Alaric moved to Mystic Falls and took up the position of a history teacher after the death of the previous one, William Tanner. He found a file Mr. Tanner had for Jeremy Gilbert labeled the "jackass" file. Alaric gave Jeremy a clean start and decided to help him out with his grades by giving him an extra-credit history-report about any event that happened in Mystic Falls.

Jenna Sommers, Elena and Jeremy's aunt and legal guardian, took an interest in Alaric and was okay that he talked about Isobel, feeling that he needed to let it all out. Alaric came across Logan Fell and staked him because he was a vampire. It was revealed that Alaric was a vampire hunter and had researched and studied them.

He met up with Jenna who told him Elena, her niece, was researching her birth mother whose name was Isobel. Alaric didn't believe they were the same person until Jenna showed him a picture of Isobel whom he recognized as his deceased wife. Shocked that she never told him, he left. He later told Jenna that he wasn't ready for Elena to ask him any questions about Isobel. He recognized Damon Salvatore as the vampire who "killed" Isobel at a party and confronted him. Damon taunted Alaric that the life he had with Isobel didn't seem to be enough for her, revealing that she begged him to turn her into a vampire before stabbing him in the lung with a stake. Stefan Salvatore, Damon's younger brother, was surprised that Damon had done this but was shocked that Alaric woke up alive. Alaric said it was the ring. Since finding out the truth, his relationship with Damon is less antagonistic.

Alaric later helped Damon with escaped tomb vampires who kidnapped Stefan to torture then kill him. His job was to get inside the house and get Ms. Gibbons out of the house but was horrified when Damon killed her. The two fought and killed several vampires. Pearl, another escaped vampire and her daughter Anna arrived afterwards. The reason Alaric helped Damon was because Damon told Alaric that Pearl could help with finding Isobel. After finding out that Damon lied, Alaric punched him in the face.

Isobel came to Mystic Falls and asked Alaric to give Elena a message to meet with her. Alaric, hurt and upset with Isobel, refused and left. Isobel caught him outside the Mystic Grill and him a firmer warning: to give the message to Elena or she would kill his students one by one. Alaric did as she asked and gave the message to Elena, Stefan and Damon. He met Isobel again and took off his ring and vervain to prove that he was not protecting himself from her. Isobel compelled him to move on and get over her, showing that she still cared about him. She gave him back his ring and left. After John Gilbert turned on the device, Stefan, Damon and Anna along with several other vampires were affected and when Stefan was spotted, Alaric sent a deputy to towards another vampire instead of Stefan, saving his life.

Alaric went to the Salvatore Boarding House where he was questioned by Elena, Stefan and Damon on Isobel's research on the paranormal, hoping to figure out with species The Lockwoods were. Alaric said all Isobel's research were at Duke University. He spoke to Jenna while Elena packed for the trip. Jenna was happy he was spending time with Elena because of Isobel. Alaric apologized for not being around very often, but Jenna was used to that sort of talk and told him not to bother. Damon, Elena and Alaric met Vanessa Monroe who leads them to Isobel's study before trying to shoot Elena. Alaric grabbed her and forced the crossbow out of her hands before sitting her down in a chair. He is shown to be protective of her and her family.

He questioned her and she admitted that she read Isobel's research and thought Katherine and Damon were dead.

To get some info on Mason Lockwood Damon gets Alaric to convince Jenna to throw a barbecue.

In episode Plan B Alaric goes to Damon with some of Isobel's research on Aztec legends and is shocked to see Jeremy Gilbert there. They discover that moonstones can break the werewolf curse. Later that evening Alaric is staying for super at the Gilbert's when Elena gets a call from Katherine who made Jenna stab herself right in front of Alaric and Elena. They both rush over to her side.

When Damon and Stefan are planning on killing Katherine, Alaric helped demonstrate to Jeremy how to kill a vampire with various tools and contraptions. Later he is at the Gilbert's house and protects Elena.

Later on Alaric spends a lot more time in the Gilbert house, Elena even catches both him and Jenna half dressed in the middle of the night and Elena states to Jenna that she’s fine with Alaric staying around so much.

