This article is about Bonnie McCullough from the novel series. You may be looking for Bonnie Bennett from the TV series. |
“ | I'm not trained; it's not something I can control. And- and it's not a game, not any more. The more you use those powers, the more they use you. Eventually they can end up using you all the time, whether you want it or not. It's dangerous. | ” |
— Bonnie in The Struggle
|
Bonnie McCullough (Full Name: Bonnie May McCullough) is a protagonist, the second main female character (after Elena Gilbert), the supporting protagonist and the narrator (during Dark Reunion) and quadragonist overall of The Vampire Diaries novel series. Bonnie is an eighteen year old young human psychic turned witch and she was born and raised in the town of Fell's Church, Virginia. Bonnie is the youngest daughter of Colin McCullough and Ailsa MacLachlan, the younger sister of Mary McCullough, the best friend of Elena Gilbert and Meredith Sulez, the childhood friend, close friend and brief fling of Matt Honeycutt, the close friend of Stefan Salvatore, the love interest of Zander (in The Hunters trilogy) and finally wife.
Born to Scottish American parents (both her paternal and maternal grandparents are Scottish immigrants), Bonnie is a Scottish American descendant of ancient Celtic Druids. She possesses strong psychic and magical powers that consistently evolved and proved to be immensely useful throughout the course of the series. Her Scottish maternal grandmother from Edinburgh, Scotland, is also a psychic witch and she shares an intimate relationship with her. In the very beginning of the series, Bonnie started off a very kind-hearted and caring individual but was not seen to be very sensible, especially when compared to her other friends. Bonnie is frequently seen as the outcast amongst the core group because almost everyone within the group views her as "the child" that is in constant need of protection. She could be flirtatious and contradictory, as demonstrated by her numerous infatuations with those who were already either in a committed relationship or devoted to another (such as Matt, Stefan, and Damon), and the fact she is deeply fascinated with and drawn to darkness, death, blood, and unconventionality, especially death (which dramatically contrasts with her generally sweet and light-hearted exterior and personality). Bonnie has also shown that she is very adventurous by nature and that she is drawn to the dangerous, wild, and unpredictable side of life.
However, as the series progressed, Bonnie gradually matured and learned how to focus on the truly important problems at hand rather than about the opposite sex. She grew to even surprise herself with her insight and her helpfulness in the fight against the forces of evil. Her most notable contribution was her supernatural powers: Bonnie had inherited gifts of witchcraft and psychic powers from her Druid ancestors, and while they frequently overwhelmed her with their intensity at first, she learned to control and use them effectively. Milestones in her magical career include performing a summoning ritual to call Stefan and Damon back to Fell's Church, helping Stefan communicate with Elena's spirit, and even possibly resurrecting Elena, establishing herself as a powerful witch whom none should ever underestimate, as well as a special individual who is not as stupid as she had believed herself to be. Bonnie is seen to be very friendly and she pretty much gets along with or befriends everyone she meets. She is seen to be very forgiving of others even when they hurt or betray her. Bonnie could be seen as the "all-loving hero" of the series as she always tries to see the best in people.
Another unique point to note about Bonnie would her profound bond and connection to the seemingly antagonistic Damon, and how she is the only person (other than Elena) to develop a positive and genuine relationship with him. She deeply, strongly cares about him unconditionally and is indescribably and undeniably drawn to him. Damon has frequently saved her life on various occasions throughout the course of the series and because of it, Damon is seen and is often established as Bonnie's hero and protector. Damon has shown to be fiercely protective (sometimes to possessive and overly protective levels) of Bonnie even though he won't and can't admit it to himself (for whatever unexplained reasons). Damon is always there for her whenever she is in trouble of any kind. Bonnie is Damon's "weak spot" although Damon constantly and repeatedly tries to deny it throughout the series.
The Original Series[]
Bonnie is overjoyed when Elena returns from France and tries to demonstrate palm reading that her cousin taught her. She sees a mysterious dark stranger in Elena's future: not tall, but was once.At this point nobody really believed her powers they were seen as a joke and not real faked by her to get attention. Just as they were all about to enter the Robert E. Lee, their high school, a 911 Turbo drives up and a handsome foreigner gets out. While at lunch, Bonnie tells Elena that the new guy was an Italian, Stefan Salvatore. Bonnie finds Stefan attractive and romantic, and is even grateful to him when he saved her from humiliation caused by their history teacher Mr. Tanner. However, Bonnie eventually encounters Damon Salvatore and finds herself intensely and irresistibly drawn to him, despite how dangerous he is. It is said that Damon shared a special moment with Bonnie at the Homecoming Dance. It was revealed that Bonnie was the first person Damon has met immediately after arriving in Fells Church. Bonnie also knew that Elena was in the graveyard, though she couldn't explain how. Meredith had her make a blood pact among the three of them; Bonnie and Meredith were to help Elena get Stefan. As they left, a strange power frightened them and they ran off. Bonnie went into a trance, saying: "Elena, there's someone waiting out there for you." Bonnie snapped out of her trance and immediately ran off with Elena and Meredith to safety. Bonnie, Meredith, and Elena were the heads of the Haunted House event to be offered to students, and Coach Lyman was going to be a druid in it who was supposed to rise and scare people when they would come near. However, he fell ill and history teacher Mr. Tanner replaced him. Bonnie had trouble with him because she couldn't get him to do what she wanted such as refusing to put fake blood on. Stefan then came to help, and Elena and Bonnie left him to it. Stefan came out dizzy afterwards. Later, Bonnie was walking around checking to see if the events were going as planned, and she noticed that when people approached Mr. Tanner he wasn't sitting up as he was supposed to. Frustrated, she walked up to him and called his name, shouting at him as she moved his body. His face drooped and his skin was pale white, not a drop of blood left in his body with two bite marks on his neck. Bonnie realized the blood she had thought was fake was actually Mr. Tanner's real blood on her hands, and she screamed. Everybody thought that Stefan had done it as he had been seen coming out of Mr. Tanner's section of the haunted house angry. |
