Damon Salvatore: He'll Kill You With His Smolder

[Lisin]

My favourite character on this show. Not just because Ian Somerhalder is so pretty. He's the least boring character and the only one who seems to really have this whole BEING A FREAKING VAMPIRE thing down. He doesn't apologize for what he is which I like.

[formerlyfreedom]

My favourite character on this show. Not just because Ian Somerhalder is so pretty. He's the least boring character and the only one who seems to really have this whole BEING A FREAKING VAMPIRE thing down. He doesn't apologize for what he is which I like.

What she said.

Of course, being pretty does not hurt...

[Lisin]

Of course, being pretty does not hurt...

And he sure is pretty... My husband is constantly pointing out that he looks like Rob Lowe's little brother which is true, and also not a bad thing!

[Cattitude]

I have to chime in and agree. I mean really they are vampires and I always loved how he would be real about "good" Stefan being a "delusional wagon" I could not agree more!

They are by nature evil killers without remorse. I flove that he OWNS it!

And OMG he is a beautiful hunk of....MEOW!

[2Old2BAFangirl]

Ian Somerhalder is the reason I started watching this show and Damon Salvatore is the reason I continue to watch it. 

I love Damon!  He's fun and funny.  He's smart and quick thinking.  He's the one the entire group turns to when they have a problem to solve and even though they may not like his solutions, they know he'll take care of business if necessary.  I love that his first response to every problem is "Kill 'em!".  It's not just hilarious, it's also usually the way they should have gone in the first place!

And pretty?  Holy moly!  He's so beautiful it hurts to look at him.  (My undying admiration for anyone old enough to recognize where that line comes from!)

[Lisin]

He's so beautiful it hurts to look at him.

Well, it seems you've found your people here. MSCL was a great show that was gone too soon and I have always loved that line :)

[2Old2BAFangirl]

You just made my night, Lisin!  A little MSCL love is always great!

I guess it's a good thing Damon doesn't lean that often - although when he does, he leans great! :)

[Lisin]

He DOES lean great.

[dreamwriter31]

Damon is by far my favorite character and Ian is one beautiful man. He is the most "vampire-like" out of the brothers and I like his attitude and snark. Of course, any scene that takes off his shirt doesn't hurt either ;-P

[truthaboutluv]

I guess that's part of why I've always been able to see through Damon's bullshit, as Somerholder does nothing for me. His constant eye bugging and twitching just makes him look deranged half the time IMO.

Edited April 8, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[MachuPichu]

Same here, truth ^^. Damon annoys the living crap out of me, Twitchyholder does absolutely nothing for me, which doesn't help, of course. I'm sick and tired of his "I'm not good enough for the girl" whiny bull and temper tantrums that would leave my 4-year old feeling ashamed on his behalf.

[TwistedandBored]

I really love Damon. I just love every version of him…the good, the bad, the psycho, the demon, etc. 

[Bitterswete]

I think Damon is physically attractive, and even entertaining sometimes. But the character lost me a long time ago. And it's not because he does bad stuff. I've liked plenty of characters who are probably worse than Damon in some ways.

My main problem with Damon is that I see him as sort of weak. Not in terms of physical strength, or being willing to jump into dangerous situations, or being willing to make the "hard choices" (which usually amount to killing someone, which isn't actually hard for him so doesn't qualify as a strength in my book). Actually, these things are pretty easy to do compared to actually trying to be a better person, or controlling himself enough not to go off like a spoiled brat whenever his feelings get hurt, or just manning the hell up.

For example, he's been whining about not being good enough for how long now? But how much has he actually done to become better? Not much. There have been stretches where it's seemed like maybe he's improving. A little. Then something slightly bad will happen and he falls right back to his old ways. That, to me, makes him weak. And I just don't find that kind of weakness all that attractive.

To me, Damon "following his urges," doing whatever he wants, hurting whoever and not caring (whether it's "for the cause" or because he's mad and pitching a fit) isn't about him embracing his true vampire self. It's about him doing what's easy. And I don't see much to admire in that.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Bitterswete

[truthaboutluv]

To me, Damon "following his urges," doing whatever he wants, hurting whoever and not caring (whether it's "for the cause" or because he's mad and pitching a fit) isn't about him embracing his true vampire self. It's about him doing what's easy. And I don't see much to admire in that.

 

This so much. This is what made his last acting out so eye-rolling worthy. I don't find Damon's shit cute or compelling. Dude is almost 200 years old and every time he gets his woobie feelings hurt, his answer is to be a prick and it's all, "well this is me, me bad, everyone thinks I'm not good enough".. It's like boo-freaking-hoo dude. I'm completely over this bullshit of Elena's magical vagina, oh I'm sorry her "great love" makes him want to be a better person and without that he can't be. It's such bullshit. If Damon wants to be a better person then man the hell up and BE A BETTER PERSON. And if he wants to be an asshole and just go around hurting people for the love of it, then man up and just do that and freaking own it. 

It's the same reason I'm so over the Damon/Elena relationship bullshit. It's the same tired ass merry-go-round. He throws 5 year old tantrums and acts like a giant man-child and she makes excuses for it as she's been doing long before they were even a couple. Oh but now I guess we're supposed to believe they're finally acknowledging the unhealthiness of their relationship but yeah we'll see how that lasts. Honestly I just find Damon's schtick boring and like I said above, considering the fact that I'm not that interested in his looks or find him that hot and attractive, it makes it really hard to see past the bullshit.

