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The Vampire Diaries: 10 Differences Between The Books And The Show
The Vampire Diaries is very different on paper and on the small screen. Here are 10 differences between the books and the show.
The Vampire Diaries-very popular among audiences-was a TV show based on a series of novels written by L.J. Smith starting in the early 90s and continuing up to 13 novels. While the show was based upon the novels, it quickly evolved into an entity unto itself, quite different from the original series.
Using the novels as inspiration, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec created an entirely new TVD Universe with its lore and twists, often surprising book fans at just how great the differences between the books and the show are. Below are some of the differences between the books and the show.
1. Ekena ended up with Stefan in the books
More importantly, the books and the show differ greatly regarding Elena's love triangle; on the show, Damon was Elena's true love. This reckless and passionate love could make Elena feel free. In the books, Elena was supposed to share a soul mate bond with Stefan, and in The Hunters: Destiny Rising, she finally chose Stefan, her true love. Regardless of all discussions, either the books or the TV show satisfy one side or another of Elena/Stefan and Elena/Damon shippers.
2. The friendship of Elena and Caroline
Whereas in the books of The Vampire Diaries, Caroline and Elena are shown as rivals since school, who hated each other and had several fights for the leading position among schoolmates. While in the series their rivalry cools down, and they are the best friends, in the novels, they grew apart with years, and Caroline even stole Elena's diaries and threatened to out Stefan's status of a vampire. This is quite opposite to Elena and Caroline from the TV series, who love each other as sisters.
3. Elena's appearance
Where The Vampire Diaries books took off quite differently from the show was in the appearance of the leading lady. The Elena Gilbert of Nina Dobrev was kind-hearted and generous, brown-haired, brown-eyed, or basically all that is kind-hearted. Elena from the books was blue-eyed and blonde-skinned, an actual high school cheerleader. Being cruel and mean was a part of her personality, along with the unique love triangle between Elena and Caroline.
4. Bonnie was not a witch in the books
In this series, Bonnie was the last in the line of powerful Bennett witches with psychic, expression, and witchy magic abilities. Being an only Black character who had dated both Jeremy and Enzo, she could not get her happy ending once Enzo died in Season 8. Bonnie, in the books, had been a Celtic druidess with red hair and fair skin, Scottish-American lineage to an ancient line of druids. She was an airheaded, flirtatious, frivolous sort of personality, but then again, in the future, she got responsible.
5. In the books, Salvatore brothers were much older and vicious
Stefan and Damon Salvatore, protagonists of the books and the show. In the show, of course, they were both fed Katherine's blood, but Stefan didn't know it earlier. Died during the vampire purge in 1864 at the hands of their father. It's what initiated their vampire transformation. Damon is 169 years old, Stefan is 162. In the books, Stefan and Damon are older than the characters; Stefan is about 520 years old, while Damon is 523. They drank human blood, but were more viciously aggressive with each other. They became vampires after a fight; they fought each other to death.
6. In the books Elena had a sister not brother
Not once did the books contain a Jeremy Gilbert. Rather, Elena had a sister named Margaret who, when their parents died, was just 1 year old; by the time of the novels, she was about 5 years old. Swapping Margaret out for Jeremy really opened up some storytelling avenues on TVD: he could become a Hunter and date Bonnie. Jeremy technically was Elena's cousin since Elena was John Gilbert's daughter in the show.
7. The Gilberts died much sooner in the books
Both the series and novels have the tragic story of Elena's parents, Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. While in the series Elena is still fresh from the loss, in the novels three years have passed since the Gilberts died, which gave Elena more time to grieve. In the series, Elena is more moved and influenced by the death of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. In the novels, her parents are Thomas and Elizabeth.
8. The town was not called Mystic Falls
Mystical Falls was the city where this show was based, full of supernatural happenings because of its rich history of magic and other paranormal events. It was the birthplace of the Original vampires, werewolf families, and the Bennett witch line. In the books, however, the name used was Fell's Church, an even more occult name for the show. While not as spooky, the show paid homage to its origins; the church where 1800s vampires were trapped was named Fell's Church.
9. In the books Katherine and Elena were related
In the series, Katherine and Elena were doppelgangers and of the Petrova bloodline. Elena was a descendant of Katherine's but not a blood relative. They were Bulgarian in origin, according to their backstory exposed in the flash episodes. In the novels, Katherine was German and Elena's half-sister, named Katherine von Swartzschild. Klaus made her a vampire due to her illness, to heal her on the request of her maid, Gudren.
10. Vampires in books were much stronger
TVD boasted of mighty vampires with compulsion, super speed, immortality, prolonged telepathic powers, and even shapeshifting. In the novels, they could turn into animals, read people's minds, but on the television series, they were way weaker. Its powers were not a little mention in the pilot but actually retconned from the novel.
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