From the very start of The Vampire Diaries to the last episode in the series, Stefan Salvatore was clearly the more heroic Salvatore brother, and he even had the hero hair to prove it. While he was an incredibly flawed individual and was in many ways trapped by his vampirism and blood addiction, unlike many other vampires and supernatural beings, he was always trying to be better than what he was.
However, that doesn't mean that he was always successful. In many instances, Stefan proved himself to be a hero. But, oftentimes he showed himself to be more of a villain than a hero too.
Was The Hero: Resisting Klaus' Compulsion
Obviously, Stefan loved Elena very deeply and would have done everything he possibly could to protect her. But the fact that he actually managed to resist Klaus' compulsion when he compelled Stefan to attack Elena was exceptionally impressive.
Stefan's ability to resist the command to hurt Elena is so strong that Klaus actually resorts to compelling Stefan to turn off his humanity in order to get him to obey.
Was The Villain: Ignoring Damon's Abuse Of Caroline
Damon was unabashedly the villain at the start of The Vampire Diaries, and he first focused a lot of his nastiest behavior on Caroline.
Stefan was fully aware of what was happening, but because he was unwilling to drink human blood in order to get his strength up, and because he didn't want Elena to become Damon's latest victim, he let Damon's abuse of Caroline slide and even encouraged Elena to do the same.
Was The Hero: Trying To Take Jenna's Place In The Sacrifice
For reasons that were unknown to Stefan at the time, Klaus was never going to let him take Jenna's place in his ritual sacrifice to break the hybrid curse, but he deserves a lot of credit for trying.
Elena would have been heartbroken either way, but at least Jeremy wouldn't have been left all alone, and relatively speaking, Jenna was much more innocent than Stefan was. Stefan truly tried to do the right thing and save someone who deserved saving.
Was The Villain: Terrorizing Elena To Threaten Klaus
Ironically, despite the fact that Klaus was manipulating Stefan because he just wanted to have a friend for once, Klaus' machinations completely drove Stefan off the deep end. In order to prove that he had become completely unhinged, Stefan took Elena and threatened to drive her off of Wickery Bridge.
And, while Stefan's move did get Klaus to back down, Elena was traumatized and completely horrified by the fact that Stefan would use her parents' deaths and her own near-death experience to scare her like that.
Was The Hero: Helping Caroline Adjust To Vampirism
Caroline was brutally murdered by Katherine and turned into a vampire as a first warning shot to the Mystic Falls gang, and nearly everyone immediately wrote Caroline off and assumed she couldn't make it as a vampire.
Stefan didn't have high hopes either, but because this was Elena's best friend, he did everything that he could to help her, and he was really one of the only people who was there for Caroline in an extremely difficult time.
Was The Villain: Eating His Father
Clearly, Giuseppe Salvatore wasn't a great parent even on his best day. He was abusive, and when Stefan and Damon attempted to rescue Katherine from the tomb, he literally killed his own children. So it's safe to say, he had it coming when his fight with a newly-turning Stefan ended with Giuseppe getting mortally wounded.
However, making your first vampire meal your own father's blood is gross, and getting your parents killed is a hallmark of many villains.
Was The Hero: Giving Klaus What He Wanted For The Cure To Damon's Bite
No matter how badly Stefan's relationship with Damon was going, he could always be relied on to have Damon's back when things got real. And, when Damon was dying of a werewolf bite, Stefan was willing to do whatever it took to ensure that Damon survived.
Stefan didn't even understand his own relationship with Klaus at the time, and the last thing he wanted to do was leave his entire world behind to accompany him, but he did it to save Damon.
Was The Villain: Relishing In His Ripper Side In The 20s
For the vast majority of his contemporary character arc, Stefan was a kind and considerate man who truly lived up to his reputation as the good Salvatore brother.
However, his behavior in the 20s was a dark look into the kind of person that Stefan could be when he wasn't trying to be good. Stefan wasn't perfect and he always had a dark side, but when he was living his best ripper life in the 20s, it was terrifying to see how much he enjoyed it.
Was The Hero: Dying For Damon (And Everyone Else)
Katherine Pierce was never the kind of girl to give up on a grudge, so when she managed to claw her way up from Hell and back into the real world, it wasn't super shocking that she wanted to destroy Mystic Falls and everyone in it for good.
Stefan and Damon couldn't agree on who would be the one to stick with Katherine and ensure that she was dead permanently, but Stefan was the one who sacrificed himself so that Damon and Elena could have their dream life.
Was The Villain: Letting Himself Become The Ripper With Klaus
Stefan can't entirely control himself when he starts drinking human blood, and he deserves a lot of credit for the incredible restraint that he's shown for many years of his immortal life.
And it's not as if he had a lot of options when it came to doing whatever Klaus wanted, but, the fact that he let himself go and became his full ripper self even when he didn't want to was a huge failing on his part.