Unfortunately, the ongoing Elena problem was out in force, with the show wedging her into scenes that would have benefited from her absence, presumably to keep up the appearance that Elena is still our protagonist. The show could easily have chosen a story in which Caroline had contributed to her mother’s death, Damon had blamed her and Stefan stood by her, but we’re instead doing one where Caroline gets used to the idea that there’s no miracle cure, but just the slow, painful process of losing a parent before you’re ready to. The emotional beats are pretty familiar – Caroline starts avoiding her mother before she’s even gone, Stefan tells her his own story of loss, she goes back to the hospital too late to say goodbye – but both Candice Accola’s performance and the fact that this isn’t actually the end of the story make it feel fresh. The pace of Vampire Diaries has always been such that there’s always something new vying for our attention and our affections, but this storyline appears as if it’s going to be here for a while, the ramifications even longer. Putting her at the centre of this, then, will be the secret weapon to making us care. Ninety per cent of these characters are divisive for the audience, but I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t like Caroline Forbes.

The vampire diaries season 6 summary