And I think the writers made a very huge mis-step in my opinion having him attack Jeremy AGAIN. I could look past killing Aaron because it's not like Aaron meant anything to Damon or any of these people really than being Elena's friend for all of a minute. But I'm supposed to look over how TWICE now, when Damon felt hurt and slighted by Elena he basically hurt and very nearly murdered the only family she has left? Seriously? And this is someone you love so much? That the second your poor woobie feelings are hurt you're willing to take the only family she has left from her? Granted it's not like Elena gives a shit about Jeremy anyway but still, this is the kind of stuff I can't just brush off and think "aw that Damon, ain't he an adorable stinker..."

Edited April 19, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Cattitude]

See to me Stefan is so NOT genuine to himself and I see that as pathetic so another reason I love Damon so much more. None of them except Matt and Jeremy are humans. To me a vampire trying to act like a human is ridiculous NOT noble. It would be like a tiger trying to pretend it was a gazellle, why would a tiger do that?

Vampires are not good creatures and aren't meant to fight against who they are. Their basic instinct is to kill people b/c human blood is what they eat. That is why Damon is such the better vampire b/c he gets that and doesn't get all wounded when he kills someone. Frankly down deep I think that is why Elena the vampire loves Damon more than Stefan. She herself I think would be more like him except Stefan and Caroline the holier than thou vampire police (RME) make her feel guilty for being true to her vampire nature. This is also the reason Damon doesn't feel good enough, b/c of his brothers phoney martyrdom. If you can't tell I really detest Stefan the good(not stefan the ripper)

For me I want to watch vampires be more like vampires that is why the earlier seasons were better b/c more vampire stuff, now it is like they all are striving to be like humans which makes no sense to me.

Damon knows how to be a vampire, and he is really really HOTT! Meow!

[truthaboutluv]

And like I said, I call bullshit on the whole "Damon is just a real vampire, embracing being who he is..." If that were the truth, then Damon would still be early S1 Damon who basically went around torturing just about everyone including Stefan himself and of course using Caroline's body as his own personal blow up doll. And again if he's all about just being true to who he is, why didn't he ever try to kill Elena when she was the one hurting his poor woobie feelings? 

I mean he's a real vampire right - their natural instinct and true nature is to feed on humans. It's only right. And like I said above, if who he really is, is this "true vampire" who really just wants to hurt people and be fine with it, then freaking man up and admit that and give no crap about it. Either way, I want him to shut the hell up and quit with the whiny ass tantrums that I don't give a crap about. I maintain that Damon's behavior has squat to do with embracing being a "true vampire" and instead the oh so obvious and cliche bullshit of the  bad boy with the so called heart of gold. We're supposed to be moved by his deep desire to want to be good for only saint Elena. Except until he realized Katherine had duped his stupid ass for more than a 100 years, he was only obsessed with her. 

And I always have and will continue to disagree with the suggestion that Stefan doesn't want to accept who he really is and is fake or whatever else. Once again, Stefan is an addict with addict's compulsions on human blood. He has zero control of his actions and becomes completely unstable. Not wanting to be that out of control does not mean not being true to yourself. And yes in case it hasn't been obvious, I can't stand Damon but on a positive note, I'm more indifferent as opposed to loathing him like I loathe Elena. 

This is also the reason Damon doesn't feel good enough, b/c of his brothers phoney martyrdom.

 

Damon doesn't feel good enough because he keeps getting involved with women who are also involved with his brother and basically being their second choice. Speaking of pathetic, let's talk about his being so pathetic for Katherine that he willingly wanted to become a vampire for her and willingly accepted her sleeping with his brother who she was mind-controlling to be okay with sleeping with them both. And then he wants to get all on his high horse to Katherine this season about how she ruined him. Seriously, once again, the idiot who WILLINGLY wanted to become a vampire.

And now we're supposed to be moved everytime he feels insecure about Elena's feelings. Well gee that's kind of what happen when you pursue someone who is dating your brother, who kept repeatedly saying how much she loved him. Yeah he finally got her - it only took Stephan going Ripper, Elena dying and becoming a vampire. But truly he can have her because she is god awful. So Damon's not feeling good enough imo, is more of his whiny, man-pain that I'm supposed to find compelling except I just want him to take a giant cup of shut the hell up and get the hell over yourself. 

Edited April 20, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Cattitude]

Stating my opinion is not to deminish how you feel, I just feel the opposite.

I found Stefan much more compelling when he was working with Damon to try and feed on humans without going all ripper. To me that is controling his addiction, not acting like b/c he wants to NOT act like a vampire he is better than vampires that do. That holier than thou crap he and Caroline spill out grates.

Just b/c Damon wants to be a real vampire it is not a weakness and I despise that Stefan makes him feel like it is. That is not to say Damon isn't emotionally inmature and I think that may be why you really don't like him. He is like a human who when he gets his feelings hurt punches a wall or gets inappropriately drunk. Damon doesn't handle his hurt feelings in a healthy way, but in a vampire unhealthy way. I find it realistic of his personality so it doesn't bother me when he acts out and I think that is how the other characters feel too. That is why he get a pass so often about it. Same as an uncle Bob who punches a wall or gets drunk when he is upset would IRL.

Damon never had a Lexi so it is not surprising he never matured emotionally even though he had 200 years. Elena is kind of his Lexi but he is new at it and he makes occasional missteps, much like Stefan did when he would fall off the wagon with Lexi. I think Damon is doing better now. He isn't with Elena but he isn't acting out emotionally either even though Enzo is encouraging him to.

And again I'll just mention I find him incredibly HOTT.

 

And then he wants to get all on his high horse to Katherine this season about how she ruined him. Seriously, once again, the idiot who WILLINGLY wanted to become a vampire.

