My Top 10 Damon Quotes (seasons 1-3)
This is another meta I did for tvdbloodstream, just reposting for archival purposes. It's the last one, I swear.
My Top 10 Damon Quotes
(Or, the things that I gleaned about his character from certain pieces of dialogue.)
You know, I really think that Damon believes that everything he's done,
every move that he's made, he's done for love.
It's twisted, but kind of sad.
~Elena Gilbert, from 1x13 "Children of the Damned."
Disclaimer: For the most part, these lines are perfected by Ian's delivery of them, and his delivery is what always astounds me.
[10] What you hate most about people are your own weaknesses from 1x08 "162 Candles"
Caroline: Why are you being like this? I'm so good to you and I'd do anything. You know, it's just some stupid necklace.
Damon: No. You are the only stupid thing here. And shallow. And useless.
I didn't get this one the first watch. It was at least the second, perhaps the third time through my rewatch of S1 that the impact of this exchange hit me. Up until this point in the narrative, Damon has been mean to Stefan, tormented Elena, and obviously been the most abusive awful boyfriend in vampire history to Caroline. But, to my knowledge (and correct me if you can cite an earlier example) we haven't really seen him lose his patience. His frustration here is about not being able to get the crystal back from Bonnie, but Damon is so deliberate in everything he does (I mean, for heaven's sake, this party he insisted Caroline throw is so he can put his 'diabolical' plan into motion) that this moment where he snaps at Caroline is just...that much more terrible. It perplexed me at first, but eventually I came to the conclusion that there is so much about Caroline's desperation to please him while still being unable to actually do it that reminds Damon of himself. And it's a horrifying mirror to be looking into when his sole purpose is to get Katherine out of that tomb. When I considered Damon's words being self-directed, the scene took on such a different and even more tragic trajectory. But that's the truth of it: those who are cruel to others have no self-respect, no self-worth, and are generally just miserable people. World, meet Damon Salvatore.
[9] Self-fulfilling prophecy from 1x17 "Let the Right One In"
Damon: I know you hate me. Guess what? Everyone hates me.
Damon says this to Ric after their first adventure together to save Stefan from the Tomb Vamps. Perhaps for the first time in a very long time, Damon has found someone he can be friends with, but, of course, he turned Alaric's wife into a vampire, so Alaric hates him. It's not like Damon did that to purposely make Ric hate him, but he did plenty of other stuff, like lie to Ric to get him to help rescue Stefan in the first place. He's a dick, every chance he gets. On purpose. Because he wants people to hate him. Because that's easier. Because he hates himself. Poor, broken bastard.
[8] Brotherly affection from 3x01 "The Birthday"
Damon: Ah, Stefan. Such a packrat.
This is such a throwaway line, except that it's not. Damon's bedroom is a sparse, neatly organized gargantuan room that holds little personalization, unless you count the equally ginormous bed that could fit all of his ladyfriends all at once. Stefan's bedroom is filled with old diaries, guitars (Stefan plays? who knew?), and old tintypes of dead girlfriends. Stefan's room reflects a boy whom Damon loves, even if he can't quite choke that out, and his lovely little remark here brings that into clarity.
[7] Guilt, part one from 1x20 "Blood Brothers"
Damon: You brood too much. Everything on this planet's not your fault. My actions, what I do, not your fault. I own them. They belong to me. You are not allowed to feel my guilt.
OH, GOD. I have always loved this scene, and this monologue of Damon's so much. Self-aware, self-aware, self-aware. But unwilling to dwell on things he can't or won't change, this is the epitome of Damon. What's even more interesting is his understanding of Stefan here. Stefan can feel all the guilt he wants about all his own mistakes, but Damon's not offering up blame and guilt. Well, really he is and has been all along, but here he takes a great stride forward to take it back, at least in part. Katherine used them against each other, and it will still be a long time before Damon lets that go and stops blaming Stefan for the years he wasted loving her, but this is the first step. It's their lovely dysfunction that makes them the Brothers Salvatore.
[6] It's all about control from 2x13 "Daddy Issues"
Damon: I'm in love with a woman I can never have.
