“ | Tonight I saw a side of Damon I hadn't seen in a while, the older brother I looked up to. The son who enlisted in the civil war to please his father. The Damon I knew when I was a boy. I wanted that Damon to live and I wanted you to have an opportunity to get to know him. He's the better man. | ” |
This is the close brotherly relationship between the cured vampire/human doppelgänger, Stefan Salvatore and the cured vampire/human, Damon Salvatore. Their relationship over the years has changed from being best friends to enemies because of a former vampire named Katherine Pierce. But they start to reconnect their old friendship thanks to Elena Gilbert, a former vampire who now is a human again. She is also Katherine's doppelgänger. Their rivalry still flares up due to the constantly changing relationships between Elena and Damon and Elena and Stefan.
Their relationship has improved throughout the series, as they have always been willing to do anything for each other. In Season 5, they appear to be getting along better as brothers, as they appear to have much more intimate moments than they used to before. In the Season 5 finale, Damon gave up his life to save Stefan, which devastates him.
In The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, Damon returned and met Stefan in their family's crypt, where the brothers embraced for the first time since 1864.
Their bromance is known as "Defan".
Early History

Stefan and Damon see Katherine.
Damon and Stefan were born to Giuseppe Salvatore and Lilian Salvatore in Mystic Falls in the 1800s. They grew up being best friends but in 1864, a young woman came to stay at the Salvatore Estate, Katherine Pierce. Both brothers were smitten with her and a rivalry for her began. Unknown to them, Katherine was a vampire and she intended to turn them so they could all spend eternity together. She compelled them both to keep her secret as vampires were being hunted. In the end, Katherine chose Stefan over Damon.
Damon was in love with Katerina Petrova and drank her blood willingly when she asked him to, as he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It is presumed that he was unaware at the time that Katherine was compelling Stefan to drink her blood as well. Stefan was blinded by his love for her as well, and could not believe that vampires were inherently evil, like the Founder's Council and his father believed. He hinted to his father that he believed there was goodness in vampires, unintentionally driving Giuseppe to suspect that a vampire was in contact with his son and spiked his drink with vervain.

Stefan makes a promise to Damon.

Transitioning vampire brothers.
In a heated moment alone in Stefan's room, Katherine drank Stefan's blood and was instantly weakened by the vervain he had unknowingly ingested earlier. Giuseppe burst into the room and had her taken away. Damon was furious with Stefan, as he had made him promise not to say anything to their father for exactly that reason They decided to free Katherine, but were both shot and killed in the process by their own father. They had Katherine's blood in their system when they were shot, and woke up later by the quarry.
Emily Bennett, Katherine's handmaiden, was a witch, was looking after the brothers when they awoke hours later. She gave them daylight rings, made with the Lapis Lazuli stone and their family crest and initials. After waking up, Stefan realized that he and Damon were in transition to becoming a vampire. Emily told him that to complete the transformation, he would have to drink human blood. The brothers decided to die instead because the only reason they wanted to turn was to be with Katherine, and they thought at the time that she was dead.
Stefan went to see Giuseppe, while Damon went to Fell's Church. Giuseppe, realizing that his son was a vampire, was disgusted and tried to stake him to kill him one last time. However, Stefan was too quick for him, and gravely injured his father in the process. Stefan tried to help him, but the blood was too much, and he couldn't resist drinking from him. He later compelled a young woman to follow him to meet Damon, who had watched Katherine enter the church before it burned down. Stefan convinced a broken hearted Damon to drink the woman's blood so they could be together forever, telling him how euphoric the feeling was. After drinking her blood and becoming a vampire, Damon, still upset that Katherine had chosen to turn Stefan as well as himself, was so angry that he promised his brother an eternity full of misery. From that moment until sometime in 2009, Damon followed Stefan around the world, coming up with new ways to make him miserable.
In the Pilot of The Vampire Diaries, Stefan mentions that the last time he saw Damon was during sometime in the 90s, over 15 years ago.
In Death and the Maiden, Stefan mentioned that on October 18, 1852, Damon broke his nose while trying to teach him how to throw a right hook. However, Damon mentioned that it wasn't on purpose.
Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series
![]() A photo of Katherine that Stefan keeps in his diary. By 2009, both brothers seem to hate each other. While visiting Zach Salvatore, his nephew, in Mystic Falls, Stefan came across a car crash near Wickery Bridge. He saved a young girl, Elena Gilbert, by her father's request, but was unable to save her parents. He was stunned to realize how much she looked like Katherine, and remained in Mystic Falls to get to know her better. Zach suspected that Stefan was behind recent animal attacks in Mystic Falls, but after Vicki Donovan was attacked in the woods and was bit in the neck, Stefan realized there was another vampire in town: Damon Salvatore. The two had not seen each other since the 1990s, 15 years prior. Stefan scolded his brother for attacking Vicki, but Damon said that it was Stefan's problem, not his own. Stefan wanted to know why he was back, Damon asked likewise; he already knew the answer: Elena. Feeling protective towards Elena, Stefan warned Damon to stay away, but Damon's taunts about her and her blood angered Stefan greatly, and eventually he threw himself and Damon out of the window. Stefan warned Damon to stay away from Elena, something Damon took as an invitation. ![]() Stefan and Damon talk. Days later, Stefan came home to find Damon talking to Elena in the living room of his home. Elena, who had no idea Stefan even had a brother until that point, was unsettled by the angry look in Stefan's eyes as he stared at his brother, and his cold demeanor, and took her leave, thinking it was something she did. Stefan mentioned to Damon that he had been to the hospital to compel Vicki to forget Damon's attack. Damon stated that if he didn't feed properly (ie: on humans) compulsion wouldn't work properly. He mocked Stefan for feigning to be a high school student just to be close to Elena, and stated that the closest he'd ever be to humanity is by drinking human blood. ![]() Stefan wants to know what Damon's up to. At a school event, Matt Donovan mentioned to Stefan