If there's one thing that drama was full of several types of vampires and supernatural beings who could be pretty brutal to the Mystic Falls gang, often resulting in some really surprising deaths that audiences were taken aback by.
Nobody ever really saw these deaths coming, which made them even more tragic than they already were. From beloved brothers and sisters to irreplaceable best friends — The Vampire Diaries spared no one and these deaths left a gaping hole in audiences' hearts.
Isobel Flemming
The early seasons of the show delved deep into Elena's true parentage, and John Gilbert and Isobel Flemming (who was also Alaric's ex-wife) turned out to be her birth parents. Isobel was by no means a model mother, as she worked with Katherine and blackmailed her own daughter for no good reason.
Still, the way she chose to go was astounding. After making her peace with Elena, Isobel threw off her daylight trinket, immolating herself in sunlight and burning to ashes. The move was completely unprecedented so it stunned everyone.
Lexi Branson
Stefan's best friend was a true gem of an undead person, and her arrival in Mystic Falls was greeted warmly by everyone. She was instantly likable and seemed like she would be a long-term resident of the town, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
Among the worst things that Damon did, killing Lexi was right at the top. His plan to show his allegiance to the humans was absolutely devastating because the vampire who was baited and killed was his brother's best friend. It was extremely unexpected, and fans are still mad about her death, even though she appeared in many subsequent episodes.
Jo Laughlin
The gang couldn't always stop the villain, and Jo and Alaric's wedding became tragic proof of the same. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion went awry as Kai Parker stabbed his pregnant sister through the stomach in an attempt to kill her twins, and then slayed his entire coven.
Jo had sad beginnings because of Kai, and she had a truly heartbreaking end because of him. Her life had been led in misery because of her brother, and he didn't let her have the happiest day of her life either.
Enzo St. John
“You Made A Choice To Be Good” is an episode that fans of TVD don't watch more than once, because of how sudden Enzo's ing was. Just as he and Bonnie were about to get their happy ending, humanity-free Stefan arrived at Bonnie's doorstep and wrenched Enzo's heart out of his body.
Enzo's death very cruelly took away from Bonnie the one thing she had going for her finally, and fans were really rooting for the couple to work out and make it. His death hit everyone very hard because once again, Enzo was a character who had had a tough life and deserved more.
Sheila Bennett
Poor Bonnie saw loss very early in the show, as her only parental figure at the time, her Grams, departed from the world. This was the first of Bonnie's many sacrifices for her friends, and it hurt even more because Grams never wanted to be involved in vampire business in the first place.
As she struggled to open the tomb to get Damon and company out, the spell became too much for her. Fans thought she may have fainted from exhaustion, but were stunned to learn that the toll of the magic had been just too much for Sheila to take.
Carol Lockwood
Tyler's mother may not have been an extremely popular character, but her death was a haunting one. One night she had a little too much to drink which made her too trusting and dulled her senses, and Klaus, possible at his most evil, took unfair advantage of that.
In a bid to get back at Tyler, he met Carol at a fountain, and drowned her in cold blood on Christmas night, which made it all the more terrifying. Klaus could be suave, but his actions of killing an innocent Carol were heinous.
Tyler Lockwood
Sadly, none of the Lockwoods really made it on the show, and Tyler was one of the last to go, but that didn't mean his death was something that fans saw coming. They really did hope that he would make a return in the final season, but his "death by Damon" was seriously unexpected.
Fans were left with dropped jaws as Damon, under Sybil's control and desperate to prove a point, attacked him and left his body in a car off a highway. It was cold-blooded and Tyler deserved more.
Jenna Sommers
Elena had been through enough trauma when Jenna's horrific death took place. Fans weren't even expecting Jenna to be turned into a vampire near the end of season 2, so both of her deaths were totally unexpected.
However, no such thing happened, and a newly turned Jenna was killed off as Elena tearfully encouraged her to turn off her feelings to feel less pain. Jenna barely had any time to process what was happening around her before her short second life was ended.
Jeremy Gilbert
The younger Gilbert had been killed and had his neck snapped numerous times, but his murder by Silas was very shocking. Katherine's last-minute entry into the frame made things a lot more dangerous for him, and as she bit and pushed him onto a thirsty Silas, fans didn't expect to see his neck snapped just like that.
Elena herself was in deep denial about it, which led to the cascading series of events that resulted in a humanity-free Elena and a burnt-down Gilbert home.
Liv Parker
Poor Liv got the worst end of the stick when it came to family and to men. She was brave beyond imagination, as she continued to live and fight with Kai making a comeback. She and Tyler were sweet together, but her offer to let him kill her so he could awaken the werewolf gene and heal was a complete curveball.
Liv would have probably died either way, but any slim chance of survival that she had, she told Tyler to erase. It was incredibly self-sacrificing of Liv and induced a gasp from the audience.