Katerina Petrova, better known as Katherine Pierce, is one of the first and main antagonists of The Vampire Diaries. Nina Dobrev successfully plays both her and Elena Gilbert, showing ample differences between the two characters who co-exist and are rivals in Mystic Falls, Virginia.
Though a fan favorite, a lot of Katherine's traits didn't hold up well years after the show ended. Though she is essential to the storyline, her character is not easily likable. In fact, if she wasn't so crucial, fans could have likely made do without her and her schemes, especially upon watching through all eight seasons again.
Her Creation of The Salvatore Brothers
The notorious love triangle between Katherine Pierce and the Salvatore brothers is the central point of the boys' origin story. Back in 1864, Katherine had maintained a relationship with both Stefan and Damon and ultimately turned them both into vampires.
While on the run, she maintains a love for Stefan that is undeniable and in turn, constantly makes clear to Damon that she never truly loved him like she did his brother. The formation of the love triangle gets tiring when Elena ends up in the picture and Katherine is still trying to stay relevant. Plus, the way she manipulated the feelings of both brothers when they were human was pretty heinous.
Her Fatal Love Interests
Two Original brothers, both Salvatores, and a couple of filler boyfriends later, Katherine was known for having an enamoring effect on men. While Stefan will always hold the top spot, she spends over 500 years gathering men who would practically do anything for her and ultimately they all end up hating her.
They also more often than not end up dead due to their affiliation with her, including the likes of Mason Lockwood. Her most monumental and cataclysmic relationship had to be Klaus Mikaelson, which sent her on a lifetime of running and looking over her shoulder.
An Eternity Of Running
Speaking of lifetimes of running, thanks to Klaus' hatred of Katherine for turning herself into a vampire before he could sacrifice her, he slaughtered her entire family and caused her to run from him for almost as long as she lived. In a way, it was nice to see the vulnerability of fear in Katherine, a character usually so cocky and fearless.
That being said, the overriding fear led Katherine to make a lot of distasteful decisions throughout the show and made it really hard for viewers to feel so bad for her amidst all of her manipulation. Plus, unlike Elena who always stayed and fought, Katherine was willing to hurt everyone if meant saving herself.
Her Huge Ego
At her core, Katherine is desperate, manipulative, and cruel -- with a huge ego to top it off. Katherine survived against most of the odds but that's because her ego fed her drive to live.
From quirky comments like "the cute one's here," to endlessly thinking the love of the Salvatore brothers would never run out, Katherine's ego is her biggest personality trait and sometimes even her downfall. The "indestructible" persona gets cracked often though, crushing her ego only slightly.
Her Elena Imitations
Imitations are one thing, but when she possesses Elena's body in her last living breaths, she took it too far. Existing as one of her most devious acts, getting caught and forced out is one of the worst things to happen to her.
While possessing Elena, Katherine also broke up with Damon in a plot to return to Stefan; which is super on-brand for her. The longing for stable love is heartwarming to see but the ends don't justify the means here and with Katherine, they rarely do. For a character who was sometimes painted as sympathetic, nobody can get behind the idea of controlling someone against their will.
Throwing Everyone Under The Bus
If Katherine is "helping," something has to be in it for her. Aside from her foundational ulterior motives, Katherine will quickly and easily risk someone else if need be. She is practically the walking embodiment of the phrase "better you than me."
She switched up on everyone she's met and after a while, it just became repetitive. Katherine could always outdo herself but it always came at the expense of other people, making her such a hard character to reminisce on with positivity.
Katherine's Devious Plans
Katherine was the storyline's main antagonist for a while until the focus was taken off of her, and then back on when she became the Queen of Hell. Amongst all her heinous plans, her final one in trying to destroy Mystic Falls is one of her biggest villain moments of the series.
From killing almost everyone at least once to having extra tricks up her sleeve in the midst of any plan, Katherine is resourceful and fueled by hate and fear. All of her plots became hard to watch because fans never knew who'd get the short end of the stick. The final one as Queen of Hell was even tougher to swallow since she had somewhat redeemed herself a bit before death.
The Obsession With The Salvatore Brothers
After being responsible for their creation, Katherine never let the Salvatore brothers go. In fact, that's the main reason Katherine is even brought in as the main antagonist for at least two full seasons. She constantly watched over Stefan, even as she was on the run and it led to her having a nosey and obsessed energy clinging on to her.
She hated Elena for being the new muse of the Salvatore brothers, constantly brought out the worst traits of both Stefan and Damon, and caused destruction everywhere she went. Katherine, her personality, and her fatal obsession with the Salvatore brothers left much room for fans begging her to just let them go.