that his sister Vicki was missing, and Stefan found that Damon had her at the top of the school building, after using his heightened hearing to hear Vicki's screams. He fled to the roof to help Vicki, and Damon compelled her to believe that Stefan had attacked her, not himself. Damon tried to tempt his brother with her blood and even suggested that he might let her run out into the street screaming "vampire", but Stefan called his bluff by saying that being killed for being a vampire by the citizens of Mystic Falls would be better than living his life being tormented by his brother. Damon finally conceded and compelled Vicki to forget about all of what happened. Vicki, who had taken several oxycodone tablets earlier in the evening, just thought she got stoned and forgot how she got there, and wandered away. At a football game, Stefan tried to prove to Damon that he still had some humanity in him, but Damon attacked and killed William Tanner just to spite him. After tormenting Stefan's dream about Elena, Damon implied that Stefan was weak due to only drinking animal blood, since he could easily get into his head. Angry, Stefan threw a blade into Damon's chest. Damon was unperturbed by Stefan's reaction. He told Stefan that the "animal", a mountain lion, that had been attacking the citizens had been caught. He cleaned up the mess he made so he could stay in Mystic Falls and have some fun with Elena. He made a list of why he was irresistible before sticking the knife in Stefan's chest. Stefan was determined to find a way to get rid of Damon without becoming a monster himself. He and his nephew Zach decided to stop him with vervain, something the Salvatores had been growing for generations. Damon destroyed the vervain plants after becoming a vampire, but Zach began growing it in the cellar of the Salvatore Boarding House behind Damon's back, admitting to Stefan that Damon would kill Zach if he knew what he was doing. On the first try, Stefan spiked his favorite scotch with the vervain, but Damon wasn't fooled and dumped it on the floor. Stefan knew this wouldn't work, but that Damon would never expect Stefan to attempt it again so soon. At the Founder's Day party, Stefan spiked Caroline's drink with vervain. Since she and Damon had been hooking up with Caroline and feeding off of her, he drank her blood later that night and was poisoned by the vervain. In his weakened state, it was easy for Stefan to drag Damon home and lock him in the cellar. ![]() Stefan and Damon after Vicki runs away. Though weak, Damon compelled Caroline Forbes to free him all the way from the cellar to the school, and when she opened the door, he was able to overpower Zach and kill him in his attempt to kill Caroline. Stefan had taken his daylight ring after he locked him up, so he couldn't leave the house until nightfall. He left the Salvatore Boarding House that evening and went to the cemetery where Vicki and her friends were stoned and killed all of them but Vicki, who Damon claimed "didn't want to die." He called Stefan and told him to give his ring back, adding that Stefan can't blame him for who he killed after starving him and locking him in a cellar for days. Damon later went to Elena's house and teased her. Her hesitance to let him in led him to realize that she knew about him. He taunted her about the fact that she invited him in, and advised her to be more careful about the people she let in her house. Later, he brought Vicki back to his house, and fed her his blood to heal her so they could party until Stefan brought back his ring. After she admitted her life was going nowhere, he broke her neck, while his blood was still in her system, turning her into a vampire. Stefan tried to help her with her transitioning, but she was so overwhelmed that she ran into the woods. Logan Fell was also in the woods with Sheriff Liz Forbes and her deputies, using the Gilbert vampire compass to hunt vampires, who they believe can only come out at night. Logan found Damon, Stefan and Vicki, and tried to kill Stefan, but they overpowered him and killed him. Before they could stop her, Vicki drank blood from Logan's wounds, completing her transition. Stefan and Damon kept her in their house to help her control herself while she learned how to become a vampire. ![]() Stefan and Damon in Haunted Stefan tried to get her to start off on the animal blood diet, while Damon believed that since she was a vampire, she needed to learn to act like one. He started to show her how to use her powers (such as super speed) and she sped away, escaping their reach. They started searching for her, but she first went home, and then to the Halloween dance at school to meet up with Jeremy. Later, she accidentally bit Jeremy while they were kissing, and she began to vamp out. Stefan, Damon and Elena tried to stop her, causing Vicki to attack Elena. Stefan ultimately was forced to stake her to protect Elena and Jeremy, and Damon got rid of her body. Elena wanted Stefan to compel Jeremy to forget the incident but Stefan knew he couldn't do it properly, so Damon volunteered. For Stefan's 162nd birthday, his friend of over a century, Lexi came to celebrate. Damon, wanting the Founding Families to believe they got the vampire responsible for all the town's attacks, framed Lexi for a murder by compelling the victim's girlfriend to believe Lexi had done the crime. Sheriff Forbes quickly found her and injected her with vervain to get her out of the Mystic Grill quickly. Lexi fought the vervain in her system after minutes, and almost attacked Sheriff Forbes after the sheriff shot her several times with wooden bullets. Damon came out of nowhere and staked her. Stefan was grief-stricken and furious with Damon for what he had done and they got into a fight, ending with Stefan plunging a stake into Damon's stomach, non-fatally. Damon had saved his life by what he had done earlier in the woods with Logan Fell, so Stefan spared his this time. ![]() Stefan and Damon imitate each other. While possessing her descendant Bonnie Bennett, Emily Bennett revealed the pact she had made with Damon in 1864: She would protect the vampires in the tomb if he protected her future descendants. He did as she asked, but she couldn't let him free the vampires and endanger the town. Emily (in Bonnie's body) destroyed her crystal talisman which bound the spell that sealed the tomb. Infuriated by her actions, he attacked Bonnie, to punish Emily, as Bonnie was her descendant. Elena was horrified, but Stefan was able to save her life by feeding her his blood. ![]() Stefan and Damon stop Logan. After being informed by Sheriff Forbes that another vampire was on the loose, Damon investigated and discovered it was Logan Fell whom he had thought that he killed. Logan shot Damon with wooden bullets and demanded to know who turned him, but Damon didn't have the answer, explaining that he had to have had vampire blood in his system to turn into a vampire. Damon called Stefan afterwards and told him the situation. Logan kidnapped Caroline Forbes that night at