Something that can make or break a show like The Vampire Diaries or The Originals is a good villain. The heroes can certainly be exciting on their own, but a solid villain pushes the story forward, makes the heroes question the best way to handle things, and makes the viewer amused or thrilled by their appearance. Both of these shows had a solid mix of good and bad villains.
But, which series had better villains? The Vampire Diaries likely had more iconic antagonists such as Katherine Pierce, Klaus Mikaelson, and Kai Parker. These three are best ed as the bad guys of Mystic Falls. However, plenty of The Originals' antagonists had clearer goals and are more intimidating than what The Vampire Diaries portrayed with the Travelers, Silas, and the Heretics.
Vampire Diaries: Klaus Was The Dangerous Immortal Hybrid That Did Whatever He Wanted
Klaus was one of the best villains to appear in Mystic Falls. He showed up, created mayhem to get what he wanted, and then left with Stefan. Whenever Klaus returned afterward, he usually had a plan up his sleeve or a reason to stay in the small town. While Klaus could have his good moments, he still did pretty much anything he wanted whenever he wished to do it.
It certainly didn't help the Mystic Falls gang that Klaus was an Immortal Hybrid, which made him nearly impossible to kill, and because the sire line made it so that if Klaus were to die, the rest would follow shortly after.
The Originals: Family Dynamic
Talk about a family affair. The Originals raised the stakes in its second season with the returns of Esther, Mikael, Finn, and Kol. While Kol's allegiance seems to jump between his siblings and mother, Finn, Esther, and Mikael were out to kill or strip the siblings of their immortality.
Esther wishes to return her children to the bodies of witches, and in Klaus's case, a werewolf, to make her family mortal and whole again. Mikael's goal remained to kill Klaus. Finn seemed willing to help Esther's endeavor but also seemed just as happy to kill his siblings anyway.
Vampire Diaries: Katherine Knew Everyone So Well And Was A Master Manipulator
Katherine knew her enemies better than anyone. She had spies to help her watch them, then Katherine could observe for herself and learn everything she needed to know about anyone quickly. Katherine understood how to play people to do exactly what she wanted or get a rise out of them.
Katherine tricked everyone in the Mystic Falls gang at least once and understood her own strengths and weaknesses. She was a survivor, and everything Katherine did proved that she would do whatever it took to keep herself alive. Katherine was predictably unpredictable, and it made for a lot of fun storylines.
The Originals: Dahlia Was An Extremely Powerful Witch
Another member of the family, Dahlia, was Esther's older sister and a mighty witch. Although Esther was supposedly one of the most powerful witches, Dahlia was even more so. Due to a claim that the firstborn in the family line inherited immense power, Dahlia made a deal with Esther that Dahlia would get to raise the firstborn of each generation.
Dahlia may have believed she was doing the right thing by taking children to raise and train them to use their powers, but taking kkids from their parents to become their mother and teacher was not the right way to go about anything. Freya's reaction to Dahlia was certainly proof of that.
Vampire Diaries: Kai Parker Was A Brilliant Sociopath
Was any villain more ruthless or comedic than Kai Parker? An odd combination for sure, but it definitely worked for him. Kai was an excellent balance of horrifying, funny, intelligent, and powerful, meaning that as much as Damon may have hated being around him, Damon usually needed Kai's help more often than he would have liked.
Kai knew what he wanted, and as terrible as he could be, Kai usually knew what he was talking about when it came to magic. Viewers were thrilled when Kai Parker returned to Legacies for a two-episode guest appearance.
The Originals: Marcel Could Be An Enemy Or Ally
Marcel Gerard was always either the biggest ally or greatest threat. He knew the Mikelson family well, which meant he knew how to get under their skin, how to defeat them, and what lengths they would likely go to.
As horrified as Marcel may have been at some of their actions, he likely was not surprised by them. Marcel was constantly interesting by being a friend or foe as his choices about teaming up with the Mikaelsons or fighting against them could depend on many factors.
Vampire Diaries: Usually Harder To Kill
Since Stefan and Damon were the oldest vampires of the main characters, turned in 1864, they were still younger than several other vampires. Given that, nearly all of their opponents were older and stronger or witches that vampires had difficulty fighting against. In cases such as the Brotherhood of the Five, killing a Hunter would result in the Hunter's curse, which would cause the vampire to be haunted by the Hunter's ghost until a new Hunter rose.
For Rayna Cruz, Rayna only had so many lives before she would be killed for good. Yet, anyone who was stabbed by her sword would die with her, meaning by the time they learned this, killing Ranya for good would mean Stefan's death also. It was difficult to kill almost all of them.
The Originals: Old Aquatiences
The Mikaelsons have made a thousand years worth of enemies, so it makes sense that those the Mikaelsons had hurt centuries before would return for revenge. While Stefan and Damon had upset others in the past, it was nothing compared to the enemies Klaus and Elijah had made. Lucien, Tristan, and Aurora were the biggest example of those once considered friends who became enemies.
After Elijah compelled the trio to go on the run, believing themselves to be the Mikaelson siblings, the trio was enraged once the compulsion wore off. They spent centuries afterward preparing their revenge against the Mikaelson family.
Vampire Diaries: Could Make Heroes Turn On Each Other
Rayna allowed Bonnie to take the length of her final life but omitted one essential piece of information. Bonnie would also take on Rayna's mission, forcing Bonnie to become a vampire hunter with a desperate desire to track and kill all of them, including her closest friends.
Meanwhile, Katherine, Klaus, and Kai had information that caused the heroes to team up with them even though everyone else would disagree.
The Originals: The Hollow Pushes The Mikaelson Family Apart
The Hollow's magic was so dark and powerful that something needed to contain it. Unfortunately for the Mikaelsons, that meant four Original Vampires. Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol sacrificed sticking together as a family to go off to different areas of the world to keep Hope safe.
Unfortunately, not everyone follows the rules. Klaus couldn't help himself from visiting Elijah, constantly putting the world in jeopardy. The weight of this decision puts an emotional pain on Hope, who grows up beside Hayley and Freya.