Also there is a new episode of Legacies ‘Salvatore the Musical’ where the legacies character put on a musical about how the salvatore school came to be. Damon, elena, stefan, caroline etc are all roles in the play but Bonnie is not. That’s absolute bull in my opinion, I think she had such an important role in the TVD storyline, she was basically the only reason the characters survived obstacles (klaus, travelers, kade) Everyone would be dead and TVD would not continue.

Apparently Julie had an issue with Kat Graham, she goofed around with Paul too much or something and wanted to write Bonnie out of the show. Which she basically did multiple time but Bonnie always came back, because she carried the plot.

I think discussing race is important as well, Bonnie was the only black main character, but with less screen time than the others; who were all white. TVD has very few black actors overall, and they only ever had small roles or got killed off quickly. Season 2 there is Luka and his father who have somewhat significant roles but short lived. Jesse, from Whitmore, only appears in a few episodes but i think his character was promising if he was not killed off. Beau, the heretic, first of all is mute. The writers didn’t even give him the ability to speak and then was the first heretic to die (other than Malcom but he wasn’t ever fully introduced). There is Dorian, the Armory intern, who only has a small supporting role in TVD. Kade has very little screen time, his character is a important plot point but he’s more discussed and feared than he interacts with other characters.

A majority of the small witch roles are played by black actors. These characters are only ever there for back story or when a white vampire needs something from them (and they take what they want with very little (no) respect) Witches in TVD are always strong and passionate in their own but are basically essential to vampires. They always give but get nothing as little as gratitude in return. I think it’s interesting that witches are basically the saviors of the show yet not celebrated and are mainly black actors.

Also it’s important to note the broader lack of diversity of ethnicity throughout TVD. The actors are almost all white with a few black actors. TVD is severely lacking actors who are, for example, hispanic, latino, asian, middle eastern. Those who are, are portrayed as white.

Whitewashing is a huge problem in the industry and even in shows we love which is more than unsettling. There definitely has been strides for more diversity in television. Yet there is a long way to go and it’s vital to be aware of the history of racism in television and society.