the College Fair in order to blackmail her mother, who he blamed for covering up his murder. Stefan and Damon tried to kill him, but Logan mentioned getting Katherine out of the tomb, and Damon had a change of heart, making plans to meet up with Logan later, which never ended up happening, as Logan was killed that night by Alaric Saltzman. Stefan drove Caroline home to make sure she was safe. Elena and Stefan made love for the first time and she stayed at his house that night. She looked around his room and found Stefan's picture of Katherine and was stunned at their resemblance. She was so upset that he kept it secret from her that she left, leaving her vervain necklace behind. She got in a wreck after hitting a vampire in the street, and was nearly killed by the unknown vampire until Damon scared him off. He checked her for broken bones, and decided after she fainted that she should accompany him on his trip to Georgia to visit a witch named Bree, for advice on how to get in the tomb without the crystal. Stefan tried to call Elena during the trip, but Damon![]() Elena and Damon's trip. Stefan gave Elena the Gilbert Compass in order to help protect her from unknown vampires in town. He managed to save her from the same mysterious vampire, Noah, who was able to enter the house after posing as a pizza delivery boy. He and Damon went to the 50s dance with Elena, where she was essentially bait to lure Noah out and find out why he was there and what he wanted. Noah threatened Elena with Jeremy's life if she didn't do as he said and got her to leave without the brothers. She subdued him the best she could by stabbing him with pencils and broken mop handles until the Salvatore brothers intervened. Stefan plunged the broken mop handle into Noah's ![]() Elena encounters Noah. stomach and both brothers interrogated him but after getting few answers, finally killed him. They saw the history teacher, Alaric Saltzman outside the room and Damon went out to compel him to forget, unaware that Alaric had vervain in his hand. Stefan and Damon spoke about Emily Bennett's grimoire afterwards, and Stefan promised to help Damon find it and free Katherine, and in return Damon could not release any other vampires, and both Damon and Katherine were to leave town when it was done. Damon didn't believe him until Stefan said he just wanted Damon out of his life. However, Stefan told Elena that he couldn't allow Damon to get Katherine back and Elena promised to help him get the grimoire before Damon. Damon didn't trust Stefan and went to Elena for a second judgment. She lied and told him Stefan could be trusted and he believed her, but continued to search for the grimoire on his own. Stefan and Elena eventually discovered![]() Damon threaten to turn Elena into a vampire. Stefan went back home and told Damon what happened, but Damon expressed his wishes of Elena's death, as he was still upset by her betrayal the night prior. Stefan went to Bonnie's grandmother Sheila Bennett and she helped him locate Elena and Bonnie, who was also kidnapped by Anna and her friend Ben McKittrick. After Stefan ![]() Stefan rescues Elena and Bonnie from Ben. ![]() Damon stabs Alaric. Heartbroken, Damon partied and drank himself out, much to Stefan's disapproval. Elena eventually learned that she was adopted, and that her biological mother, Isobel Saltzman, (Alaric's wife) had been killed by Damon and turned into a vampire at her request. Elena was furious with him for it, as was Alaric. When Alaric found Damon and tried to get even by killing him, but ended up being stabbed in the lung by Damon. However, he was wearing a Gilbert Ring, given to him by Isobel, and came back to life, much to Stefan and Damon's shock. After Sheila Bennett's death, the seal on the tomb spell was somehow broken, and the tomb vampires began to escape after drinking the blood Damon spilled while trying to find Katherine. Stefan, Elena, Matt Donovan and Caroline caught Tyler making out with Matt's mother Kelly Donovan at the boarding house. After everyone had left, Stefan and Damon were attacked by two tomb vampires, Frederick and his girlfriend Bethanne. Stefan killed Bethanne and Frederick left afterwards, leaving Damon and Stefan to clean up the mess. ![]() Stefan kills Frederick after feeding from Elena. Frederick wanted revenge for Bethanne and kidnapped Stefan with the intention of slowly torturing him, and then killing him. Damon worked with Alaric and Elena to rescue him. He almost died, until Elena fed Stefan her blood to save him. Finally having ingested human blood after decades of abstinence, Stefan had the strength and bloodlust to violently kill Frederick. He insisted to everyone he was fine afterwards, but at the boarding house that night, Damon walked in on Stefan feeding on human blood that Damon had stolen from the blood bank as a way to stay alive without killing or hurting others. |

Elena and Stefan Kiss in front of Damon.
In Season 2, Damon and Stefan are at each others necks, because Damon kissed who he thought was "Elena" but turned out to be Katherine. Stefan was very angry and tried to start a fight in Elena's house, but Elena stops them and the tells Damon she would never kiss him and reassures Stefan that he is hers and she would never kiss Damon. Then the bond between them gets stronger Damon and Stefan stick together to not be involved with Katherine and this causes awkwardness between Elena and Damon as Elena hated Damon because he killed Jeremy.
Later on, Elena was kidnapped and the brother's had to go rescue her. While in Damon's car Stefan tried to prompt Damon to confess his feelings for Elena. At he end of the episode Stefan apologizes to Damon for making him turn

Elena confronts Damon about Bonnie's temporary death.
and said he just needed his big brother. Over the last few episodes the brother's seemed to have bonded and are working together peaceably, for now. But Damon is in love Elena, and Stefan knows it. Elena has seemingly forgiven Damon and they are currently friends again. But Damon is having problems fighting his feelings for her and it is inevitable that eventually this will cause greater problems between the temporarily united brothers. Even though Stefan already apologized and explained the reason for wanting Damon to turn, Damon just can`t hide his feelings for Elena and chooses her over him.

Stefan finds out about Damon's werewolf bite.
He also declared to Stefan that he would willingly sacrifice Bonnie and anyone else who comes in the way of protecting only Elena. In the episode Klaus, both Stefan and Damon fight over how to protect and that fact Damon doesn't like that Stefan is going with Elena plan.
In the season finale, Damon was bitten by Tyler Lockwood and tried to kill himself by getting his ring off and burning in the sun but Stefan burst out of nowhere and slammed him back in the shadows. He then locked Damon in the cellar so he couldn't kill himself and promised he would find a cure, which means that Stefan cared for his big brother and wouldn't let him die.