This is somewhat misleading. Damon loved Katherine so much and thought she loved him so he wanted to be a vampire to be with his love forever. THAT is why at the time he wanted to be a vampire. After he missed her for 100 years he finds out she never really loved him at all and just lead him on. She was willing to let him become a vampire to be with her forever and didn't tell him she really was just using him. THAT is how she ruined his life. She lied to him. He would never have wanted to be with her forever if he knew she was manipulating him(as Elena helped him see later). He felt she shouldn't have encouraged him becoming a vampire for her.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Cattitude

[TwistedandBored]

Stating my opinion is not to deminish how you feel, I just feel the opposite.

Yup! No one but me can change how I feel about a character. I love Damon. I find him to be more compelling than any other on TVD right now.

[truthaboutluv]

This is somewhat misleading. Damon loved Katherine so much and thought she loved him so he wanted to be a vampire to be with his love forever. THAT is why at the time he wanted to be a vampire. After he missed her for 100 years he finds out she never really loved him at all and just lead him on. She was willing to let him become a vampire to be with her forever and didn't tell him she really was just using him. THAT is how she ruined his life. She lied to him. He would never have wanted to be with her forever if he knew she was manipulating him(as Elena helped him see later). He felt she shouldn't have encouraged him becoming a vampire for her.

 

 

I don't understand how it was misleading. Katherine didn't initially plan on disappearing. She just managed to manipulate one of the people who were going to throw her into the cave, to let her go and so managed to escape. But her plan was to have both Stefan and Damon become vampires and basically have them both to herself for as long as she desired. But more than that, Katherine didn't hide her selfish/manipulative nature from Damon even before she vanished for a number of years. 

 

While she was mind controlling Stefan to be okay with her being a vampire, feeding on his blood and sleeping with both him and Damon, Damon knew all that was happening and was fine with it. So I don't buy that he was just so in love and she manipulated him. He could see what she was willing to do with his brother and to his brother and instead of recognizing that this is probably not the kind of woman who will madly be in love with him, he foolishly told himself that somehow it meant their love was so much stronger because unlike Stefan he didn't need to be mind controlled. The situation with Katherine is another one of the reasons I can never like Damon - nothing is ever his fault. 

 

Katherine manipulated him, it's all part of his vampire nature, Stefan is mean to him, he's always second best to Stefan, etc. etc. Nothing is simply that he makes or made a shitty choice and is suffering for it.

[Cattitude]

Damon admits his own fault plenty of times. At the time Katherine met Damon she was really old and he was a 19 y/o kid.  He'd probably never been in love in his life, easy to see how he was manipulated by Katherine. He acted like a young inmature man his age would. When he was dying from Tyler's bit he admited he made the wrong choice. He saw that he had a choice and he made the wrong one difference is he LEARNED from it. When Katherine was dying he remembered how evil she was and told the truth. He didn't feel sorry for her b/c he knew who she was. That is why all the rest got played. They fell in a trap he would never fall in again.

 

Stefan had been awful plenty of times when he wasn't the ripper like when he killed Andie and when he fed Elena his blood and almost drove her off the Wickery Bridge. Yet he tries to act better than Damon all the time. One of the reasons I can never like Stefan, he kids himself he is somehow better than Damon.

[Carrie Ann]

I agree that Stefan "tries to act better than Damon all the time." That's what makes him better than Damon. Stefan doesn't actually believe that he is naturally a better person than Damon. He is a vampire, and he has done terrible things. He takes responsibility for those actions, and tries to make up for them by being a better person. He cares. He tries. Damon doesn't. That's the difference.

 

Stefan believes that Damon has the potential to be better--he just wants him to care and to try. That's why he's never been able to completely give up on him (and why Damon couldn't give up on Stefan when he was a ripper either).

[Bitterswete]

To me a vampire trying to act like a human is ridiculous NOT noble. It would be like a tiger trying to pretend it was a gazellle, why would a tiger do that?

 

Vampires are not good creatures and aren't meant to fight against who they are. Their basic instinct is to kill people b/c human blood is what they eat.

 

There are no rules about how a vampire should or shouldn't behave, or what a vampire is supposed to be like. It just comes down to the kind of vampire each individual viewer prefers. And I'm open to a vamp being any kind of way as long as it makes for a good story. 

 

And the tiger analogy would only work if TVD vamps were incapable of feeling guilt and remorse, they couldn't feel empathy for others, or they couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong.  But TVD vamps can do all of those things (pretty much like humans). So if killing people makes a vamp feel guilt and remorse, and they decide not to kill anymore (which they can do because they don't need to kill to survive) I don't see anything abnormal about it. And vamps who seem to have no problem going around killing people whenever the mood strikes them aren't somehow more natural. They are just different. 

 

Humans can have some pretty violent impulses too. It's actually considered normal. But someone who gives in to those impulses and, for example, punches anybody who ticks them off isn't considered somehow "more natural" than someone who doesn't. I'm certainly not going to admire the hothead for "being more true to himself" or whatever. I'm just going to think he's a hothead who can't control himself or his temper. Which is pretty much how I see Damon. 

 

I agree that Stefan "tries to act better than Damon all the time." That's what makes him better than Damon. Stefan doesn't actually believe that he is naturally a better person than Damon. He is a vampire, and he has done terrible things. He takes responsibility for those actions, and tries to make up for them by being a better person. He cares. He tries. Damon doesn't.

 

I agree with all of this. Stefan isn't perfect, and he's done his share of bad things. But when he's in his right mind he tries to be a good person.

