With the confirmed rumors that Joseph Morgan's Klaus will be in the series finale of Legacies, fans are hopeful that other familiar faces will show up as well. A particularly strong hope is that Candice King's Caroline will finally appear on the show, as she has thus far been relegated to offhand references and one particularly celebrated voice cameo.
It's hard to believe it's been four years since Caroline has appeared on the screen, given how consistent fan content is to this day. Fans have made some amazing memes about Caroline, and pooling them together can remind fans of everything they need to know before the much-anticipated finale.
How Young They All Were
13 years after the first season of The Vampire Diaries aired, it can be hard to really understand how young the characters were when they first began their supernatural journey. Caroline was only 17 when she died, and her youth accentuates just how awful Damon's control over her and Katherine's cruelty were.
Like Bonnie and Elena, Caroline was just a child when her life was turned upside down. This image emphasizes that fact, showing the trio of girls in their youth. Though actress Candice King was 22 at the time, she looks so much younger in that season 1 image than fans are used to all these years later, making it a shock to see how baby-faced she was when the story began.
The Best Of Friends
There's no need to argue over whether Bonnie or Caroline was Elena's best friend; the three of them were best when they were all together. Factions came together and broke apart repeatedly over the course of The Vampire Diaries, but Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline were at the heart of the show, with their friendship nearly as critical as the show's central love triangle.
For everything that the three girls went through, including multiple deaths and resurrections, they always had each other. This meme emphasizes the importance of that friendship by pulling together images from the full span of the show, honoring a bond that survived longer than any romantic relationship the show ever presented.
Caroline's Character Development As A Vampire
When Katherine is dying, Caroline mentions that she was oddly better off for having been killed, and most fans will agree with her. Becoming a vampire gave her the innate confidence in her own strength to live life more passionately. Vampires' emotions are felt more strongly than humans', and Caroline made the best of that.
The meme captures the somber innocence that human Caroline had and sets it against her exuberance after her transition. By losing her life, Caroline gained a new perspective on living, where her future was not limited by decades, but by centuries. If there ever was a character who thrived as a vampire, it was Caroline Forbes.
The One Who Showed Her Her Worth
While there are definitely better-developed relationships in The Vampire Diaries, Klaroline has always held a particular hold over the fans. A major reason for that is that Caroline saw herself as continually losing to Elena in every romantic prospect—until Klaus. Klaus had eyes for only her and treated her like the queen he believed her to be.
It can do a lot for a person's confidence to get in a relationship where they are shown how they deserve to be treated, even if that relationship isn't their endgame. This meme shows how critical Klaus's appreciation of Caroline was for her self-worth. She truly didn't believe she could have an epic love until he swooped in, and no matter who fans ship with Caroline, she was better for having him in her life.
The Pain Doesn't Hide Her Beauty
Most people try to hide their vulnerabilities, unwilling to let others see them honestly. Caroline certainly had sensitive spots, but never saw them as something that hindered her. Though Liz's death was predominantly shown through filler episodes, each one highlighted the strength behind Caroline's desperation and grief, which made her such a relatable character.
The meme highlights the beauty in the women of The Vampire Diaries, not in spite of their traumas, but because of them. Audiences felt her pain along with her as men repeatedly chose someone else over her, as her grief overcame her, and that pain made her subsequent laughs and triumphs that much more uplifting.
She Grows On You
More than almost anyone, Caroline changed drastically from her first to last episode, and that growth was all for the best. While few would name Caroline as their favorite in season 1, she grew to be just as much the main character as Elena was, and frequently a more likable one.
Every other character featured in this meme began the show as a villain, but Caroline was just a teenage girl, annoying and frustrating in the ways that real teenagers can be. But, as it says, those characters became favorites because they weren't perfect and good. They were real and broken and deep, constantly growing and changing in ways the more obvious favorites rarely did.
Caroline As A Mother
Caroline may not have been the biological mother of Josie and Lizzie, but she carried them, birthed them, and loved them as only a mother could. Despite Alaric trying to minimize Caroline's role in their lives, Caroline was committed to her daughters from the start, willing to do whatever it took to make sure they were safe.
The meme highlights moments throughout the later seasons of The Vampire Diaries where Caroline's maternal side shone, from her pregnancy to the girls' adolescence. She represents the best an adoptive mother could be and deserves a place of honor amongst the other amazing mothers TVD portrayed.
Stefan And Caroline
While Klaus and Caroline may be a fan-favorite ship, it's hard to think about Caroline's growth without talking about her relationship with Stefan. Though Caroline predicted their June wedding in the first episode, few fans would have believed it would truly happen.
The meme uses lyrics from the Jana Kramer song "I Got The Boy" to show the difference between Elena and Caroline's relationships with Stefan. The song and associated images compare Stefan giving Elena Rebekah's necklace to him giving Caroline her wedding bands, as well as showing their first and last kisses. Caroline is Stefan's true love, and their romance is vital to who the girl who was "never the one" becomes.
Her Loss
Like everyone around her, Caroline went through some horrible things during her tenure on The Vampire Diaries, including the loss of her husband just hours after marrying him. She radiates love toward the people she cares about, which makes it that much more heartbreaking when each relationship ends in tragedy.
The meme takes that painful truth and makes a joke out of it, showing a before and after of the show's finale, with Caroline starting happy and married, and ending with an image of actress Candice King with a skeleton where Stefan should be. The actress's picture was too perfect not to make the association, and it turns a painful moment into something to laugh about.
Her Daughters Are Her Legacies
Caroline is an amazing character in her own right, but her strength can also be seen through her daughters. The twins are main characters in Legacies, and their actions show off everything she gave to them. Just as Hope is the best of Hayley, Lizzie and Josie are the best of Caroline.
The meme parallels Hope, Lizzie, and Josie with their mothers, emphasizing that their strength came from the strong women who raised them. The images capture everything that Legacies was meant to be, showing off the strength of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals' parents in their children, their living legacies.