The Vampire Diaries Season 7 Report Card

We're running down the best and worst of The Vampire Diaries Season 7, and with this being the first season since the departure of Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert, we have a lot of thoughts.

The Heretics no doubt breathed some new life into the show, but by the end of the season they were pretty much extinct. What's up with that?

The conclusion of the season actually left us with more questions than answers, so things seem pretty exciting going into The Vampire Diaries Season 8.

Without further ado, here's our full rundown of the best and worst of the past 22 hours of The Vampire Diaries!

1. Most Surprising Plot Development

Kat Graham killed it this season as Bonnie Bennett, but we didn't expect little Bonbon to go after her friends. Yes, in a crazy turn of events she became the huntress and went after her vampire pals!

2. Favorite Heretic

Valerie was such a breath of fresh air. She was poised to become the new bitch on the show when it was revealed that she was totally into Stefan Salvatore, but she actually turned into one of the best characters on the show.

3. Worst Storyline

Anything do with the Armory. That whole storyline just felt so forced that we couldn't bear to pay any attention to it. It sucks that it's being dragged kicking and screaming into Season 8.

4. Most Heartbreaking Death

Lily Salvatore was such a great character. She had so many layers and we miss her dearly. Just as she was getting somewhere with her kids, she died saving their lives and it turned out it was all for nothing.

5. Most Pointless Character

We never thought it would be possible for someone to be more useless than Matt Donovan, but then Julie Plec threw Mary Louise into the mix.

6. Best Episode

The second episode of the season was vintage Vampire Diaries. It had Caroline all tied up after trying to take out the Heretics. The Heretics kept playing magic tricks on her to piss her off. It was great!

7. Worst Episode

The eighteenth episode of the season had Enzo being annoying. He was trying to save Bonnie and quite frankly, it was obvious she wasn't going to die.

8. Best Couple

Bonnie and Enzo found love in a hopeless place we couldn't be happier for them. At first it seemed like they were just thrown together but thanks to flashbacks, we got to see it all.

9. Worst Couple

Julian and Lily! There was just nothing about these two being together that was likeable. They were so bad for each other and Lily couldn't see just how wicked Julian was. It sucks it ultimately cost the Salvatore mother her life.

10. Overall Grade

C+. The Vampire Diaries managed to defy the odds and stay on the air after Nina Dobrev's Elena left. There was a lot to like about this season. The focus had changed considerably. Some of the episodes were the best hours of The Vampire Diaries in years, but it also had some of the shows lowest points. The season struggled from some pacing issues. Some episodes flew by with all the drama. Others just seemed disjointed and it resulted in a season finale that didn't have the feel of a season ender.

11. Hopes for Season 8

My main hope is that Season 8 is announced as the swan song for the series. It's time to end it. A lot of the storylines are already full circle, so it's silly to keep throwing in all of the unnecessary drama to keep couples apart. Keep them together and have them take down this new big bad. Elena Gilbert needs to come back for a few episodes towards the end of the show. Also, we could be doing with some more Bonenzo!