 

One of Damon's big issues is not thinking he's good enough, and I'm supposed to feel his pain. But, since he doesn't actually try to be better, it's hard for me to sympathize.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Bitterswete

[immortalfrieza]

To me a vampire trying to act like a human is ridiculous NOT noble. It would be like a tiger trying to pretend it was a gazellle, why would a tiger do that?

Vampires are not good creatures and aren't meant to fight against who they are. Their basic instinct is to kill people b/c human blood is what they eat.

The difference is a tiger only acts on their instincts and are incapable of doing otherwise. Human beings have basic instincts too, but since we are sentient beings we are able to defy those instincts via overriding them with rational thought. Since vampires are sentient beings they are perfectly capable of doing the same, and just like with us it may not be easy but they can manage it.

 

I do like Damon better though. Out of the two brothers I find him to be significantly more believable both as a person and a vampire. Stefan has this whole holier than thou thing going on, trying way too hard to be a good little vampire while Damon accepts who and what he is and reacts accordingly. Stefan also tends to be a total hippocrate.

[Carrie Ann]

One of Damon's big issues is not thinking he's good enough, and I'm supposed to feel his pain. But, since he doesn't actually try to be better, it's hard for me to sympathize.

This is why I've gotten tired of Damon, aside from his use as comic relief. He angsts about not being good enough, but also says he doesn't want to be good. And he proves that over and over. It just makes him look immature and selfish. If he was so accepting of himself, he would stop whining about it and stop expecting to have everything he wants without doing any work for it.

 

In a perfect storytelling world, I think the writers would have put him on a decent character development arc, where he would have become self-actualized by the end of the series. He was on that track for a few seasons, and then the writers screwed up. It's not entirely their fault, because they don't have an end date, and they don't want him to be good too early. But instead, what's happened is that they've undercut him as a character so many times that I just can't care about him anymore. (They've done this with everybody at this point, which is why I'm pretty much done with the show at the end of this season.) Until he owns his shit and faces actual consequences for any of it (and no, being broken up with Elena while still having her moon over him doesn't count), and makes positive steps to change for real reasons and not to get Elena back, I'm not interested.

[Cattitude]

My point about the tiger and the gazelle spoke more to predatory nature of the relationship. Vampires' prey are humans and humans are weak in comparison. Why would the superior vampire strive to BE like his prey. It totally makes no sense. That is not to say that you can't be an "in control" vampire and not willie nillie kill people for no reason, but trying to resist feeding on humans EVER and that some how makes you a superior vampire is a ridiculous notion to me. That is why I don't relate well to Caroline and often times Stefan. In my vampire world the way Damon was trying to train Elena snatch-feed-earse method is far more realistic for a vampire I want to see.

I also think Damon is changing, he makes missteps but he is new at being a decent kind of vampire. The biggest point that makes me love him the most isn't when he acts out and does stupid inmature shit at times but b/c when he naturally NEEDS to kill someone for a purpose he doesn't get all angsty about. HE is like dude we ARE vampires.

I currently see Damon not going off the rails nor with Elena and he is still TCB, while Stefan hangs out at college not caring at all about the travelers' plan. I would fully expect Damon could kill someone if needed and not feel bad about it. To me that is being a vampire.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Cattitude

[Bitterswete]

Vampires' prey are humans and humans are weak in comparison. Why would the superior vampire strive to BE like his prey. It totally makes no sense.

 

 

One, I don't think vampires are superior. Physically, maybe, but that's not how I define superiority.

 

And who says a vamp who decides not to hurt people is trying to be human? To me, it just means hurting people makes them feel bad, so they've decided not to do it. Just seems logical to me. Why should someone do something that makes them unhappy?

 

As for vamps who don't seem to feel bad about hurting people, who's to say that's what a "true vampire" is supposed to be like? To me, it's no different from the fact that some humans don't feel bad about hurting people either. So it just seems that, like humans, vampires exist on a scale when it comes to how active their conscience is, rather than that a vamp like Damon is more of a "true" vampire. 

 

 

Damon was trying to train Elena snatch-feed-earse method

 

 

I have no problem with vamps doing this. (As one of my favorite vamps does.) But I've also got no problem with a vamp deciding they are okay with getting blood from a blood bank. Another one of my favorite vamps does this, and he is a total badass.

 

I would fully expect Damon could kill someone if needed and not feel bad about it. To me that is being a vampire.

 

 

I'm glad TVD vamps are capable of feeling remorse and such, because characters who aren't run the risk of being pretty two-dimensional, and not very interesting.

 

Interestingly, even before his Ripper past was revealed, I saw hints that Stefan would take someone out if he thought is was necessary. He was just more likely to try to find some other solution first. That ruthlessness I sensed in Stefan, even though I also believed he was basically a good guy who didn't like hurting people, made him more interesting to me, and added layers to his character.

 

With Damon, since he's been shown killing because he was mad, or his feelings were hurt, or for kicks, him killing "when it's necessary" is not all that interesting to me character wise. Damon kills people. It's what he does. He just sometimes has the excuse of it being "necessary." It doesn't add depth to his character because the whole, "Damon kills people" thing has been on the surface since the beginning.

[Cattitude]

And who says a vamp who decides not to hurt people is trying to be human? To me, it just means hurting people makes them feel bad, so they've decided not to do it. Just seems logical to me. Why should someone do something that makes them unhappy?

 

As for vamps who don't seem to feel bad about hurting people, who's to say that's what a "true vampire" is supposed to be like? To me, it's no different from the fact that some humans don't feel bad about hurting people either. So it just seems that, like humans, vampires exist on a scale when it comes to how active their conscience is, rather than that a vamp like Damon is more of a "true" vampire. 

