Damon Salvatore
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Vampire Diaries Character Guide
Damon Salvatore is one of the two main male protagonists of The Vampire Diaries. Damon was a 178-year-old vampire and distant descendant of Silas. Since his younger brother, Stefan Salvatore, injected him with the Cure, he is now human. He was a major antagonist in the first part of Season One. He was born during the 1800s and lived in the colonial town of Mystic Falls with his brother Stefan, his father, Giuseppe Salvatore, and also with his mother Lillian Salvatore until her death in 1858. He became a vampire in 1864. At the time of his return to Mystic Falls, Damon and Stefan hadn't seen each other in fifteen years due to their bitter and violent relationship.
In the 1950s, Damon was captured and tortured by the Augustine society, led by the Whitmore family, who experimented on vampires for a "bigger purpose". During his five years of captivity, he meets another prisoner, Enzo, with whom he became best friends with. Eventually, the plan the two made failed at a critical moment and thinking Enzo "died" because of him, Damon turned off his humanity to suppress the guilt and sadness. He sought revenge, an act of hunting down every member over generations that left one alive to carry on the family name until he finally killed the last descendant in the Whitmore family, which ended with Aaron Whitmore's death.
Damon's sole purpose in coming back to Mystic Falls was to free his sire Katherine Pierce from a tomb she was never in. Damon deeply loved her for 145 years. After realizing that Katherine never loved him, his love for her fades as his friendship and love for Elena grows. After strengthening his relationship with his brother, both Stefan and Damon begin working together to protect Elena, along with her friends and family. He lives with his brother Stefan, girlfriend Elena, and her brother Jeremy Gilbert in the Salvatore Boarding House.
In the Season Three, Damon filled the role as one of the protagonists in the first half of the season due to Stefan falling prey to Klaus.
Throughout the series, his bond with Elena continuously grows and they eventually fall in love with each other. Shortly after her death and subsequent transition into a vampire, Elena's feelings for Damon are heightened which makes her admit her love for him and they start a romantic relationship in Season Four. The relationship is complicated when they realize that, due to the fact that it was Damon's blood that turned Elena, she is sire-bonded to him, so nobody is sure whether Elena's feelings for Damon are real or because of the sire bond. But, most of the people insist that once the sire bond is broken, Elena will return to Stefan. When Jeremy dies, Elena turns off her emotions; after she turns them back on, the sire bond is broken and Elena reveals that her feeling for Damon were real and she's still in love with him.
In Season Five, Damon discovers Enzo's undead status and they become friends once again however once "Elena" breaks up with him, he puts an end to his diabolical plan against the Whitmore family and is then injected with a dangerous compound by Wes Maxfield, causing him to become an Augustine Vampire, the only one in existence. This injection would cause him to crave vampire blood. He was later cured, thanks to Enzo, Stefan, and Caroline's actions. Due to the Other Side collapsing, Damon gave up his life to save his loved ones and this particularly caused Elena, Stefan, and Alaric much grief.
In Season Six, Damon and Bonnie are trapped in a 1994 Prison World, which Damon initially believes is his own personal hell, as they are continually reliving a day from his history that Damon believes is the worst thing he ever did. Bonnie is convinced her grandmother sent them there and there is a way out. They work together to find a way back to Mystic Falls. They also form an alliance to take down Kai. During this time, he is able to form a healthy friendship with Bonnie, and they are able to move on from their past and become friends. When Bonnie has a chance to send him home, leaving herself alone with Kai, she does so. Damon initially believes Bonnie was killed in the process, but when he realized she's still alive, he becomes determined to find a way to bring her back. After returning home, he learns that Elena has had Alaric compel away all her memories of their relationship and he attempts to win her back.
He is soon reunited with Bonnie who made it out of the Prison World and shows him a video of a mysterious lady, who turns out to be Damon's mother. Bonnie had managed to escape the 1994 Prison World by going to Nova Scotia and regaining her magic through Qetsiyah's calcified blood in Silas' tombstone. She also picked up the Cure for vampirism and gave it to him, who in turned gave it to Elena. Damon expressed the he also had the desire to take the Cure and become human. At the end of the season Kai placed Elena into a sleeping curse and tied the spell to Bonnie's life, which was supposed to keep the now human Elena in a mystical coma until Bonnie dies. Damon was devastated by this and said a difficult goodbye to Elena as they locked her in a coffin while his best friend, Bonnie, lived out her remaining days.