After Stefan left town with Klaus, Damon and Alaric start hunting him down. They meet again when Stefan discovers what Damon is up to and to protect him from Klaus, he returns to town to convince him to stop. He killed Damon's girlfriend, Andie and made it clear that he should let him go. Stefan's actions make Damon regret his attempts to help him and he realizes that Stefan has come back to his ripper days. That being said, Damon accepts that there's nothing he could do. After meeting his brother for the first time in months, Damon gets mad at him for killing Andie, which apparently hurts him deeply. ![]() Damon tells Elena to stop looking for Stefan. He argues with Elena and tells her to stop looking for his brother, and that he was not coming back, at least not in her lifetime. Later that night Damon, in his anger, destroys some of the things in his brother's room. Meanwhile Stefan, in his own despair, calls Elena, but says nothing to her. She, however, realizes that this is him and tells him not to lose hope. His phone call makes her believe that not everything is lost and that Stefan could be saved. She turns again to Damon for help, but he refuses to participate in anything, saying again that his brother is gone. That leaves her with Alaric, who understands that she's not giving up on Stefan, agrees to go out in Tennessee and look up for him. However, he also informs Damon about their actions and the last joins them in order to protect Elena. Later that day, Stefan saves again his brother's life from a werewolf, who was just turned into a hybrid. ![]() Katherine calls Damon. That makes Damon realize that even in his darkest period his brother sill can't let him die and he decides to help Elena bring him home, although he really have no idea where Klaus and Stefan have gone. In The End of the Affair, he gets a call from Katherine,who tells him that his brother and the eldest original are in Chicago. Damon gets there with Elena and puts his life in danger while she speaks with Stefan and tries to vervain him. Stefan, however, pushes Elena away and tells her he can't come back, because nothing is ever going to be the same, which is true, while at the same time he actually hurts her in order to protect her from Klaus. Later in The Reckoning, Stefan, Klaus and Rebekah come back to Mystic Falls. After a series of events Klaus compels Stefan to turn his emotions off, which leaves him numb to everything that is happening. Klaus also makes him protect Elena while he is away, which makes hers and Damon's life even harder than before. In Ghost World, Stefan gets locked up by his friend Lexi, who in the episode, appears as a ghost. She and Elena attempt to help him and make him turn his emotions on, but their efforts end without success. Damon, however, tries a different approach and frees Stefan after realizing that his brother has lost hope and has given up. He seems to feel bad about what has happened to Stefan and gets him in a bar. They drink and talk until Mikael appears. ![]() Lexi and Elena lock Stefan up. He tries to understand where Klaus is from Stefan by threatening Damon's life. Stefan again manages to satisfy Mikael and save his brother's life at the same time which later, according to Damon, was a breakthrough, although the younger brother eagerly denies it. Stefan doesn't seem to understand Damon's actions and asks him why is he doing all this. Damon responds that he has to try and save him, because Stefan is in this mess with Klaus, because he saved his life. He adds that he can't watch his brother rot in a cell. However, the brother bonding time ends with a fight between the two of them. In Homecoming, Mikael, Elena, Damon, Stefan and Rebekah make a plan to kill Klaus by luring him back in town. Damon and Elena seem worried that Stefan might ruin their plans as he is still compelled by Klaus, but Stefan reminds them that in their history of epic plan failure the reason for the defeat is usually because someone has let their emotions and humanity get in the way and since he has turned off his feelings he can't be a threat to them. ![]() Elena daggers Mikael. Anyway, Damon manages to bring Katherine to the game and make her pretend to be Elena in order to protect the real Elena from both Klaus and Mikael as he doesn't trust them. Klaus realizes something is not right and says to Elena (who is actually Katherine) that if they try to kill him he has assured that his hybrids kill Damon. In the meantime, Damon and Mikael take Stefan temporary off the plan, but Katherine decides to find him and make him stop Klaus's murder. Stefan does indeed succeed to do that and Klaus kills his father. He also frees Stefan from his compulsion. Damon gets very angry at his younger brother, because he doesn't know the real reason behind his actions. After the party there's a scene where Katherine and Stefan are talking in her car and Stefan asks her how did she know that he would stop Damon. She answers that she didn't know but that she was hoping that he would want to. That he would care enough to safe his brother's life. She also adds that she wasn't trying to save only Damon's life but Stefan's too, by that meaning his humanity. He responds that he doesn't want to let all his feelings in, but Katherine says that he has to do it, so that he could also get mad and revenge Klaus. After that Stefan steals the coffins in which Klaus keeps his family. In The New Deal, Damon pushes Stefan to tell him the truth behind his actions and gets mad because Stefan once again has saved his life. They also talk and Damon convinces Stefan to include him in his plan for revenge against Klaus. In the end of this episode Damon and Elena kiss on her front porch. ![]() Elena after Stefan threaten to drive her off Wickery bridge. In the next few episodes Stefan is trying to be the better villain. He threatens Klaus that he'll make Elena a vampire and he wouldn't be able to make any new hybrids. He gave her his blood and meant to drove the car off the Wickery bridge, which would kill her if Klaus didn't get his hybrids away from Mystic Falls. Klaus eventually agrees. Elena, however, is deeply scared after what happened because this is the place where her parents died. In The Ties That Bind, Elena tells Stefan that Damon kissed her to which Stefan responds that she's better than both his brother and him. Later that night Stefan, in his anger, punches Damon for kissing her. ![]() Klaus tries to burn Stefan alive. In Bringing Out The Dead, Stefan and Damon go to dinner with Klaus and Elijah (who was undaggered by the elder Salvatore) in order to make a deal with them, but that dinner is just a cover while Bonnie and her mother are trying to open the only coffin that the Salvatore brothers are still in possession of. They all believe that whatever is in there would help them kill Klaus. Anyway, during the fake dinner the four of them talk, but by the end of it the stakes get high and Klaus threatens Stefan's life, so that he could get back his coffin. Elijah, however, has other plans. He has undaggered all of his other siblings: Rebekah, Finn, and Kol and he lets the Salvatore brothers go away. Later that night, Stefan and Damon talk and the younger brother says that Damon could have let him die in there and have Elena all by himself. They both admit that they love her. In Dangerous Liaisons, the brothers, Elena, Matt and Caroline go to the ball thrown by the originals. It is revealed that the person hidden in the last coffin was actually Esther,the mother of the Originals and the wife of Mikael. Elena wants to meet with her, but Damon says that it is too dangerous, while Stefan believes that they should understand what Esther's plans are. Elena asks Stefan to take Damon down, so that she could talk with Esther. Stefan agrees and breaks Damon's neck. That pisses Damon off especially after his![]() Damon and Elena argue. ![]() Damon and Stefan decide on who would turn Abby. ![]() Stefan and Damon meet in flashbacks 1912. ![]() Stefan and Damon talk about Stefan on human blood. ![]() Sage and Troy die because they're originated from Finn. |
