The supernatural has long been captivating the interest of mortals, and CW's The Vampire Diaries continues to fascinate fans of the vampire corner of the entertainment world well after it concluded its run in 2017.
The show explored the Stelena and Delena relationships, preternatural factions, ancient backstories, and more. Some of these were fresh takes, and some of these felt a little too familiar because they were resurrected ideas from other vampire television shows. One of the shows that The Vampire Diaries parroted the most was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Best Friend Witches Lose Relationships After Resurrecting People
In The Vampire Diaries, Bonnie Bennett, who is descended from a long line of witches, is Elena's best friend. Bonnie uses her magic to bring Jeremy back to life and he starts cheating with Anna since he's able to see her again, causing Bonnie and Jeremy to break up.
Years earlier in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow used her magic to bring her friend back from the grave. Later on, Willow's girlfriend Tara notices a subsequent pattern of magical abuse by Willow and ends their relationship.
First Main Vamp Inserts Himself Into Protagonist's Life
In the first episode of The Vampire Diaries, the two leads are revealed to be human Elena Gilbert and vampire Stefan Salvatore. Stefan has decided to resurface in Mystic Falls and enroll in high school to get close to Elena. The two share instant chemistry and it set the shows in motion.
Likewise in that Bill intentionally sought Sookie out just like Stefan would do to Elena.
Enemy Steals Protagonist's Life
It's bad news for Elena when Katherine comes to town in The Vampire Diaries. Elena is Katherine's doppelgänger, but she certainly didn't inherit Katherine's penchant for evil. Katherine beats the odds at one point finding a way to inhabit Elena's body and naturally goes on to cause chaos.
Beforehand in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy falls prey to Faith, who takes over her body. While there, Faith goes on a reckless spree. Interestingly Faith and Katherine both alter their style in the bodies they inhabit in a slight deviation from the norm.
The Dopplegänger Effect
One of the themes that The Vampire Diaries thoroughly delves into is the existence of doppelgängers. Elena and Stefan are the most recent incarnations of an ages-old doppelgänger curse. Stefan had previously been in love with Katherine, the incarnation that came before Elena.
Doppelgängers were also explored in the original Dark Shadows. Barnabas Collins shared an ardent relationship with Josette DuPres. Ages later he meets Maggie Evans and is convinced that she is Josette reincarnated. He pursues her romantically.
Mom Dies From Cancer
Caroline's mother Liz contracts cancer late in the series and es away from it despite both normal and mystical attempts to recover. Caroline heartbreakingly misses the chance for a final goodbye.
This also happened in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy's mom Joyce, in one of the saddest parts of the show, dies from cancer in spite of attempts to save her. Other matching notes are that both moms and daughters are blondes, and that both Joyce and Liz were friendly with Damon and Spike despite the hurt both men caused to their daughters.
Civil War Vampires
Katherine Pierce is not only Stefan and Damon Salvatore's former mutual love interest, but she's also their vampire sire in The Vampire Diaries. She seduced the brothers in the waning days of the Civil War and turned them into vampires. This led to a double-edged reason for the rivalry that kept them apart for so many decades.
In True Blood, Bill Compton was a former Confederate soldier like Damon Salvatore. He was on his way home from the war when Bill was turned by Lorena, who also made him her lover for some time. Lorena was a wretched woman like Katherine.
Cures That Meant To Be Fatal To Others
As the origin of the doppelgänger curse comes to light so does a cure for vampirism in The Vampire Diaries. Katherine was forced to take the cure. Silas was determined to not let the one opportunity for the cure to slip through his hands, so he drained Katherine of her blood. She surprisingly survived but remained human.
Faith poisoned Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As luck would have it, only a Slayer's blood can save Angel so Buffy's blood becomes the cure. This leaves Buffy fatally drained, yet she miraculously survives.
Protagonist Pagent Competition
Early in The Vampire Diaries series comes the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. Both Elena and her busy bee friend Caroline vie for the title. This leads to one of the first sparks of the future Delena relationship as Damon steps in to dance at the Founders Ball with Elena when Stefan fails to show up.
Once upon a time in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy enters the competition for Homecoming Queen. The catty Cordelia also opts to compete for the crown. In both shows, there are dilemmas that distract both Elena and Buffy. Also, both Caroline and Cordelia wear stunning green gowns.
Parental Deaths
Elena and her brother Jeremy are haunted by the death of their parents at the beginning of The Vampire Diaries series. They drowned when their car went off a bridge into the water and Elena was the only one rescued. Later on, her guardian Aunt Jenna would be killed by Klaus as a part of a ritual.
The early events in True Blood state that Sookie's parents had died a watery death in a flash flood. Sookie and her brother are then raised by their grandmother. Sookie's grandmother is murdered, though by a vampire hater as opposed to a vampire-werewolf hybrid.
Menacing Ancient Vampires
In what can be seen as a horrible decision, the main characters of The Vampire Diaries decide to team up with the first original vampire Mikael to take his children out. As fans come to learn, it's not a good thing for this evil familicidal original to be on the loose.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer also had a version of progenitor vampires with the Turok-Han. They too were vicious threats with a stronger than average stamina. However Buffy was able to defeat them, while Mikael isn't put down until the events of The Originals.