After Elena ran out of school, Bonnie helped Meredith find her and take her home. Elena was upset and resentful about how no one believed in Stefan's innocence. Bonnie and Meredith stayed with her for the night where Elena apologized to the girls. At Elena's request, Bonnie decided to help locate Stefan. Bonnie tuned into Stefan's thoughts and translated what he thought himself: cold, alone, and thirst/hungry. She and the others sneaked out of the house and went to Wickery Bridge where Elena thought Stefan would be, but with a little help from Matt, they figured out Stefan was in a well at the Old Francher's Farm. They rescued an extremely weak Stefan and took him back to the boarding house where Elena had Bonnie call her sister Mary to check up on Stefan so he wouldn't have to go to a hospital. There is a new History teacher Alaric Saltzman he is uber friendly and gets them to have a talking lesson where they group in a circle and to talk about the incident Bonnie is asked to speak about her discovering the body and she breaks down. Alaric invites everyone to a party the next day. At the party Bonnie is suddenly aware that everybody is thinking that Stefan is a murderer but she sticks by them. She then runs into Damon unaware he is Stefan's brother - the exact person she does not wanna run into. He flirts with her and they end up kissing of which she later tells Elena. Elena had been finding clips of her diary appearing around the school recently and she has just found out that Caroline has her diary after breaking into Bonnie's house and stealing it when they were at a sleepover. She was planning to read it out as a poem as Elena goes on about a secret which Caroline thinks means he is a murderer when it doesn't. Elena needs to steal the diary back. Meredith, Bonnie and Elena decide to break into Caroline's house when they are out to get her diary but they can't find it and they nearly get caught. They decide to spy on her and then steal the bag when she has to put it down but they soon realize her bag is part of her costume. After Caroline realizes shes got the wrong diary and Elena is saved by Damon after him giving her some blood. Elena ends up incredibly upset when her aunt tells her she cannot marry Stefan and she gets angry takes Matt's car and goes to find Stefan but 'something' chases her and she drives off the bridge and falls in the river. Bonnie, Matt Meredith go to find Elena and they see the car in the river Stefan comes behind after having extra energy by attacking the bullies (Tyler , Caroline etc.) He gets Elena out of the river and then realizes shes dead Bonnie and Meredith have been to told to go and get help. Bonnie, Matt, Meredith then find out Elena is dead. |
Bonnie was in mourning after Elena's death. She attended the funeral with the rest of the town, but was caught in another trance saying no one is what they seem. Bonnie is happy to see Elena in Meredith`s House, she tells Matt and Vickie possibly be the Other Power, but Meredith says no. Bonnie decided to follow Alaric to know whether or not the other power. Bonnie tries to see who is the other power but can not see or read anything (a vessel with water and a candle), Meredith asks if it is possible to find and defeat the other power and Bonnie said yes but with a sacrifice. Then, Elena asks Bonnie to read her future, Bonnie says it's very short life line in her hand but Meredith says it is obvious after what happened but Elena is felt with a bad feeling. Damon and Elena decide to hide in Alaric's attic while the meetings going on Bonnie and Meredith are attending and the Bonnie comes up to join them then Meredith then they here someone else and it turns out Meredith's secret was she was explaining to Alaric the situation and hes was on there due after some debate. Then they force upon Bonnie a final trance and they have to follow her to find the other power they get lead to the ruins of fells church to Thomas Fells tomb and then they have to go inside they then find the ghost of Honoria Fell who was the person taking over Bonnie to give them information. He tells them the other power takes the form of a cat and owl and they realize Margaret's cat Snowball was the other power they then have to get out. Elena won't leave Stefan so Stefan Elena and Damon stay in the tomb and Bonnie and Matt go to the school as the dogs are set to attack they have been told fire is one of the only things to stop them. Matt and Bonnie create a fire with the programs of the snow dance and then set alight to it stopping most dogs and killing others. Many get through eventually they are able to get through but they can't celebrate for long as they hear Katherine never died and she was the other power and Elena had actually died killing her and saving Stefan and Damon. The rumor being that she ha got them both to promise they would take care of each other before she died. |
Bonnie started keeping a diary, confessing her sorrows and worries since Elena's death. She was unhappy when Caroline decided to throw Meredith a surprise birthday party and was shocked to discover that it was on Meredith's real birthday than the one her family told everyone due to the fact it fell on the anniversary of her grandfather's attack. During the party, Bonnie told Sue Carson, Vickie Bennett, Caroline and Meredith that she had a dream of Elena and they decided to try and contact her with and Ouija board. They succeeded but Elena warned them that there was evil in the house and that they had to run, just as the lights went out. While trying to escape, they split up and a sweaty hand grabbed at Bonnie, causing her to panic, but when Sue started screaming, the night go worse when they found her dead, with everyone but Bonnie, Meredith and Matt suspecting Vickie. Bonnie and Meredith were questioned by the police, but neither had mentioned that they were in the living-room, which somehow Tyler Smallwood knew. Bonnie suspected him, but Meredith and Matt didn't think Tyler would have the brains. They figured out that Elena