When does Elena turn her humanity off

Throughout The Vampire Diaries, Elena Gilbert proved time and time again to be one of the kindest and most loyal characters who cared for her friends and family deeply. Her dedication to the people she loved often put her in difficult situations, and sometimes had long-lasting effects.

Yet, when Elena turned her humanity off, everything warm about her personality disappeared, and was replaced with a reckless and apathetic vampire. Throughout the time when Elena lacked in humanity, she committed many wrongdoings that haunted her long after she turned her humanity back on.

Feeding Off An Innocent Girl

Elena's descent into an uncaring and selfish vampire was hard for fans to watch, and "Bring it On," saw Elena act terribly. Having been convinced to return to school, Elena asked to participate in the cheerleading competition but became interested with a cheerleader on the opposing team.

Elena's behavior when she had no humanity was obviously out of character, and her actions in this episode proved this - she stalked an innocent girl onto an empty bus, and compelled her to give her the bow she had in her hair before she fed on her. Elena without humanity was bone-chilling, especially when she was she was preying on innocent people and was completely nonchalant about it.

Burning Her House Down

Jeremy's death in season 4 of The Vampire Diaries was heartbreaking, and one of the worst things that happened to Elena. In "Stand by Me," Elena spent most of the episode in denial that her brother had died, but eventually came to accept the devastating truth and broke down completely.

Damon, in his attempts to help Elena with her grief, persuaded her to turn her humanity off - a decision that would later prove to be a terrible one. Elena, devoid of any humanity, proceeded to burn her house down with all of her belongings and memories of her family, as she became completely emotionless. While it affected her the most, it was one of the worst things she did without humanity, as she lost most of her mementos of her family and the house she had grown up in.

Teaming Up With Rebekah To Track Down Katherine

Elena and Rebekah had a notoriously tricky relationship, partly due to the fact that Rebekah despised Elena's kindness. Yet, Elena without her humanity proved to be the perfect match for Rebekah, as the two teamed up in "Because the Night," tricked Damon, and then stole his car to track down Katherine themselves.

In "American Gothic," the two entrapped Katherine in order to find out where the cure was - a mutually beneficial endeavor for both women that bonded them. This then led to Elena impersonating Katherine, which she was surprisingly good at considering how villainous Katherine usually appeared. Elena's whole behavior in this episode was chaotic, and her teaming up with Rebekah, who on any other day was her enemy, was a bad decision.

Tormenting Caroline

Elena's treatment of Caroline whilst she had no humanity was diabolical, as she constantly provoked her friend and even tried to kill her. For instance, in "Bring it On," Elena was enraged as Caroline tried to help her, and thus argued with her relentlessly and even let her fall from a great height in their cheerleading routine.

Outside of trivial matters, such as stealing her prom dress in "Pictures of You," Elena also made fun of Caroline for Tyler having left her, knowing how much pain it caused her. Elena then provoked her into a deadly fight where she nearly staked her, before being stopped by Damon and Stefan. Caroline was one of Elena's best friends, and Elena's incessant torment of her was horrible and should never have happened.

Attacking Bonnie

By the episode "Pictures of You," Elena's humanity had warped her personality entirely, and she treated her friends harshly if they happened to be in the way of what she wanted. Unfortunately for Bonnie, she got caught up in Elena's wrath when Elena elected to kill her so that Silas wouldn't be able to bring the veil to the Other Side down.

However, Elena's impulsivity in her actions meant that she underestimated who she was dealing with, as Bonnie subdued Elena with a painful spell that nearly killed her. Seeing Elena turn on her friends so readily just to achieve her selfish ambitions was sad for fans, especially considering that Elena might have actually killed Bonnie had she not stopped her.

Abandoning Damon

Damon and Elena's relationship throughout season 4 of The Vampire Diaries was complicated, as neither knew if Elena's feelings for Damon were real or the result of the sire bond. After Damon instructed Elena to turn her humanity off, things got even more tricky, especially as Damon tried to help Elena navigate her new state of mind.

Damon whisked Elena away to New York in "Because the Night," and relayed how he managed to stop Lexi from trying to help him. But Elena, rather than listen to the moral of the story, chose to mimic his actions. In the same fashion that Damon had left Lexi, Elena abandoned him on the rooftop of a building, stole the location of Katherine's whereabouts, and fled the city with Rebekah. It was another instance of how far gone Elena was, as she abandoned someone she previously cared deeply about in favor of her own goals.

Attacking Matt

Elena could sometimes be a terrible friend, even more so when her humanity was turned off. Out of all of her friends, the person who probably deserved to be treated badly the least was Matt, as he always went above and beyond for Elena. Yet, Elena still went after him in the particularly grueling episode "She's Come Undone," after she escaped from Stefan and Damon, who had entrapped her so they could force her to turn her humanity back on.

On the run in the woods, she ran into Matt and in desperate hunger, attacked and fed off him. Things only got worse when Stefan and Damon tracked her down, and the latter used Matt as bait and killed him to get Elena to feel again. Whilst Damon's actions were extreme, he knew that Matt was wearing the Gilbert ring and Elena didn't, but she didn't try and stop him. It was a particularly devastating sequence of events, and Matt deserved better.

Going After Caroline's Mom

Liz was a beloved character throughout her time on the show and always offered support to Caroline and her friends, particularly Elena. Yet, in her efforts to alienate all of her friends in "Bring it On," Elena proved just how apathetic she was without her humanity as she ruthlessly went after Liz.

Elena was angry that Liz had arrived at her party with the intent to shut it down, and carelessly shoved Liz against the wall as Caroline watched. It was an outrageous thing for Elena to do, and was one of the first major signs that Elena's path back to her humanity was going to be a long and treacherous one.

Toying With Damon and Stefan

Damon's decision to make Elena turn off her humanity was one of the worst things either Salvatore did to Elena, as it made Elena act far more like her doppelganger than herself. Katherine was notorious for toying with Damon and Stefan, and Elena was no different when her humanity switch was flipped.

While Elena did admittedly mess with both men throughout, her behavior in season 4 was torturous for Damon and Stefan, as she constantly played with their feelings and manipulated them. For instance, in "Bring it On," she shamelessly flirted with Stefan and made fun of his friendship with Caroline, despite knowing he still loved her. Her treatment of Damon was no better, as she led him on in "Because the Night," and then tried to seduce him before stealing his car.

Killing The Waitress

Perhaps the most shocking thing Elena did with no humanity was to kill an innocent bystander in order to make a point. The conclusion of the episode "American Gothic" followed Damon and Stefan as they once more attempted to plead with Elena to turn her humanity back on, and promised not to give up on her.

Yet, Elena was evidently tired of the Salvatore Brother's kindness; rather than heed their advice, Elena killed the waitress who was about to refill her coffee by savagely snapping her neck. She remained eerily calm as she warned Stefan and Damon of the consequences of trying to help her - that she would continue to kill people until they got the message. It was a truly distressing scene, and one of the worst things she ever did.

NEXT: Elena's Most Romantic Moments With The Salvatore Brothers On The Vampire Diaries, Ranked