A Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls - By Red Page 0,45
in part reflective of typical sibling relationships but that also appears to reflect a deeper well of negative feeling. As Damon explains, he promised Stefan an
“eternity of misery” and is just “keeping his word” (hour one,
“Pilot”). His infliction of that misery is not just verbal; Damon and Stefan’s conflicts frequently have physical repercussions, not only for them, but also for those around them.
Some of those repercussions (for Vicki, for Mystic High history teacher William Tanner) have proved fatal. Stefan’s response is to ignore and avoid Damon whenever possible, which only appears to exacerbate Damon’s behavior.
Stefan claims to hate his brother and seems to just want Damon to go away and leave him alone. But he later confesses to Elena that “I try so hard to hate him. I guess it’s just pointless” (hour twenty-two, “Founder’s Day”), and he is obviously reluctant to cause Damon permanent harm, even in service of preventing Damon from hurting others. And despite his own acts of aggression toward Stefan, Damon regularly defends Stefan against external threats. As he explained after saving Stefan’s life in hour six (“Lost Girls”), “If someone’s going to kill you it’s going to be me.” Damon also assists Elena in Stefan’s detoxification. Though this is likely as much for Elena’s sake as for Stefan’s, Damon notably ceases encouraging Stefan to consume human blood—one of his most frequent forms of taunting—after Stefan has recovered.
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Though the relationship between the two improves in strength and quality during these twenty-two hours, it still retains a sharp edge, particularly when it comes to Elena. As Damon’s feelings for her increase, Stefan’s behavior toward Damon becomes more and more aggressive. Stefan appears to be more anxious about and threatened by Damon’s positive intentions toward Elena than he was by Damon’s previous threats on Elena’s physical well-being.
analysis
If one were to point to the single greatest factor affecting the current state of Stefan and Damon’s relationship, it would be their interactions with Katherine. Before her appearance, their interactions appear to have been well within normal, healthy parameters—especially notable given that their father demonstrated a clear preference for Stefan and barely concealed disdain for Damon. As the elder Salvatore replied to Damon’s assertion that he never asked for his father’s respect, “Good for you, Damon. Because all I have is disappointment” (hour thirteen, “Children of the Damned”).
This family dynamic was no doubt partly responsible for the competitiveness Katherine was able to use to her advantage, turning the two against each other.
However, our relationships are shaped as much by our own choices as by those of others, and Katherine cannot shoulder the blame for the choices Stefan and Damon made. Stefan chose to consume his father’s blood, then kidnap a girl to coax Damon into drinking. Damon chose to kill her—and to 6882 Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls[FIN].indd 125
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not only blame but continually punish Stefan for Katherine’s capture and his own death and transformation. In the present day they continue to choose to treat each other badly. Each sees only the ways the other hurts and betrays him, not the ways the other supports and protects him. They choose to allow competition over Elena, like competition over Katherine, to drive them apart.
Though the two are able to come together to defend themselves and those they care about against outside enemies, acting as brothers and even friends, the alliance dis-solves once the threat has passed. They immediately return to blaming each other for their problems rather than taking responsibility for their own actions and working to make amends. Not just Stefan and Damon, but also those around them, tend to suffer from the fallout.
Recommendations
One option to minimize the damage of their relationship is for Stefan and Damon to part ways, this time permanently. It could be that their shared past is burdened with so much pain, betrayal, harmful words, and manipulations that reconciliation or even respectful coexistence is impossible.
However, I believe that their relationship can be saved.
They clearly care for and desire a relationship with one another: Damon’s