8 Things You Love About 'The Vampire Diaries' And 7 Things You Hate

Many fans have developed a love/hate relationship with The Vampire Diaries. After a show has been around for almost a decade, it's bound to have some good and bad moments. We've been unhappy with some of the paths the show has gone down and yet we're unable to peel our eyes away from the screen. Is it a train wreck or a masterpiece? The answer might change depending on what season you want. Despite the plot holes or flaws, chances are that you're still totally in love with this show and that you still feel for the characters. The mythology and the depth of the story may have shifted over the seasons as the actors and actresses have come and gone, but that doesn't stop you from obsessing over Damon and Stefan even to this day.

Here are 8 things you love about The Vampire Diaries and 7 things you hate.

15 Love: The Supernatural

Television is definitely a means of escape, and when you find yourself in a world where everything that can't possibly be real is, it's totally mystifying. Maybe that's why it's set in a town called Mystic Falls. If you love the supernatural, then you definitely love this show because it has all these magical components that totally fascinate you. It's enchanting and captivating, to say the least. The show is always evolving and challenging itself to explore all the possibilities its world can achieve. The magic of the witches essentially makes anything possible, while the abilities of the vampires and werewolves push any situation to the limit. To top it all off, the series separated itself from many other shows by having the doppelgangers play such an important role in the story. It's impossible not to love everything about it, and it's one of the reasons you love The Vampire Diaries.

14 Hate: The Repetition

There are a lot of aspects of this show that seem to be stuck in a cycle that never ends, and we're kind of tired of the merry-go-round. How many times did Elena and Stefan break up? How many times did someone die and come back to life? It's always the same plot line. A great evil threatens the group, they find a way to outlast it or defeat it, and then an even greater and scarier evil arrives. First, it was Katherine who was the most evil, and then it was Klaus, the ultimate vampire. Then it was Klaus's father, and then it was Silas. It began to become predictable, and that's one of the worst things that can happen to a show. All the unpredictability it held during its first seasons began to dwindle, and while the surprise cliffhangers will still be flung at the audience, the allure of every twist has vanished. Does anyone actually ever really die on this show anyways? Nowadays, you can expect them to come back to life no matter what.

13 Love: The Doppelganger History

The fairytale nature of the doppelganger is really what makes this show shine. Why else would Damon and Stefan have stuck around if Elena didn't look exactly like the first woman they had loved? Katherine was a total enchantress, and we loved learning about the backstory of how the brothers fell in love with her. The allure of Elena being the spitting image of Katherine was super fascinating as well, but the series began to smolder when Katherine made her arrival early on in the series. Was anyone expecting that? Essentially, Elena was cursed from the very beginning because of the vampire obsession with her doppelganger, so she was destined for a life filled with the supernatural. It was learning about the Petrova doppelgänger that piqued our interest and got us totally immersed with the show. Maybe some magic was lost when we discovered that Stefan is actually a doppelganger as well, but even that couldn't ruin it for us.

12 Hate: The Storylines

Or lack thereof. This wasn't much of an issue during the early seasons while everybody was still in high school, but after they graduated and moved on to university, there weren't really any storylines to speak of. The plot was murky, to say the least. It's become harder to follow what exactly is going on, as it all began to feel forced as if the show had lost its direction. Honestly, it did a little bit, and the writers couldn't disguise it from the audience. The natural flow of the story broke down to a sensation that they were pulling strings to find a place to take the characters when really the characters could have simply taken themselves there. The Vampire Diaries needs to return to its roots, and while it may be hard to do now that all is said and done, some vintage episodes before the show closes is what everyone is yearning for. The fans have begun to seriously hate the story.

11 Love: The Romance

Love is the motivator for almost every character, and it was the reason we became insanely addicted to the show. A lot of fans will admit to not even caring about the storyline or current plot -- we just wanted to see if Elena would end up with Stefan or Damon. Even as the seasons progressed, there were romance storylines that made the fans go totally wild, like when Klaus hit on Caroline like crazy, even though she was with Tyler. When those two broke up, it was heartbreaking, but now her and Stefan have fallen for each other. Sometimes it seems like a soap opera but there's no way it couldn't since their lives are so intense in terms of death literally being around any corner. Who can forget watching Elena fall in love with Damon? It was a lot more passionate than when she was with Stefan, that's for sure. What about Bonnie and Jeremy's tragic story? It's a lot for the heart to handle, but it's one of the reasons you love the show.

10 Hate: The Breakups

A lot of people watch the show for their favorite and beloved couple, but what about when they break up? It can be beyond frustrating. Instead of working things out and having a civil discussion, like good couples do, most of the characters get blinded by the circumstances and just jump to ending it all. It's not only that but sometimes it feels like we're doing loops on their emotional roller coasters. Elena and Stefan broke up a million times only for her to be with Damon, which lead to her and Damon breaking up a million times. It' getting totally tiresome. Let's not even get started on Alaric or Jeremy whose girlfriends either end up being evil or dying. Maybe the fans just hate all the lack of happiness in the show. There's way too much anxiety, and after so many seasons of stress, maybe a little endless love would be nice. Is that too much to ask for? We definitely don't think so.

9 Love: The Emotion

Oh how this show plays with your feelings in a horrible yet wonderful way. It's easy to point out how the romances made you laugh and cry, but what about the friendships? Even the villains had a way of worming their way into your heart. As savage a character as Katherine was, and no matter how many times you hated her, it was super agonizing to witness how her family rejected her after she had her baby. The misery that Klaus has in his soul from being rejected by his father and the desperate love his siblings have for him is beautiful. The writers certainly know how to play the chords of your heart. Let's not even get started on Alaric whose story will bring tears to anyone's eyes. Why has the world decided to be so cruel to such a beautiful heart? If we bring up Caroline's mother finally discovering she's a vampire, we might not be able to recover.

