This Is The Best Season Of The Vampire Diaries, According To IMDb

As it turns out, there's actually a tie for the best season of The Vampire Diaries: Seasons 2 and 3 both received an average rating of 8.7 (out of 10) from IMDb users. This makes sense when you think about it, as these seasons — probably more than any others — are most similar in terms of story content and character makeup. But they're also notable for elevating The Vampire Diaries from a teen soap into a pop culture force.

Not only does season 2 finally introduce the vampire Katherine Pierce (Dobrev), the first love of both Stefan and Damon who looks exactly like Elena, but it also sees the debut of the extremely powerful Original vampires, who are hands down the show's best antagonists. They're one of the main reasons that the show's third season is so highly regarded. From the moment we first heard whispers of Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) and his siblings, it was clear that they were going to be a terrifying addition to the show — but they ended up being more than that. As we got to know more about them, their history, and their own complicated relationships, the Originals only became more interesting as a result. There is a reason, after all, that they got their own spin-off series that ran for five seasons.

But The Vampire Diaries seasons 2 and 3 didn't succeed just because of the Originals.