Andie: I knew it. I know how to pick them. So why can't you have her? She's with another man, I assume?
Damon: Yeah. That's not the point. The point is I'm in love with her and I-it's driving me crazy. I'm not in control.
I have always loved this scene, and so have the other D/E shippers who are near and dear to my heart, because Damon states, for the record, that his and Elena's biggest problem is NOT Stefan. It never has been, never will be. If, some day down the line, Stefan is out of the picture, Damon and Elena will still have stuff to slog through. And Damon's lack of willingness to change is just one of those things. What I also like about this is that Damon, who will talk to his baby bro about living on the edge one day in the future, is normally in control. He doesn't go around biting people for the hell of it-or rather, it might be for the hell of it, but it's still got a purpose to it. He does it all on purpose, and he sure as hell doesn't want messy emotions interfering with his enjoyment of his lifestyle. And beyond all of that is the petulant way he shares all of this information with Andie. He's such a GIANT BABY here, it's utterly ridiculous. I mean, for serious, LOOK AT HIS FACE. GIANT BABY.
[5] Find your own damn self, Damon from 2x12 "The Descent"
Rose: You never forget what it's like. To be human. It haunts me.
...
Damon: I'm lost.
Jessica: And you're laying in the middle of the road?
Damon: I'm not that kinda lost. Metaphorically. Existentially.
Jessica: Do you need help?
Damon: Well...yes, I do. Can you help me?
So this is that pivotal episode where we see that Damon is just like all the other vampires who miss their humanity. Not the humanity that comes and goes with a switch (that's all very questionable anyway), but his actual human-ness. It's hard to be a vampire; everything is amplified, and no matter how long you live and no matter how much you try to put between you and your former life, you cannot forget. And when you spend time with humans, i.e. when you fall in love with human girls, how can you even pretend to not miss it? Maybe Damon doesn't miss the conventions-it does seem like he had a hard time in 1864, too, what with not wanting to be a soldier, and never being able to please his father, but that doesn't mean he doesn't miss what being human meant. Of all the things he could say to Jessica, the fact that he starts out with "I'm lost" is very telling. Can he go back to a world with rules and expectations? Can he ever be worthy of Elena? He doesn't really think so, and it devastates him. Underneath it all, he would like to be a normal boy, but it will never be that simple.
[4] Choice, the key to destiny from 2x22 "As I Lay Dying"
Damon: I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die.
Elena: No. You don't.
Damon: I do, Elena. It's okay. Because if I'd have chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you. I'm so sorry. I've done so many things to hurt you.
Elena: It's okay; I forgive you.
Damon: I know you love Stefan. And it will always be Stefan. But I love you. You should know that.
Elena: I do.
This scene can make me cry, every time. Even the first time, I knew Damon wouldn't die, but it's still so heart-rending for me. His self-evaluation carries into everything we see in S3, and there's actually a lot more I could say about all of his dialogue (including the earlier stuff about nobody forcing him to love Katherine, and the following stuff about how Elena would have liked him in 1864), but I'm trying not to make a 3000-word meta post about each scene of the show, ever. Okay, back to what I just want to say about these lines: Damon is a bastard, and he knows it. He's not looking for platitudes (although a nice 'I forgive you' and a goodbye kiss certainly aren't things he's going to reject in this moment), but I love that ultimately he knows he wouldn't change anything, because meeting Elena, and the journey he's been on since he met her has been the best time of his life. All of the growth and change that he has made since he met her is because of her. Not for her, but because of how she makes him feel. She brings out these good things in him, unlike Katherine, and there is such simplistic beauty in that. Even believing she will always love Stefan, no matter what, he's still grateful for what she's been in his life. And as an aside, the way he says But I love you is perhaps the most tragic rendering of those words I've ever heard. *sniff*
[3] All that alcohol, for a purpose from 3x05 "The Reckoning"
Damon: Have some bourbon. It'll help you forget.
OH, DAMON! I love this scene SO SO SO MUCH just for that line alone. As he hands a completely traumatized Elena a glass of bourbon (both inappropriate because of her age and the fact that she's probably running two liters light on blood!) and says that simple little thing, you understand every drink you've ever seen him swallow. It's not like I don't know why people abuse alcohol, but having Damon say those words just...ugh. Right in my heart. There is so much he'd like to forget; and yet, there is not enough bourbon in the world.