In Season Four, there is a lot of tension between Damon and Stefan due to the fact that Elena has become a vampire and is sired to Damon because of his blood, which was in her. She broke up with Stefan because she was trying to find out what her feelings were for Damon. Damon and Elena eventually became a couple, much to Stefan's despair. He hates his brother and wants the cure for himself so that he can be human again. ![]() Damon and Stefan arguing about Elena's transition In Memorial, Damon and Stefan almost come to blows arguing over how Elena should feed. Stefan wants Elena to feed off of animal blood and Damon says that Elena has to drink human blood from the vein that she has to experience the blood lust. just as the brothers are about to fight, Elena enters. She and Stefan are leaving and Damon says to be a vampire since she is a vampire. ![]() Damon and Stefan arguing over what is best for Elena Later on Stefan approaches Damon outside of the church after he sees him put something in a bag and asks Damon what's in his bag. Damon replies with "Church always gets me hungry, you know, the whole blood of Christ thing" and then tells Stefan that it was for Elena. Stefan not knowing that Elena couldn't keep any blood down started to argue with Damon. Damon then told Stefan about Elena's blood issues and that she couldn't even Damon's blood down leaving Stefan feeling mad and jealous. Damon and Stefan are at the memorial for Pastor Young when they realize that a hunter (Connor) set a trap. While Stefan is trying to keep Elena calm and from exposing them Damon wants to kill the hunter. Matt tells Elena to feed from him and Tyler goes up to distract the hunter. ![]() Damon and Stefan at the memorial In The Rager, Damon tells Stefan that after he finds and kills Connor he's living Mystic Falls, Since it was part of the deal they made. Stefan tries to talk Damon out of it but Damon says since Stefan punched him he takes it as he is no longer wanted there. Stefan told Damon he punched him cause he blood shared with Elena. ![]() Damon and Stefan looking through Connor's things ![]() Damon and Stefan arguing over a plan After learning that Elena is sired to Damon, the brothers head to New Orleans to meet a witch named Nandi to see if there was a way to break the sire bond. While they're in New Orleans there are flashbacks to the 1940's of the brothers life. Stefan and Lexi found Damon while he was in New Orleans. At Lexi's insistence, Stefan sought to make peace with his brother before shipping out to the North African front of the war. After an initial hesitance, Damon seemed happy to reunite with his brother after thirty years apart, and the two spent the evening talking. Damon even suggested he might join Stefan and leave for war with him, but Lexi made it clear she did not approve of the idea. Her concerns seemed warranted especially after Charlotte brought a bleeding victim to the bar where they were talking and Stefan started to lose it at the sight and smell of human blood. Damon shows up the day of Ship out but Lexi knowing he killed 12 people told Damon not to go because it could ruin Stefan. Damon realizing that Lexi is right wished his brother luck and left. Damon and Stefan realize the only way to break a sire bond is to have Damon set Elena free. Damon doesn't set Elena free until later. ![]() Damon and Stefan 4x12 Caroline tells Stefan about Elena sleeping with Damon, causing Stefan to get upset and mad. Damon and Stefan come to blows after Stefan makes a comment about the sire bond. On the island, Damon was captured by the hunter Galen Vaughn who led him to the place where Silas was buried alive with the cure. Galen attacked both Rebekah and Damon with his shotgun and was about to kill Damon before Stefan and Elena suddenly entered the scene and Galen disappeared in the well. Stefan then tried to help Damon, who insisted they should get down the well and get the cure. Stefan then told Elena he will take care of Damon and she should get to the cure, then he could get rid of the vervained rope around Damon's neck. ![]() Stefan helping Damon After he managed to get down, Damon asked Stefan about the cure and Elena and Stefan told him about Jeremy being dead, which Damon commented that Elena will not survive. Stefan also told him about Bonnie's disappearance and Damon told Stefan to get Elena off the island and he will find Bonnie and get her back. Their next meeting was when Damon gets back with Bonnie and asked for Stefan by saying "Caroline, I need to talk to my brother". He told Stefan that Bonnie has lost her mind and she wants to drop the veil between this world and the other side. Then they witnessed Elena's breakdown and Stefan told Damon to help her by using the sire bond: that's when Damon decided that she should turn off her humanity. Then Stefan opposed him by saying that he shouldn't have done that, but Damon said that humanity means nothing without the people you care about. That's when Stefan wanted to tell Damon that he still loves him even though the bad spots they have been through lately. In Bring It On, becomes clear that when Elena turned off her humanity the sire bond was broken. Everybody have a hard time dealing with Elena because the new her is very different from the![]() Emotionless Elena ![]() Damon and Lexi in the 70s ![]() Stefan and Damon ![]() Damon and Elena at prom ![]() The Salvatore brothers In The Originals, the brothers find from Katherine that Klaus has left for New Orleans. Later Damon gives Elena a bloodbag full of vervain because he's trying to provoke some feelings into her, but she only responds to him and Stefan by saying that if they want to play games she's willing to let them and see who'll break first-she or them. In She's Come Undone, Damon and Stefan start to torture Elena so that they could make her turn her emotions on, but she figures out that they'll never really hurt her because they both love her. So she tries to kill herself by burning up in the sun(as they have already took away her daylight ring) and they stop her. With their actions they prove that she has nothing to be afraid of. After that Damon and Stefan talk and Damon is really angry because he thinks that Elena should have![]() The brothers torturing Elena ![]() Bonnie drinking Qetsiyah's blood ![]() Lexi and Stefan ![]() Damon and Elena While Stefan is taking Silas' body to the quarry he talks to Lexi and she advises him to move on. She tells him that Elena was indeed the one but in life there are many loves and now it's time for him to start living his life. Damon also speaks with Alaric who's happy that his best friend got the girl but in the meantime Bonnie puts the veil on and all the ghosts disappear. Elena tries to find Jeremy but comes across Katherine instead. They fight and when Katherine almost kills her Elena manages to force-feed her the cure. Then it is revealed that Stefan actually refused to accept the cure because everything he did to get it, he did for Elena. When Stefan goes to the quarry he realizes that Silas's body is actually nothing but pile of rocks. He then turns and sees the evil vampire behind him in the form of Elena.![]() Stefan seeing Silas's true face |
Upon learning that Stefan and Elena are destined to fall in love because of the fact they are doppelgängers of Silas and Amara respectively, like so many doppelgängers of them have fallen in love through the centuries, Qetsiyah offer Damon a choice to watch history repeat itself or leave Stefan with her. Damon chose to kill Qetsiyah instead, revealing that no matter what, he will always love Stefan and will do anything to protect him, even if it means losing the woman he loves to him.