I'll just try to answer the "who said" parts. I take my cue for being a "true vampire" from the originals and their back story. THAT is where I get my sense of how a vampire should be. Not one orginal was shown to feel remorse or fight against drinking from human's except Finn and he was mocked by the others and shown to be a "lessor" vampire.  He also was killed off the quickest and mourned the least by the siblings. He was shown to be an embarrassment to the vampire race.

 

And my actual ideal vampire is Elijah, but they don't really show him feeding though his ruthless killing methods lead me to believe he doesn't drink blood bags. He is kind when he wants to be but will kill without remorse.  For me in MF Damon is the closest to a true vampire, if you consider the original vampires the mold to go by(as I do). He is just emotionally inmature more like Klaus but not as big a baby and he is more loyal to Stefan than Klaus is to his siblings.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Cattitude

[MachuPichu]

The mentality and mindset of an era from which the originals come from is totally different compared to colonial America. They simply don't compare in terms of how two eras value human life. The original siblings came from an era where human life was short lived and the loss of human life way more common. You can argue people developed a sort of emotional immunity to the tragedy of a loss. It was all about survival. Plus, the originals have been around for hundreds of years and to them death has become the norm and, therefore, their reaction to death has evolved way past what is the norm by anyone's standards, not so much because human blood is their source of sustenance.

Contrast it to the colonial America, the progress in the field of agriculture, medicine, and major changes in the way of thinking when it comes to human rights, liberty, and value and quality of life. The whole societal norm has drastically changed in almost every aspect. So comparing the mindset of the originals and the vampires originated centuries later is like comparing apples to persimmons.

There is no "true vampire" mindset. Vampires originate from humans, and, as the show kept stressing in the early days, amplifies the core human characteristics. Like every person is different, so is a vampire. Damon was an insecure dick when he was a human and became an even more insecure dick as a vampire, hiding behind his insecurities and fully cognizant murderous sprees. He's a coward.

Stefan is rightfully disgusted by his need for human blood and his inability to control his thirst. Being a vampire doesn't negate the value one places on the human life. Not sure how anyone would even get to this conclusion.

[Lisin]

Hey guys, lets try to keep this disagreement civil. No need to call other posters out. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but lets try to stay civil please. I don't want to have to start editing/deleting posts. I think this is an interesting discussion but I'm not loving the tone of some posts. Lets also keep the Stefan topic about Stefan and the Damon topic about Damon etc. Thanks. 

[truthaboutluv]

Hard truth is if Stefan would have told the truth Damon would be a little mad but Stefan could help him cope. Instead Stefan is chosing to lie which will guaruntee when Damon does learn the truth he will be so angry at Stefan for lying he won't be able to help Damon cope. Then Damon will go off the rails and everyone will blame Damon and think Stefan was so noble. End of the day Stefan is making the wrong choice to lie which will cause the situation NOT Damon who will end up getting blamed. So I can't see Stefan as being kind. Damon's main reason for going off the rails usually is due to feeling controlled not so much anger itself. Stefan could help and be a better brother to Damon with the truth not a lie which will lead to alienation.

 

 

So if Damon chooses to go off and start killing people and being his usual asshole self when he finds out about Enzo it will be Stefan's fault for not telling him immediately? Damon holds no responsibility here at all for his own actions? Also, I have never gotten the impression that Damon's main reason for going off the rails is due to feeling controlled. That's why Damon snapped Jeremy's neck the first time? Because he felt controlled when Elena very nicely and very gently told him she cared about him as a friend but she couldn't give him more than that and loved his brother? And he felt controlled again when Katherine as Elena broke up with him? Really, that's why he murdered Aaron and tried to kill Jeremy? That sounds like a lot of victim blaming in my opinion and again, has Damon done anything that is all on Damon or is it always the fault of his horrible brother who makes him feel not good enough?

[MachuPichu]

There is no way I can ever buy the argument that Damon gets angry mostly when his feelings are being controlled (or whatever the argument was). There is simply nothing to support it. The perfect example was the breakup with Elena/Kat. How was that her trying to control his feelings? She right out said "we're done". There was no delay, no mingling words. Same when Elena told Damon they can't be more than friends.

And yes, Stefan has a point not wanting to tell Damon about Enzo. Did you see the crazy in Damon's eyes when he was boozing it up at the end of the episode, talking about how he owes Enzo to find him and save him (same Enzo you left to die, right, Damon?). I totally see this Damon going on a murder rampage. What's really frustrating is that Stefan should be able to tell Damon the truth without being afraid for everyone's life. Because, come on, Enzo was about to kill Elena and would have killed Stefan had he not decided to change his mind in the last moment. Stefan found Enzo going after Elena and then was fighting him to protect his own life. Why in the heck would Damon be mad at Stefan is beyond me, but we all know he would be mad at him.

I could never reconcile the Damon babying thing. It's damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to Damon vs anyone.

[Bella]

Hey guys, lets try to keep this disagreement civil. No need to call other posters out. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but lets try to stay civil please. I don't want to have to start editing/deleting posts. I think this is an interesting discussion but I'm not loving the tone of some posts. Lets also keep the Stefan topic about Stefan and the Damon topic about Damon etc. Thanks. 

 

Just reminding you all of what a moderator here said earlier today. 

 

You can say what you want - good, bad, indifferent - about the show and its characters. But talking about other posters, either directly or indirectly, is crossing the line here.

 

Talk about the show, not people who view things differently from you.