In episode By the Light of the Moon, Alaric phones Damon saying Mason is now declared a ‘missing person’ and also tells him about Jules. A while later Damon meets Alaric at the Mystic Grill where they discuss if Jules is a werewolf or not, and how to prove it. They team up and while Damon distracts Jules, Alaric puts wolfsbane in her drink. Their attempt fails as Jules could smell the wolfsbane.

When Stefan tries to find a way to get in touch with Isobel he goes to Alaric to ask if he has any way of contacting Isobel. When John Gilbert returned it cause a lot of problems between Alaric and Jenna.

In episode Crying Wolf, Damon tells him his plan to kill Elijah. Later on during the episode both him and Damon were attacked by werewolves. Alaric was killed by Stevie by later came back to life thanks to his ring. He calls Jenna and apologizes for not meeting her.

When Damon throws a dinner party, Alaric stops Damon from using the dagger against Elijah because it would kill him if he used it. While Andie Star questions Elijah, Alaric quickly stabs him in the chest from behind, who tells Damon to dispose of him, placing the dagger on the table. Later Alaric tells Damon he’s his friend, but doesn’t want any more lies between them. At the end of the episode Jenna demanded answers about Isobel but when he couldn't answer she left. John came in and threatened to tell Jenna about Isobel if he didn't get the Gilbert Ring.

A day after breaking up with Jenna, Alaric told Elena and he revealed that he can't lie to her while he is with her. Elena admitted that it is getting more dangerous for Jenna, not to know what's really going on, but explained that she wanted to leave it until Klaus had been dealt with. Alaric promised to respect Elena's decision about whether or not to tell Jenna. He later met Jenna at the grill bar and admitted that he hated that she is upset. Jenna stated that she can handle anything he is hiding and left. Alaric walked Jenna home and told her that Isobel is dead, and adds that he loves Jenna.

When Isobel later showed up in town she had a talk with her husband in which she revealed that she compelled him to move on and then Alaric is kidnapped by Maddox and used by Klaus as a medium to speak to Katherine.

In the next few days Klaus used Alaric to get info on the group by discovering that Bonnie is a super powered witch. He told Jenna about vampires, and since the full moon was coming Klaus got Greta Martin and Maddox to perform a spell that returned Klaus back to his body thus freeing Alaric.

In the episode The Last Day, Alaric goes to the Salvatore Boarding House to give everyone a message that the sacrifice happens tonight, and Jenna points a crossbow at him. He states that he is not Klaus by telling her about his first night with Jenna. Alaric admits that he doesn't remember anything that happened in the last few days. Later when Stefan and Damon are fighting, Alaric and Jenna walk in. He tells Jenna to get Stefan some blood bags down from the cellar. After Stefan recovers Alaric apologizes for not confiding in Jenna earlier, explaining that he should have known she could handle it. Jenna admits that she doesn't know if she can. She says she is glad he is ok, and they kiss. He later helps Damon by inviting him in his house so Damon can get info from Katherine on where Klaus's werewolf and vampire is.

In the episode The Sun Also Rises, Alaric, Stefan, and Elijah arrived at the place where Bonnie is and talked about the plan. Later Alaric tells Damon that Stefan is going to offer himself and Damon is furious. Alaric notices that something is wrong but Damon claims that he is fine. When everyone was leaving the house Alaric couldn't because Bonnie put up a barrier so that he couldn't leave. When Damon returned he said that Jenna had died. Alaric attended Jenna's funeral and lay a rose on her grave.

In As I Lay Dying, he is seen first drinking in a bar obviously still grieving Jenna. Later he helps the other look for Damon after he escapes the boarding house while sick by a werewolf bite. After Jeremy is accidentally shot by Sheriff Forbes he carries him for Bonnie so she can revive him. She does and later that night he crashes in the Gilbert home to look after him. This implies he has decided to take a more active role in Jeremy's and Elena's lives.