In No Exit, Stefan and Katherine in Elena's body, head out to find Damon. When they reach Damon who is traumatized after feeding on Enzo and then forcing Enzo to leave him so Damon doesn't kill him. Damon warns Elena not to enter and then when Stefan appears, Damon shouts at Stefan I said, DON'T, because of the fear that he will kill them both if they try to help him. As they then discuss what happened and how they're here to help Damon after Stefan refuses to leave Damon, he then runs at Stefan shouting at him STAY BACK and showing his Augustine Vampire appearance to try and scare them both away to which Stefan responds I'm not scared of you Damon. Damon then looks shocked to see Stefan care so much about him after everything he's done, even though Elena looks terrified of Damon. This shows how much Stefan cares about Damon and how much he wants to help him, also how Damon doesn't want to hurt Stefan in his Augustine Vampire state. This shows that they care about each other.
In What Lies Beneath, Stefan continues to hide about Enzo's death. Damon senses that something's wrong and thus, he along with Caroline, decide to find out. Through a game, he manages to spill out the truth. He seems very pissed off when he learns about Enzo's death and even more pissed off because Stefan lied to Damon about this. When Damon asked, "When I found out Enzo was dead? Did you think I was gonna go on a rampage, slaughter a bunch of innocent people, go bowling with human heads? What'd you think I was gonna do?", then Stefan answers, "Hate me. I thought you would, uh, hate me." Later, when they're stuck in a house which is on fire, thanks to Enzo, Damon asks Stefan to leave with Luke. This shows the strong brotherly bond between two.
In Promised Land, Damon searched for Stefan and Elena who are missing for four days, in the end Stefan was killed by Julian, and their relationship ceased forever.
In Home, when he learns about Stefan's death, he's devastated. He continuously asks Bonnie for help but of no use. Later, Damon comes up with a plan and sacrifices himself for Stefan. Stefan seemed to be in shock because he lost his family.
In Yellow Ledbetter, Stefan tells Caroline he spent months trying to find Bonnie and Damon. But he gave up realizing he needed to move on and live his life.
In The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, While Stefan is at the Salvatore Crypt. Stefan starts to cry realizing Damon might never come back. He throws a bottle of bourbon. Damon appears and catches the bourbon. They hug and they are finally reunited.
In The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get, After they reunite. Damon tells Stefan him and Bonnie were stuck in a 1994 prison world and Bonnie sacrificed herself to get him back to the present time. Stefan then tells Damon that Elena asked Alaric to compel her. To make her forget her love for Damon. Damon is later captured by Tripp Cooke. Alaric and Stefan save Damon and Enzo.
In Fade Into You, Stefan, Alaric, and Damon go on a road trip to Portland, Oregon, to track down the Gemini Coven.
In Christmas Through Your Eyes, Stefan gives Damon's rebuilt 1969 Chevy Camaro to him as a gift, which was destroyed in the explosion in Home.
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In Stay,
In Let Her Go,
In A Bird in a Gilded Cage, Damon travels to 1903 prison world with Elena to bring back their mother as she is the person who can bring back Stefan's humanity.
In I Never Could Love Like That, Damon tells Lily what to say to Stefan to get his humanity back.
In Because,
In I'd Leave My Happy Home For You, Stefan stops Damon from taking the cure as their mother's bloodlust was going out of control.
In I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime, Stefan shows Damon a version of what will happen if he becomes human with Elena by going into his mind.
In I'm Thinking Of You All The While,
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In Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take,
In Never Let Me Go,
In Age of Innocence,
In I Carry Your Heart With Me,
In Best Served Cold,
In Mommie Dearest,
In Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,
In Cold as Ice,
In Things We Lost in the Fire,
In I Would for You,
In Somebody That I Used to Know,
In Kill 'Em All,
In Gods and Monsters,
In Hello, Brother, the season opens up with revealing that it has been several months since Stefan has last seen Damon. Stefan and Bonnie have been searching for Damon and Enzo for months and they know that the Armory's monster is mentally controlling the two. When Stefan and Bonnie finally get another lead on them, Bonnie refuses to have hope in finding the both of them, but Stefan convinces her to come along for searching their supposed location anyway in hopes that Stefan may find his brother. When Stefan and Bonnie unexpectedly run into Damon after not seeing him for nearly three to four months, he tells them to leave before he attacks them. When Bonnie refuses to leave because of wanting to find Enzo, this puts Stefan and Bonnie in more danger. When Enzo finally appears, Damon puts Bonnie in a chokehold, which she cannot defend herself against being she has no more access to her magic. Stefan finally convinces Damon to stop hurting Bonnie. Eventually, Stefan and Bonnie decide to leave them behind when all seems hopeless. After leaving them, Bonnie explains to Stefan that Enzo was trying to help them with information about the monster from the Armory's vault. Stefan now has hope to find and bring back Damon again. In Today Will Be Different, Damon and Stefan reunite once again and this time, it was abruptly. Stefan attempts to save Sarah Nelson, their relative, from Damon trying to kill her. However, Damon puts her in a chokehold and Stefan begs Damon not to kill her. Damon seems to hesitate for a moment, but Sybil walks in and mentally messes with Damon once again, tearing away his last memories of Elena. Damon truly loses his last shred of humanity and bites hard into Sarah's neck. Sybil then gets involved and stabs Sarah and stops Stefan from saving Sarah, as she bleeds to death. After confronting Sybil and Damon, Stefan is devastated that the last Salvatore member is dead. In You Decided That I Was Worth Saving, Damon first calls Stefan asking him to meet him at a disclosed location, alone. Obviously hesitant, Stefan decides to meet with him anyway. When they do meet, Stefan asks Damon to cut to the chase being he knows Damon has a tendency to deceive him whenever Damon needs him, especially under Sybil's mental influence. Damon however says that he needs Stefan's help. Stefan is perplexed and asks him what he could possibly need help for. Damon says that Sybil is forcing him to fight Enzo to the death at a certain time because