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Caroline Forbes is among the most nuanced and well-developed characters in The Vampire Diaries. She started as seemingly shallow and self-absorbed, but her hidden depths slowly revealed someone completely different. Played by actor Candice King, Caroline becomes a vampire and one of the show’s leads. Fans adore the character for her confidence and stylish flair. However, this ambitious heroine is also a devoted friend with a heart as huge as her wardrobe, making her one of the many memorable Vampire Diaries figures. And when the series ended in 2017, King kept an accessory essential to her character.

What happens to Caroline in ‘The Vampire Diaries’?

Caroline was a bossy high school student who wanted to be perfect. Candice King’s character didn’t think she was good enough because she constantly compared herself to Nina Dobrev’s Elena Gilbert. Caroline often called herself “a mess.” However, when she became a vampire in season two, she grew and changed, making her one of the show’s most emotionally mature characters.

Although Katherine turned Caroline into a vampire against her will to send a message to brothers Damon and Stefan Salvatore, she accepted her new reality. Throughout Caroline’s storyline, she became a better friend and daughter. She also became a parent and an all-around badass.

Caroline and Stefan eventually married in the last season of The Vampire Diaries. However, he died tragically in the show’s final episode after they wed. Caroline started the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted in Stefan’s honor. Her daughters attend the same school as Klaus Mikaelson’s daughter, Hope Mikaelson.

Candice King kept Caroline’s daylight ring

The Vampire Diaries: Candice King kept Caroline's daylight ring
‘The Vampire Diaries’ actor Candice King | Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

During Monopoly Events‘ Comic-Con Northern Ireland 2022, The Vampire Diaries cast members Michael Trevino, Kayla Ewell, and Candice King participated in a Q&A session. One fan asked the three if they had any favorite costume or prop from the show and if they were allowed to take anything home when the series wrapped. 

“I took my ring … I still have my ring, and I panic every once a year, and I’m like, ‘Did I lose it?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I still have that,'” King said. The actor also noted that, unlike some fellow cast members, she didn’t take any clothes from the show’s closet. 

In The Vampire Diaries canon, a daylight ring is a piece of jewelry that features a lapis lazuli stone that witches enchanted. The ring protects vampires from the sun, allowing them to venture outside during the day.

What has Candice King been up to since ‘The Vampire Diaries’ ended?

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After The Vampire Diaries ended in 2017, Candice King returned to the TVD universe in 2018 to wrap up The Originals, the first spinoff. According to IMDb, Caroline was a recurring character on the show, which gave “Klaroline” stans some closure. Fans had been waiting for years to see Caroline and Klaus get back together, and when she appeared in the show’s fifth and final season, they finally got what they wanted.

King then appeared in the series finale of the 2018 TVD spinoff, Legacies. The series is about the students at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. Caroline and Alaric opened the school so a new generation of supernatural beings would have a safe place to live. In Legacies, Caroline reunited with her daughter Lizzie and took over as interim headmistress of the school.

Since then, Candice King has appeared in an episode of the Seth MacFarlane series The Orville and the 2020 drama After We Collided. She also launched the podcast Directionally Challenged with The Vampire Diaries co-star Kayla Ewell.