Jenna Sommers

Jenna Sommers was a vampire and a main character in the first and second season of The Vampire Diaries. Jenna was the maternal aunt of Elena and Jeremy Gilbert, and became their legal guardian after their parents (Grayson and Miranda Gilbert) were killed in a car crash. She's also the younger sister of Miranda Gilbert and the sister-in-law of Grayson Gilbert. During the majority of her time in the series, she remained unaware of the supernatural forces in Mystic Falls until she finally learned the truth near the end of the second season. She used to date Logan Fell, who was turned into a vampire by Anna and was then later killed by the vampire hunter Alaric Saltzman. She then began a relationship with Alaric, who also happened to be Elena and Jeremy's history teacher. She also went to high school with Mason Lockwood, who was Tyler Lockwood's uncle. Before she became Elena and Jeremy's guardian, Jenna was a party girl who frequently indulged in alcohol and marijuana, especially back in high school, which Mason revealed when he returned to town for a visit. In Season Two, Katherine Pierce compelled Jenna to spy on Elena and her boyfriend Stefan Salvatore, and when the two didn't heed her warning to break up, she then compelled Jenna to stab herself in the stomach while Elena and Alaric watched as retribution for not taking her seriously. At the hospital, the doctors said that she was lucky to be alive.
Her relationship with Alaric became strained after she discovered that his wife Isobel was still alive, and that he is a vampire hunter. She finally learned the truth about the existence of the supernatural after she was attacked by Niklaus Mikaelson, who was terrorizing Elena and her loved ones in preparation for the sacrifice ritual to break his curse. Shortly after reconciling with Alaric, she was called by Katherine, who tricked her by pretending to be Elena in order to lure her out of the house so Klaus could kidnap her and turn her into a vampire for his sacrifice. During the sacrifice, Klaus killed Jenna by staking her in the heart in order to break his curse and finally release his bound werewolf aspect and become a true hybrid.
Jenna was a relative of the Gilbert Family.
==Early History==
Jenna was born in 1980 and lived in Mystic Falls, Virginia until her death. Her elder sister was Miranda Sommers, whose best friend, Kelly Donovan, frequently babysat her and later partied with her when she was in her teenage years. She attended Mystic Falls High School and was best friends with Mason Lockwood. They once smuggled in some alcohol that belonged to Mason's father and drank it under the bleachers of the school. Jenna was a frequent recreational drug user and even described herself as being a "pothead" in high school and college.
At some point in her youth, Jenna also had a sexual relationship with John Gilbert, the younger brother of Grayson, who eventually became her sister Miranda's husband. Their relationship ended badly, and she ended up hating him for the rest of their lives. Jenna later dated Logan Fell, with whom she initially had a happy relationship; however, dating for quite a while, their relationship ultimately ended badly when Jenna learned that Logan had cheated on her with a woman named Monica. Upon receiving this revelation, Jenna quickly ended their relationship and left town as quickly as she could to go to study psychology at Whitmore College, where she lived until the death of her sister and brother-in-law.
On May 23, 2009, Miranda and Grayson drowned after losing control of their car on the wet road and inadvertently driving off of the Wickery Bridge. Their daughter, Elena, who was also in the car with them, was the only survivor of the accident. Shortly afterward, Jenna received a telephone call from a lawyer informing her that Miranda had requested in her will that Jenna become the guardian of her two children, Elena and Jeremy Gilbert. Though overwhelmed by the prospect, Jenna ultimately agreed to fulfill her sister's wishes and moved back to Mystic Falls, where she lived with her niece and nephew in their family home.
==Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series==
<tabber>
|-|Season One=
In Pilot, Jenna was introduced as the legal guardian of Elena (who was adopted) and Jeremy (not adopted) despite her young age. She was depicted as very scatterbrained and clumsy while trying to adapt to her new life.
In The Night of the Comet, Jenna was having trouble coping with her new role as an authority figure to her niece and nephew. She realizes that Jeremy has a problem and she needs to change her parenting tactics after a meeting with Mr. Tanner. She told Jeremy that when she was younger she used to do drugs as well but she had other responsibilities and she needed to change her life.
