In the universe of both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, death can be very complicated. Many characters have died and come back to life countless times, while for others, death is more concrete. Sometimes, their likeness of coming back depends on the actor's willingness to portray that character again. Actor Joseph Morgan who portrayed Klaus Mikaelson stated that he would definitely not be portraying Klaus ever again because he feels his story is complete.
Some characters, such as Alaric Saltzman, have managed to appear in all three series despite suffering from a death that seemed almost inescapable. Other than characters from TVD, The Originals introduced plenty of new characters to the world. While some fans would absolutely love to see some characters return, there are others who should have made their exit sooner.
Gone Too Soon: Davina Claire
While Davina's presence on The Originals may be debatable for fans, there's no denying that her abilities as a witch were wasted as the seasons went on.
In the first season, she played a pivotal role in the series, but later on, her story was reduced to being a love interest before she made her exit from the show. Even though her character never passed away, it was a shame that fans never saw her reach her full potential after she married Kol. She was supposedly one of the most powerful witches in the Vampire Diaries franchise, but after the first season, her story becomes less and less relevant as she passes away, returns to life, and never resolves her issues with the original family.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Camille O'Connell
Cami was introduced in the very first episode of the show, and since fans first met her it's clear that her character was set in place to become Klaus's new love interest.
It was obvious and even mentioned by Klaus that she reminded him of Caroline, except she lacked the feisty personality that made the two so compelling. Her connection to Klaus felt lackluster with hardly any chemistry there. Caroline and Klaus had many unforgettable moments over the course of their short-lived love-hate relationship. When it comes to Cami, the two of them lacked the drama that he had with his prior love, resulting in an unsatisfying relationship for the three seasons she appeared in.
Gone Too Soon: Hayley Marshall
Hayley Marshall was one of the best Vampire Diaries characters that appeared on The Originals. As the seasons went on, she developed into a strong character who would do anything for her daughter.
Hayley's death was unexpected considering she was the leading lady of the series. It was also very abrupt after everything she had been through, her death by being in the sunlight felt insignificant. Many fans hoped to see her finally get a happy ending with Elijah and her daughter Hope, which made it incredibly disappointing that she was killed off before the series finale.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Esther Mikaelson
Esther Mikaelson was one of the main villains of the series, and while it did make sense that the mother of the original family plays a pivotal role in the show, her villainous story did drag on.
Despite the fact that she was only in the first two seasons of the show, long-term fans know that she was also a major villain on The Vampire Diaries. After seeing her pass and come back to life multiple times to wreak havoc, it did start to feel repetitive. It didn't help that her goals never developed from TVD to The Originals, she always had the same plan to force her family to stop being vampires.
Gone Too Soon: Aiden
Aiden played a minor role in the series, but his romantic storyline with Josh was heartwarming. It was interesting to see their relationship as the two were from opposing species.
Even though they weren't the main focus of the show, Aiden and Josh both provided many lighthearted scenes whenever they were on screen. It was also nice to see Aiden join Josh's small friend group with Davina, turning them into an amusing trio. Aiden's plans to run away with Josh would have been the perfect send-off for the couple, but instead, Aiden was one of Dahlia's victims before he got to leave the city with his lover.
Overstayed Their Welcome: The Hollow
The Original family has faced many villains over the course of its five seasons, but The Hollow was the worst villain because she was hardly developed as a character.
The Hollow came out of nowhere with the purpose of destruction, but there was never any reasoning as to why she was so evil. Every other villain on the show had some sort of connection to the Mikaelsons and reasons to wish for their downfall. The Hollow, on the other hand, was randomly described as the most powerful witch ever but was somehow never mentioned before. In fact, the character's presence felt as if she were only created to kill off some of the fans' favorite characters, which helped to pave the way for Legacies.
Gone Too Soon: Lucien Castle
Lucien Castle was introduced as the first vampire ever sired by Klaus Mikaelson, which was an interesting concept that could have been used to create many more storylines.
Instead, his character ended up being wasted, with Lucien not even making it out of season three. His plans to become stronger than an original vampire stirred up a lot of drama before his character was rapidly killed off. Even though his time was brief, he was one of the best characters on The Originals. He shared many similarities to Klaus in the sense that they were both entertaining and comedic. It would have been interesting to see Lucien turn into the more villainous version of his creator.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Finn Mikaelson
Every member of the Mikalsons can be considered villainous in their own ways, but despite their wrongdoings, they still manage to be charming characters, all except Finn Mikaelson.
Finn is the eldest, yet somehow he's weaker than his brothers, both physically and in terms of his personality. Even though Finn did change his alliances when he tried to help his brothers fight Lucien, he still never had as much character as the other Originals. Unfortunately, his evil path went on way longer than his redemption arc, making his heroic ending feel lackluster.
Gone Too Soon: Klaus Mikaelson
Klaus may have passed away in the very last episode, but he had a lot of untied loose ends. In his final season, we see him pushing his daughter away and being a bad father, before dying to save her life.
It would have been more satisfying to see him live longer and become the father she needed. The Vampire Diaries and its spinoffs tend to follow the trope of having characters heroically sacrifice themselves, but for Klaus Mikaelson, it wasn't entirely satisfying. Many fans would have preferred to see him in the spinoff show Legacies that centers around his daughter Hope Mikaelson.
Overstayed Their Welcome: Jackson Kenner
Jackson Kenner was introduced as Hayley's guardian who watched her in his werewolf form before she was able to set his tribe free. With the way his story was set up, his romance with her felt very forced.
In a way, Jackson came off as a stalker and his marriage to her felt rushed. His connection to Hayley might have been more endearing if her relationship with Elijah hadn't already been so well developed. He was kind and polite, but he didn't have enough depth to make him interesting, nor did his romance with Hayley feel real. He came off as one-dimensional, leaving many fans to wish for Hayley to end up with Elijah sooner.