was calling for their help to stop this evil, to contact the one person she herself would have turned to: Stefan. They visited Honoria Fell's tomb and collected samples of Stefan's hair and blood to summon him. Bonnie managed to contact Stefan who was in Italy and once she mentioned Elena, they all knew he would turn up, which he did unexpected at school. Bonnie hid him until she got Meredith and Matt, and was as shocked as the rest of them when they realized that Damon had come with Stefan too although she was slightly pleased. After Vickie saw Sue attacked she was told she was next so they visited her and tried to calm her down but she was hysterical but Stefan reassured her that there would ways be someone guarding the house then Damon offers. Bonnie and Meredith then have an argument resulting in Meredith walking alone to the cemetery only to be ambushed by Tyler during his first transformation as a Werewolf and she starts getting attacked but Stefan once again comes to the rescue they tie him up and demand to know who his partner is. They then threaten to cut his foot off ad that is how they can get rid of her powers so he tells him its Klaus and says she might catch him if they get to Vickie's quick as he is due to attack. But when they all get there it is too late and a horrible attack has been performed the who room splattered with red and the song goodnight sweetheart playing in the background after the night Stefan talked to her that being written on the mirror in lipstick. Bonnie has to held Stefan back from Damon as hes livid that he was supposed to be guarding Vickie and he had failed Miserably resulting in Damon leaving and telling him he'd kill him if he followed. They then work on it more and Bonnie offers Stefan some her blood one night to make him stronger and then when he refuses she asks if he wants to talk to Elena he does and Bonnie looks away then Stefan meets Klaus and Elena manages to tell Stefan just before that to beat him they need to talk to a surviving victim of him. They go and find Meredith's crazy grandfather who was attacked by a vampire a couple decades ago. and he only says a word when he sees Stefan shouting vampire and then shouting out a type of wood that's was the type of stake needed to kill Klaus. They go back and Stefan's been told he has the girl (Caroline) and if he brings anyone hes kill her Matt Meredith and Bonnie offer there blood to Stefan so he can win but Stefan refuses and tries to be strong and tells them anyone who follows him he will kill. They follow but after Stefan. They weren't gonna do anything but Bonnie sees something Stefan doesn't and she shouts out about that fact Tyler is in a tree above and the fully fledged fight begins. Meredith cuts Caroline free while Matt punches out Tyler but in mid fight Tyler throws Matt and he hits a tree and become unconscious. Meredith and Bonnie work on Tyler and they hit him out Bonnie's excited but seems that when she pulls Tyler's body away that Meredith is hurt underneath she doesn't know what to do trying to do what she can but she has to give Caroline the duty so she can help Stefan and she tries then Damon comes in and says "Get away from my brother" and he goes toward Klaus and Bonnie seeing the perfect opportunity throws the stake and it hit Klaus through the back Stefan dying on the floor she doesn't know what to as Klaus will soon wake up .. Klaus does and says if he gets out the way hes kill her quickly and she tries one last things and screams Elena name nothing happens at first then it does and Elena and all the spirits of Fells Church from the war too charge and kill Klaus and then she is able to heal everyone by kissing there foreheads. She then has to go and Stefan just calls her name but then she comes back as a gold version of herself a new improved version(naked) and everyone's joyous happy and celebrating apart from Damon who gives her his jacket to cover up and then flies away it ends on Bonnie's diary entry being it's too complicated to explain anyone and shes tired. |
The Return Series[]
After Elena's return to life, Bonnie, together with Matt and Meredith, decided to accompany Stefan in helping Elena adjust to living again as well as they could. They bring her clothes and other necessities that Stefan cannot help her with, as well as keeping the couple company whenever it was appropriate. One night, Bonnie, Meredith and Matt were driving in Matt's old truck. Matt wasn't paying much attention to the road ahead, and suddenly a red object is in front of the car and they crash into the side of the road. Huge branches coming from no-where held them trapped in the truck, lightly stabbing them all over. The truck was cold and they had no way of getting out. Bonnie decided to use her last bits of energy to channel Damon, since she supposed Stefan and Elena were already asleep. Damon responded to her call and found them, taking only Bonnie with him to where Stefan and Elena stayed. As Stefan went to see the two others, Damon put Bonnie in the tub of the house, took off her clothes and nursed her to the best of his abilities.
After Elena, Matt and Damon left, Bonnie and Meredith stayed in Fell's Church. The town itself was deeply affected by Shinichi and Misao leaving young girls in particular, possessed. Bonnie and Meredith knew about Caroline's pregnancy with Tyler Smallwood's child, but carrying a werewolf's babies, and being possessed by a malach was transforming her into a disgusting person, especially when Caroline reported Matt as the father. Bonnie an Meredith visited her, but she started to freak them out and they left as quickly as they could. They attempted to see her again (this time only Meredith going into the house) but whatever happened, Meredith's mouth was stuffed with slugs and worms that Caroline was eating. Meredith fled and dragged Bonnie with her, but stopped when she realized that Bonnie too was affected and had to admit CPR on her. When Matt returned, he gave the girls information about where Damon and Elena were and they immediately set off to find them. They found them in a motel where Elena was shocked and relieved to see them. Elena went with Bonnie and Meredith to their room and in her sleep, Bonnie brought up what Elena and Damon did the night before, something Elena wouldn't answer. Damon refused their company, but Bonnie and Meredith decided to go to the Dark Dimension and help rescue Stefan from his prison. Bonnie and Meredith were against the fact that they had to be Damon's slave, but eventually agreed when they knew Elena would crawl after Damon if she had to.
TBA
The Hunters Series[]
This article has been identified as an article that needs help. The reason the article has been tagged as such is that it is lacking information about recent episodes and/or correct information. You may wish to edit it to improve the standard or quality of work present on this article. |
In the book, Bonnie and her friends start Dalcrest College and on the first day, Bonnie is walking on campus when she is dumped by a group of wild guys and she falls. One of the guys helps her up and Bonnie is startstruck when she sees his face, he is a guy with true clear blue eyes, blond hair being almost white and a muscular body. He is gorgeous in Bonnie's point of view. The guy apologizes for the little accident, introduces himself as Zander and says he will she her around before leaving. Bonnie sees him again later at the library and Zander reveals that he has been looking forward to meeting her again and wants to take her out sometime if that is okay with her and Bonnie is more than thrilled. Bonnie and Zander start to study all the time together in the library and soon, Zander calls her to a roof of a music class and they share a pizza watching the stars and Bonnie slowly falls in love with him. After a few days, Bonnie begs Elena and Meredith to come and meet Zander and his friends on a fun day out in the bar. When they finally meet, Elena thinks Zander and his friends are too wild for little Bonnie, but soon sees that they are friendly enough. Bonnie and Zander walk home together and Zander abandons her suddenly and rushes off leaving Bonnie alone on campus (where people have been disappearing). Bonnie makes it to her dorm safely and calls Zander, who doesn't answer any of her calls, much to Bonnie's worry. Then Zander calls one day and Bonnie asks him where he has been and that she has been worried about him. Zander tells her that he is fine and not to worry and Bonnie's nerves soon calm when Zander tells her that they can do anything she wants as an apology. They go to a party held by Samantha and they end up romantically sharing their first kiss on the roof of the party. On their way back, Zander abandons her once more. Bonnie told by Meredith that she saw someone attack a girl and the guy had blond hair that was almost white while patrolling campus, implying that it may be Zander. Bonnie tries to assure them that it is not Zander, but they ask her how she knows. Bonnie is infuriated by this and moves out of the dorm saying that she believed Elena when she told them that Stefan was innocent when everyone was against them and now they refuse to return the favor. Bonnie moves in with Zander and Zander understands and comforts her completely, and when Bonnie wonders what Zander thinks when she told him she was moving in, Zander assures her that he will sleep on the floor and Bonnie remembers that he is a gentleman. The next few days, Bonnie and Zander spend time with each other and Zander's friends, which gets a little irritating for Bonnie. One day, Zander and her are celebrating an anniversary and Zander recreates their first date and tells her that he is genuinely in love with her and that is the reason why he has to tell that he is a werewolf. Bonnie is terrified by this and when Zander tells her that he is a good werewolf she screams that he is a liar and that she knows you have kill to become one and runs away and when his friends try to stop her, she starts to use protection spells. |
TBA
Appearance[]
"The maiden, who was exceptionally dainty and pretty and had, to a vampire, the most exquisite feature of all, an exceptionally long and delicate column of a neck, was looking up at him soulfully. That was nice, that she was short. She also had - you couldn't help notice - particularly large eyes in her small heart-shaped face, giving her the appearance of a kitten. They were clear brown eyes, with a dark ring at the outer rim of the iris, then a very light brown ring, as if light were shining through them in the middle, and then another dark ring around the pupil. Her hair was the color of a strawberry and curled softly all over her head in a way that made you think "pixie." Altogether, she was a lovely little ornament, with fine blue veins in naturally translucent skin."
Bonnie could be considered to be the arch-feminine type, given how she has the appearance of a dainty, delicate damsel in distress. Though she is not the blond-haired, blue-eyed, angelic beauty that Elena is, she is still beautiful in a dreamy, ethereal, and unconventional way, with an otherworldly aura about her.
Bonnie has a small, heart-shaped face with full, rose-tinted cheeks with dimples, a rounded forehead, a straight delicate nose like that of a cherub's, and well-shaped full lips that curl into a warm, soulful, and enchanting smile (which was noted by Damon). Due to her Scottish or Celtic heritage, her skin is lightly freckled, but it was still as fair, perfect, and translucent as that of Elena's, to the extent where her blue veins and fjords are visible to the naked eye (which was also noted by Damon when he first met Bonnie unexpectedly).
Bonnie has reddish-gold hair that was actually straight, but she permed it curly due to her belief that it would give her additional height. Fortunately, one could still tell that her hair was thick, long, and luxurious - in fact, it is this particular aspect that makes her look like a pixie. She also has large, wide almond-shaped hazel-brown eyes that are expressive, limpid, and soulful, with arched eyebrows and long, thick black lashes.
In terms of physique, Bonnie is somewhere between that of a little girl and a young woman: somewhat diminutive and slightly underdeveloped, with small breasts (Bonnie is an A-Cup), delicate arms, a tiny waist, slightly wide hips, slim short legs, small hands and dainty feet. Her height was between 3'10" and 4'10". Though Bonnie often complained about her physique (particularly her breasts, which made her feel less of a young woman and more like a child), and she was shorter than Meredith and Elena, Damon and her friends all note how her petite fine-boned frame made her beauty special and unique: she had an exceptionally long and delicate neck that was similar to that of a ballerina from Swan Lake, which Damon had taken particular notice of it, and he even once described it as very tempting to a vampire due to its length, its daintiness, and how its visible veins made it easier for a vampire to feed.
Last but not least, Bonnie had a charming, pleasant, and highly melodious voice that was comparable to that of a nightingale or a songbird. Even Damon was strongly drawn to her voice, and hence his nicknames for her were "Little Redbird", "Redbird", and "Songbird". She also has a feminine yet casual sense of style and fashion: jeans and a variety of colored nice tops with either sneakers, heels, or boots.
Hence, though Bonnie was neither the angelic and willowy Elena, nor the elegant and sophisticated Meredith, nor the sensuous and voluptuous Caroline, she was still one of the most beautiful and desirable females in all of Fell's Church. The fact that Damon (who was deeply in love with Elena and had seen many beautiful females) had actually taken especial notice of her features and stature was also a testament to her indisputable beauty.
