Vampire Diaries: 5 Characters Who Were Smarter Than They Seemed (& 5 Vice Versa) – Screen Rant

In a dangerous world like The Vampire Diaries, intelligence can save your life. Which characters were actually smarter or dumber than they seemed?

In a supernatural world where one wrong move can be the difference between life and death, it pays to be clever. While the characters of The Vampire Diaries are for the most part just trying to survive, the fact that they do manage to make it so far says a lot about their abilities to learn and adapt.

RELATED:The Vampire Diaries Characters, Ranked Least-Most Likely To Win The Hunger Games

However, within the narrative itself, some characters have reputations for being brilliant that aren't always deserved, and others are looked at as unintelligent or incapable in some way despite the fact that it's also undeserved. So which characters are smarter than they seem, and which aren't?

While Jeremy was never going to be a major threat in the world of The Vampire Diaries, it is fair to say that people pretty much always underestimated his intelligence.

Because he was seen as the little brother of the group, he was oftentimes excluded or directly misled about what was actually going on, but he had a habit of figuring things out on his own and occasionally came up with plans and ideas that actually worked out well.

Elijah initially came across as a mysterious and insanely powerful individual, and over time he evolved into a bit of an elder statesman in the world of TVD.

However, given his age, strength, and experience, he was easier to fool than he should have been. Not only did Klaus successfully hoodwink him on the regular, but Stefan, Damon, and even occasionally Elena managed to pull one over on him.

No one would ever call Bonnie stupid, however, her innocence, kindness, and inexperience were often used as tools against her. Or rather, her adversaries tried to use those weaknesses against her.

But the surprising thing is, that Bonnie went up against a lot of very powerful and very intelligent people, and she almost always came out the victor in those duels, indicating that she was actually much cleverer than most people thought.

Stefan Salvatore is generally a smart person, but he has some major blind spots when it comes to his intelligence. Firstly, his occasionally flexible moral stances seem to hurt him more than help him, as he sometimes won't break his morals when he should and doesn't restrain himself when he should either.

RELATED:The Vampire Diaries: The 10 Worst Things Silas Ever Did

He also has a tendency to project his problems on to others, for instance, teaching newbie vamps that they have to drink animal blood just because he does isn't a good long-term strategy and just plain doesn't make sense.

At the start of his character arc, Tyler Lockwood was just a cruel, meathead jock who didn't seem to have two brain cells to rub together.

However, when he transitioned into a werewolf and then a hybrid, he really rose to the occasion. He became the leader of all the other hybrids, and were it not for Hayley's betrayal, he likely would have defeated Klaus.

Elena had her positive and negative traits, and one of her biggest flaws as a person was that she believed that she knew what was best for everyone in every situation. She oftentimes didn't ask for any other input or would just do what she thought needed to be done regardless of anyone else.

It's not unusual for teenagers to think they know everything, but there were a lot of instances where she should have deferred to someone else's knowledge or decisions.

Ironically, despite the fact that she's actually ancient, Rebekah Mikaelson acted more like a teenager than most of the actual teenagers on the show. She had a tendency to be reckless, emotional, and didn't think before she acted.

RELATED:The Vampire Diaries: What Your Favorite Character Says About You

However, on the rare occasions that she actually did think things through and develop plans, she proved herself to be much savvier and more intelligent than most people gave her credit for.

Even though the villains of The Vampire Diaries seemed to get bigger, badder, and more powerful with each season, Katherine Pierce remained one of the most memorable and intimidating villains in the show's history.

But with that said, for all of her diabolical machinations, she was actually pretty easy to fool on occasion.Nearly every one of the Mystic Falls gang that she interacted with wound up getting one over on her at least once.

Caroline Forbes had a reputation for being a total airhead, and her outward appearance and behavior oftentimes played up that stereotype. However, beneath the veneer of the bubbly cheerleader, Caroline was actually a very astute and intelligent person.

Aside from the fact that she occasionally ran circles around all the other characters, she was literally the valedictorian of her graduating class, so she is pretty much officially one of the smartest people on the show.

Klaus wasn't exactly an idiot, but his talent and intelligence seemed to be massively overblown. Yes, he's diabolical and does a lot of horrible things to people, but he's hardly the mastermind that many seem to think he is, as when the Mystic Falls crew plots against him, they actually defeat him pretty often.

In the grand scheme of things he's pretty brilliant, but his intellect is actually somewhat oversold as well.

NEXT:The Vampire Diaries: 10 Scenes That Make Viewers Nervous When Rewatching

Next 10 Sitcom Characters Who Had Real-Life Celebrity Friends

Originally posted here:
Vampire Diaries: 5 Characters Who Were Smarter Than They Seemed (& 5 Vice Versa) - Screen Rant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero