The Vampire Diaries – Damon’s End

By starrymag | November 4, 2016

By: Luke Joseph

 

Throughout the entire series of “The Vampire Diaries” fans have taken a journey with Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). They have taken one step forward with him and many steps back due to his reckless nature. They have caught glimpses of his humanity and have cared for the man he has become all of these years. They watched a white knight disguised as a dark knight be the person that people looked to in hopes to save the day. They watched as someone who only kept in the company of himself eventually surround himself with others who he grew to care for. They watched as selfish became selfless. They watched as he fell in love with his brother’s girl, remaining at the sidelines and wishing he could have what Stefan (Paul Wesley) had. They watched him every now and then get a fraction of happiness only to have it ripped away from him and yet he still continued to fight and survive.

 

Even as he was forced to remain at darkness’s side, Damon was still able to hold onto the light. It was in the darkness of his mind were he found light as he relieved the moment he had met Elena (Nina Dobrev) over and over again. This was a vital moment for Damon because for the first time in years there had been a shift in his humanity that night. It’s this reason why in the season eight premiere he continued to cling tightly to whatever last shred of goodness he had left in him.

 

Smooth sailing right? Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case because in the last episode of “The Vampire Diaries” (Today Will Be Different) everything went horribly wrong. It starts off with Damon being Sybil’s (Nathalie Kelley) loyal puppet by bringing her takeout food to the pool. The seductive siren’s song luring her newest victim into the pool as she begins to lull him to a state of calm only to later bring him into a state of fear taking Damon’s recommendation and finding that her meal is all the more delectable. With his evil deed done and the siren satiated, he rewards himself by lounging by the pool and eventually welcoming the darkness that brings him back to his light. Once again he finds himself on that road watching Elena and his first meeting play out as he finishes his past self’s sentences word for word. Meanwhile, as Damon rests peacefully, Sybil pesters Enzo (Michael Malarkey) as to why Damon is always napping and manages to get a peek inside of Enzo’s head and asks, “Who’s Sarah Nelson?” (Taking a quick walk down memory lane, Sarah Nelson is the Salvatore’s last living relative who Damon believes he killed back in 1984 after killing a pregnant mother.)

 

Returning back to the present, Stefan, Caroline (Candice King) and Bonnie (Kat Graham) head on up to Raleigh College believing that with the string of murders on women named Sarah Nelson they’ll find themselves face to face with Damon and Enzo. The murderous duo does not disappoint as they sit on a bench observing the college life while Damon tries to draw Enzo to flip the switch. Enzo isn’t having any of it or joining “Team No Humanity” anytime soon. With the real Sarah Nelson (Tristin Mays) making her way down the campus, Damon and Enzo confront her. To Damon, Sarah is just another mark to kill, but Sarah (thanks to Enzo and her experience with vampires) has come well prepared. This results in Damon being injected with vervain and getting knocked out.

 

Yes! Enzo is planning to save the day and rather than deliver Sarah to Sybil he’s going against her orders in hopes to get Sarah the hell out of dodge. Surprise, surprise as they enter the dorm they come face to face with the dynamic trio Stefan, Caroline and Bonnie. Awkward would be the best way of putting it as Enzo and Bonnie once again have a not-so-romantic encounter as he explains to her he’s keeping her at arm’s length so that she remains safe. Sadly, Bon-Bon isn’t so accepting of it as she later stabs Enzo, loads him into the trunk and goes her own way. Meanwhile, Sarah hastily packs her life away yet again and tells Stefan while she appreciates what he’s done for her she’s not his biggest fan (that’s a first) because of how he in a way controlled her life. So where is Caroline? With Damon sort of…But they aren’t bonding as Damon uses Caroline’s distraction of being on the phone to his advantage. With no one on Damon duty he attacks her, upping the ante by removing her daylight ring and smashing her phone so that she’s literally her own prisoner thanks to the sunlight streaming in the corridor.

 

CRASH! The sound of glass shattering happens as Damon makes a surprise appearance grabbing Sarah by the throat from behind. In an attempt to save Sarah, Stefan ends up confessing to Damon that Sarah is Uncle Zach’s daughter in the hopes to convince Damon that redemption is still possible. Still, it’s not enough for Damon to let go so Stefan and ends up pulling out his secret weapon of not only doing it for their family – for him 0 but also Elena. Bingo! That seems to do the trick. Hesitantly, Damon slowly releases his hold of Sarah wanting to be the better man and let her go. Hallelujah? So close. Sadly, just as Sarah is about to find freedom instead she’s met with Sybil who had been listening in on the conversation the entire time. She presents Damon with the question, “Who is Elena?”

