Why The Vampire Diaries Originally Cut A Key Book Character – Screen Rant

Across its eight seasons, The Vampire Diaries deviated from the source material in many ways including the omission of a key character. Here's why.

The Vampire Diaries featured a sprawling, ever-shifting roster of characters but here's why key book character Meredith Sulez wasn't among them. Based on L.J. Smith's popular series of books, the supernatural drama was developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. Debuting in 2009 on The CW, the show ultimately ran for eight seasons after its pilot garnered record-high ratings for the network. Despite being later eclipsed on that front, the show retained a passionate fanbase throughout and spawned two direct and equally popular spinoffs, The Originals and Legacies.

Set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls, The Vampire Diaries followed a group of friends as they dealt with frequent supernatural threats, age-old mystical secrets, and complicated love lives. The bulk of the latter was focused on the tangled relationships of Elena Gilbert with the 162-year-old vampire Stefan Salvatore and his unpredictable older brother and fellow vampire Damon. Among others, the series also featured Elena's brother and resident ghost-whisperer Jeremy, the powerful witch Bonnie Bennett, and Elena's vampire best friend Caroline Forbes. As is often the case when adapting a series of books, however, there were inevitable cuts and deviations from the source material.

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One of the biggest changes for the show was the omission of Meredith. In Smith's books, Meredith was, alongside Bonnie, one of Elena's two best friends. She also enjoyed close friendships with Matt (Honeycutt in the books; Donovan on the show) and Stefan. Despite being fully human, she was one of the few people that could actually intimidate and even outright terrify Damon. Following in the footsteps of her family, Meredith would go on to become a skilled vampire hunter. She also ultimately developed a loving relationship with Alaric Saltzman. So why was she not on the show? Speaking with THR back in 2014, Plec revealed, "We actually wrote a draft of the script where the character was in the pilot, but it just felt like too many characters to service."

A vague approximation of Meredith did eventually appear. Played by Torrey DeVitto, she debuted in The Vampire Diaries season 3. However, present for only 12 episodes, the character had just as many differences as similarities. Now surnamed Fell, she had a romantic relationship with Alaric but was a doctor that facilitated Elena becoming a vampire rather than a hunter of them. By that point in the show, many of Meredith Sulez's characteristics had already been (or would soon be) disseminated among the already-extensive main cast.

As popular as Meredith Sulez was, and might have been in the show, it's hard to fault the decision. The Vampire Diaries did have a very large main cast, with even more of a revolving doorof supporting characters. Including her would have risked either her or another being lost in the shuffle. Instead, though she had no physical presence, Meredith existed in spirit through others. Several, at various points, got to be the voice of reason that Meredith was. Bonnie got to be the one that could keep Damon in check. Alaric was made into the vampire hunter. Jeremy later followed suit and was established as being from a long line of them. As a result, each got to have more individual stories and richer personalities in her absence.

The decision was also one that especially benefitted Matt. Though Meredith was an established hunter, she was human throughout. Without her, Matt was able to stand out more as the perpetual human of the show. Equally, substituting Meredith for Caroline as one of Elena's best friends allowed for a more nuanced character arc. In the books, Meredith was a largely self-assured person from the outset, one that remained consistent throughout. Caroline, however, was able to visibly evolve across the years. Initially insecure and a sometimes borderline antagonistic presence, Caroline became a confident and beloved character. As interesting as Meredith might have been, the still-lingering passion for The Vampire Diaries is a testament to the fact that the right choice was made. And for those that disagree, they will at least always have the books.

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John Atkinson has been a news and feature writer for Screen Rant since late 2018. Before that, he had articles published across a number of different outlets. A graduate of the University of London, John was raised on a small island by television and movies. As such, he pursued a career in screenwriting and film journalism when it became apparent that actually becoming Spider-Man was impossible. John's fondest wish is to one day produce a film of his own. Until then, he's more than happy to spend countless hours just talking about them. John's love of film and television defies genre and sometimes even logic. Nothing is off-limits to his passion - be it Marvel, DC, Rian Johnson's Star Wars, or Tommy Wiseau's latest cinematic offering. Away from screens, John can often be found in a park reading mystery and/or fantasy novels, jumping up and down at various music events, or thinking too deeply about Keanu Reeves' career and why Edgar Wright doesn't have an Oscar.

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Why The Vampire Diaries Originally Cut A Key Book Character - Screen Rant