The Vampire Diaries series is filled with many iconic villains that have made the show better and become fan-favorite characters. Over the course of the show's 8 seasons, it continued to raise the stakes with frightening and unpredictable characters that challenged Elena and her friends, oftentimes with deadly results.
Though the bad guys often do terrible things in this show, they are fun to root for, especially since their motives are usually well-established and sometimes even relatable. All this being said, there are specific antagonists in each season that stand out as the best in the show.
Season 1: Damon
Damon is the best villain of season 1 because he does some of the worst things imaginable, all to get revenge on his brother. Not only does he kill Stefan's best friend, feed on and manipulate Caroline, and cause general chaos, but he does all of this with a smolder that could kill on its own. When Damon turns off his humanity, he does some of the worst things to ever happen in the series.
Damon is a great baddie, even though he eventually turns into one of the main love interests and becomes more humanized as the series goes on. He is an interesting character because he faces constant moral dilemmas and handles them completely differently from his brother. Not to mention, no matter how evil Damon can be, he still has a soft spot for Elena and will do anything for her.
Seasons 2: Katherine
Katherine, who often survived against the odds, is one of the most despised antagonists on TVD, as she puts other people in danger to save herself constantly. Being a bloodthirsty, inhuman vampire is her dominant personality, and she loves to use people, especially men, to get what she wants.
With all this in mind, Katherine is the best villain out of season 2 because she's unpredictable and it's fun to see how Nina Dobrev can play both the innocent Elena and the conniving Katherine in the same episodes. Katherine's ability to string Damon along while plotting with Elena's birth mother all boils down to her desperate attempt to stay alive. While's she's not all-powerful, she trusts no one and cares about no one.
Season 3: Klaus
Klaus is one of, if not the best, villain on The Vampire Diaries. He is a hybrid vampire-werewolf who loves his family in the most unusual of ways, as he stakes them and keeps them in coffins to "protect" them. Even with all his malicious qualities, audiences still love Klaus because of his dedication to his kin and his pure love of Caroline, a fledgling vampire who doesn't quite know what she wants out of life.
He is fantastic partially how well the show built up the mystery around him, and also because he's a genuinely understandable character who has been betrayed more times than he can count. Klaus is not only one of the most powerful vampires, but he's also witty, intelligent, and a bit of an artist. Though he compels Stefan to kill Elena, goes on rampages, and enjoys causing pain to others, he has redeemable moments that make him so fun to watch that he got his own TV show, The Originals.
Season 4: Silas
Silas is one thousand years older than Klaus and he was technically the first immortal to ever exist. He has the power to compel other people, to shapeshift, and to use psychic abilities to confuse and manipulate innocent people. Silas is a necessary evil, as finding him is the key to finding the cure to vampirism.
Silas is one of the best antagonists in the series because he adds several new ideas to the mythology, including the idea that Stefan is also a doppelgänger, that Travelers exist, and that there is a cure to the ancient curse of vampirism. He is a classic cheater and, as a character, his portrayal goes to show that jealousy, vengeance, and hatred follow those who deserve it.
Season 5: Markos
Markos is the leader of the Travelers, a group of witches who takes over peoples' bodies and use different kinds of mind control to get around. He becomes the main villain of season 5 after Katherine's death, and he and the Travelers try to get rid of the doppelgangers to break the curse that was put on his people.
Though he doesn't live for very long in the series since Damon kills him in an explosion, Markos and the Travelers do a lot of damage and are extremely difficult to stop because of their body jumping tricks. Markos wanted to free his people from their traveling so they could settle down, but he ended up causing more harm than good for their future.
Season 6: Kai
Kai is egotistical and deeply dangerous. His lack of empathy and murderous tendencies make him one of the most despicable villains even though he's just a siphoner. He not only murdered most of his family, but he ruined the traditions of the Gemini Coven and destroyed everything for fear of his merging ceremony with his sister, Jo.
He is evil because of his inability to comprehend pain from anyone because he feels nothing. He is a perennial threat because there is no way to convince him to do the right thing. Kai Parker is undeniably funny and likes to joke around, but only in the darkest and unsettling ways. He didn't even let Jo get married, he killed her at the altar in an attempt to destroy the twins she was carrying.
Season 7: Rayna Cruz
Rayna is a vampire huntress with a serious grudge against Stefan Salvatore and basically all vampires she comes across. Her father, a previous member of the Brotherhood of the Five, taught her how to kill vampires, and she uses a device called the Phoenix Stone to trap them for good.
Rayna is the best baddie of this installment because she's driven and willing to do anything to get her revenge. Even though her Phoenix Stone breaks and lets those she has trapped previously loose, she does everything in her power to get rid of these creatures she deems as evil.
Season 8: Sybil
Sybil is an immortal being called a Siren who feasts on the flesh of sinners, and she is also referred to as the Armory's monster. She uses her voice to control others and do her bidding for her in the name of her cause.
She never wanted to be a monster, but her anger at her situation just makes her that much crueler. Sybil is the best villain of season 8 because she is able to manipulate Damon and Enzo, two stubborn-headed vampires, to do what she wants. Even with her history, she still chooses to draw people into her web and damn them to lives of servitude or death.