own guilt. If he killed Damon, like he should and could have at any number of points, it would have been better for humanity as a whole and saved who knows how many innocent lives. But it would have ruined Stefan’s imagined shot at redemption—if he can save 6882 Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls[FIN].indd 112
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Damon, he can save himself and finally forgive himself for creating the monster in the first place. So, once again, Stefan’s needs take priority over everyone and everything else.
He needs Damon as an emotional crutch, and so Damon is allowed to kill and terrorize at will. Not even the death of Stefan’s alleged best friend, Lexi, not even Damon’s direct threats against Elena, move him to act.
In the season one finale we were given a glimpse at a new Damon—one capable of remorse, who just may yet turn out to be an okay guy. But I would argue that nothing Damon does from this point on can make up for the last hundred-plus years of murder and terror. Years Stefan could have prevented. Is offering Damon a shot at redemption worth the piles of bodies it’s taken to get him there?
Stefan is incapable of thinking outside himself and his own needs. He needs Damon alive, and so everything else is necessary collateral. He can’t truly empathize with others because he doesn’t care. For all the show’s talk about an emotional switch, Stefan’s concern and guilt are never about anyone else. He doesn’t value people for anything other than how they impact him. Whether that’s a switch Stefan forgot to flip or if human Stefan was also like that, I don’t know, but for vampire Stefan it’s all about himself, all the time. He loves Elena because of the way she looks and makes him feel, not because of who she is. He keeps Damon around to feed his need to feel guilty and his sense that he’s seeking redemption. Everyone else—Bonnie, Caroline, Matt—is a tool he uses to get closer to Elena or to manipulate situations in his own favor. And in Stefan’s 6882 Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls[FIN].indd 113
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warped worldview, that’s okay, because he still sees himself as noble.
During the season finale Stefan informed Damon that trying to do the right thing only counts if you’re doing it without any benefit to yourself. I actually laughed. I can’t think of a single “right thing” Stefan has done since he came to town that didn’t directly (and usually immediately) benefit him, usually by increasing Elena’s love and devotion. No wonder Damon’s so screwed up; with an example of “goodness” like that, we all would be.
But Stefan’s imagined nobility is important to him. We saw his entire world fall apart when he was genuinely tempted by blood, because so much of how he defines himself is by what he isn’t—he isn’t a killer. Damon mocks it, Elena admires it, but really, what does this say? Stefan is noble because he doesn’t kill people? I can see his dating profile now: Stefan Salvatore
Age: Hey, check out my abs!
Interests: Scrapbooking, Not Killing People, Vintage Cars Looking for: A much, much, much younger woman Sounds like a catch to me! If avoiding murder is all it takes to be noble, I should get an award. I’ve never once killed anyone! Come to think of it, this is something I should be praised for more often. And like Elena, I know my number-one requirement in potential boyfriends was the ability to refrain from murder. Though it weeds out surprisingly few candidates.
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Sorry, Stefan. I don’t care how tempted you are, spending all day every day not murdering people doesn’t make you noble. It just means you’re not a killer. And yet Stefan continues to cling to the notion of