'The Vampire Diaries': Season 3’s Biggest Heartbreaks
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Caroline's Daddy Issues
Poor Caroline. She may be a blood-sucking vampire, but in many ways she's still just a teenage girl, so it was downright painful to see her tortured by her father, Bill Forbes, in his twisted method of trying to de-vampirize her. I don't care if she's a supernatural being, being physically abused by your parents in unacceptable no matter what.
Is it any wonder Caroline is reluctant to have feelings for Klaus? When you turn a girl's boyfriend into a controlled, werewolf-vampire hybrid, she's going to be a little upset about it. Forcing Caroline to watch as Tyler's life hung in the balance was a pretty low blow — even for an Original.
Though we didn't actually see him do it, Vampire Stefan fed on Elena on Senior Prank night, much to Klaus' delight. From that point forward, Stefan's humanity was completely turned off, forcing Elena to say goodbye to the boy she once loved. Love bites — literally.
Deep down, we know Lexi meant well when she used torture methods to try and snap Stefan out of his heartless, bloody Ripper rampage, but it was still hard to watch. Here's a guy who's always tried to be the epitome of good (well as good as a vampire can be), and here he was violently lashing out at the people he cares about most — even telling Elena he wished he'd never met her. Ouch.
It sucks when your hunky hybrid boyfriend tricked into giving you a deadly bite to the neck, but having an equally hunky Original Vampire save your life more than makes up for it. This rare, tender moment between Klaus and Caroline proved that Elena's not the only one who can find herself in the middle of a steamy love triangle.
Getting into a fight with your ex is completely normal, but trying to turn one of them into a vampire is taking things one step too far. After Stefan almost let Elena plummet to her death on the Wickery Bridge (the same bridge her parents died on), she knew the boy she once loved no longer existed. The realization that her life could mean so little to him was just as devastating to fans as it was to Elena.
We still haven't forgiven him for trying to torture his daughter out of being a vampire, but it’s hard not to tear up watching this father-daughter pair share a tender moment in Bill’s final moments of life. This guy really was willing to give up anything and everything to prevent becoming a vampire — even his little girl.
Poor Bonnie just can't catch a break. First, her grandmother died and now her long-lost mother has been turned into a vampire, all for the sake of saving Elena's life. I know Elena's her best friend and all, but that's a hard price to pay for friendship. Can she have just one day without being forced to sacrifice a member of her family?
Watching Damon be brutally tortured by Rebekah — both mentally and physically — was pretty devastating to watch. We know our bad boy vamp can put up with a lot of pain, but tricking him into thinking Elena had come to save him was way below the belt – even for Rebekah.
We all knew Stefan still loved Elena, but to have him finally confess his feelings out loud had even hardcore Damon and Elena shippers reaching for the tissues. The clincher comes when Elena reveals that she has feelings for Damon too. A poor vampire's heart can only take so much!
Elena and Stefan have been through so much in Season 3, but Elena’s vampire ex-boyfriend proved he still makes a great shoulder to cry when she says her final goodbye to Alaric... or at least she thinks it’s the final goodbye.
Though Elena may not have lost her dear history teacher in the physical sense, 'Before Sunset' proved that she's definitely lost him in an emotional one. Now that Alaric's become the all-powerful vampire who hunts vampires, it's clear he cares for nothing and no one. It seems poor Elena is doomed to lose pretty much everyone she loves.