| “ | Parents aren't supposed to outlive their children, Caroline. It's okay. This is life. This is what it means... to be human. | ” |
— Bill's last words to Caroline in Bringing Out The Dead
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William "Bill" Forbes II was a human who first appeared in the second episode of the third season of The Vampire Diaries. He was Elizabeth Forbes' ex-husband and former resident of Mystic Falls. After returning, he pointed out all of the Founder's Council's failing attempts to keep vampires out of town, even discovering his daughter, Caroline, was one of them.
Bill was a member of the Forbes Family.
Quick Answers
Who was responsible for the death of Bill Forbes in The Vampire Diaries?
What was the relationship between Bill Forbes and Caroline in The Vampire Diaries?
Why did Bill Forbes return to Mystic Falls in The Vampire Diaries?
What was Bill Forbes' last message to his daughter, Caroline?
Early History[]
Not much was known about Bill, except that he was once married to Liz Forbes and had a child with her. He later left her after announcing that he was gay. He lived with his new partner, Steven, in Georgia for an unknown period of time until their apparent break up.
Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series[]
Season Three[]
In The Hybrid, Carol calls him to take care of Caroline who is revealed to be a vampire. After Carol Lockwood discovers that her son, Tyler Lockwood, is a werewolf, she tries to tell Bill to let Caroline go, but he refuses.
In The End of the Affair, he has Caroline locked up in a dungeon, and tries to condition Caroline to associate human blood with pain, so he won't have to kill her. However, once night falls, Sheriff Forbes and Tyler show up to free Caroline. He tries to stop Tyler, but Liz fires a warning shot at the wall. They take Caroline, who then cries, saying that her father hates her.
In Disturbing Behavior, Liz imprisons him in the dungeon to make sure he has no vervain in his blood, and calls Damon to erase his memory of Caroline's vampirism and to compel him to leave the town immediately.
However, later that day he arrives to the council meeting and threatens to reveal that Damon is a vampire. He tells Damon that he can't be compelled, and said it's a sort of "human focus he's been honing for decades". Damon attacks Bill, most likely intending to kill him, but Caroline, who still loves her father, shows up and saves him.
As he is about to leave, Caroline tries to assure Bill that she's fine and capable of controlling her urges, but he throws her arguments off.
In The Ties That Bind, Tyler calls Bill to help him fight the sire bond that he has toward Klaus. Bill orders Tyler to change into his werewolf form and threatens to decapitate him if he doesn't change. In transition Tyler can't hold back and attacks Bill, almost killing him. Later, Meredith Fell heals him by injecting him with vampire's blood. When Tyler comes to apologize, Bill tells him that they'll continue the next day. He says that to break the sire bond, he has to turn every day.
In Bringing Out The Dead, Bill was killed by Alaric Saltzman (while Alaric was taken over by "The Darkness"), who stabbed him to death and cut his throat while having vampire blood in his system. He woke up in transition but chose not to feed and turn into a vampire. Caroline was heartbroken by his decision and tried to convince him otherwise, but he remained firm in his beliefs that he would not turn into the creature he hates, though he is proud of the person Caroline is. He eventually died with his daughter and ex at his side.
Personality[]
Bill is very loyal to his daughter and his hometown. However, Bill proves to be cold, cruel and ruthless with the vampires, and the traitors of the town. During his stay in Mystic Falls, he tries to "cure" Caroline from her vampire instincts (self control). His hate towards vampires was so immense to the point that he chose to die rather than continue living as a vampire to be with his family.
Physical Appearance[]
He is tall with a medium build, wearing dark-colored clothing most of the time. He has short, brown hair and blue eyes.
Relationships[]
Caroline Forbes[]
- Main article: Caroline and Bill
In Season 1 and 2, it is implied that she and her father were much better friends than she and her mother. Caroline mentioned that "he was the only one that could understand her". In season 3, Bill came back to Mystic Falls after he was informed that Caroline was a vampire. He tried to "condition" her, by inflicting pain on her so she would "associate vampirism with pain", and control her urges better. He said he was doing this so he wouldn't have to kill her. Even though he loved his daughter, he was willing to kill her because she is a vampire. After he tortured her, Caroline believed her father hated her for being a vampire and told Elena Gilbert that she hated her father for torturing her, even though his intentions were "good". However, her love for her father never went away, and she saved him when Damon tried to kill him.
Elizabeth Forbes[]
Liz is Bill's ex-wife, and they presumably got a divorce when he confessed he is gay. Not much of their past together has been revealed, but it can be deduced that they are on rocky terms. She was still fond of him, but was really angry that he tortured Caroline.
Town Council[]
Bill Forbes is shown to have a relationship with the Town Council and threatened to expose Damon Salvatore to them. Not much is known on how involved he really is with the council.
Appearances[]
The Vampire Diaries[]
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- Christmas Through Your Eyes (Mentioned)
- Let Her Go (Mentioned)
The Originals[]
- Where You Left Your Heart (Indirectly Mentioned)
Name[]
- William is of English origin and means Will + helmet (protection).[1]
- Forbes is a Gaelic name and the meaning in Gaelic is "wealthy or stubborn". The Scottish meaning is "field" or "headstrong".[2]
Trivia[]
- With confirmation that human souls are found in the dimensions, he either found peace or went to a dimension similar to Hell, if one exists.
Gallery[]
