This Is The Worst Betrayal In Vampire Diaries
There was never any shortage of backstabbing and stakings in Mystic Falls, but weirdly the worst betrayal in The Vampire Diaries history resulted in almost zero bloodshed. It seems sometimes the most unforgivable actions are the ones that take an emotional toll, which a humanity-less Stefan found out the hard way when he nearly drove Elena off the same bridge where her parents died in the season 3 episode "Our Town."
Despite being a centuries old vampire, Stefan was ostensibly one of The Vampire Diaries' most honorable characters. Sure, he had a past as the Ripper, but viewers knew him as Elena's protector and the Salvatore brother who was the least likely to murder you because you looked at him wrong. Unlike Damon, Stefan didn't take lives easily, and he valued the relationships he cultivated in Mystic Falls above all else.
In truth, his betrayal of Elena was a direct result of his desire to protect his brother. At the end of season 2, he leaves Mystic Falls to reunite with original vampire Klaus in exchange for Klaus leaving Damon alone. Unfortunately, the reunion leads to Stefan flipping the off switch on his humanity and becoming obsessed with taking the ancient vampire down. That's where poor Elena comes in.
Since Klaus is using Elena as a blood source for his hybrid-creation project, she becomes nothing more than a pawn for Stefan to use in his war against his former pal. And given just how many times she trusted Stefan with her life and her deepest fears, his decision to put her life on the line to further his own goals was the ultimate betrayal.
Stefan and Elena's relationship never fully recovered from the bridge incident
Ultimately, Stefan's grand plan was to turn Elena into a vampire by driving her off the same bridge her parents died on unless Klaus sent all of his hybrids away from Mystic Falls. And he definitely wasn't bluffing, as evidenced by him force-feeding Elena his blood as they sped down the road at top speed.
Elena was understandably terrified and heartbroken that her first love would use the most traumatic moments of her life against her. The most devastating part of the whole ordeal may very well be that Stefan showed zero remorse for his actions. Instead, he callously tells her, "I don't really care what you think about me anymore, Elena." And then he drives off leaving her sobbing on the bridge.
Despite the harrowing ordeal her first love put her through, she actually rekindles their romance a couple of episodes later. However, for the viewers, it was hard to ever look at Stefan and Elena the same in the aftermath of Stefan's emotionally manipulative stunt on the bridge. And by the time season 4 began, Elena decided to move on to Damon for good.