Sybil is tired of Bonnie messing with her plans. Later on, Stefan attempts to stop Damon from fighting Enzo. Damon accuses Stefan of not being a loyal brother when he attempts to save both Enzo and Damon. However, after Caroline shows up, Stefan is determined to save Damon over Enzo. Seeing that Stefan and Caroline are in their way, Enzo and Damon eventually reject their help, knock them out by breaking their necks and they continue to fight to the death, until Bonnie shows up with Sybil. After their confrontation is over, Stefan helps Alaric captured and later, plans to imprison Sybil in the Armory's cell. As Stefan and the others are preparing an unconscious Sybil to be brought to the Armory, Damon leaves in his car telling Stefan that Sybil, Enzo and his work isn't done yet. In Coming Home Was a Mistake, Damon crashes Tyler's first funeral and puts Matt in a chokehold. Stefan, with the rest of his friends, begs Damon not to kill Matt as Damon force-feeds Matt with his vampire blood. Stefan tries to get through to Damon once more by saying how this wasn't him by trying to kill Matt and Stefan even mentions Elena. However, Damon doesn't listen to Stefan, but he does let Matt go alive and vampspeeds out of there. Later, Stefan meets Damon at the carnival where the rest of the carnival goers are forced to leave due to a "gas leak." Stefan attempts to put Damon down in order to try and help him, which ends up starting a brutal fight between the two brothers. However, Stefan is helped by Caroline, who knocks Damon out with a vervain tranquilizer gun. In The Next Time I Hurt Somebody, It Could Be You, In We Have History Together, Damon and Stefan have been on the road together for three weeks, after Stefan sold his soul to Cade and started working for him as a ripper with Damon. They are first seen together in a support group trying to find their next victim. Damon plays the part of a person with anger management issues and Stefan charismatically uses this to find their most guilty victim in the support group. It turns out that both Damon and Stefan agree that the man who ran the group was the most guilty. Damon offs the man in charge of the support group in order to feed Cade more souls for hell. However, Damon disapprovingly exclaims that Stefan shouldn't have killed the rest of the group. Stefan argues that the rest of the support group was for himself to feed on and the man Damon killed was for Cade. Later on, Damon and Stefan are searching for their next victim, which happens to be a medical student, named Tara, who bears a striking resemblance to Elena. Stefan injects Damon with vervain to slow his heart and plays the part of a concerned bystander and friend/brother to Damon. The medical student, who looks like Elena, rushes over to Damon and the three are later seen treating Damon in a bed, at the hospital. Stefan believes that he can corrupt the young student being her past was dark, but sad being her parents died in a car crash thanks to a drunk driver. Damon tries to convince Stefan otherwise, but Stefan doesn't do this for obvious reasons. After pushing Tara past her breaking point by telling her that Damon was the one responsible for her parents' deaths and car crash. The medical student believes Stefan; Tara is heartbroken obviously being she missed her parents, who were innocent people and still died from an alcoholic drunk driver. Tara finally gives in and decides to inject him with air to cause an embolism to stop his heart and killed him, as revenge for killing her parents. After the student records Damon's "time of death," she leaves after her shift is over at the hospital and Stefan was waiting for her in the parking lot of the hospital. Tara is shocked to see Damon alive when Stefan begins telling the student that she failed her morality test. Stefan and Damon argue about killing Tara, which leads to an argument about Damon holding onto Elena and his humanity. Stefan points this out by using Elena's old necklace as evidence of Damon's struggle. Damon denies his hesitance completely, but Stefan still doesn't buy it. Later that night, Damon and Stefan are driving on a road still discussing Damon's hesitance to kill Tara, due to her resemblance to Elena. Damon first attempts to deny this by throwing Elena's necklace out the car window as they're speeding down the road. Stefan then tells Damon to kill the student, which Damon finally agrees to, but clearly irritated by Stefan's constant jabs about his conscience. Damon angrily stops the car, takes the terrified medical student out of it, and feeds on her until she is dead. This reassures Stefan that Damon no longer has ties to his humanity. However, Damon secretly comes back to the road the next day and talks with a prison inmate about second chances as he finds Elena's old necklace and picks it up, clearly still holding onto his humanity without Stefan's knowledge. In The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch, In You Made a Choice to Be Good, In It's Been a Hell of a Ride, In We're Planning a June Wedding, In I Was Feeling Epic, Damon and Elena are fooled by Katherine into believing that Elena is awake and well along with Bonnie; they quickly realise that Elena is still slumbering, and it is actually Katherine who has returned from Hell. After realizing that the only way to kill Katherine for good is to ensure she is in Hell when Bonnie sends the Hellfire back, Stefan and Damon argue over who will die to ensure she is dead. Damon attempts to be a martyr and do right by Elena, and attempts to compel Stefan to leave for safety. Unbeknownst to Damon, Stefan has been ingesting vervain since he became human, and cannot be compelled. Stefan returns to the tunnels and injects Damon with the cure, making him human. Stefan ensures Katherine is dead when the hellfire returns to Hell, and dies in the process. After Elena and Damon lead a long, happy, human life, Damon reunites with Stefan in the afterlife, despite thinking he would go to Hell. The two embrace, and Stefan welcomes Damon with "Hello, Brother", a throwback to Damon's return to Mystic Falls in Pilot. |
Quotes
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- Stefan: Because you feel something for her, because you actually care. And I'm not gonna let Katherine come in here and destroy that part of you that is finally after all of this time willing to feel something. She will try to break you. She will try to break us. And how we respond to that will define us. It's our choice.
- -- The Return
- Stefan: You're not gonna kill her.
- Damon: Don't give me that goody-goody crap.
- Stefan: Because I am.
- -- Masquerade
- Damon: Dear diary, a chipmunk asked me my name today. I told him it was Joe. That lie will haunt me forever.
- Stefan: What do you want?
