My review is about the character and storyline, NOT the actors.
I recommend watching this BEFORE watching The Originals. I watched the Originals first and this show felt like a joke or play for kids under 12.
I was able to TOLERATE the first 2 seasons but I really can't stand how Elena gets to define WHO is Good or bad. When she does something bad like compelling her brother against his wish, it's okay, but if anyone else compels without her permission, they're so bad.
She masks it with "It's because I care too much" like ohhh, I'm such a good person that all the bad things I do are okay but nobody else has such privileges. The HYPOCRISY of the series is just weird to me. The entire show literally started because she started dating a vampire. She is directly responsible for the entire disaster that is the 8 seasons.
Stefan is equally as annoying but atleast he was annoying from the start. I actually liked Elena in season 1.
It is also weird that a less than 1yr old vampire or a 160yr vampire on animal blood can fight and win a 1000yr old ORIGINAL vampire when they ESTABLISHED in the story that the age and diet were important for strength. Zero logic!
They also misplaced blame very often to make the Originals the bad guys, meanwhile in reality Stefan and the rest of the fake good people kept provoking them for no reason. They are so arrogant, its weird. And the writers gave them unfair and unrealistic advantages just to keep the script going. Because the reality is they should not be able to stand a chance in a fight with any of the Originals especially Klaus.
Watching Stefan/Elena characters is difficult for me and I skip their parts. They are happy to kill thousands but believe they are so good because they are saving Elena and someone she loves.. Such a joke!
Don't get me started on people-pleasing Bonnie. The Originals series really showed me witches and their power so how on earth does Bonnie do anything without a coven just because someone told her she can.
I love Caroline's Character development though. She became a person with more realistic depth as the show progressed. Although she was fixated on the wrong things all to keep the leads alive for the show. Puppet character.
At some point, you just realize that they live for chaos so they deserve many things they got. You also eventually realize that the REAL BAD GUYS begin with Stefan-Elena, then goes to all the people around them who think they are good. They are really horrible people because the WORST people are bad people who think they're good.. like them main characters of the show.
I hope young teens watching this understand that these are bad people.