Katherine

Much of the story revolves around Katherine. She is who caused the rivalry between Stefan and Damon. It was because of her that they are both vampires.

Katherine’s History

Before Mystic Falls Katherine lived in Bulgaria and was known as Katerina Petrova. In 1490 she gave birth to a child, which was taken from her by her angry father as she wasn’t married. She was exiled out of Bulgaria for bringing shame to her family. In England, 1942  she met Klaus and she found herself  running from him. She was found in a woods by Elijah and two others, warning her that she was doppelgänger needed to break a curse and Klaus was after her and he couldn’t be escaped.  One of them, Trevor, told her to run and let her escape. Afraid of her fate, she attempted suicide by stabbing herself. She was found in the Cottage by Rose, who force-fed her blood to revive her. Her second attempt was by hanging herself and feeding off the old woman who owned the  cottage, turning her into a vampire. Klaus needed a human doppelgänger so as vampire she was no use to him now. Katherine returned to Bulgaria to find that her family had been slaughtered by Klaus in revenge for her escaping.

Katherine moved to Mystic Falls in 1864 with her handmaid Emily, posing as an orphan girl who had lost her family in a fire. She met Stefan and Damon who both fell in love with her and fought over her. She hid her vampire nature from the  townspeople  but compelled the Salvatore brothers to drink from her and  allow her to drink from them, while keeping each other a secret. She was discovered as a vampire when she fed off Stefan after Giuseppe Salvatore had spiked his drinks with vervain. She was captured  by the founders council and taken to be burnt in Fell’s Church with the other 26 vampires that were caught. Before the church was burnt down, leading the town’s people to believe the vampires had been killed, Damon had made a deal with Emily, promising that she would protect Katherine. Emily made a plan to protect all the vampires by sealing them in a tomb underneath Fell’s church. But Katherine escaped as the guard was obsessed with her and was never in the tomb for those 145 years. Anna told Damon the last time she saw Katherine was Chicago, 1983. Stefan and Damon don’t meet her again until her return to Mystic Falls after the tomb is opened.

 

In Season 1 she is mentioned more than she appears. Apart from the flashbacks she only appears in one present day scene in the season finale.

Elena realises she has something to do with Katherine when she finds this photo of her in Stefan’s room.

Stefan tells her she was adoptive, something which is a lot to take in as she only lost your parents a few months ago. It is clear that she is related to Katherine, but not how.

 

Katherine and Elena are both played by Nina Dobrev, which makes the resemblance between the characters identical and at time’s confusing. It is only by their indivdual personalities and the time of the scenes that we can tell the difference.

 

Elena’s first encounter with Katherine

 

Petrova Doppelganger

As a human Katherine was a Petrova Doppelganger, part of the sun and moon curse. To break the curse Klaus needed the blood from a Petrova Doppelganger. After Katherine turned herself into a vampire, she couldn’t be used as the Doppelganger, as she’s technically dead. Which is where Elena come’s into it, she is now the Doppelganger, so as long as she’s alive, and human, Klaus will be after her.