Personality[]
Bonnie is described to be a good-hearted, sweet, bubbly, cheerful, likable, charismatic, kind, caring, empathetic, sensitive, romantic and charming individual, but she is not considered to be overly bright or intelligent at the very beginning of the series. She is not an academic, scholarly person by any means and she does not take school very seriously at all. In fact, in most instances, Bonnie finds school to be too serious and disciplinary. Bonnie starts off highly unsure about her identity and her future; who she is and what she really stands for. She is basically immature, naive, ditzy, childish, shallow, boy-obsessed, and insecure during the very beginning of the series. However, as the series progresses over a period of time, Bonnie begins to deeply develop, mature, deepen and evolve in many different ways, and she begins to get a much deeper and clearer understanding of who she really is. She becomes a more mature, stable, grounded, and strong-willed person as the series progresses. As well as developing as an individual, she also begins to develop very powerful, strong psychic powers and abilities (which are hereditary). She eventually dabbles and masters the art of witchcraft. Bonnie is a Wiccan and it has been hinted in the novels that Bonnie is not only a powerful psychic but that she has witch ancestry (according to Bonnie, her Scottish grandmother was a witch). Bonnie is stoically loyal, loving, kind, caring and fiercely protective and she will do absolutely anything for her friends, her family and the people she loves. She's a generous individual and she is always trying to lend a helping hand when it is most needed. Bonnie comes off as rather eccentric and "offbeat" and because of it, she is often highly misunderstood, even by her own friends. Bonnie is drawn to and attracted to the unusual and the bizarre and she appears to be the most unconventional out of everyone else. She is a highly adventurous, explorative and curious individual. In many ways, she is rather opposite of her best friend, Elena Gilbert. While Elena has a tendency to be more vain and selfish, Bonnie is more of a humble, generous, giving and selfless person. For the vast majority of Bonnie's life, Bonnie has always seemed to live in the shadows of Elena, her own best friend, and therefore, she has always felt like she is second best because of it. Bonnie feels deep down that Elena and Meredith are more of a woman than her and that she will forever be seen as the "child" of the group due to being the least emotionally and mentally mature, despite her being the same age as them. Despite this, Bonnie never seems to complain despite feeling second best to both Elena and Meredith. Although, Bonnie is not the overly competitive type in the way that Elena is and therefore, has felt absolutely no desire to try to compete with Elena in any way, due to the fact that Bonnie has always felt like she has lived in Elena's shadow. Bonnie is not the intense academic or scholarly type whatsoever but she has a habit of engaging her brain before her mouth. However, despite the fact that she is not an academic individual by nature, she is rather intelligent, intuitive, sharp, quick and intellectual. She has a sixth sense and she can read the emotions and the thoughts of other people with ease. She also possesses a rather off-beat sense of humor and she is known to provide much comic relief, especially in times of tense situations. Bonnie is extremely friendly, light-hearted, cheerful and charming, and therefore, all of her friends adore her because of it. Although, it has been seen throughout the series, that many of Bonnie's friends happen to treat Bonnie like she is a child and also, refuse to see her true and full potential as an individual. Her friends often feel the need to protect Bonnie because they see her as the damsel in distress who needs constant saving and protecting, despite being the same age as everyone else. Because of this, Bonnie is highly misunderstood, even amongst her own inner circle of friends. She is best friends with Elena Gilbert, Meredith Sulez, Matt Honeycutt and Stefan Salvatore. She has been childhood friends with Elena, Meredith and Matt since kindergarten and was close friends with former friend-turned-rival Caroline Forbes since the first grade. Bonnie gradually becomes very good friends with Stefan after Matt befriends him. Bonnie is extremely close to Elena (Elena considers Bonnie to be her very best friend and Bonnie refers to Elena as her best friend), and she also has a very strong bond and friendship with Meredith as well (who also considers Bonnie to be her very best friend). Bonnie used to be friends with Caroline until she turned against Elena at the very beginning of their Senior year and until Caroline became ultra competitive, especially with Elena. Bonnie develops a strong dislike for Tyler Smallwood and although she initially finds him attractive because of shallow purposes, Bonnie has said that Tyler possesses an unbearable, unlikable, and intolerable personality. Bonnie develops a good, solid, platonic friendship with Stefan Salvatore. She initially finds Stefan very handsome, attractive, romantic, very polite and cultured, and she thinks that Stefan is a good-hearted individual with the best of intentions. Stefan has described Bonnie as the "fiery little pixie", giving the nickname to Bonnie with the implication that Bonnie is a passionate, spunky, and fiery individual when she wants to be. Damon has said that Bonnie can be stubborn, impractical and naive at times. Bonnie starts off as very emotionally dependent on other people, but as the series progresses, she becomes a much more independent, confident, and self-assured person. She also matures and grows up rather fast in the original trilogy, showing much spiritual and emotional growth. Bonnie has a positive and optimistic attitude and she has a happy disposition. She has shown that she is a bit of a dreamer and that she is also highly idealistic. She seems to like to live in a dreamworld and escape from realism. She is also highly spiritual and has a very gentle and healing nature. Bonnie seems to have a tendency to put a great deal of emphasis in fantasy or at the unseen in her life, whether it be her emotions or her own intuition. Bonnie has a habit of absorbing the thoughts and emotions of everyone around her and she is highly sensitive, emotional and empathetic in nature. Bonnie is also seen to be rather enchanting in personality. Bonnie is very kind to her friends and there is nothing that she would not do for any of them. She is very emotionally dependent on her loved ones and she hates to see those she loves and cares for suffer in any form. It could be argued that Bonnie is too overly selfless and giving and that she never really pays enough attention to her own happiness and wellbeing. She has shown that she is also too emotionally involved in the lives of her friends to the point where she seems to lose her own identity in the process. Bonnie seems