When I first saw The Vampire Diaries on Netflix, I remember seeing a girl between two guys and thinking it was just going to be another show with vampires, a love triangle and a lot of drama. That didn’t stop me from watching it, of course. I just had expectations. While the show did have these things, it also had so much more: love, heartbreak, betrayal and friendship. It’s all tangled together so realistically that I often caught myself feeling excited, frustrated and sometimes even exhausted by everything that’s going on. It really does feel like this emotional rollercoaster that I just keep wanting to ride.
I want to preface this by saying that before I even watched the show, I had never been in a relationship before. With that being said, the show made relationships look so intense and dramatic. There’s so much jealousy and tension in every episode. It honestly reminded me of how complicated our normal relationships can be, especially as a bunch of high schoolers. From a psychology point of view, it shows how people form attachments and deal with emotions like trust and jealousy. Even though there are obviously fictional parts to the show like vampires and witches (despite how much I wish they were real), the feelings are still so real and so human.
The show also shows that there are consequences to our actions, which is a really important lesson to learn in life. The characters make big mistakes throughout the show, and those mistakes end up affecting everyone around them. In real life, social science tells us that our choices also affect others in our lives, even when we don’t mean to. It just made me think about my own choices and whether or not I’ve unintentionally hurt those around me as well.
Fundamentally, the show is about connection. (I’d say human connection, but they’re not all humans.) The characters rely on each other to get through the hard times in life. They make some tough sacrifices and can sometimes hurt each other. Despite all of that, they still learn how to forgive and grow together to become better versions of themselves. It reminds me that relationships in life aren’t always perfect, and that’s what makes them all the more interesting.
The Vampire Diaries taught me that feeling things deeply is part of life and that a good show doesn’t just entertain us. It makes us stop and think as well as feel. Even if it is about vampires, it captures something that’s actually real about human experiences and emotions.
