'The Vampire Diaries' Death Toll: Characters we've loved and lost

We loved him because: Well, he gave us Stefan and Damon. Other than that, he was kind of a jerk. Giuseppe definitely fed the idea of Damon being the bad son and Stefan being the good one, and he was a total vampire hater. He shot his own sons -- both of them! -- when they tried to save Katherine's life. Little did he know that they had vampire blood in their systems, and they turned.

We lost him because: When Stefan woke up after being shot with a new thirst for blood, he went straight home, where he learned that his dad was the one who shot him. Serious family issues, these guys have. Giuseppe tried to stake Stefan, but Stefan accidentally stabbed him with the stake instead. Stefan seemed remorseful for a moment -- and then he drank his father's blood, completing his vampire transformation. Fun fact -- Giuseppe's name is the first one on the wall-o-death in Stefan's Chicago apartment.