to dislike discord and violence of any kind and it upsets her sensitive nature. Bonnie has extremely strong and powerful psychic abilities. Her powers seem to become most vibrant, active, or heightened whenever she is in Damon's presence. She is able to feel Damon's Power clearly on a frequent basis and she is also able to sense what he is feeling and thinking (this is seen in Dark Reunion). Most of the time, Bonnie seems to act as an unwitting medium for helpful spirits, most notably the spirit of a witch named Honoria Fell, who several times attempts to aid the girls (Elena and Meredith) through Bonnie. Bonnie does not remember anything she says or does while she is in this condition because she basically goes into a catatonic state or a hypnotic trance. She also has occasional prophetic flashes, such as when she jokingly (but coincidentally) reads Elena's palm on the first day of school and comes up with a genuine prophecy or prediction that she would meet a dark, handsome but not imposingly tall stranger (the same day that Elena met Stefan Salvatore). Bonnie uses her powers in times of significant purpose and she has shown to be very useful, helpful and beneficial during plans and missions. Because of her powers and abilities, Bonnie is seen to be the most purposeful, useful and highly resourceful individual in the entire series. In Dark Reunion, Bonnie begins to dabble in practicing the art of witchcraft (due to her witch ancestry), and successfully pulls off a summoning ritual to call Stefan (and later on, Damon) back to Fell's Church, then successfully manages to help Stefan communicate with a ghostly Elena by various means through a dream sequence. At the end of Dark Reunion, Bonnie is the one who screams about the unfairness of their tragic fate, which triggers Elena's unexpected return from the afterlife. It is unknown if Bonnie's powers played any significant role in making this occur, or if it was just a matter of lucky timing (it was the night of the summer solstice, when ghosts were said to be prone to returning to Earth anyway). As the series progressed, she slowly realizes that she is not as unintelligent as she believes herself to be (and, as a result, as she's convinced everyone else she is), and that she's actually capable of being intelligent. She also comes to realize that many of her friends are strongly dependent on her and that they need Bonnie during times of need. Even though Bonnie is known to be timid, fragile, delicate and vulnerable, she is significantly stronger and tougher (physically, mentally and emotionally) then she appears to be on the outside. Despite the fact that she can be rather naive, gullible, and trusting at times, Bonnie is also rather sharp and challenging when she wants to be and she does possess a highly passionate, emotional nature, possibly more passionate than Elena. Bonnie is highly idealistic and she is a hopeless romantic. Although Bonnie's character generally appears to be light-hearted, Bonnie has an inherently dark streak within her personality. She is strongly drawn to adventure and the dangerous, unusual and unpredictable side of things. She is deeply fascinated and intrigued with darkness, especially death and morbidity. Bonnie frequently talks about as well as romanticizes death, especially her own, and she constantly talks about her Scottish grandmother's prophecy that she would be young and beautiful in her grave. She also consistently talks about how romantically she might die. In the beginning, she is fickle in chasing after Stefan, and then Matt throughout most of the original series. By the end of the original series, however, Bonnie has become significantly more deep, mature, stable, and grounded, focusing on the important problems at hand rather than about love, romance, flirting, and the opposite sex. She even surprises herself a few times with her own insightful contributions to the fight against a powerful, original vampire named Klaus. Bonnie, who is a highly strong psychic witch, is overwhelmed by the strength of her powers at times, and she attempts to repress the true extent of them without very much success. She is sometimes very afraid of what she can and might do and is scared of her strong powers using her, instead of the other way around. As a psychic, Bonnie also has intense dreams, prophetic flashes, visions and predictions, which has sometimes caused her to pass out, faint and become unconscious, due to its severe intensity at times. Bonnie is highly romantic and she seems to have a desire to belong to someone. She is very naive and idealistic when it comes to love and romance. She seems to thrive on the idea of having a prince charming or a knight in shining armour constantly saving her and swooping her off her feet whenever she needs protecting. Bonnie is in love with the idea of love. Bonnie has consistently been fickle when it comes to the opposite sex throughout her life. She has a tendency to consistently chase after boys for the hell of it and she seems to chase the opposite sex simply because she wants or desires to belong to someone. Despite her constant chasing, Bonnie never seems to be satisfied with the boys that she does chase and date. Because of this, she has been seen to be boy-crazy and unable to settle down with one particular guy for too long. Bonnie has had various boyfriends and none of them she has managed to take seriously or stick with for a prolonged period of time. Because of Bonnie's immaturity regarding love and romance, she seems to be highly fickle, flirtatious, coy and flighty when it comes to the opposite sex. She is unsure of what kind of guy she is really looking for or interested in. Despite her immaturity in the love department, Bonnie is very idealistic, passionate and emotional when it comes to love and she is a hopeless romantic. Bonnie does seem to have a particular type of guy that she is looking for; she seems to be strongly attracted to strong, powerful men who will go out of their way to protect her and keep her safe. In the beginning, she thought Stefan was very romantic, attractive and polite, and she was very thankful to him when he saved her from an intense situation with the history teacher, Mr. Tanner. She also begins to develop some feelings for her friend Matt, although Matt was still very much in love with Elena at the time. However, Bonnie's relationship with Matt is highly platonic in nature. Matt has more of a brotherly relationship with Bonnie and he is quite protective of her (sometimes overly protective), especially when it comes to protecting her from Damon. Bonnie has a very deep, intense and complex connection and relationship with Damon. There is an indescribable, electrifying, and magnetic connection between Damon and Bonnie. Bonnie is described to be Damon's weak spot and Damon has a lot of indescribable inner tenderness for her. Their connection and relationship is known to be one of the most intriguing, unusual and interesting dynamics of the entire series (according to many readers), and their