[Cattitude]

I love Damon because he is fun and charming. If I had to choose one being in MF to hang with I'd always pick Damon. He can party and have a good time. If danger or problems arise he will deal with them. He is my kind of vampire!

 

I miss season one Damon, I know he was BAD but I don't care I like my vampires wild crazy and fun. If I was going to live forever I'd rather have fun doing it. Hanging with Damon seems fun to me!

[immortalfrieza]

 It's damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to Damon vs anyone.

That's the real problem I think. It doesn't matter if Stefan lied to Damon or not, Damon would still go off the rails either way, all it takes is the slightest provocation with Damon. In fact, from Stefan's perspective lying to Damon is the best option he really has, at least that might have a chance in hell of preventing or postponing the inevitable rampage that way. We the viewers all know that before long the lie will come crumbling down and psycho Damon will be that much harder to turn back from the dark side as a result, but Stefan has no way of knowing that, and even if he could he would probably do it anyway just because he's grasping at any slight chance of stopping psycho Damon he can find.

Edited April 26, 2014 by immortalfrieza

[TwistedandBored]

Unsurprising I love "psycho", "evil", "dickish" and "immature" Damon the most. Flawed characters interest the most when I am watching tv and Damon is the most flawed character in MF. If I wanted to watch the perfect saintly character on screen I would watch disney movies. 

[Bitterswete]

Flawed characters interest the most when I am watching tv and Damon is the most flawed character in MF. If I wanted to watch the perfect saintly character on screen I would watch disney movies.

 

I love certain flawed characters too. In fact, messed up characters can be very interesting. I just don't find Damon all that engaging as written. He just misses the mark for me.

 

It actually reminds me of one of the big complaints I had with Smallville. The show would sort of play around with being "deep," but they somehow managed to do it in a very shallow way. And that's how I feel when it comes to Damon. His characterization feels very surfacy most of the time.

 

 

 

I miss season one Damon, I know he was BAD but I don't care I like my vampires wild crazy and fun. If I was going to live forever I'd rather have fun doing it. Hanging with Damon seems fun to me!

 

One, whether a character is good and engaging doesn't have much to do with whether I'd want to hang out with them. There are some awesome characters that I love but wouldn't want to be in the same state with. Still, I can happily spend hours watching them be awesome.

 

For example, I love Angelus from Buffy. Watching him just be evil could be a blast. He just seemed to enjoy it so much. And he was definitely a fun character, even when he was saying or doing something really bad, and making me laugh about stuff I knew I shouldn't be laughing about. In fact, as fun-loving vampires go, Angelus sort of has Damon beat.

 

I think the difference was that Angelus was almost like a force of nature. He was like this devastating presence that could mess with a person just by talking to them. (Although, of course, it was even worse when he got his hands on you.)

 

The TVD writers want Damon to be a woobie the audience sympathizes with, but also a bad boy who does these terrible things (because some viewers do like that version of the character). And that's hard for even really well-written shows to pull off.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Bitterswete

[Cattitude]

Damon has his own complexities that are there if you chose to see them. Human Damon was shown as a 19y/o fun loving sweet guy fighting in the Civil War. He and his brother were very close until a manipulative vampire came in between and tried to shatter that bond. Damon only wanted to be a vampire to be with his love. When she wasn't an option being faced with becoming a vampire he CHOSE to die. He did have some sweet innocence to him even then.

Stefan forced him into being a vampire against his will so they could be together, then proceeded to be vengeful and out of control to the point Damon couldn't stay with him.

 

So there Damon was a vampire alone in the world.Damon was pissed at his brother and had no helpful vampire. Damon kind of winged it. He is somewhat emotionally inmature, but he has also enjoyed his forever life. His life is full of stories and fun times. He is just now starting to see that sometimes his impulsiveness comes back to bit him and he is learning and changing.

 

I have no problem enjoying him. Damon is unpredictable. Who knows if he will go off the rails or not. Truth of the matter is Damon DOES help people and solve problems often so I have no problem seeing there is good in him along with the bad.

 

So I'll just continue to enjoy Damon b/c yes I DO like his kind of character. Oh and did I mention he's HOTT....MEOW!

Edited May 1, 2014 by Cattitude

[Jazzy24]

Damon is unpredictable!

He's not, Damon is the most predictable character on this show and it's annoying. He can be so much more but the writers are very uncreative so he's not.

Damon is not a scary vampire nor dangerous because we have seen Damon being "badass and emotional/dangerous" it's nothing new. We as the viewers know what Damon is capable of and so do the characters everything Damon has done is nothing new.

Now I don't like to compare Stefan and Damon(because Stefan is my fav and there is no comparison)but Stefan is the more dangerous and unpredictable of the two brothers. You won't see Stefan coming and he's more brutal.

[Cattitude]

hummm....that Damon is so predictable, yah I guess that is why he acted quite the opposite to what Stefan and Elena thought about Enzo's death that they were both kind of speechless. Reminds me of the time he chose NOT to go overseas with Stefan during WWII b/c it would be good for him but bad for Stefan but never told Stefan. Yah another time Stefan was speechless when he found out what really happened. Damon can always keep people on their toes by being unpredictable.

[Bitterswete]

hummm....that Damon is so predictable, yah I guess that is why he acted quite the opposite to what Stefan and Elena thought about Enzo's death that they were both kind of speechless.

 

I think this is what some mean when they refer to Damon being unpredictable as a positive attribute. Sometimes he'll handle "bad news" well (more or less), other times he'll totally go off. You just don't know which reaction you'll get, which is definitely a kind of unpredictability.