In The Hybrid, when Elena tries to find Stefan without Damon's help, she goes to Alaric who, after some convincing, tells her that Klaus is hunting werewolves. After asking help from Tyler, Elena convinces Alaric to help her find the pack in the Smoky Mountains even though it will be a full moon that night. Alaric and Elena set off and Elena offers his ring back to Alaric saying that she would feel bad if he died because of her. Although he says he won't keep it, he takes it. At that moment, Damon arrives having been warned by Alaric as to Elena's plan. Although disapproving, they keep going.

That is when they fall on Ray Sutton, a werewolf that Klaus had turned into a hybrid but he had gone rabid for an unknown reason. Damon, Alaric and Elena manage to neutralize Ray by using Damon's strength, wooden stakes and wolfsbane grenades. They then tie him up but Ray starts to turn into a wolf although the moon isn't up yet. The three run but Elena trips and rises to find the wolf in front of her. Damon goads it into following him while Alaric and Elena go back to the car. There, Elena convinces Alaric that he shouldn't give up just because he feels lost. He then says that he will be keeping the ring, telling Elena that he will be sticking around. At the end of the episode, he is seen moving back into the Gilbert House.

In Disturbing Behavior, Elena and Damon are getting closer, despite Alaric's warning Damon to stay away. Later Alaric & Elena try to stop Damon from going after Bill Forbes but Alaric is soon afterwards killed by Damon. The next morning Alaric comes Back to life and is greeted by Damon with a drink however Alaric is not happy with Damon for killing him and gets up and leaves.

In Smells Like Teen Spirit, Alaric is seen training Elena how to kill vampires in the woods. Later Alaric tries to help Elena from Stefan, but Stefan warns him not to get in his way.Elena tells Alaric how she’s one of Klaus’ assets now because of her blood and Stefan is sort of her bodyguard, she guesses. Later at night in Rick's classroom, discussing the plan. After Elena gets drunk and distracts Stefan long enough for Alaric to shoot him with a wooden stake. While in Alaric car Vicki sets it on fire to try to Kill Elena Alaric outside trying to free her. Stefan the kicks the door Alaric and Elena pull Stefan to safety. Back at the Salvatore house Elena asks Ric wants to rekindle his bromance with Damon. Ric’s not too enthused.

In Ghost World, Damon goes to Alaric and tells him about Mason Lockwood ghost however Alaric still mad at Damon for killing doesn't want to help but until they both see Mason appear. Later Damon needed Alaric to enter a cave in which he can't enter at first Alaric doesn't what to help after Damon tries to apologize in his way, Alaric and Damon finally renew their friendship.

In Ordinary People, Alaric and Elena are in the cave and discover a lot of drawing and words in Viking script. He translates the writings on the wall and concludes that they are Viking script of the Original Family and their history. He finds a symbol for the Original Witch and the story of her death, as well as the Hybrid curse. He also finds the names of Klaus and Rebekah written on the wall. He takes photos of the cave wall and eventually is able to translate them completely.

In The New Deal, Alaric is at the Grill, reading his students' papers. He went there to see Jeremy who had F for his midterm paper, but is an hour late for his shift. Later he learns that Jeremy was fired last week, and tells this to Elena. Together they try to convince Jeremy stop hanging out with Tyler, because he is sired to Klaus and considered dangerous. But it backfires and Jeremy invites Tyler in. Alaric asks Tyler the difference between being sired to and being compelled, and they learn that although he denies, he is blindly loyal to Klaus.

Then Jeremy receives a phone call from Klaus. He was compelled to stand in front of a speeding car after he receives this call. When Alaric sees the car, he runs and saves Jeremy in the nick of time. Luckily the driver is Tony, a hybrid, so Alaric will come back to living. But when he wakes up, he still has his internal bleeding. He states something's wrong with the ring. Paramedics come but they are stopped by Tony, who is killed by Jeremy. Alaric is then taken to the hospital. There he meets beautiful Meredith Fell, who is amazed by his incredible fast recovery, unknown to her, it was Damon's blood. At the end, he and Elena decide to make Jeremy leave town. On their request, Damon compels Jeremy to leave the town behind and never think twice about it.