[2] Guilt, part two from 3x10 "The New Deal"
Elena: What does that even mean?
Damon: It means I'm an idiot. Because I thought, for one second, that I wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore.
How long have you felt guilty, Damon? This is the beauty of this scene, even though so much happens and it will apparently be on every Top 10 list I make, but his statement is the crux of it. If only Stefan would be a big enough asshole that he could just love Elena, or steal Elena, with no regrets....if only. If only he didn't love his brother, even when his brother doesn't deserve it, if only his brother would stop saving his life and just let him die already and he could finally be put out of his misery. But for Damon, there will always been one more edge to push, and so guilt, while there if he wants it, will never actually be a deterrent. And this is why I love him so much.
[1] Selfish conundrum from 2x08 "Rose"
Damon: Because what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life. ... I love you, Elena. And it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you. And why you can't know this. I don't deserve you. But my brother does.
I will never forget the way my heart pounded when Damon turned up in Elena's room during this episode. I will never get tired of watching their body language, seeing Elena's fear because the last time he was in her room...well, things went very, very bad. And I will never get tired of Damon calling himself both selfish and unselfish within just a few moments of each other. Because this? Such an awful thing to do, such a sucky terrible jerky thing to unburden himself of (but not really) and make Elena carry it even though she doesn't remember it. And yet, I still swoon about the whole damn thing too. I just can't fight the feelings it gives me, I can't ignore the way her face changes and how she thinks he's going to kiss her mouth, but he doesn't, and how she looks regretful of that in the moment at the same time she's relieved. And more than that, there is this underlying love for Stefan here, too, something that has always broken my heart for Damon, because his perspective on his brother is so skewed-they have both done, even at this point in the story, plenty of things to be unworthy of Elena, and yet...since Damon's sins all came from this place of purposefulness and Stefan's didn't (one of my biggest problems with Stefan is his sociopathic unconsciousness), he can say this and mean it, and leave it at that. Ugh. Kill me now.
My Top 10 Damon Quotes
(Or, the things that I gleaned about his character from certain pieces of dialogue.)
You know, I really think that Damon believes that everything he's done,
every move that he's made, he's done for love.
It's twisted, but kind of sad.
~Elena Gilbert, from 1x13 "Children of the Damned."
Disclaimer: For the most part, these lines are perfected by Ian's delivery of them, and his delivery is what always astounds me.
[10] What you hate most about people are your own weaknesses from 1x08 "162 Candles"
Caroline: Why are you being like this? I'm so good to you and I'd do anything. You know, it's just some stupid necklace.
Damon: No. You are the only stupid thing here. And shallow. And useless.
I didn't get this one the first watch. It was at least the second, perhaps the third time through my rewatch of S1 that the impact of this exchange hit me. Up until this point in the narrative, Damon has been mean to Stefan, tormented Elena, and obviously been the most abusive awful boyfriend in vampire history to Caroline. But, to my knowledge (and correct me if you can cite an earlier example) we haven't really seen him lose his patience. His frustration here is about not being able to get the crystal back from Bonnie, but Damon is so deliberate in everything he does (I mean, for heaven's sake, this party he insisted Caroline throw is so he can put his 'diabolical' plan into motion) that this moment where he snaps at Caroline is just...that much more terrible. It perplexed me at first, but eventually I came to the conclusion that there is so much about Caroline's desperation to please him while still being unable to actually do it that reminds Damon of himself. And it's a horrifying mirror to be looking into when his sole purpose is to get Katherine out of that tomb. When I considered Damon's words being self-directed, the scene took on such a different and even more tragic trajectory. But that's the truth of it: those who are cruel to others have no self-respect, no self-worth, and are generally just miserable people. World, meet Damon Salvatore.
[9] Self-fulfilling prophecy from 1x17 "Let the Right One In"
Damon: I know you hate me. Guess what? Everyone hates me.
