How Stefan & Elena’s Doppelgangers Changed TVD Canon (& Why It Was Controversial)?
Stefan and Elena’s relationship is critical to The Vampire Diaries, but the new doppelganger lore introduced in season 5 changes everything.
The expansion of doppelgänger lore in The Vampire Diaries caused a lot of controversy regarding Stefan and Elena’s relationship. TVD was technically an adaptation of The Vampire Diaries books by L. J. Smith, but the doppelgängers marked one of the first major changes from the book canon (and even what the series had established up to that point). Stefan and Elena were set up as a case of love at first sight, and even when Elena began to fall for Damon, her prior relationship with Stefan was important.
Vampire Diaries’ biggest changes from the books began as Damon won Elena away from Stefan, but the power behind that love triangle came from the fact that the passionate love between Elena and Damon was not necessarily better than the more innocent, pure love between her and Stefan. Elena needed to find something good in the world after her parents died, and Stefan was just the swoon-worthy, morally good vampire for the job. When it was revealed that Stefan was also a doppelgänger and that his and Elena’s ancestors were romantically attached, their immediate connection made a lot of sense.
How The Travelers Changed The Doppelgänger Prophecy (& TVD Canon)
The connection between the doppelgängers was first discussed by Qetsiyah, the creator of the Other Side, who noted that the doppelgängers had fallen in love throughout history in what the characters assumed was destiny. However, a Traveler named Markos revealed that he had cast a spell to bring the doppelgängers from each line together so their combined blood could be used to break a curse. This change meant that the doppelgängers were not fated to fall in love, nor did they fall in love by personal choice. By connecting the Travelers to the doppelgängers, The Vampire Diaries suggested that Stefan’s love for both Katherine and Elena was entirely artificial.
The show established that Katherine and Stefan met by accident in 1864, and while Katherine chose to sire both Damon and Stefan, Markos’ spell meant that her immediate attraction to Stefan likely wasn’t real. Similarly, while Stefan chose to learn more about Elena after stumbling upon her, the spell meant that coincidence and agency had nothing to do with it. The spell retconned both meetings and undermined the authenticity of two of Stefan’s biggest relationships.
Why Was It Controversial For Stefan & Elena’s Romance?
The altered canon regarding the doppelgängers caused controversy because it struck a major blow against Stefan and Elena’s relationship. Both characters saw visions of happy lives together in The Vampire Diaries season 5, episode 18, “Resident Evil,” which made it obvious that their love for each other could be simulated. The reveal that Markos had cast a spell on the doppelgängers made every romantic moment between Stefan and Elena potentially fake, just like the controversial sire bond between Damon and Elena had.
The love triangle between Elena and the Salvatore brothers has historically been a huge part of both the show and the fandom, so something that harmed one of those relationships was guaranteed to prompt controversy. Markos’ spell put a crack in the foundation of the series, and while it’s possible for some viewers to accept or ignore the change to the canon and its impact on Stefan and Elena’s romance, it is just as possible for them to lose their investment in a relationship that no longer feels authentic. Audiences have continued to watch The Vampire Diaries regularly since it ended, and the spell on the five doppelgängers (including Stefan and Elena) will likely continue to be a point of contention unless a future spin-off finds a way to fix what the doppelgänger lore left broken.
