‘The Vampire Diaries’ Had a ‘Wall of Dead’ With Headshots of Every Character Who Got Killed Off
Death in The Vampire Diaries world was a common occurrence, mostly because, while everyone died at some point, many didn’t stay dead. TVD proved from its first episode that no character was out of bounds, fan-favorite or not. Given how frequently the inhabitants of the fictional Mystic Falls died, the show decided to keep track using a ‘Wall of Dead’ with headshots of every character who got killed off.
‘The Vampire Diaries’ had a ‘Wall of Dead’ to honor characters that got killed off
Throughout its five-season tenure, The Vampire Diaries killed off several characters. However, some didn’t stay dead for long. Some of the deaths on the show were meant to serve as a transition of sorts for the characters, with some dying as humans and returning as vampires or werewolves.
With time, fans got used to seeing a character die, and while it still hurt every time they did, they would know their favorites would return in an episode or two. Due to the immense number of characters getting killed off, the show decided to keep score of every character that died using a ‘Wall of Dead.’
In a recent reunion interview, actor Candace King, who played Caroline Forbes, said, “The Wall of the Dead was every character that would get killed off. It didn’t matter if it was a series regular, a day player, or someone just in that opening sequence; their headshot would go on a wall.”
King said there was a room dedicated to the headshots of every character that died, which would be covered from floor to ceiling by the end of the season, calling it “terrifying.”
This one character was supposed to stay dead
Klaus Mikaelson was one of the characters in The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff, The Originals, who could never die. He and his siblings killed each other regularly (and by others) and always returned even better than before. This was because it took more than killing them by a regular stake for them to die for good.
Only the White Oak Stake could do the job, and Klaus met that fate in TVD‘s third season. In the penultimate and final episodes of the third season, Klaus attempts to kill Elena, but Tyler and Damon stop him by holding him back while Stefan clutches the vampire/hybrid by the heart.
Bonnie performs a spell that stops Klaus’ heart, and the gang prevents Klaus’ sister Rebekah from reviving him. Alaric pierces the hybrid’s body with the White Oak Stake while it’s chained in a coffin.
This appeared to be Klaus’ end, or so they thought. It turned out that Bonnie had saved Klaus by performing a spell that allowed him to live on in Tyler’s body. This was a strategic move by the showrunners, who felt it wasn’t right to end Klaus’ story that early because the actor who played him, Joseph Morgan, was too good.
A scene involving Klaus in ‘TVD’ Season 3 inspired ‘The Originals’
The Vampire Diaries was already a good show on its own. However, the introduction of The Originals made it even better, as fans couldn’t get enough of the chaos the Mikaelsons brought to the screen. During the Mikaelson Ball in Season 3, Episode 14, all the siblings can be seen in one frame on a lavish staircase.
According to Morgan, after showrunner Julie Plec saw that scene, she knew they needed to do a series about The Originals. The actor told Collider in 2013 that when he first got onto the show, he was meant to appear for only four episodes, after which his character’s fate would be judged by his performance.
Given how good he was playing Klaus, the series decided not only to have him stay for TVD but also give him a spinoff, including his onscreen siblings, which resulted in another spinoff, Legacies.
