Yeah, it all went downhill without him. They had such a good relationship & he saw that, I think Plec only ever cared about getting praise from the rabid shippers out there
That proved to me that Caroline was not a character at all, she was just there to be with whoever the writers felt like putting her with that week. She fell for Tyler because it made sense for her, it was something that happened naturally for her character.... everything that came after that was not about her at all.