Diaries villains.
- Release Date
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2009 – 2017-00-00
- Showrunner
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Julie Plec
- Directors
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John Dahl
- Writers
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Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith
