TVD Retcon Ruined Stefan Completely: Nobody Took Him Seriously After
The Vampire Diaries made a mistake that, just like a vampire, will live on forever.
It's crazy how one small change can change everything, and that was the case for The Vampire Diaries' Stefan Salvatore. The vampire protagonist went from brave, selfless (and undeniably swoon-worthy) to a character that fans looked upon with less admiration and respect.
Things quickly go downhill for Stefan after he becomes human, revealing a massive plot hole involving the vampire ability of compulsion that still makes no sense.
It is common knowledge that vampires and other immortal beings have the ability to compel humans to do their bidding, make suggestions, or alter their memories, all they had to do was make eye contact. We saw small acts like Caroline compelling her mother to forget she was a vampire, and darker moments like Elijah compelling Slater to drive a stake through his own heart, ending his life.
It was clear what the compulsion could be used for, but the consequences were less clear, so fans had to figure it out for themselves, and they had a pretty good idea until Stefan's incident.
Damon, Elena, and Alaric all became human at some point, but their compulsions remained intact, unaffected by their shift to mortality. This led everyone to believe, based on what they had seen, that the compulsions were not affected by vampires turning human, until Stefan's storyline came along and messed it all up.
Stefan becomes human, and almost instantly every single person he ever compelled remembers what he did to them, and the police station is flooded with people reporting his crimes.
This had not one, but two detrimental consequences for the show. First, it raised questions about compulsion and its use in previous plots, and second, it changed the way fans saw Stefan.
Why had all the previous compulsions remained in place? Why were the other vampires' compulsions not reversed, and should they have been? Were the compulsions never as strong as we all thought they were?
TVD made fans question everything about the compulsion and gave them no real answers.
And because Stefan's compulsions were suddenly reversed, he was arrested after being linked to more than 30 murders in the area related to his Ripper spree, and became a weak and helpless human. He had the sympathy of his fans, but not their respect. He was even kidnapped and forced to dig his own grave by Dorian, who had made him believe that his family had died.
Stefan had to pay for his crimes, he could not escape the police or his personal guilt. He was legally and emotionally punished for his actions, and his relationship with Caroline became strained because she was still a strong, powerful vampire.
Human Stefan lost his appeal and credibility with fans, and while the whole storyline made for compelling drama, it ultimately ruined his character and left too many uncertainties about compulsion that ruined the concept entirely.