In Our Town, Alaric is with Elena at his house, training. He then accompanies Damon to the Founder's Council Feast, where he meets doctor Meredith again. As he got outside, he notices an argument between Meredith and her ex-boyfriend Brian. He intervenes and causes Brian to go away. Before he does, Brian says that Meredith is a psycho. After he took Jeremy to the airport, he meets Meredith at the Grill, who states that she has lost a patient.

In The Ties That Bind, Alaric has lunch with Meredith at the Grill, and invites her to dinner as well. He is warned by Damon to take it easy with his new girlfriend, because he believes that she may have been the one who committed the murder. Alaric tells Damon he can handle the problem, but is interrupted again during a physical-training time. Visiting him at home, Alaric is informed again by Damon that Meredith used vervain on him and took his blood.

Alaric gets nervous and goes to the hospital where he meets Meredith. He tells her he knows about what had happened and needs answers. Meredith reveals him that she hates her patients dying so every time when she has the occasion to heal them, she will do it. In change for telling him the truth, Meredith wants to know more about Alaric. He tells her that he's a vampire hunter. After that, they kiss, but their moment is stopped by Elena.

In Bringing Out The Dead, he and Elena learn that the stake used in the recent murder of the town's medical examiner as well as a council member was a stake from the Gilbert's arsenal. He begins to believe Meredith is behind the murder and begins to investigate when Bill Forbes is also killed with another Gilbert stake. Later that night Elena arrives home to find blood everywhere and Alaric stabbed and bleeding to death.

He orders Elena to kill him, so that they know for sure he will come back to life, since Elena as a doppelgänger is a supernatural occurrence and the attacker 's identity is still unknown. When he comes back to life he reaches for Elena for comfort.He is mentioned to be in hospital by Elena ton Matt. He is under observance but in a stable status.

In All My Children, Alaric is seen at the grill with Meredith, when Damon calls him asking if he is with psycho doctor. Later that night Alaric defends Meredith from Kol and ends up getting stabbed by Kol, Alaric then stabbed Kol with the dagger. And starts to drag him outside he is greeted by Damon and Stefan until Klaus shows and pulls the dagger out. Later he is brought to Meredith house saying he need to help Elena but she reminds him that he is too injured to leave. Later that night Alaric wakes up goes into the kitchen and sees files of the murder victims along with a knife. He sees Meredith standing there with a gun saying he was not supposed to see this and shoots him.

In 1912, Alaric is healed from his gunshot wound by Meredith who uses vampire blood before framing him for the murders. Sheriff Forbes arrests him as all evidence points to him and, during the investigation, the only things that he says are things that will only incriminate him further such as the phone conversation he had with Meredith in which she told him Brian Walters' time of death and he was too drunk to remember the conversation. However, it is eventually revealed that Alaric had an alibi for the time of death when Meredith reveals that she had been mistaken about Brian Walters' time of death.

Alaric returns home where he is approached by Meredith who convinces him not to slam the door in her face when she tells him that she had framed not to lock him up but to eliminate him as a suspect. She then reveals that she believes that he had actually committed the murders albeit unknowingly due to the strong blackouts that he's been experiencing such as the night of the Wickery Bridge fundraiser and the night when he was attacked. Meredith believes him to be sick and says that she wants to help him. Elena believes that Meredith is right after reading the journal of Samantha Gilbert which revealed that she had committed similar killings while wearing the Gilbert Ring that her grandfather Johnathan had given her.

In Break On Through, Alaric is subjected to tests at the hospital by Meredith to determine if his psyche has been damaged in some way. The results are positive and it appears as though Alaric is fine. Later Alaric falls asleep and when he awakes his alter ego (referred to by Bonnie as The Darkness) is in complete control. Dark Alaric then attempts to kill Meredith, though he fails. Elena returns and Dark Alaric attempts to kill her as well though he is stopped by Stefan. Bonnie later attempts to make herbs for Alaric in an attempt to help him resist being controlled by The Darkness.

