The Vampire Diaries TV show, first broadcast in February 2010, is based on the book series by LJ Smith. The series stars Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder as the three main characters Elena Gilbert, Stefan Salvatore and Damon Salvatore, respectively. The summer following the death of her parents, Elena attempts to return to the teenage life of school, meetings, friends and social events only to discover that she is no longer the same person. After meeting Stefan, a new student, and eventually her older brother Damon (both of whom are vampires from 1864), Elena soon learns that her small town of Mystic Falls harbors dark, mysterious, and supernatural secrets from the past that involve vampires. , witches, and werewolves. Throughout the series, humanity and free will play a major role, illustrated through the two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon. Two episodes that highlight these themes are "Blood Brothers" in season one, episode twenty, written by Liz Friedlander which aired on April 29, 2010 and "The Descent" in season two, episode twelve, written by Marcos Siega. These two episodes illustrate specific key existential themes such as Sartre's bad faith, existence precedes essence, "en causa sui" and Nietzsche's Ubermensch. The episode “Blood Brothers” raises the question “does the past define who we are?” As Sartre illustrates in No Exit, Inez says very clearly that “you are – you are life and nothing else” (Sartre, 43). Through Stefan's character, free will and humanity are exercised, proving that life is what an individual makes it. After a (blood) drinking binge, Stefan is locked in his own cellar by his girlfriend Elena and his brother Damon, until he regains control of himself....... middle of paper. ..... going against their predetermined destiny highlights the main idea of ​​existentialism, which is that “existence precedes essence”. There is no doubt about what the "essence" of vampires might be and there is an obvious struggle between humanity and vampirism, their existence against their predetermined essence. The two brothers, both similar and different, are walking examples of existential themes. They both question their existence and struggle to overcome their physical limitations, while taking very different approaches. One brother fights for humanity while the other fights to deny his own. The Vampire Diaries' existential story goes unnoticed and unsung due to the prominent love triangle between the three leads and its fantasy genre, but stripped down to the bones, this TV show is truly about free will, humanity and existence..