8 Hate: Nina Dobrev Leaving

It was time for the beautiful actress to move on. We get it. It must have been brutal for her to work with her ex-boyfriend Ian Somerhalder while their characters were still dating on the show… and oh yeah when he was getting married to his new girl as well. Unfortunately, losing her seriously sucked. It has not been the same since, and it's hard not to miss her every episode. She was what all the character's evolved around, and she was what made the story move, so it's impossible not to hate that she left. Fans are even threatening to boycott the final season until she returns, but it really seems that she won't be stepping foot on the show. It's definitely why the show isn't as popular anymore, and it's totally heartbreaking to watch Damon mope around without her. This could be what the fans hate the most.

7 Love: The Friendship

There are many inspiring moments on this show where the group is there for each other unconditionally. The motive might be romantic love, like Damon and Stefan always fighting for Elena no matter what. But what about the girls: Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena? Their friendship is sweet and you know after all they've been through, they always have each other's back. They all work together to defeat whatever evil is challenging them, whether it be Katherine, the Originals, or even the Heretics. While there is always bumps in the road, which is bound to happen with all the fluctuating personalities and dappled histories, you know they're the squad you wish you had defending you at all costs. Taylor Swift's squad definitely has a reason to be jealous. Even with Elena absent from the show, who always seemed to be uniting the group, the other characters still manage to find the roots of their friendship and band together.

6 Hate: The Plot Holes

Sure, it's possible to ignore the plot holes on the show, but sometimes they just become too glaringly obvious. And they are definitely super annoying. There are the more mild issues, such as the sudden lapse in character development -- it's like all the growth of the characters, particularly Damon, was wiped for no real reason. But can we talk about Matt's mother? She had a small arc in season one and it's like she's dropped off the face of the earth. What about how when all of Elena and Jeremy's caregivers died, there was no questioning from the community how they were going to get by? Does nobody pay bills? Let's not even get started on the mythology. It was all so simple in season one when there was just a tomb and a spell, but that has quickly spiraled in to a bunch of nonsense that nobody can understand. It's more proof that the show just isn't as good as it used to be, and we hate it.

5 Love: The Villains

Despite how annoying they are, you can always expect the villains to have an intricate backstory and, yes, it's going to play with your emotions once again. They make you hate them with all the trouble they give the crew… and then they reveal exactly what it is that twisted their heart. Even Damon was introduced as the villain in the pilot with all his dark agendas. It wasn't long before we learned about his lovesick soul, making us care for him even more. It went on like that, and while there were definitely a few villains that didn't hold a shred of humanity, there have been just as many that do. Consider Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah; family is everything to them, so much so that it blinds them to the feelings of everyone but themselves. That's one of the best parts of this show, the ability to develop everyone's character enough for us to love them all in one way or another.

4 Hate: The Witches' Servitude

If you take it to a deeper level, there are some serious moral issues on this show that are all too easy to overlook. There are fans that have become vocal with their displeasure that all the witches, who are black because the majority of them are related to Bonnie, seem to exist to serve the white vampires. There are many ways you could take that argument, but truthfully, the servitude that Bonnie has to dedicate her life to is quite tragic. The powerful women are used at the disposal of the vampires for whatever spell or magic they might need, and it puts Bonnie down a dark path. There's a reason she has a love-hate relationship with vampires, and it's a theme that a lot of The Vampire Diaries fans have begun to become upset about. While her role has transformed over the years, the fans want to see her stop serving vampires.

3 Love: The Plot Twists

The plot twists on this show are always all turmoil and never peaceful, but that's the best part. Sure, we totally want the characters to live happily ever after, but we know it can't happen. The show has proven this many times since the characters are never really able to find true joy without severe complications. Just look at Damon and Elena. They finally find each other… and then Damon dies. A season after that, Elena gets locked up for eighty years. That's totally unfair… and totally unexpected. What about when Bonnie had to die to bring Jeremy back to life, or when Katherine took over Elena's body? Yup, pretty much anything is possible on this show, and the plot twists reveal that you should be prepared for the unexpected. While it may stress you out, it's definitely one of the reasons you're addicted to this show and can't stop watching it. You love it!

2 Love: The Bromance

Deep down, isn't this what the show is truly about? Stefan and Damon fixing all the damage that has been done? No matter how frequently they seem to be at odds, their fraternal bond will never be severed. Perhaps nobody said it better than vampire Rebekah: "The Salvatore's may fight like dogs, but in the end, they would die for each other.” Their limitless love has displayed that over and over again. We mean, Stefan literally sacrificed himself to Klaus to save Damon from dying from a werewolf bite. They had heart to hearts about Elena, saying that whoever truly wins her once and for all means, the other will disappear and allow them to be happy. Whenever Stefan is at risk of turning off his humanity and becoming the ripper, Damon will be there to bring his brother back down to earth. The love they have for each other makes this show.

1 Hate: The Injustice

On another deeper note, there are themes of injustice that some fans are finding equally disturbing as the use of the witches. A lot of these have to do with Damon, who never has to face justice. While he certainly shifted from a snarky, scary villain in the first season to a man that was trying to change his ways and be a better person for Elena, he's definitely relapsed to being a murdering serial killer of sorts. Considering how deeply he's worshiped on the show, some fans find it disturbing that he never has to pay for his terrible actions, including how he assaulted Caroline in the first season. This show holds a lot of injustice and poor moral messages, and as the years have spanned on, more and more fans have begun to notice and talk about it. It's not a message everyone wants to support, and it's why some fans have begun to hate the show. At least we can hope for a killer series finale?!