 

However, since Damon going off is a pretty common occurrence, it's not a big shock when it happens. The fact that everyone around him does worry about how he'll react to things proves that.

 

So Damon is unpredictable in the sense that you don't always know how he'll react to things. But him going off isn't unpredictable because he's done it so often, and it's sort of typical of his character.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Bitterswete

[TwistedandBored]

Honestly, Damon is the only reason why I am watching this stupid show. He goes and I am out. It is just that simple for me. 

[2Old2BAFangirl]

Honestly, Damon is the only reason why I am watching this stupid show. He goes and I am out. It is just that simple for me. 

 

Ditto for me.

 

I like all the characters (except Elena) a lot, but Damon is the reason I'm still watching.  The fun show that drew me in through 3 seasons has become a train wreck since Julie Plec became the sole showrunner, IMO.  I've quit trying to get much out of the ridiculously bad storylines anymore, the cure was a snooze, the doppelganger thing has been done to death and the Travelers are the most boring villains ever to bore me.  I can find something to like in pretty much every episode now that I've decided to let go of the idea that any of it will make sense. 

 

Damon and his snark are the best parts for me.  Without Damon (and Ian Somerhalder) I would have zero problem dropping this show now.

[TwistedandBored]

Oh, god! All the BIG stories like the cure, doppelgangers, and the travelers have been boring and stupid. There should never have been a doppelganger story. I am not a Stelena fan but if I was I would have been pissed me off by that story. Writers should have made the travelers-the big bad of this season. They feel wronged by the witches and want revenge should have been enough.

[TwistedandBored]

Wow! I don't think Damon is dead but he got an amazing fake send off. He with the help of Bonnie saved everyone. RIP!

[KatWay]

I liked Damon a whole lot better before he started dating Elena. This season he's been really good in scenes with anybody but her. The Damon/Enzo stuff was great, the little Damon/Stefan stuff was great, hell, this episode the Damon/Bonnie stuff was great (never saw that coming).

 

But everything Damon/Elena this season was awful. I don't know if it's because of the real life breakup, but their chemistry has been off, the actors come across as trying too hard in their scenes together. Ian can be subtle and good, but every scene with Elena the eye thing was off the charts. And they had the exact same conversation about a hundred times, I just could not listen to that whiny crap anymore.

 

I hope Damon next season can focus on his two BFFs and hopefully, especially if it's the last season, his relationship with Stefan. Just keep him (and Stefan) away from Elena, they're both so much more interesting when they're not dating her. Elena could also really benefit from some single time, maybe find her personality again (I could swear she had one at some point).

[2Old2BAFangirl]

Damon/Ian Somerhalder is integral to the Vampire Diaries, the same as Stefan/Paul Wesley and Elena/Nina Dobrev.  IMO, none of the three are particularly wonderful actors.  They're good but none are Oscar material.  I don't believe that Ian's "terrible googly eye acting" is worse than anyone else's acting.  I believe he does what he can with the incredible crap they give him, same as Paul Wesley. 

 

I also don't believe his every whim is catered to by the producers.  If this was true, Damon would've had a much better story this season than just being Elena's freakin' lapdog.  Damon's character was pretty trashed this season, any growth from the previous 4 years was forgotten when they made him act a fool after Kat/Elena broke up with him. The same character who told Stefan that he was not allowed to feel his guilt suddenly started blaming Katherine for every single bad thing that had ever happened to him - bullshit.  There are plenty of examples where they completely regressed Damon's character to S1 to serve their ridiculous storylines.  I just can't believe if Plec and Dries have such a hard-on for Ian and cater to his every whim, that he would've been fine with what they did this year to Damon.  I don't think Ian Somerhalder wants to play Damon as some "poor woobie" with manpain, in fact, he's said more than once that he likes it when Damon is badass.

 

Plec and Dries also chose to ruin the Damon/Elena relationship.  I didn't see anything wrong with their chemistry - I saw crap storylines that included ridiculous circumstances and over the top drama.  We were only 'told' that they had the best summer of their lives and were happy, we didn't get to see that. There was one quiet, normal moment of Damon and Elena cuddling on the couch before Silas came in, the rest was all contrived drama and crappy storylines.  I've seen comments about the "Delena Diaries" being the downfall of TVD and I just feel it's blatantly untrue.  We didn't get Delena.  We got - come here, no go away, come here, no go away, we're so bad for each other, blah, blah, blah - no real moments of just being a couple that we did get to see when it was Stefan and Elena.  It's as if Delena was only about sex which I don't think is true.  Of course, their attraction to each other was unquestionable, but so was their trust in each other and the ability to speak honestly with each other.  Anything other than sexual chemistry was thrown away in service to the horrible big, bad villain storylines.  So, if you weren't a fan of Damon or Delena, it's really easy to blame all S5's problems on them, but I just don't believe that's why the season was so bad.

 

S5 stinks because of the writing/storylines.  Silas was an awful big bad.  He was basically Ripper Stefan, only immortal.  Qetsiyah/Tessa was ridiculous. The character of Katherine, smarter than her enemies for 500 years, was annihilated when they made her the big bad.  I mean, that was seriously Katherine who was acting so idiotic?  No way.  And then, the Travelers.  Ugh, really?  I don't think that Stelena could've saved this season either - Stefan fans should be happy that Stefan got out from under the burden of being with Elena.  I used to want nothing more than Damon to be with Elena - be careful what you wish for because I take it all back!  I want original recipe Damon back, Stefan can have the horrible suckiness that is Elena!

