At least one main character is slated to die in the series finale of The Vampire Diaries. Should it be one of our beloved Salvatore brothers?
These brothers have been at the heart of The Vampire Diaries since the very beginning. Even though we began the series with Elena Gilbert, the story really began in 1864, with Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Their mutual love for Katherine and Elena, and their relationship with each other, has kept us coming back for eight seasons. They are the true main characters of the show.
Related: The Vampire Diaries: Every ship sucks, except one
Now that the show is coming to an end, it’s possible that we could lose one, or even both, of the Salvatore brothers! Even though that’s almost too painful to consider, we’ve put together some thoughts on why that should, or shouldn’t be the case. Read our thoughts, and let us know what you think in the poll and comments.
Yes, one of the Salvatore brothers should die – Tariq Kyle
Alright, before you start hating me, hear me out here. I love the brothers as much as anyone but it’s kind of insane how they have been able to survive everything. They had a hard enough time not killing each other that it would have been easy for any of their enemies to convince one of them to kill family. Whenever I think about whether or not a character should die I look at the mortality rate of the show and what the chances are that these characters would have survived. I’m pretty sure if the characters weren’t all Mary Sues then one of them would be dead.
Now, of course, the question becomes: Which brother?
I think the answer is pretty clear. We’re all waiting for Elena to wake up and finally reunite with Damon, and Stefan’s a human so obviously it would be the latter. I love Stefan. In fact, Stefan Salvatore was my favorite character right from the beginning. But if one of the two brothers had to die I’d rather it be the one whose relationship hasn’t been hinging on the entire frigin’ season.
It’d be very easy to kill Stefan. Given that he’s taken the cure, and Damon still has to take it to be with Elena for the rest of their natural lives, Damon would have to take it from his brother. And we all know what happens when you take the cure for vampirism out of a vampire that’s lived well beyond the age limit of a natural human: They age super rapidly and end up becoming nothing but a pile of ex-vampire dust. Obviously.
Some say that Bonnie could use the ascendant to find the other version of the cure that exists in the prison world, but I say that’s a bunch of crock. Honestly it was just way, way too convenient for Bonnie to be able to make another ascendant so quickly. It’s like they’re going out of their way for the fan service so they end up not killing Stefan, because we know that if this happens everyone will go mad.
I don’t think the show should keep Stefan if it doesn’t fit the story, and without that exceedingly stupid ascendant plot it wouldn’t. I’m really hoping they’re about to psych everyone out with the ascendant and really need to use Stefan to give Damon the cure, because that would actually be entertaining, and not predictable.
No, they both need to live through the finale – Kendra Cleary
Of course I want to see Stefan and Damon Salvatore live through the finale of The Vampire Diaries because I can’t bear to lose either one of them, but there’s a bigger reason why I think they should both make it through. Simply put, a death just wouldn’t serve either of their stories in the best way.
The argument can be made that Stefan has to die in The Vampire Diaries finale, since he’s human, and Damon needs to take the cure from him. However, it’s looking like Elena’s going to be waking up sooner than we imagined, so unless the finale fast forwards into the future for some other reason, there’s no need for that to happen before The Vampire Diaries ends. Also, now that the Ascendant is back on the table, there’s another cure waiting in a 1903 prison world for Damon to take.
Yes, it’s pretty evident that Stefan sucks at being a human, despite wishing for it for so long. He’s come very close to death in exactly every episode that he’s been mortal. Now that he’s decided that he kind of wants to live, though, I have hope that he can stay away from future near death experiences.
Stefan has been wrestling with guilt for his entire vampiric life. It began with him forcing Damon to turn, but his guilt has escalated with each body that his ripper alter-ego has added to his tally. There have been times over the course of The Vampire Diaries series when he’s allowed himself to be happy, but more and more mistakes have finally caused his guilt to break him, in season 8.
Whereas Damon sometimes relished being the bad guy, Stefan has always tried to be the best man possible, for the people he loves. Therefore, forgiveness has always been readily available for Stefan, when it comes to his friends (although Bonnie Bennett might say differently, right now). Stefan’s journey has always been about forgiving himself, which he finally took a step towards, in The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 14.
When Stefan re-proposed to Caroline, that was his first step toward the self-forgiveness and redemption that he needs. That was him saying, “I’ve made mistakes, but damn it, I’ve decided that I’m worth saving.”
We all know that Stefan would gladly die for the majority of characters on The Vampire Diaries, if only to escape his own guilt. For him to commit some sort of grand sacrifice in the finale would only feed into his martyr complex. The better move for Stefan’s story arc is for him to push through his guilt, and his past crimes, and live a happy life. His death would only serve as a tragedy, and that would just be too much to handle.
As for the elder Salvatore, ever since Damon gained his freedom from Sybil’s control, he’s been working towards redemption. Given the crimes he’s committed against countless innocent strangers and the people he loves most, I didn’t even know if it was possible for him to be redeemed. However, throughout The Vampire Diaries season 8, I think he’s actually achieved it!
It began with the “Nostalgia’s a Bitch” episode, when Damon was trapped in a subconscious hell of his own making, because that’s what he thought he deserved. Over the course of one of the best episodes of the entire series, he realized he needed forgiveness from the people in his life, earned it, and accepted it. Simultaneously, he realized that he still needed to forgive Stefan, letting go of the last pieces of the 150+ year grudge he was holding against his brother. It was glorious.
That was the beginning of Damon’s redemption, but it didn’t end there. We’ve seen Damon preach about how he’s going to “try to be better” in the past, while continuing to make the same mistakes. When he read that letter to Bonnie and promised to be there for her, it could’ve just been the same thing. Damon trying to do good, and failing, as usual.
However, that’s absolutely not what we’ve seen. Ever since that episode, he’s been noticeably different. He’s fully devoted himself to protecting his brother, he’s been supportive of Bonnie in her time of need, and he’s even treating people like Caroline and Matt, who he previously would’ve had no time for, with much more respect and kindness.
His final step toward redemption occurred in The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 14. Given the ultimate choice between saving Stefan or saving Elena, he chose to take the bullet for both of them. After living in fear of hell all season, he willingly moved to send himself there, to protect the people he loves. As if that wasn’t enough, the Bamon lovers also got a nod when he got to sacrifice himself again so that his best friend, Bonnie, wouldn’t hurt herself to save him!
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Damon’s attempted sacrifice satisfied any need for him to die in the series finale of The Vampire Diaries. Of course, it would be impossible to say that Damon’s atoned for all of his past sins, but as far as his story arc goes, he’s redeemed. The only way for him to continue to make up for his past, is to do better going forward.
This man has spent most of his extraordinarily long life waiting for the person he loves. His challenge, now, and the only way for his story arc to progress, is for him to actually live a happy life with the woman, the brother, and the friends that he loves. It’s never something he’s allowed himself to do, in the past, but he’s ready now, so let him have it!
Now that you’ve heard our arguments, have your say!
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