connection seems to be an intriguing combination of platonic, romantic, and sexual in nature; crossing a fine line between genuinely innocent or pure and intensely, dangerously passionate and erotic. Despite the fact that Damon and Bonnie have had many moments of deep tenderness and affection (Damon has kissed her many times throughout the course of the series), Damon and Bonnie have also had somewhat of a chaotic, tumultuous relationship sparingly throughout the series. Bonnie was the very first person whom Damon met immediately after arriving in Fells Church. She has frequently talked about how gorgeous and inhumanely beautiful Damon is (beyond his physical appearance). She has even admitted to herself that he is almost more gorgeous than Damon's younger brother, Stefan. She seems to be strongly, magnetically drawn to Damon for indescribable reasons but part of the reason is because he is mysterious and edgy with a bad boy image. She is also deeply, strongly fascinated by his dark, compelling and powerful aura, which often causes her psychic powers to react, heighten and intensify immensely. Bonnie deeply, strongly as well as unconditionally cares about Damon despite what anyone else thinks or says about him (including her own friends Elena, Meredith and Matt), and Damon has saved her life when she has been in trouble on many occasions throughout the course of the series, including unexpectedly before the original series began (After Hours). She frequently believes in Damon; believing that Damon is a good, kind-hearted, compassionate, affectionate and caring individual, despite him repeatedly trying to conceal it through committing incessant immoral acts. Bonnie strongly feels that underneath the cold, uncaring exterior that Damon puts up as a wall for self-preservation, that he is a kind, gentle, tender individual deep down within, who is simply highly misunderstood. She strongly believes in Damon regardless of the circumstances, even if Damon has treated her badly, due to his ego or selfish gratification. Bonnie was the very first individual to see Damon's deeply buried, inner humanity. Damon naturally and effortlessly brings out a significantly much stronger, deeper, passionate and mature individual/side out of Bonnie. Damon has managed to have a strong, yet silent impact on Bonnie's involvement and personal development throughout the series. Because of Damon, Bonnie is able to see the world much differently then she did at the very beginning of the series (which was a highly idealistic, shallow view), and therefore, she has become much more mature, practical and much more aware of the world around her. Out of everyone in the series, Damon seems to be the one and only individual who sees Bonnie's true, ultimate and full potential as an individual and he sees her as a significantly strong, passionate and powerful young woman at the core of her being (though he still thinks of her as a woman-child at times), even though she appears to be very fragile and vulnerable on the outside. Damon and Bonnie have shared many deep, intense and meaningful moments together in the series, although many of these "special moments" in which they have shared together have not been revealed throughout the series and have been rather 'secretive' in nature (although the reason for this is not known). Damon is fiercely and strongly protective of Bonnie and he will do absolutely anything at all costs to protect her from harm and keep her safe. He is also very nurturing, tender and gentle with her, even though he won't admit his actions of affection towards her to himself. He seems to always be there for her whenever she's in trouble, or whenever she calls him for help. Bonnie seems to be the one person in the series who brings out the true human side in Damon naturally and effortlessly; the caring, affectionate, compassionate, tender side of him —the 'true Damon', which is deeply hidden within his soul. It is highly apparent that Damon has a strong, indescribable soft spot and tenderness for Bonnie, although the exact reason for this is highly unexplained and unknown. In terms of outer personalities, Bonnie is the complete and total opposite of Damon in many ways. Bonnie has a lighter personality; Damon has a darker personality. Bonnie is more selfless and humble; Damon is more selfish, vain and proud. Bonnie is more weak, fragile and vulnerable; Damon is more dominant, powerful and strong. Bonnie is moral; Damon is immoral. Bonnie is more emotionally weak; Damon is more emotionally strong. Yet, despite the many differences in their outer personalities, Damon and Bonnie share a special, deep, strong affinity and bond with each other. In the Evenson trilogy, it has been strongly implied that Damon is Bonnie's soulmate. Bonnie is frequently referred to in the novels, especially in The Return: Nightfall, as a maiden. Damon often thinks of her as a maiden because of her innocence, although she is the same age as Elena. In the novels, Damon often refers to her as a "woman-child". She is somewhat of a child and she faints constantly, as she lacks any control or self-restraint over her very strong psychic powers. Bonnie is considered to be very fragile and she can be easily frightened and overwhelmed, although she does become a significantly stronger individual as the series progresses. She is highly expansive and visionary, but she can be quite damsel-in-distress like. |
Name[]
- Bonnie is a feminine first name of Scottish or Scots-Irish origin which means "pretty", "charming", "beautiful" or "attractive". It is pronounced BAHN-ee or BON-ee.
- McCullough is a surname ultimately believed to be of Scottish origin, and an Anglicized form of the Old Scots Gaelic "MacCullaich" or "MacC(h)ullach", son of Cullach, from "Mac", son of, and the personal byname "Cullach", Boar.
Nicknames[]
Bonnie has many nicknames coined by her friends and others, which often refer to her hair color. Bonnie's nicknames include:
- 'Bon'
- 'Bon-Bon'
- 'The Little One'
- 'Sweet Bonnie' (by Shinichi)
- 'Pixie'
- 'Firebrand'
- 'Druid Priestess'
- 'Curlew'
- 'Songbird'
- 'the Redhead'
- 'Redhead'
- 'Strawberry-Haired Girl'
- 'Little Red-haired Girl'
- 'Fiery Little Pixie' (by Stefan Salvatore)
Aside from all of her usual nicknames, Damon individually has many nicknames and pet names that he uses for Bonnie and he normally doesn't call her by her first name, although the reason for this is unknown. Damon's nicknames for Bonnie are notably highly affectionate, loving, and tender in nature and they also often refer to her hair color. Damon's many nicknames for Bonnie include:
- Little Redbird or Redbird (this is Damon's personal favorite nickname to call Bonnie), Redheaded Bird, Little Redhead, Little Witch, Redheaded Witch, Red-Haired Maiden, Red Songbird, Little Red-Haired Songbird, Little Bird, Baby Bird, Little Human, Human, Sleeping Maiden, Sweet Baby Bird, Sweet Red Bird, His Bird, His Bedraggled Little Bird, His Maiden, His Witch, the Redbird, Fiery Little Fury, Kitten, and Sweet Songbird Bonnie.