In The Murder of One, Alaric considers turning himself in upon discovering that he is the Mystic Falls Serial Killer though he is dissuaded by Stefan and Damon who insist that he help them with their latest plan to kill close through the used of the remnant of white oak wood fashioned into stakes. Alaric hides one of the White Oak Stakes on one of his book shelves only to announce to Damon that the stake has gone missing. Damon and Alaric attempt to find to stake when Alaric realizes that since he was the only one who had access to the stake and knew its location, the culprit must be his alter ego (The Darkness).

In Heart of Darkness, Stefan attempts to force Alaric into losing consciousness in the hopes that The Darkness will take over when he awakes. Klaus appears and kills Alaric hoping to expedite the process though when he awakes he is still himself. Alaric suggests to Stefan that the only way to force his alter ego out of hiding is to threaten his life. Stefan begins to beat Alaric within an inch of his life until finally Dark Alaric appears.

Stefan manages to force Alaric's alter ego into revealing the location of the final white oak stakes. Dark Alaric states that the stake is in the Cave where no vampire can enter. Rebekah then forces Alaric to the cave so he can retrieve the stake. Dark Alaric attempts to bargain in order to save his own life, and so that he can keep the stake. Rebekah steps into the cave revealing herself to be Esther and both her and Alaric form an alliance.

During Do Not Go Gentle, Esther and Alaric conspire together in order to kill Klaus and her entire family. Esther takes Dark Alaric to the place of her death over 1,000 years ago and casts a spell bind Alaric's ring with the white oak stake, thus making the stake indestructible. Esther then calls Elena to the same location and uses her blood to perform the same ritual used by her over 1,000 years ago to turn her husband and children into vampires.

Esther decides to make Alaric the "vampire to end all vampires." Esther gives Dark Alaric Elena's blood and tries to perform the ritual on him. She then stakes him through the chest with the White Oak Stake. Alaric later awakes as himself and stops Esther from killing Jeremy and Matt who had come to rescue Elena. Alaric decides that it would be too dangerous to complete the transition into an Original Vampire, and so he decides to let himself die. Just before he dies, Bonnie appears while under the control of Esther and incapacitates Damon using her magic. She then feeds Alaric her blood which completes his transition into an Original Vampire.

In Before Sunset, Alaric holds Caroline Forbes and Elena Gilbert at Mystic Falls High School captive in order to lure out Klaus. He then attempt to persuades Elena in siding that every vampire should die. After a brutal battle with Stefan, Damon and Klaus, Elena learns that her death will also bring Alaric's death. Alaric insists she is wrong, but tells Elena to stop when she cuts herself. Klaus overpowers Alaric and flees from the battle with Elena. As the night begins, Alaric calls an important founders meeting to show the failure in the town attempt to keep it safe (Revealing that the children are supernatural creatures).

In The Departed, Alaric goes to the hospital where Elena has been taken for treatment after collapsing. He informs Meredith that he has told the Council everything and that her license will be revoked. After that, he disposes of the vampire blood she keeps to heal her patients. He also tells her that he is taking Elena and that, as his guardian, she can't stop him. However, as he goes to get her, she has already left with Jeremy. Alaric later meets Jeremy at the Grill where he tells her that he can help him: if Jeremy tells him where to find Klaus's body, he will be able to kill all the Originals and then they can magically immobilize him until Elena dies at which point he will also die.

Jeremy later contacts him and tells him that Damon is burying Klaus's body off Route 12. However, this is a trap set up by Jeremy. Elena and he have made a deal with Elijah to exchange Klaus's body for neutralizing Alaric by stealing the stake from him. In exchange, Elijah will take the stake and Klaus and get out of Mystic Falls, taking Alaric with them. However, despite Jeremy's misleading, Alaric finds where Damon has hidden Klaus and, after breaking his neck, starts to search the storage lockers for him. Before he finds him, Rebekah arrives to pick up Klaus. Damon and Rebekah attempt to get Klaus out, but Alaric finds them and stakes Klaus' body. Rebekah then runs and Alaric pursues her. He later returns and finds Damon on the phone with Elena.