Damon says this to Ric after their first adventure together to save Stefan from the Tomb Vamps. Perhaps for the first time in a very long time, Damon has found someone he can be friends with, but, of course, he turned Alaric's wife into a vampire, so Alaric hates him. It's not like Damon did that to purposely make Ric hate him, but he did plenty of other stuff, like lie to Ric to get him to help rescue Stefan in the first place. He's a dick, every chance he gets. On purpose. Because he wants people to hate him. Because that's easier. Because he hates himself. Poor, broken bastard.
[8] Brotherly affection from 3x01 "The Birthday"
Damon: Ah, Stefan. Such a packrat.
This is such a throwaway line, except that it's not. Damon's bedroom is a sparse, neatly organized gargantuan room that holds little personalization, unless you count the equally ginormous bed that could fit all of his ladyfriends all at once. Stefan's bedroom is filled with old diaries, guitars (Stefan plays? who knew?), and old tintypes of dead girlfriends. Stefan's room reflects a boy whom Damon loves, even if he can't quite choke that out, and his lovely little remark here brings that into clarity.
[7] Guilt, part one from 1x20 "Blood Brothers"
Damon: You brood too much. Everything on this planet's not your fault. My actions, what I do, not your fault. I own them. They belong to me. You are not allowed to feel my guilt.
OH, GOD. I have always loved this scene, and this monologue of Damon's so much. Self-aware, self-aware, self-aware. But unwilling to dwell on things he can't or won't change, this is the epitome of Damon. What's even more interesting is his understanding of Stefan here. Stefan can feel all the guilt he wants about all his own mistakes, but Damon's not offering up blame and guilt. Well, really he is and has been all along, but here he takes a great stride forward to take it back, at least in part. Katherine used them against each other, and it will still be a long time before Damon lets that go and stops blaming Stefan for the years he wasted loving her, but this is the first step. It's their lovely dysfunction that makes them the Brothers Salvatore.
[6] It's all about control from 2x13 "Daddy Issues"
Damon: I'm in love with a woman I can never have.
Andie: I knew it. I know how to pick them. So why can't you have her? She's with another man, I assume?
Damon: Yeah. That's not the point. The point is I'm in love with her and I-it's driving me crazy. I'm not in control.
I have always loved this scene, and so have the other D/E shippers who are near and dear to my heart, because Damon states, for the record, that his and Elena's biggest problem is NOT Stefan. It never has been, never will be. If, some day down the line, Stefan is out of the picture, Damon and Elena will still have stuff to slog through. And Damon's lack of willingness to change is just one of those things. What I also like about this is that Damon, who will talk to his baby bro about living on the edge one day in the future, is normally in control. He doesn't go around biting people for the hell of it-or rather, it might be for the hell of it, but it's still got a purpose to it. He does it all on purpose, and he sure as hell doesn't want messy emotions interfering with his enjoyment of his lifestyle. And beyond all of that is the petulant way he shares all of this information with Andie. He's such a GIANT BABY here, it's utterly ridiculous. I mean, for serious, LOOK AT HIS FACE. GIANT BABY.
[5] Find your own damn self, Damon from 2x12 "The Descent"
Rose: You never forget what it's like. To be human. It haunts me.
...
Damon: I'm lost.
Jessica: And you're laying in the middle of the road?
Damon: I'm not that kinda lost. Metaphorically. Existentially.
Jessica: Do you need help?
Damon: Well...yes, I do. Can you help me?
So this is that pivotal episode where we see that Damon is just like all the other vampires who miss their humanity. Not the humanity that comes and goes with a switch (that's all very questionable anyway), but his actual human-ness. It's hard to be a vampire; everything is amplified, and no matter how long you live and no matter how much you try to put between you and your former life, you cannot forget. And when you spend time with humans, i.e. when you fall in love with human girls, how can you even pretend to not miss it? Maybe Damon doesn't miss the conventions-it does seem like he had a hard time in 1864, too, what with not wanting to be a soldier, and never being able to please his father, but that doesn't mean he doesn't miss what being human meant. Of all the things he could say to Jessica, the fact that he starts out with "I'm lost" is very telling. Can he go back to a world with rules and expectations? Can he ever be worthy of Elena? He doesn't really think so, and it devastates him. Underneath it all, he would like to be a normal boy, but it will never be that simple.