In Family Ties, Jenna met an old flame, Logan Fell during the Founder's Ball, but did not pay much attention to him because she resented him. Finally, she agrees to a date at the insistence of Elena.
In You're Undead to Me, Jenna goes on a date with Logan and was revealed that when she was younger, she dated Logan, but left Mystic Falls after he cheated on her with a girl named Monica. She kicked him out after noticing that he had not changed at all.
In 162 Candles, Elena and Jenna are surprised by a change in Jeremy's behavior.
In History Repeating, Jenna was introduced to Alaric Saltzman and also Logan, now a vampire, approached the Gilbert´s house and asked Jenna to invite him in but she resisted. He tried to compel her, but because Jenna had taken vervain, he was unable to do it.
In Unpleasantville, Jenna met Alaric again at the 50s dance and they danced together. While walking home from a party, Alaric tells Jenna that his wife was named Isobel, the same name as Elena's birth mother, and later asked her to go on a real date.
In Children of the Damned, Jenna was confronted by Elena for not telling her that she was adopted.
Jenna started dating Alaric and shared their first kiss in A Few Good Men, and Elena had asked Jenna to look into information about her real birth mother after Elena found out that she was adopted. She brings the information on the apparent last name Isobel was using, Peterson, in the area around Mystic Falls. She found Trudie Peterson, who was Isobel's friend back in 1993, revealing her address in Grove Hill, Virginia and a picture of them both on the Grove Hill High School website.
In Under Control, when John Gilbert returned to town, she was very uncomfortable and not very friendly with him, revealing a great dislike for her brother-in-law.
In Miss Mystic Falls, at the Founder's Day Gala, Jenna attended the event with Alaric and was quite surprised to see Elena dancing with Damon in the main dance.
In Founder's Day, she caught who she thought to be Elena kissing Damon, even though it was actually Katherine.
|-|Season Two=
|-|Season Eight=
In I Was Feeling Epic, she appears in the afterlife alongside Grayson, Miranda, Elena and John at the Gilbert House.
</tabber>
==Personality==
<tabber>
|-|Human=
Jenna Sommers was a caring and naive woman. She was always there for her family.
She was fun-loving and spirited, though her good moods were often enhanced by alcohol or marijuana. She also proclaimed herself to have terrible luck with men.
After her sister died, she did her best to be there for Elena and Jeremy and help them move forward, even if she did not feel herself up to the task. She often made comments about her late sister and how she made everything she did look easy, indicating that the two had a close relationship, even if she did sometimes feel overshadowed by her. She was also known for being fiercely protective of her niece and nephew, Elena and Jeremy, and put a lot of pressure on herself to do well by them; when Jeremy was acting out, abusing drugs, and generally being self-destructive following the death of his parents, Jenna often worried that she didn't have what it would take to help him get better.
Jenna was well-known for speaking her mind and having a fierce temper, which she demonstrated against Alaric and Elena several times in the second season. She was also remarkably strong-willed and capable of adapting very quickly to any given situation, such as when she was forced to go from an irresponsible college student and party girl to a parent to two teenagers in very little time.
|-|Vampire=
Jenna only spent less than an hour as a vampire before she was killed, but even despite this fact, she seemed to have psychologically adapted to her transformation quite quickly. For example, it took her only seconds to learn how to hone her enhanced hearing in order to eavesdrop on Klaus' conversation with Stefan. As a human, she showed a lot of bravery throughout her life, especially in defense of her loved ones, and this was a quality that only became further enhanced by vampirism; when it was almost her turn to be sacrificed to break Klaus' hybrid curse, she quickly made the most of her enhanced speed, strength, and agility by lunging for the witch Greta Martin in a surprise blitz attack, willingly sacrificing her life to try to save Elena's. Her strong-willed personality only became more apparent as a vampire as well, which was demonstrated when she refused to turn off her humanity so she could face her death without fear or emotional pain. According to the powerful and ancient witch Esther Mikaelson, Jenna's heart was pure when she died, even as a vampire, and as a result of this fact, Jenna immediately found peace in the afterlife instead of being forced to endure the torment of the Other Side.
