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The Vampire Diaries has found a new home at HBO Max and Peacock, and fans have a chance to watch their favorite Salvatore brothers go head-to-head with several bad guys once more. Even though every villain on TVD was pure evil, most of them had heartbreaking origin stories, or sad deaths which were not acceptable.
From Kai to Cade and Katherine — each one of them went through some terrible things which shaped their twisted ways of thinking. While no one is condoning their heinous actions, it was hard not to feel pity for these villains when they went through the worst times of their lives.
Kai Was Ostracized By His Coven
As a character, Kai was both legendary and terrifying. He could often come up with the funniest and wittiest lines, but also murderous in the scariest way possible. Sadly, Malachai had an awful childhood, which triggered his cruel tendencies a lot.
Since he was born a siphoner and not a true witch, the prestigious Gemini coven (as well as his family) treated him like an outsider. He was ostracized from his own community, which led to his vengeful actions upon them.
Katherine's Baby Was Taken Away At Birth
Katherine changed a lot in The Vampire Diaries, and as a young human woman, she was quite sweet. In her time, she was also considered a bit of a rule-breaker then too as she got pregnant out of wedlock.
Her father was a stern man, and Katherine saw loss early on when she wasn't even allowed to hold baby Nadia in her hands. He gave the child away at birth, and left Katherine wondering what happened or where she was. It was only until centuries later that they reunite and sadly, even that was short-lived.
Sybil Was Made A Cannibal Without Her Knowledge
If gruesome evil had a name, it would be Sybil. The siren was known to send souls to Cade's domain — Hell — but not before she had her fill. Sybil ate these unsuspecting people before sending them their way, but this practice was not one of her choosing.
Centuries ago, she had been banished to the same island as Seline, who secretly began to lure in sailors, cook them, and feed them to Sybil. The then young Sybil had no idea what she was eating, and when she realized, Cade made her immortal and she had no choice but to continue.
Klaus Lost All Of His Loves
Caroline and Klaus' relationship was not the only ill-fated one — the Original hybrid had way too many failed love affairs, and they all ended tragically. Tatia and Katherine fell prey to the usual doppelgänger rigmarole, and Aurora became a menace by trying to kill the ones he loved.
Unfortunately, Cami was killed by Aurora's compulsion and Lucien's bite, which broke Klaus' heart. Genevieve also wanted to kill Hope, which meant that Klaus never really had a successful love life.
Rebekah Was Daggered For Decades
Poor Rebekah was often the object of Klaus' ire, and her entanglement with Marcel gained her a whopping 70 years in a coffin. What was worse was that Marcel also chose vampirism over saving Rebekah.
Essentially, she lost a large chunk of her life because of Klaus and Marcel's selfish choices, which was incredibly sad. Rebekah had enough to deal with, including the loss of family and children, but the betrayal and loss of years cause a big dent.
Shane Was Manipulated With The Revival Of His Dead Family
TVD villains were dreadful, but many were misunderstood too. Atticus Shane committed grievous crimes, but he was manipulated by Silas in the worst way to do so. Silas showed him visions of reuniting with his dead wife and child, which was what motivated Shane.
He was made to kill mercilessly, and he never got to see his family, predictably. Silas got rid of him as soon as he became useless, which meant Shane's life had been led in vain.
Mason Was Tortured And Killed
Tyler's uncle was sent to Mystic Falls to find out about his curse and the moonstone, compelled by wily Katherine to do her bidding. He never meant to make enemies, but Damon's beef with him became nasty very fast.
In addition to being hoodwinked by Katherine, he was captured and tortured by Damon, who pulled his heart out at the end. Mason's last few months and moments were cursed.
Valerie's Child Was Killed By Julian
Part of Lily's merry band of Heretics, Valerie had suffered her own tragedy centuries ago. She discovered she was pregnant after spending a night with Stefan, which made her change her mind about staying with Lily.
Sadly, she ended up losing the baby after she was attacked by Julian when she was going to meet Stefan. It was an irrevocable loss for Valerie, and she had to cope with the loss all alone.
Cade Was Burnt At The Stake
Prior to becoming King of Hell, Arcadius (or Cade) was actually a kind and benevolent man who had psychic powers. Tragically, he was born in times of doubt and punishment, so even the generous Cade wasn't spared by angry villagers, who burnt him at the stake for his abilities.
It was then that he created Hell, and became its ruthless ruler, teaching a lesson to all those who tortured and set him ablaze.
John Gilbert Had His Fingers Cut Off
A rampant vampire-hater, John Gilbert was a pedantic person and a bad father. He had abandoned Elena, and worked with Katherine in the first season of the show. Even so, it was physically painful to see Katherine slice his fingers off.
He was just a human, and had no way to heal or regrow them like other supernatural beings. John had his faults but getting body parts sawn off was horrific.