[4] Choice, the key to destiny from 2x22 "As I Lay Dying"
Damon: I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die.
Elena: No. You don't.
Damon: I do, Elena. It's okay. Because if I'd have chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you. I'm so sorry. I've done so many things to hurt you.
Elena: It's okay; I forgive you.
Damon: I know you love Stefan. And it will always be Stefan. But I love you. You should know that.
Elena: I do.
This scene can make me cry, every time. Even the first time, I knew Damon wouldn't die, but it's still so heart-rending for me. His self-evaluation carries into everything we see in S3, and there's actually a lot more I could say about all of his dialogue (including the earlier stuff about nobody forcing him to love Katherine, and the following stuff about how Elena would have liked him in 1864), but I'm trying not to make a 3000-word meta post about each scene of the show, ever. Okay, back to what I just want to say about these lines: Damon is a bastard, and he knows it. He's not looking for platitudes (although a nice 'I forgive you' and a goodbye kiss certainly aren't things he's going to reject in this moment), but I love that ultimately he knows he wouldn't change anything, because meeting Elena, and the journey he's been on since he met her has been the best time of his life. All of the growth and change that he has made since he met her is because of her. Not for her, but because of how she makes him feel. She brings out these good things in him, unlike Katherine, and there is such simplistic beauty in that. Even believing she will always love Stefan, no matter what, he's still grateful for what she's been in his life. And as an aside, the way he says But I love you is perhaps the most tragic rendering of those words I've ever heard. *sniff*
[3] All that alcohol, for a purpose from 3x05 "The Reckoning"
Damon: Have some bourbon. It'll help you forget.
OH, DAMON! I love this scene SO SO SO MUCH just for that line alone. As he hands a completely traumatized Elena a glass of bourbon (both inappropriate because of her age and the fact that she's probably running two liters light on blood!) and says that simple little thing, you understand every drink you've ever seen him swallow. It's not like I don't know why people abuse alcohol, but having Damon say those words just...ugh. Right in my heart. There is so much he'd like to forget; and yet, there is not enough bourbon in the world.
[2] Guilt, part two from 3x10 "The New Deal"
Elena: What does that even mean?
Damon: It means I'm an idiot. Because I thought, for one second, that I wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore.
How long have you felt guilty, Damon? This is the beauty of this scene, even though so much happens and it will apparently be on every Top 10 list I make, but his statement is the crux of it. If only Stefan would be a big enough asshole that he could just love Elena, or steal Elena, with no regrets....if only. If only he didn't love his brother, even when his brother doesn't deserve it, if only his brother would stop saving his life and just let him die already and he could finally be put out of his misery. But for Damon, there will always been one more edge to push, and so guilt, while there if he wants it, will never actually be a deterrent. And this is why I love him so much.
[1] Selfish conundrum from 2x08 "Rose"
Damon: Because what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life. ... I love you, Elena. And it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you. And why you can't know this. I don't deserve you. But my brother does.
I will never forget the way my heart pounded when Damon turned up in Elena's room during this episode. I will never get tired of watching their body language, seeing Elena's fear because the last time he was in her room...well, things went very, very bad. And I will never get tired of Damon calling himself both selfish and unselfish within just a few moments of each other. Because this? Such an awful thing to do, such a sucky terrible jerky thing to unburden himself of (but not really) and make Elena carry it even though she doesn't remember it. And yet, I still swoon about the whole damn thing too. I just can't fight the feelings it gives me, I can't ignore the way her face changes and how she thinks he's going to kiss her mouth, but he doesn't, and how she looks regretful of that in the moment at the same time she's relieved. And more than that, there is this underlying love for Stefan here, too, something that has always broken my heart for Damon, because his perspective on his brother is so skewed-they have both done, even at this point in the story, plenty of things to be unworthy of Elena, and yet...since Damon's sins all came from this place of purposefulness and Stefan's didn't (one of my biggest problems with Stefan is his sociopathic unconsciousness), he can say this and mean it, and leave it at that. Ugh. Kill me now.