</tabber>
==Physical Appearance==
Jenna was a beautiful young woman in her mid-to-late 20s with a pale complexion, hazel eyes and medium-length blonde hair. Her height is 5' 6", and she has a slim, slightly athletic physique. Her style of dress is that of a typical American college student, which focuses on comfortable and functional. However, she has been known to dress up when the situation demands it, such as for parent-teacher conferences or community gatherings.
==Powers and Abilities==
Jenna possessed all the standard powers and abilities of a non-original vampire.
==Weaknesses==
Jenna had the typical weaknesses of a non-Original vampire.
==Relationships==
Gilbert Family, Mystic Falls Gang
===Elena and Jeremy===
After Elena and Jeremy's parents died from a car crash, their aunt, Jenna, moved in with them and began to raise them. Both Jeremy and Elena loved their aunt and Jenna vice versa. However, once vampires began ruling their lives, Jeremy and Elena were forced to lie to Jenna about what was going on. They were secretive with Jenna in order to keep her safe. This unfortunately was unsuccessful being Jenna found out about the supernatural world around her. Jenna felt guilty for not being there for Jeremy and Elena as they dealt with the supernatural forces around them and said that she felt she failed them. Shortly after discovering that vampires existed, Klaus Mikaelson takes Jenna and uses her as a vampire sacrifice to activate his hybrid side. Elena is forced to watch Jenna in despair during the sacrifice ritual as Klaus kills her, which separates Jeremy and Elena from Jenna for good. However, in Season Eight, Elena has passed away in a flash forward and she is reunited with her aunt Jenna in death.
===Alaric Saltzman===
Alaric was the love of Jenna's life. They fell in love with each other and always spent their free time with each other. Although unaware of it at first, Alaric always sought to protect Jenna from the supernatural. As their relationship continued to grow, it later became strained after Jenna discovers that his wife, Isobel, was still alive. She also found out that he is a vampire hunter. They reconcile briefly before Jenna is turned into a vampire by Klaus and killed for his sacrifice. Alaric was devastated by her death, and even went on a drinking binge to cope with the grief and sadness over her death. He then moves in with Elena and Jeremy, and becomes their legal guardian. Jenna has however moved on in peace; Alaric still mourns her loss.
===Other Relationships===
* Elena and Jenna (Niece/Aunt/Good Friends)
* Jenna and Elijah (Former Friends)
* Jenna and Logan (Former Boyfriend/Girlfriend)
* Jenna and Andie (Former Friends)
==Appearances==
==Episode Absence==
Season One
* In Season One Jenna doesn't appear in six episodes:
**Friday Night Bites
**Lost Girls
**Haunted
**Fool Me Once
**Let The Right One In
**Blood Brothers
Season Two
* In Season Two Jenna doesn't appear in seven episodes:
**Brave New World
**Kill or Be Killed
**Rose
**Katerina
**The Descent
**The Last Dance
**As I Lay Dying
==Name==
* Jenna is of Arabic origin, and the meaning is "heaven." In the Western world, it is a variation of Jennifer, the Cornish variant of Guinevere which means white (fair, pure).http://babynames.allparenting.com/list/Muslim_Baby_Names/Jennah/details/
** Esther mentions that Jenna remained pure, even if she was turned into a vampire, avoiding the torment the other side.
*Sommers is of both Old English, Germanic and Scandinavian origins, and means "summer."https://www.houseofnames.com/sommers-family-crest
** In the original script, Jenna's surname was Moyer. [1]
==Trivia==
* In the books, Judith does not approve the relationship of Elena and Stefan, and would rather that Elena be with Damon instead. In the series, Jenna agrees with the relationship of Elena and Stefan, but she worries about her niece when she is with Damon. Judith also seems older in the books and is engaged to a man named Robert.
==Gallery==
==References==
==See also==
fr:Jenna Sommers
Category:Characters
Category:Main Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries (series)
Category:The Vampire Diaries Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season One Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Two Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Three Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Five Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Eight Characters
Category:Guest Characters
Category:Female Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Mystic Falls Residents
Category:Supernatural
Category:Vampires
Category:Ghosts
Category:Deceased
Category:Spirits