As of Season Eight's "I Was Feeling Epic", Bonnie managed to break the spell, allowing Elena to wake up, while not killing herself in the process. Finally, Damon and Elena are reunited. In the end of the show, the newly human Damon married Elena and they lived a long and happy life together before passing away and finding peace.
In the 1950s, Damon was captured and tortured by the Augustine society, led by the Whitmore family, who experimented on vampires for a "bigger purpose". During his five years of captivity, he meets another prisoner, Enzo, with whom he became best friends with. Eventually, the plan the two made failed at a critical moment and thinking Enzo "died" because of him, Damon turned off his humanity to suppress the guilt and sadness. He sought revenge, an act of hunting down every member over generations that left one alive to carry on the family name until he finally killed the last descendant in the Whitmore family, which ended with Aaron Whitmore's death.
Damon's sole purpose in coming back to Mystic Falls was to free his sire Katherine Pierce from a tomb she was never in. Damon deeply loved her for 145 years. After realizing that Katherine never loved him, his love for her fades as his friendship and love for Elena grows. After strengthening his relationship with his brother, both Stefan and Damon begin working together to protect Elena, along with her friends and family. He lives with his brother Stefan, girlfriend Elena, and her brother Jeremy Gilbert in the Salvatore Boarding House.
In the Season Three, Damon filled the role as one of the protagonists in the first half of the season due to Stefan falling prey to Klaus.
Throughout the series, his bond with Elena continuously grows and they eventually fall in love with each other. Shortly after her death and subsequent transition into a vampire, Elena's feelings for Damon are heightened which makes her admit her love for him and they start a romantic relationship in Season Four. The relationship is complicated when they realize that, due to the fact that it was Damon's blood that turned Elena, she is sire-bonded to him, so nobody is sure whether Elena's feelings for Damon are real or because of the sire bond. But, most of the people insist that once the sire bond is broken, Elena will return to Stefan. When Jeremy dies, Elena turns off her emotions; after she turns them back on, the sire bond is broken and Elena reveals that her feeling for Damon were real and she's still in love with him.
In Season Five, Damon discovers Enzo's undead status and they become friends once again however once "Elena" breaks up with him, he puts an end to his diabolical plan against the Whitmore family and is then injected with a dangerous compound by Wes Maxfield, causing him to become an Augustine Vampire, the only one in existence. This injection would cause him to crave vampire blood. He was later cured, thanks to Enzo, Stefan, and Caroline's actions. Due to the Other Side collapsing, Damon gave up his life to save his loved ones and this particularly caused Elena, Stefan, and Alaric much grief.
In Season Six, Damon and Bonnie are trapped in a 1994 Prison World, which Damon initially believes is his own personal hell, as they are continually reliving a day from his history that Damon believes is the worst thing he ever did. Bonnie is convinced her grandmother sent them there and there is a way out. They work together to find a way back to Mystic Falls. They also form an alliance to take down Kai. During this time, he is able to form a healthy friendship with Bonnie, and they are able to move on from their past and become friends. When Bonnie has a chance to send him home, leaving herself alone with Kai, she does so. Damon initially believes Bonnie was killed in the process, but when he realized she's still alive, he becomes determined to find a way to bring her back. After returning home, he learns that Elena has had Alaric compel away all her memories of their relationship and he attempts to win her back.
He is soon reunited with Bonnie who made it out of the Prison World and shows him a video of a mysterious lady, who turns out to be Damon's mother. Bonnie had managed to escape the 1994 Prison World by going to Nova Scotia and regaining her magic through Qetsiyah's calcified blood in Silas' tombstone. She also picked up the Cure for vampirism and gave it to him, who in turned gave it to Elena. Damon expressed the he also had the desire to take the Cure and become human. At the end of the season Kai placed Elena into a sleeping curse and tied the spell to Bonnie's life, which was supposed to keep the now human Elena in a mystical coma until Bonnie dies. Damon was devastated by this and said a difficult goodbye to Elena as they locked her in a coffin while his best friend, Bonnie, lived out her remaining days.
As of Season Eight's "I Was Feeling Epic", Bonnie managed to break the spell, allowing Elena to wake up, while not killing herself in the process. Finally, Damon and Elena are reunited. In the end of the show, the newly human Damon married Elena and they lived a long and happy life together before passing away and finding peace.