 

Stefan might have the hero hair, but he also has a really big mouth because thanks to him the jig is up. Throughout Damon’s entire time of being a servant to a siren the one thing that had kept him from falling over the edge was reliving his moment on the road with Elena. Unfortunately, for Damon things are changing (literally) when Sybil ends up manipulating his memory by making him now believe it had been Sybil he had met on that long and winding road. Yeah, even though it’s been two episodes Sybil has already managed to cause a hell of a lot of havoc in her wake. We end the episode right where we started with Sybil and Damon by the pool, but this time Damon has brought dinner for two as he partakes in feeding with her. The meal is interrupted by Enzo who had gone against Sybil’s wishes causing Damon to in turn punish him and resulting in Sybil finally getting in his head and seeing Bonnie.

 

Meanwhile, as Damon suffers Stefan is being given all the good as Caroline says yes to his marriage proposal. Out of both of the brothers it seems Damon has gotten the short end of the stick because as stressed as Stefan is with this turn of events at least at the end of the day he has someone to go home to. Anyone who is a fan of Damon Salvatore find themselves asking over and over again will this poor guy ever find happiness? With this being the last season of “The Vampire Diaries” there is much debate on where this charters story should end and it only makes sense to go over some of the potential possibilities.

 

I think it would be great for Damon and Stefan to go sit on a beach, take off their rings and just poof. – Ian Somerhalder

 

Though Somerhalder raises a good point about the brothers having a happy ending together, he’s forgetting that Stefan also deeply loves Caroline Forbes who he is now planning a June Wedding with. There’s also the fact that fans wouldn’t count themselves as content knowing that she series ended with two of their favorite characters being dead. Actually dead. With the universe always making a joke out of Damon it’s understandable why he’s never allowed himself to dream, but he finally did. Damon finally allowed himself to think about the joys that come along with being human and he wanted it more than anything. Damon was ready for it and then in the cruelest of ways the universe took it from him in a blink of an eye.

 

I think the only hope that he is holding onto is the idea of the two of them living in Tribeca in their brownstone, raising kids and having a life together as humans when this is all said and done. – Julie Plec

 

One hundred percent certain Plec’s recent interview has “Delena” fans jumping for joy that this could potentially be an endgame for Damon and Elena. They would be living in a loft together, Damon owning his own bar, Elena working in the OR and their two kids who will keep each other company so mom and dad can be distracted by other things. Other fans are heading a simpler route and saying Damon’s endgame should find Damon loving himself. As nice as that sounds how can that happen? Damon has always viewed himself as a monster and as long as he continues to be a vampire he’ll never shed that part of him. Damon will only finally love himself when he’s human. When he sees that his life has actual meaning. Even when he was still human he saw himself as second best. Lily, his own mother, abandoned both he and Stefan (only to adopt a new dysfunctional family) leaving them in the care of Giuseppe – a father who mentally, emotionally and physically abused Damon (later being the one to kill him). His father, who always relished in making digs at the older Salvatore at what a disappointment he was.

It would be wrong to not mention Miss Katherine Pierce who strung Damon along while she continued her relationship with Stefan. Any other man wouldn’t have allowed Katherine to treat them in such a manner, but when you’re unloved and really don’t know what love is the smallest fraction of love even in the ugliest of forms is something you accept. When Damon found out that Katherine had ‘died’ in the church he accepted he wouldn’t complete the transition, but we all know how that story turned out thanks to Stefan. What Damon once viewed as a gift he suddenly saw as a curse – hating it and himself along with it.

 

I’m taking it. I’ve been a vampire for a long time and it’s been a blast but I would give it up in a second to be your husband, partner and father of your kids. – Damon Salvatore

 

It’s when Damon is finally human that he will learn to love himself. It’s when he takes on the title of “husband” and he sees that he’s worthy of being loved that he will have a sense of self worth. It’s when he finally pulls back from the lifestyle of being a vampire and accomplishes something on his own without the need of compulsion to obtain what he wants. It’s when he’s standing in the delivery room looking down in awe as Elena holds his child and he lets it sink in that he helped in creating this precious life. It’s when he’ll love his child effortlessly feeling pride run through him because he’s nothing like his parents as he’s a good father. It’s when he’ll take a second to see the life that Elena and him built together and he’ll not only love that life, but he’ll love himself because of it. That is when Damon will finally love himself – when he’s reborn again.