After eight seasons of The Vampire Diaries, we kind of feel like we’re residents of Mystic Falls. We can’t imagine saying goodbye to our favorite vampires—and humans, and vampires-turned-humans, and witches and sirens—after everything we’ve been through together. Here are some of the moments from these past eight seasons that made us laugh, cry and gasp in surprise.
1. When Katherine first appears
Damon and “Elena” kiss…except it isn’t really Elena, it’s her doppelganger. Katherine’s first entrance was epic.
2. Bonnie’s first death
This was well before we became used to thinking, “But are they really dead?” So we were as upset as Elena was, and just as relieved.
3. Elena drowns and becomes a vampire
We knew she’d join their ranks eventually, but watching her flashbacks of her parents’ death—coupled with Damon and Jeremy’s realizations that Elena is dead—made this moment unbearable.
4. Elena burns down her house
Okay, Jeremy’s death was a little shocking, but everyone dies on this show. Elena burning down her childhood home was a new kind of WTF.
5. Liz Forbes’ funeral
It crushed us all, especially because Liz’s death was one of the few that wasn’t supernaturally caused.
6. Elena gives Katherine the cure
After an entire season of fighting for the cure, Elena ends up giving it to Katherine as revenge. Well served. This was also the first vampire-to-human transformation, and nobody could imagine human Katherine after 500 years.
7. Damon tells Elena he loves her
And then he makes her forget. Bawling over here!
8. Lily Salvatore is alive
How could she not even care about her (gorgeous) sons?!
9. Katherine’s death
It took a WHILE for Katherine to finally die (and apparently, get sent to hell, which many of us kinda predicted), but we were all shocked to see “I’m a survivor” Pierce laid to rest.
10. Stefan is Silas’s doppelganger
After four seasons, we seriously thought we had all the doppelgangers we could get. We were SO wrong!
11. Damon’s “death”
Damon almost dies in every season finale, and we’re kind of over the shock factor. But when Elena and everyone actually think he’s dead, it’s pretty tragic, even though we know the truth.
12. Stefan and Caroline’s wedding
Even though it was all a ploy, we’ve been waiting for this to happen since we gave up on Klaroline for good.
13. Stefan is human again
A lot of characters have flopped from human to vampire and vampire to human, but after seasons of Stefan dealing with his Ripper tendencies, this felt both shocking and deserved.
14. Damon and Bonnie’s unexpected friendship
Hate isn’t eternal on TVD, and Bonnie and Damon’s friendship is probably the best proof.