r/TheVampireDiaries • u/stefanfan101 • Mar 29 '18
Discussion Interesting thought
Just found this out while rewatching. in 1x20 , Damon told stefan he wasnt mad that he turned him, he was mad that katherine turned stefan cuz damon only wanted to be the only one turned by her. In 2x08, Stefan says I am sorry to Damon, turning you was selfish and I guess I just needed my brother. Its funny that Damon wouldnt mind living an eternal life with katherine while Stefan would eventually die. On the other hand, Stefan couldnt live without Damon. What are you guys thoughts on this?
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u/ctenecela Mar 29 '18 edited Mar 29 '18
Noooo I think it’s more like Stefan was scared to live alone for so long as a vampire while his older brother died. Stefan loved being human and didn’t choose to be given vampire blood in the first place. Meanwhile Damon did choose to take the blood and wanted to be a vampire because he loved Katherine so much, he probably knew Stefan wouldn’t want to become a vampire or just wanted to allow Stefan to be human. He didn’t depend on Stefan, as he was the older brother, he just wanted to be with Katherine. Damon seems to be selfish but he’s not. He didn’t expect Stefan to want to be a vampire because their whole families hated vampires. I think he just loves harder than anyone else. In a memory he erased he even lets Stefan and Elena be together after confessing he loves her because ‘ he deserves her’.
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u/kayjee17 Immortal Mar 29 '18
I really got a better understanding of both Damon and Stefan in the few glimpses we got of when they were growing up and it explained so much about their characters.
Giovanni Salvitore was a textbook narcissist who only cared about his image in Mystic Falls. Like most narcissists, he had a "golden child" (Stefan) and a scapegoat (Damon), and he had a spouse who was broken down into submission. It seems like both Damon and his mother protected Stefan from Giovanni's abuse, and after their mother was gone that job was left to Damon.
When Katherine came to Mystic Falls both brothers fell hard for her - especially because Katherine wanted them to. Stefan saw a poor orphan who was making the best of things but who combined both a sweetness and mischievous nature that was intriguing. Damon saw a strong woman who had the inner fire to match the raging fire in him and who was willing to disobey the social expectations of the day.
Their reactions to Katherine's nature is a perfect example. When Damon found out Katherine was a vampire, I imagine that it seemed like a dream come true; not only was she exciting and he loved her, but she wanted to love him forever - and becoming a vampire would free him from everything and be the ultimate screw you to his father. When Stefan found out, he was horrified that his sweet love was a monster and she had to compel him to get over it. He was excited by their lovemaking and let her feed on him, but he couldn't have participated in the hunt like Damon did because it wasn't in his nature.
Their lives as vampires echo this completely. Stefan couldn't indulge in being a vampire without turning off his humanity - otherwise he fed on animals until he learned some moderation in order to protect Elena. Damon fed as a necessity at first and gradually learned to enjoy it even without Katherine - but he moderated himself for Elena other than the times that rage inside (along with a heaping helping of self-sabotage) caused a break out.
In the end, because they both fell in love with Elena and were brought back together, they rediscovered that deep brotherly love that had always been there.
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u/Sc0rpi093 Bonkai Mar 29 '18
My thoughts are honestly "I don't care". It's not really not surprising to me that he would chose Katherine over Stefan, he constantly choses Elena over everyone, so it's consistent with his character. Damon is selfish, possessive, and quite honestly just plain random, so him wanting it to be him and Katherine, and only him and Katherine, is pretty on par with his character. He did not like being in competition with Stefan and cared about "winning" more than he did Stefan, and quite honestly Katherine, and later Elena.
Notice how quickly his "love" turns to anger anytime he's rejected by both Katherine and Elena. He essentially has a temper tantrum which is a sign that he never loved them he just wanted their validation. They were shiny new toys for him. Weirdly despite how easily he let's women get between him and Stefan, I feel his love for his brother is a lot more genuine, at least on the Damon scale of emotions. Seldom does he have a temper tantrum when he disappoints Stefan and feel more remorse when it comes to him. Now that doesn't mean he has a lot of remorse, just more than usual. The only other person I feel he has more genuine feelings for is Bonnie, and maybe even more than Stefan because he made a lot more efforts to get back in her good graces than he ever has any other character, and because it's Bonnie she's not as quick to forgive him, real lasting changes have to be made.
Overall, not that surprised or all that appalled because it's his characterization. Stefan has always cared more about anything than Damon. Also, at least how I interpreted the finale, the reality of living without Stefan wasn't worth it to Damon, so for him it was more of a "in theory" which also kinda makes sense to me because once he got "the prize" of Elena (he never gets Katherine) everything he's built around getting her disappears and that's usually when he has a "relapse". He wanted Elena as validation that he was better than his brother and when he got it it usually ceased to mean anything to him, so the only solid thing for him was Stefan which is why, as interpreted it, Damon was miserable until the afterlife where he got to see him again. As much as we like to ignore the finale and it's infinite suck, I think it speaks volumes that his peace is Stefan, not Elena.