- Damon: I was hoping we could hang. You know a little brother bonding. I know we don't actually "hang out". We team up, we join forces, we activate our Wonder twin powers.
- Stefan: What are you doing?
- Damon: Digging up clues. Most of the Originals are gone, but now we have a who done it in town. Do you remember when we came back for Zachariah's funeral?
- Stefan: Vaguely. Why?
- Damon: If memory serves, he wasn't the first founder's council member killed that year or even that month.
- Stefan: Your point being?
- Damon: I'm trying to remember what year it was.
- Stefan: 1912.
- Damon: So much for vaguely.
- Damon: The Founder's Council killer had nothing on you. By the decade's end, they were calling you the Ripper of Monterrey. I let you walk away. I watched you go over the edge, I didn't do anything to stop you.
- Stefan: You couldn't have.
- Damon: Sure I could of. But I just didn't want to. But I want to now. And whenever you go too far, I will be there to pull you back. Every second, every day, till you don't need me.
- Stefan: Why?
- Damon: Cause right now, you're all I got.
- -- 1912
- -- Memorial
- Damon: That hunter jacked Tyler Lockwood of his werewolf venom last night, so basically, he's got vampire poison in a bottle. And I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna eat him.
- Stefan: [stands up] I'll go with you.
- Damon: I don't want your help. I just want to kill this guy and get the hell out of town. Wasn't that the deal? Whoever Elena doesn't choose leaves?
- Stefan: That was before she turned.
- Damon: And I stayed to help. If I take you punching me as the first clue, I'm not wanted here anymore.
- Stefan: [sighs] Listen, you blood-shared with my girlfriend, and I punched you in the face. You deserved it. Why don't you stop being dramatic?
- Damon: No, brother, dramatic would be leaving before I kill this hunter.
- -- The Rager
- Stefan: "You're kidding me, right? Think of all the ways that you have ruined my life for the last century... Including the fact that I'm working for Cade right now because of you... And you seriously believe that you're the one who should be forgiving me?"
- Damon: "You're right. I'm a monster. But like I said... I forgive you."
- Stefan: "I have nothing to apologize for."
- Damon: "Then why are you here, Stefan?"
- Stefan: "Huh?"
- Damon: "Why are you always there to straighten me out when I go off the rails? Come on, man, you're not here for Cade. You're here because you blame yourself for turning me in the first place. Apparently, I still do, too. At least until today. I officially forgive you."
- Stefan: "Shut up!"
- Damon: "I forgive you, Stefan."
- Stefan: "Why aren't you healing?"
- Damon: "Remember that vampire I was warning you about running around in my head? Well, it's not me. It's you. It's always been you, Stefan. So, for the last time, I forgive you for making me what I am. I absolve you of all the death and destruction I've caused as a result. And you want to know why? Because you're my brother. And I love you. And there's nothing you could do to ever change that."
- -- Nostalgia's a Bitch
Trivia
- They both had sex with the same four women; Katherine Pierce, Rebekah Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes.
- They have both been the boyfriend of Elena at some point. Stefan is Elena's ex-boyfriend and Damon was dating Elena before Kai put Elena in a sleeping coma.
- They have both been Katherine's boyfriend at some point in 1864.
- Stefan is Rebekah's ex-boyfriend; they dated in 1922 and 2011. Damon had two-nights-stand in 2010 with her.
- Damon and Caroline had a briefly compelled, sexual relationship while Stefan and Caroline slept together while their humanities were off.
- They had both been saved by Lexi Branson for getting back their humanities. Stefan in multiple times likes 1864, 1922, 1942 and 2010. Damon in 1977.
- They had both some relationship with her. Lexi was Stefan's long time best friend and Damon had a one-night-stand with her.
- In 1912, it is revealed that Damon and Stefan had a half-brother. Their father Giuseppe had gotten one of the maids pregnant and she had a son. This half brother is the ancestor to Zach Salvatore.
- Stefan became a vampire before Damon, implying that he may be stronger than him.
- Both Paul Wesley (Stefan) and Ian Somerhalder (Damon) were guest stars and recurring characters on Smallville. Paul portrayed Lucas Luthor, Lex Luthor's younger, rebellious half brother. Ian portrayed Adam Knight, a villainous, mysterious young man who displays an interest in Lana Lang.
- Paul Wesley (Stefan) and Ian Somerhalder (Damon) were guest stars on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Paul portrayed three different characters Danny Burrell, Luke Miller and Luke Breslin, in three different episodes. Ian portrayed Charlie Baker, the son of a building superintendent.
- Stefan and Damon were both shot and killed by their father.
- Damon was killed moments before Stefan.
- Both have killed the other's vampire best friend, Damon killed Lexi and Stefan killed Enzo.
- In the episode Total Eclipse of the Heart, Stefan admits that he likes the person that Damon had become when he was with Elena and now that they're separated, Stefan doesn't want to lose him.
- Stefan tells Damon in No Exit, "You're my brother, I'm not going to give up on you, not ever." Showing how much Stefan cares for Damon. Also Damon runs at Stefan and shouts at Stefan "STAY BACK" and then displays his Augustine Vampire appearance to try and scare Stefan away, so that Damon won't feed on Stefan. This episode showed how much Stefan and Damon care deeply about each other.
- The actors,Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley who play Damon and Stefan, are like-brothers in real life.
- In Home, Damon goes on a suicide mission with Elena to bring Stefan back from The Other Side, But when Damon is unable to return back to the living, Stefan is heartbroken and wrecked with grief after discovering Damon is dead and breaks into tears as Caroline comforts him.
- Stefan and Damon have both sacrificed themselves in order to save the other at one point:
- Stefan gave himself over to Klaus and became the Ripper again for a cure to save Damon from a werewolf bite in As I Lay Dying.
- Damon died in an explosion he caused to kill the Travelers in order to bring back Stefan and the others back from The Other Side which was destroyed in Home.
- When Damon returns back from dead, the first person he was reunited with was his brother Stefan.
- Stefan restored Damon's old car as a Christmas present, something the older Salvatore deeply appreciates.
- In Live Through This, they find out that it was actually their mother's idea to to link Elena's life with Bonnie, which was executed by Kai in I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime.
- Damon and Stefan were both trapped in the Phoenix Stone.
Gallery