20 Most Iconic Elena Gilbert Moments

20. Finding out Stefan is a vampire (1.05)

"“It’s not possible. I’m not a believer, I can’t be. But how can I deny what’s right in front of me? Someone who never grows old, never gets hurt, someone who changes in ways that can’t be explained…girls bitten, bodies drained of blood…”"

It didn’t take too long for Elena Gilbert to find out her newest love interest and new guy in town Stefan Salvatore wasn’t exactly, well, human. There was always something off – his eyes would turn a weird shade and veins beneath them would run sometimes. People in town were complaining more and more of mysterious animal attacks and bites. He was never wounded, even after he should’ve been. That, and the historical references to him and film footage of him nearly 60 years prior.

So, yeah, she started putting it together and from there we had the true beginning of The Vampire Diaries. (Note: clearly, none of this was a surprise to us as viewers, but still – seeing Elena finally put it all together was memorable. That, and aside from being pretty shook, she took it…fairly well.)

Besides, it didn’t take very long for her friend group and the entire town of Mystic Falls to be mostly supernatural creatures, vampires chief among them. Humans were so 2008.

"“What are you?”"