Powers and Abilities[]
Due to her Celtic Druid ancestry, Bonnie possesses exceptionally strong psychic and magical powers that, in the early stages where she came into them, frequently overwhelmed her completely because of their intensity. Because of this, she often tries to suppress the true extent of her powers as much as she could, but with little success: her formidable supernatural powers had caused her to either pass out or collapse numerous times throughout the series. However, as the series progressed, Bonnie learned to control and master her powers all by herself without any outside help, and they had often proved invaluable to her friends. Examples of her known numerous abilities that she has shown in the series so far include:
- Spell Casting - -The ability to perform supernatural spells that affect the natural world.
- Clairvoyance - The ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses.
- Telepathy - The ability to read other people's minds, and hear their thoughts.
- Empathy (also known as a Sensitive) - The ability to identify the emotional feelings of another person. This is also the ability to take on other people's feelings of pain or pleasure, actually feeling the emotions of others. For a psychic empathy healer it is an ability that can help in relating the symptoms and cause of a client's ailment.
- Intuition - The ability to have an innate sense of events, thoughts, and even the feelings of others that are normally outside of what the normal human ability is capable of perceiving.
- Aura Reading - The ability to perceive all of the energy fields surrounding various people, places and things.
- Palm Reading (also known as Palmistry, Chiromancy, Cheirology and Chirognomy) - The ability to tell fortunes by reading the lines on a persons hand.
- Telekinesis - The ability to move objects with the mind.
- Astral Projection - The ability to project the spiritual body of a person to another area in the world.
- Afterlife Communication - The ability to communicate, reach out or converse with the dead, ghosts or spirits.
- Premonitions - The ability to predict the future or predict events of the future.
- Precognition - The ability to have the knowledge or the awareness of the future or future events, which are obtained through extra sensory perception.
- Psychic Dreams - The ability to have dreams about the future or have illusionary dreams.
- Ceromancy (also known as Candle Reading and Ceroscopy) - The ability to use candles for spell casting or to make prophecies. Also the ability to read into or use candles to meditate by gazing into a burning flame.
- Channeling - The ability to have a separate intelligence that enters the mind and or body of the psychic and then uses that body/mind to communicate messages directly to the audience. A psychic is not interpreting the information. In a channeling situation, the message passes through as if the intelligence was using the body and mind of the psychic to hear you and to speak to you directly.
- Clairaudience - The ability to hear things that are inaudible. Meaning a psychic hears beyond the natural sense of hearing. He or she may ‘hear clearly', and perceive sounds or words from spirits, guides, or angels or simply hear into your future in some mystical way.
- Clairempathy - The ability to feel emotions from beyond natural realms.
- Clairsentience - The ability to pick up sensations and relate messages from those senses.
- Claircognizant - The ability to have the sense of clear knowing.
- Extra Sensory Perception (also known as ESP or "Sixth Sense") - The ability to have perception beyond regular or normal senses.
- Dream Interpretation - The ability to understand or read dreams. The ability to tell a dreamer something about their state of mind in a waking experience.
- Mediumship - The ability to connect with and act as a communication conduit for spirits in the after life and/or guiding entities such as angels.
- Ouija Board - The ability to use a talking board or spirit board and use it in séance with the alphabet and other symbols printed or carved on it.
The Vampire Diaries[]
- Main article: Bonnie Bennett
Bonnie McCullough does not make an appearance in the television series. Instead, the show replaces her with a witch named Bonnie Bennett, who is based on her character. The TV series' Bonnie is very different from the books in appearance and characterization. Although in seven season of the series Bonnie used her book counterpart's name as an alias as she went under the radar from The Armory.
Bonnie Bennett is Elena's best friend and a witch. Her ancestor is a very powerful witch named Emily Bennett, whose own ancestors originated from Salem, Massachusetts—the town made famous for witches being hanged, but there weren't any burned at the stake between 1692 and 1693 due to the witch trials. Personality-wise, Bonnie is a charismatic, charming, good-natured and open minded girl that is shown to be very wise and mature for her young age. She defends her opinion fiercely and is unable to keep quiet about what she thinks is right. She has strong morals, ethics and values and believes in doing the right thing, especially when it comes to her loved ones. This often makes her look like a judgmental individual from time to time, since in more than one occasion she has demonstrated her antipathy toward people that she doesn't know, especially towards vampires (since vampires and witches are known to be natural enemies). Bonnie deeply cares for her friends and is fiercely loyal to them, eager to help them solve their problems or provides good, honest advice. Bonnie is also strong-willed, independent, and she is rather spunky by nature. Like Damon, Bonnie often uses wit and sarcasm from time to time to cover up her weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Trivia[]
- Bonnie met Damon Salvatore before Elena did.
- In the novels, Bonnie has an unnamed cousin, and her grandmother was only mentioned occasionally. However, in the series, Bonnie's grandmother, Sheila Bennett, was a prominent though minor character who trained her granddaughter in witchcraft, but she later died. Bonnie also encountered Lucy Bennett, a distant cousin who is also a witch like her, though she is significantly more powerful, and who used to be a former "friend" of Katherine Pierce.
- In the novels, Bonnie's last name is McCullough, but in the TV series, it is Bennett.
- In One Way or Another in The Vampire Diaries, Bonnie Bennett checked in a Psychiatric Hospital using the alias "Bonnie McCullough" to investigate Virginia St. John.
- In the novels, Bonnie is a psychic and a descendant of druids, but in the series, she is a witch.
- In the novels, Bonnie is presented as a physically and mentally weak character who faints easily when her powers overwhelm her, but the Bonnie in the series is a much stronger character.
- In the novels, Bonnie had two major love interests: Damon and Zander. However, in the TV series, Bonnie's two love interests were Jeremy Gilbert and Enzo St. John. Bonnie ended up declaring Enzo the love of her life.
- In the novels, Bonnie is a red-haired, white-skinned Caucasian. In the TV series, she is of African-American descent with ancestors from Salem, Massachusetts, where the witch trials took place, and has black hair and hazel eyes.
See also[]
|