Throughout the course of The Vampire Diaries' eight-season run, the protagonists of the series faced off against so many enemies and villains, it's hard to count them or even keep up sometimes. Some villains were around for an episode or two, while others became big bads of the entire seasons, but either way, they were a threat to the Mystic Falls gang.
However, there were quite a few characters who came and went on The Vampire Diaries who may not have looked like villains on the surface, but clearly had shades of villainy upon further examination. So, who were the biggest low-key villains of the series?
Richard Lockwood
At the start of The Vampire Diaries, Tyler Lockwood was an absolute nightmare. He was a spoiled, cruel, self-absorbed bully. And, once his father, Mayor Richard Lockwood, showed his true colors, it became readily apparent exactly why Tyler was the way he was.
He attempted to force Jeremy and Tyler to fight, and he undermined Liz Forbes in order to execute his bad plan with the Gilbert device. He wasn't exactly evil, but most fans weren't sorry to see him go either.
Galen Vaughn
In any normal world, the Hunters who were a part of the Brotherhood of the Five would be heroes and not villains. But, because the show is called The Vampire Diaries, it's not shocking that almost every vampire hunter ultimately becomes an antagonist.
He wasn't quite as brutal as Connor was, but he managed to do some serious damage to Damon in a few instances. He also hurt Bonnie badly, and she is both a non-vampire and a good person, which really crosses the line and makes Galen a baddie.
Bill Forbes
Like most members of the Founding Families, Bill Forbes was raised to hate vampires. But, no one had any idea of how extreme his hatred could get until he got his hands on Caroline.
Sure, in theory he was trying to torture her into hating human blood by associating it with excruciating pain because he didn't want to kill her. But clearly there were some better, simpler, and less violent solutions to that problem, and anyone who could torture their own child, even their vampire version, is a bit of a villain.
Rose
Like many characters throughout the series, Rose was just looking out for herself and the person that she loved, her bestie Trevor. However, she initially came after Elena because she wanted to be free of Klaus, and she didn't care that Elena was an innocent victim that she was sending to the slaughter.
She ultimately switched sides and joined the Mystic Falls gang in their fight against Klaus, but there was obviously a lot of benefit for her in doing that as well.
Abby Bennett
On paper, Abby Bennett Wilson should be more of a hero than a villain. She actually managed to stop Mikael, and she tried to save Bonnie from the magic that was killing her more than once.
However, the fact that she saved Bonnie after abandoning her for so long seemed more than hypocritical, and the fact that she became a surrogate mother to Jamie while never even acknowledging Bonnie for years is pretty villainous of her.
Liz Forbes
Like many of the characters in The Vampire Diaries, Liz is someone who started off hating vampires but then came to understand the nuance of the supernatural world and understand that becoming a vampire doesn't magically make someone evil.
However, that doesn't erase the fact that Liz manipulated her own daughter, plotted against her, and seemingly completely gave up on her when she found out Caroline was a vampire, without even trying to see if Caroline was still herself.
John Gilbert
In most instances, John Gilbert's heart was kind of in the right place, or at the very least he thought he was doing the right thing and actually tried to do it. But, he was a grade-A jerk pretty much all the time.
Aside from the fact that he was just plain rude, he could be quite controlling and manipulative towards Jeremy and especially Elena, and while his impulse to protect them from danger was admirable, his methods were questionable.
Hayley Marshall
Hayley is one of the most complex low-key villains in Vampire Diaries history, because it's hard to deny that she was an outright villain on TVD, but she transitioned to a protagonist on The Originals.
And, while Hayley's desire for a family was one of the driving forces behind her character for the entire time, the fact that she befriended a bunch of hybrids, manipulated them, and then sent them to slaughter so she could find some dead people was very villainous.
Enzo St. John
Much like his bestie Damon, Enzo actually had a lot of great personal qualities that became more and more evident as his character developed. And after what Damon and the Augustines did to him, it wasn't shocking or particularly unfair that he had an ax to grind.
But still, many things that he did to many members of the Mystic Falls gang were pretty directly villainous, and he seemed to take a lot of pleasure in antagonizing them.
Elijah Mikaelson
Elijah Mikaelson is pretty good at hiding his dark side with his polite manners and impeccably tailored suits, and the fact that the rest of the Original family is such a nightmare makes him look a lot better in comparison.
However, Elijah could be incredibly cruel and calculated when he wanted to be, and he used his air of honor and respectability to manipulate people in any way that he wanted. Plus, his intro into The Vampire Diaries was downright terrifying.