 

This being the Damon thread, I'll stop ranting with opinions no one cares about by saying I bawled like I was a 13 year old at the ending of the finale.  I'm not comforted by Julie Plec's interviews about S6.  Only having Damon in flashbacks or daydreams will not work for me.  I want him back, in the flesh, hanging out with Alaric (which, YAY!) snarking with Stefan and being a general pain in the ass to the other characters.  If they had to kill off one of the main three, why couldn't it have been freakin' Elena?  I'd be so looking forward to S6 if that were the case! 

[Cattitude]

2Old2BAFangirl I agree with most of what you said except I still enjoy Delena. They were horribly written this season, but there were beats that I still liked. After seeing the finale I think what happened is they broke them up too soon and then kept showing the same fight to keep stringing them along until they got back together. They would have been better served to just have them apart for a while rather than the recycled fighting.

 

Delena was never the problem it was the horrible stories that were ill conceived and weak, plus the triangle. When Stefan was in the safe I liked Delena better, but after the writers tried to drag out the whole doppelganger's spelled to each other mess, it just really drug all three of them down. Paul as Silas was just awful but it must be hard trying to play different people in the same body. I like ripperStefan and doppelTom but Silas just missed the mark.The writing was subpar this season, but it wasn't due to Delena that the show wasn't as good. Plus I never have understood how they ARE toxic for eachother. Just b/c the writers kept saying it didn't make it true for me. They didn't do anything different than they ever did. I always laugh when I hear that John Legend song "All of Me" it is supposed to be a great romantic song, but it just reminds me of Delena and if they are toxic what is that song saying to people?

 

Ian is a very nice person and after he got killed off of LOST due to his own dang fault he now makes a great effort to be very social and professional. He is much more outgoing than most of the other cast so both Plec and Dries realize what he brings to fan draws. I don't think he dictates anything in regards to story. I think the Enzo comment was a joke. Just like the rest of the cast he is enjoying his good fortune having a popular show and acting out what they write for Damon.

 

I just can't imagine enjoying S6 if Damon is only in flashbacks or cameos. I so want a Damon, Alaric, Enzo snarkfest friendship. I could watch a whole episode of just them. Damon did still get a lot of snarky lines this season. He still seems himself to me minus the repetitive fights. I didn't mind him regressing at times, b/c that is what real growth is two steps forward one step back, he managed to recover himself much quicker and I think he is learning and growing, Damon of season 1 would NEVER have sacrificed himself to save them all.

 

Plec BETTER bring Damon back if everyone else gets a do over.

[KatWay]

I don't necessarily think that it's the fact that Delena got together that was the problem, but the way they were written this season (and also last season I'd argue) and how much focus they got. Stelena was a big part of S1-S3 but I never felt the show only came up with plots to push that pairing, whereas this season I felt like both Damon and Elena were written as basically thinking of little else but themselves and just endlessly repeating drama. 

 

This last episode Damon basically risked his life to save Stefan and sort of lost it (you know, for the summer, cause we all know he'll be back), he should have had a meaningful scene with his brother in this last episode. Instead, he only said goodbye to Elena. Elena who used to be written as caring about her friends thought of neither Jeremy or Bonnie this episode, but we were supposed to cheer for her just because she wanted to be with Damon. That's kind of where I'm coming from when I say the pairing has definitely not helped this season. We should have seen Elena grieve for Stefan (her friend), we should have seen her considering her friends and family. Instead: Delena drama.

 

There were so many episodes this season where the Salavtore brothers could have explored their relationship, but most of that was basically swept under a rug to focus more on Elena's relationships with both of them. The little bits we got were way more interesting to me than any of the bazillion tearful stare-offs Delena had.

 

I also totally believe they had Damon act that pissy and petty with Katherine to really, really hammer it home just how over her he was (while he was in twu wuv with Elena). Plus that scene where he casually fed her to Silas. It was an insult to the highly complex, if antagonistic relationship Damon used to have with Katherine, but I guess he's not allowed to care about anyone but Elena and his bromance du jour. I know the way the love triangle is played the "winner" is basically the one who "gets the girl" but seriously, when the price is Elena...I'd be inclined to cheer for whoever doesn't get stuck with her.

[Cattitude]

I totally believe the Salvatore brothers got the short end of the stick this season. That I fault the triangle on not Delena. If it wasn't so important for the writers to not let Stefan move on then the brothers could have had more scenes. Because Elena was always with one or the other most of the season they had very few scenes together b/c the three of them in scenes would be weird

I am slightly pissed that NOW that Damon is dead Stefan and Elena are finally just friends. Ugh why could this not have happened sooner, oh right the horrible doppelspell story. Trying to apease Stelena fans when they had no intention of breaking up Delena really hurt the brothers' ability to interact.

 

Stefan and Damon should have gotten some kind of scene together when either one of them died. I just can't fathom that Damon will stay dead and NEVER got to say goodbye to his brother. I feel the season finale was too short and they just couldn't get all the beats in, they should really have made it a two parter. Since I like Delena I liked their scenes I don't think they shouldn't have had them, just Damon should have gotten a scene with Stefan too.

[TwistedandBored]

While we spend the next few months wondering where the heck everyone in town will drown their sorrows in bourbon, it should probably also be mentioned that Damon Salvatore is also dead.

I'm sorry, though, I'm not buying it.

To far too many fans, Damon is The Vampire Diaries. Ian Somerhalder is The Vampire Diaries. Few actors have as much passion for any project as Somerhalder has shown for TVD over the years - and few fan bases show as much passion for their star as this one has shown for Somerhalder.

 

http://www.tvfanatic.com/2014/05/the-vampire-diaries-review-i-peaked/