They then start to fight and Damon tries to invoke their friendship to stop him. However, Alaric tells him that their friendship was what was wrong and that he never should have forgotten who he truly was. However, Damon, who had a memory of the first time he met Elena before compelling her to forget, starts to fight back, using his anger and his love as boost to his strength.

However, as they fight, Elena dies when Rebekah forces Matt to drive off the road and into the river. Alaric then dies in Damon's arms, who knows that he has lost both his best friend and the girl he loves. Alaric then appears to Jeremy as a ghost, his old self again. He tells him that he will always look out for him, even from the next world. This is how Jeremy learns that Elena is dead, as his life was bounded to Elena's life by Esther.

Alaric makes his first official appearance in Memorial, Damon talks to Alaric's gravestone and tells him how he misses him but Damon has little knowledge that Alaric's ghost is sitting beside him. Even though Alaric knows Damon can't see him Alaric's ghost replies "I miss you too buddy." This shows that Alaric will not only be watching over Elena and Jeremy but Damon as well.

Although not making an appearance, Alaric was mentioned multiple times in We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes. The first is when Matt sits in Alaric's seat and Damon tells him the seat is taken, second when Damon notices Jeremy is still wearing the family ring even after it drove Alaric crazy, and third when Damon sits in Alaric's old classroom and raises a bottle of bourbon in the air before taking a drink, as it is both Alaric and Damon's favorite drink.

In After School Special, after Elena tells Damon that she loves him, Damon looks up at the sky and smiles. At that moment, it seems like Damon is thinking of and thanking Alaric.

Alaric was mentioned by Elena in Stand By Me. She was talking about how she can no longer live in the Gilbert's House because it is filled with memories of the people that she loves who have died and she knows that Damon wants his drinking buddy back.

He was also mentioned by Elena in Bring It On. While Elena is fighting Caroline, Caroline mentions that she's older and more powerful than Elena, but Elena says that Caroline has no fighting experience, and Elena was trained by Alaric. She then demonstrates her strength and almost kills Caroline easily until their fight is broken up by Stefan and Damon.

Alaric returned as a Ghost in The Walking Dead when the veil was dropped. When Damon is injured by Elena, Alaric shows up and helps him. After proving he is not Silas, Damon and he head into the basement. Silas later uses his form in an attempt to trick Damon but Damon sees through this. At the end of the episode, Alaric gives Damon the Cure.

He will also be in Graduation.

Personality

His fixation on Isobel eventually came to pass when he learned of her transformation into a vampire and he managed to let her go, namely after she compelled him to do so, so that he could go along with his life. This allowed him to develop his relationship with Jenna.

Alaric started to warm up to the others and started to form of sort of partnership with Damon as they investigated what happened to Isobel and her connection to John Gilbert. This partnership eventually evolved into a particularly strong friendship, some even considering Damon Alaric's best and only friend.

However, after Jenna's death, Alaric was unhinged and started to fall into a state of depression when he was seen drinking away the pain. While he was portrayed as a moderate drinker before the incident, Jenna's death led him to develop a rather severe drinking problem with Meredith Fell calling him a borderline alcoholic. He tried to take care of Elena and Jeremy, but had difficulty living up to the task. This dark part of him was also emphasized due to the many times that he had died and came back to life. It also connected to his suppressed guilt at the way his life had taken and all the pain that had resulted from it which made him fall prey to the darkness within him and turned him into a serial killer.

Once he had been turned into an Original vampire, his darker aspect took complete control, and although now a vampire, was determined to hunt down the Original family and end the existence of vampires, showing that that was all he cared about by agreeing to be desiccated after he had finished his work. His hatred of vampires and vampire sympathizers was just as potent as it had been during his fits of insanity, outing former friends to the Town Council to be hunted down. He also considered his real personality a disgrace, who had befriended the very things that had ruined his life and also was disgusted by ever having been friends with Damon.