The Vampire Diaries is about to bid us adieu.

It all started eight years ago when Elena Gilbert met the Salvatore brothers in the small town of Mystic Falls. Her life, and the lives of her friends and family, would never be the same.

So with the series finale upon us, let’s take a walk down memory lane by recounting some of the most jaw-dropping, puzzling, heartbreaking twists from The Vampire Diaries.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, but come on, you’ve had eight years to get with the program!

1. Damon turns Vicki into a vampire

All the way back on Season 1 Episode 6, Damon made his first shocking kill by snapping Vicki’s neck and turning her into a vampire. This was the viewers’ first time seeing someone transition into a vampire.

Just one episode later, she was permanently killed off. Vicki seemed like she was going to be a main cast member for a long time, so her death signaled that no character was safe.

2. Katherine’s not in the tomb

When Damon first came to Mystic Falls, he was on a mission to be reunited with his true love, Katherine. Once inside the vampire tomb he thought she was trapped in, he was stunned to learn she wasn’t there.

Turns out she’d continued living her life without Damon. This was just the beginning of exposing Katherine’s manipulative behavior.

3. Katherine impersonates Elena

On a personal note, this is my favorite twist. After sharing a deep, simmering kiss with Damon on the front porch of her house, we thought Elena was starting to feel more deeply about the elder Salvatore brother.

Sadly for Damon’s lips, and John Gilbert’s fingers, we were wrong. The long-awaited arrival of Katherine Pierce came out of nowhere. Fresh off her kiss with Damon, Katherine made her presence known by hacking off John’s fingers in the kitchen. Quite an entrance!

4. Caroline is killed by Katherine and becomes a vampire

Caroline’s sudden transformation into a vampire (courtesy of Katherine smothering her with a pillow while she had vampire blood in her system), felt like an odd choice. Would this perky, blonde cheerleader thrive as a vampire?

The answer was a resounding yes! But I still remember the fear and confusion Caroline experienced during her first day as a vampire. We were also given a first glimpse at the slow-burn relationship of Steroline.

5. The sun and moon curse isn’t real

With so much talk and anticipation of Klaus’ arrival, it was a bit startling to learn that everything we thought we knew about the sun and moon curse was wrong. It could be because the whole thing wasn’t even real!

Elijah revealed to Elena, and the audience, that the real curse was keeping Klaus’ werewolf side dormant. This wouldn’t be the last time the history and mythology presented to us would turn out to be inaccurate.

6. Klaus kills Jenna

Aunt Jenna was the parental figure left to take care of Elena and Jeremy after their parents’ deaths. In a heartbreaking sequence of events, Jenna found out about vampires, was then turned into one, only to then be sacrificed in Klaus’ ritual to unleash his werewolf side.

Her death is one of the most unfair and just downright depressing deaths the show ever did. It’s a shame we never got to see Jenna escape death like so many of the other characters.

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