I really enjoyed last week’s The Vampire Diaries and that was largely due to the debut of a new character that I feel has the potential to do great things for the show.

This article contains spoilers so if you haven’t seen the episodes “Postcards From The Edge” and “This Woman’s Work,” please do not continue reading.

There are comments circulating online calling the character of Rayna “The New Elena.” Sure, actress Lesley-Anne Huff who plays Rayna, bears a striking resemblance to Nina Dobrev’s Elena, but I feel that the actress and character have so much more to offer to be considered a substitute.

Rayna comes from a legacy of hunters, The Brotherhood of the Five. I loved Rayna’s backstory and her connection to Julian and The Heretics. Especially neat was the sword she carried that works as a vampire tracker once it spills the blood of the vampire.  In addition to hunting vampires, Rayna harbored revenge against Julian for him compelling her to kill her father.

We first met Rayna in the previous episode “Postcards From The Edge,” but she was a very different character then. The elderly vampire hunter was killed by Enzo but later resurrected by him but was once again a youthful hunter.

She is a skilled hunter who ends up targeting the Mystic Fall vampires, Stefan, Damon and Caroline.  But it is Stefan, who in an effort to save his brother Damon’s life, ends up marked by Rayna.  Now, Stefan has left town as he will be forever pursued by Rayna.

I haven’t been this excited about a vampire slayer since the days of Buffy. I’m not comparing Rayna to the vampire slayer portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar. That memorable character was in a class by herself, but I think The Vampire Diaries introducing this exciting new character is a step in the right direction.