The CW’s new supernatural teen drama The Vampire Diaries premiered in 2009. This Friday it all comes to an end – and Nina Dobrev is back for the goodbye.

Photo courtesy: Annette Brown/The CW

When the CW’s new supernatural teen drama The Vampire Diaries premiered in 2009, I’m not sure that anyone could predict the cultural phenomenon that followed. Vampires were all the rage (thanks, Twilight), and before 2009, unless you were a Degrassi: The Next Generation fan, chances are you had never heard of Nina Dobrev – or most of the cast, for that matter. 8 seasons later, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley are household names.

And it’s all coming to an end this Friday in the much anticipated series finale, which not only marks the end of the series, but the return of main character Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) who left the show at the end of season 6, two years ago.

In celebration of both the end of this long journey and the return of Elena Gilbert, here is our list of her most iconic moments over the years.