Nina Dobrev might have moved on from her role as Elena Gilbert in The Vampire Diaries, but the fans of the show still like discussing and often criticizing her character. But as harsh as some Redditors can be, at least when it comes to her character, they usually have only nice things to say about her acting.
But in a show as long-running as this one, every character is bound to have some cringey moments or scenes, and fans are not shy about dragging them through the mud for it. These are Elena's parts that left Redditors cringing.
Elena Pretending To Be Katherine
"When Elena tried to pretend to be Katherine to go meet up with E.M.," said Reddit user diamondblvd. Katherine set Elena up, when they tried to mess with her and sent Elena to meet her "friend", without leaving out some important details.
Elena was in way too deep, and Elijah realized that it wasn't Katherine very soon. However, fans didn't find Elena's attempt of imitating Katherine all that convincing. Elena, who hasn't had hundreds of years to practice, just couldn't do as good a job as Katherine does at imitating her, especially when she was blindsided by Elijah's presence.
Elena's Comeback
"S8 when Elena comes back, it's absolutely horrible. The wig, the acting. The awkwardness between "Elena and Damon" it was a very bad reunion," said Reddit user trevor_odaniel. Elena's return to season 8 got mixed reviews, because as happy as fans were to get closure, everything about it was handled horribly.
As the Reddit user pointed out, her wigs were so ridiculous, they became a Vampire Diaries fandom joke, and it was clear that the chemistry between Dobrev and Somerhalder was long gone due to their failed relationship. But that wasn't all - all the interactions felt forced and unnatural, and of course, fans could feel it.
Elena's Most Selfish Moment
"Elena telling Stefan, to his face, that while he was drowning over and over again for months, she had the best summer and got all these things she wanted, so she needed him to be better now for her own peace of mind," said Reddit user TKMLtheStar. This scene made the love triangle even worse in terms of storylines on the show.
Even though Elena's character often gets mistreated by fans, she does have some incredibly selfish moments that prove that she's as flawed as everyone else. This was undoubtedly one of the worst moments she had, and fans couldn't help but feel sorry for Stefan.
Elena's Motorbike Fun
"When Elena was standing on the back of Stefan's motorbike with her arms out... genuinely thought she was gonna fall off," said Reddit user desolateddiaries. This seemed like an attempt to show Elena having some fun, but the bad visual effects and the absurd scenario pulled a lot of viewers right out of the moment.
Fans felt it was a ridiculous and cringe-worthy scene, and thought Elena might fall off the motorcycle. Elena was still a vampire during this scene, so that didn't happen, but fans were divided by the scene's authenticity.
Elena's Reunion With Stefan
"When Stefan reunited with Elena in the last episode, and he’s explaining how he died, and she just goes “so Damon's okay” IT MAKES ME CRINGE EVERY TIME!" said Reddit user Fast_Vegetable_1433. Elena's treatment of Stefan is often unjust and cringey, and fans can't help but notice.
She can hardly be to blame given the circumstances though. Having spent years of her life in mystical coma, she had no idea if the love of her life was even still alive, and Stefan had accepted her relationship with Damon at that point, which led to a tearful goodbye between the two that the audience got to enjoy.
Elena's "Cool" Moment
"When Elena wants to be some cool sister and smoke with Jeremy. Like why was that written in, it was not great comedic relief it just made me feel awkward," said Reddit user Hannao102. Elena didn't often get to do normal things, with her being thrown into the supernatural world since she was a teenager.
But smoking a joint with her younger brother who was leaving town, getting the munchies, and enjoying some fries together was one of the most normal experiences of her existence. But fans didn't quite buy her bubbly and giggly personality while she was stoned.
Elena's Lake Flip
There is a clear pattern of where fans think every scene where Elena tries to do something fun and normal is cringey. "Where she's at the lake with Liam and Stefan, and she tells Liam "betcha never seen anything like this before!" and then just does a flip into the lake," said Reddit user BabyYodalayheehoo.
While some members of the audience did not enjoy that, others thought it was refreshing to see Elena smile and have fun, even if the happiness did come from her erasing her memories of Damon. This might have been out of character for Elena, but she explains it in a quote that sums up her character, that missing Damon didn't only make her sad, but also dangerous.
Elena's Kegstand
"My cringe moment has always been Elena doing a handstand and drinking from a keg at Rebekah’s party," said Reddit user Last-Distance6448. This might be due to the fact that this was very out-of-character for Elena, as she usually did not put herself in the center of attention.
But wanting to get some small revenge on Rebekah, who had previously thrown her daylight ring into the drain, leaving her to burn, she tried to take some attention off Rebekah and bring it onto herself by doing a kegstand, while the people around her cheered.
Elena's Alcohol Consumption
"Elena taking a sip of beer at Bree’s bar and acting like she just ripped a warm tequila shot," said Reddit user Vpd111. Her relationship to alcoholic beverages was confusing, because she often berated Jeremy for underage drinking, while she did it a lot herself.
She acted like beer was too strong, but when she was out drinking with Damon, she showed a high tolerance of hard liquor, and this made fans confused and cynical. But with how many plots this show had, it's no wonder they didn't keep track of minor things like this.
Elena Acting Like A Mom
Elena lecturing Jeremy about smoking weed when they are in the bathroom. Makes me cringe every time," said Reddit user SabrinaInSalem. This was admittedly her most embarrassing scene, running into the men's room after Jeremy, and investigating whether he was high.
She then proceeded to scold him, which was very uncomfortable, but she was trying hard to fill the void their parents had left, and was scared of losing her little brother as well.