The Vampire Diaries Plot Holes (Photo Credit – Prime Video)
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Even years after its initial release, The Vampire Diaries remains a fan-favorite series, drawing viewers into the blood-soaked life of vampires. But with every rewatch, some puzzling plot holes become more obvious, which the show either ignored, explained poorly, or completely contradicted. From inconsistencies to forgotten powers, here are 7 of the biggest plot holes in The Vampire Diaries that still raise eyebrows.
1. Bonnie Breaks the Sleeping Curse — When It’s Convenient
When Nina Dobrev exited the series at the end of Season 6, the writers needed a graceful way to remove Elena from the story. Their solution? A magical curse cast by Kai that kept Elena asleep as long as Bonnie lived. The idea was emotionally impactful—Elena chose to sleep so her best friend could live—but it came with one massive flaw.
The curse was said to be unbreakable. If Bonnie tried to lift it, both she and Elena would die. Yet, in the final episode, Bonnie simply announces that she “figured the magic thing out” and breaks it, with no explanation or visible consequence. After two seasons of mourning and emotional buildup, the curse is lifted off-screen, in what feels like a throwaway moment. A huge emotional and narrative arc is simply resolved, leaving fans with a feeling of dissatisfaction.
In Season 4, the Cure for vampirism is introduced as a one-of-a-kind elixir. Tensions rise because only one person can use it. Elena forces it on Katherine, who’s then hunted by Silas, the world’s oldest immortal. He drains her nearly to death to cure himself.
Yet by Season 6, the Cure seems a lot less scarce. A second dose appears out of purgatory, and suddenly, a single syringe of cured vampire blood is enough to revert another vampire to human. Elena’s blood cures Stefan, and his now-human blood is later used to cure Damon. This inconsistency reduces the stakes and undermines early plot tension.
3. Damon’s Disappearing Powers
In the pilot episode, Damon displays eerie abilities—controlling fog, transforming into a crow, and moving like a specter, resembling the powers explained in the original book. He seems closer to the book version of Damon, who can transform into a crow and control the weather.
Stefan even jokes, “Crow was a bit much,” and Damon ominously replies, “Wait till you see what I can do with the fog.” These powers are never referenced again, not even when they could have been useful. The show introduces and drops them immediately, never explaining why Damon loses or stops using them.
4. The Mysterious Unlimited Vervain Supply
Early on, vervain is established as a rare herb that protects humans from vampire compulsion and weakens vampires. Zach Salvatore is introduced as the town’s only supplier, growing it in secret. After his death, vervain is supposedly gone.
Yet somehow, the entire Founders Council starts handing it out like Halloween candy. At one point, Mystic Falls even adds vervain to the water supply. The scarcity of vervain was a crucial plot point, but later seasons treat it as a renewable resource, without explanation.
5. The Salvatore Brothers’ Limited Supernatural Knowledge
Stefan and Damon are over 150 years old. They’ve traveled, fought in wars, and met countless supernatural beings. Yet in the early seasons, they seem clueless about basic vampire lore. When Elijah arrives, they don’t know what an Original is. Damon tries to kill a werewolf with a silver knife, believing in myths that don’t even apply in their universe.
How did two seasoned vampires live for over a century without learning about werewolves or vampire hunters? Especially when Damon spent time in New Orleans, which The Originals later revealed is crawling with supernatural creatures.
6. Bonnie’s Fluctuating Limitless Powers
Throughout the series, Bonnie goes from novice witch to the most powerful witch. She performs massive feats of magic: closing the veil between life and death, taking down hellfire, and banishing powerful enemies. But for some reason, her powers are only as strong as the plot demands. In one scene, she can harness the power of 100 dead witches; in another, she struggles to light a candle. Not to mention, Bonnie has always been reduced to a mere helping hand, with limited character building, and she manages to save her pals every time by evoking her boundless powers. Not to forget how she managed to get herself and her loved ones resurrected from death, not once but twice.
7. The Forgotten Storylines
Some plotlines in The Vampire Diaries felt like they were building toward something huge, only to vanish without resolution. Remember The Five? The ancient vampire hunters are introduced with great fanfare and then disappear. Or Silas, the “first immortal,” who’s hyped as a god-tier threat but dies after just a few episodes. And what about The Travelers? A coven of witches with an entire season’s worth of buildup, whose motives and goals never really made sense.
Instead of integrating these threads into the larger narrative, the show often hits the reset button, introducing new villains and arcs without resolving the old ones. As a result, some seasons feel like a patchwork of forgotten lore.
Well, these are just some of the many plot holes introduced by one of the most blockbuster vampire series. Yet despite these inconsistencies, the show continues to be a fan favorite and is available to stream on Netflix.
