Moment of Goodness: A Delena Kiss, The Vampire Diaries “As I Lay Dying” 

We have to admit our anticipation was running very high after last week’s surprising and heartbreaking episode. Deep in our hearts we knew Stefan would find a cure for his brother, we just had no idea what it would cost him. We knew Sheriff Forbes was going to do what she had to do to keep Mystic Falls safe, we just had no idea Jeremy would be a casualty. We knew Damon would ask Elena for forgiveness before he died, we just had no idea she’d kiss him – willingly. 

Fans seem to have been clamoring for this for months but we’ve always been firm believers in Stefan and Elena. Don’t get us wrong. We love bad boys but we prefer the kind that won’t get us killed. We know Stefan and Damon’s history with Katherine. But she’s selfish and immature; all she really wanted were playthings. Sure Katherine claims she loves Stefan but it’s hard to truly know what’s in her cold, dead heart. We know she always looks out for herself so it was a satisfying surprise to see her deliver the cure to Damon after she got free. She claims she owed it to Damon but we’re convinced she’s got an angle. It was also satisfying to hear her admit she loved Damon back in the day. We weren’t always sure.

But let’s get back to the main event. The Damon/Elena pairing has been on a slow burn for quite some time and it has been delicious. Loving Elena has made Damon a better man but it’s also made him more dangerous; we’ve seen what he’s willing to do to save Elena from Klaus. Such unhealthy reactions. With all hope gone Damon is content to die, as he proves in the first few minutes of the episode when he tries to burn himself alive. What the hell? He’s got nothing left to lose. Thankfully Stefan refuses to let his brother go out that way. He locks him up and lets Alaric take suicide watch for a while before Caroline’s mom gets in the way with her vampire vendetta. It all results in Damon getting loose just as he’s deteriorating in a big, big, way. His two worlds — the one in 1864 and the present day are sort of melding together. He’s seeing Katherine and Elena in these “flashbacks.” It’s not looking good for Damon. That’s when Elena enters the picture.

As Stefan gets closer to acquiring the cure from Klaus (his blood), Elena takes Damon back to the mansion. In bed, she comforts him as he lays there dying. When you’re on deaths door you’re more introspective, you tend to reflect on your life, especially the failures. Damon’s no different. He realizes where he went wrong regarding Katherine:

“All the years I blamed Stefan. No one forced me to love her. It was my own choice.” “Shhhh…” “I made the wrong choice.” “Tell Stefan, I’m sorry, OK?” “I will.”

This realization is so key. Although it comes as Stefan is about to revert back to his bad boy ways thanks to Klaus’ machinations. This show is so good, isn’t it? It gets even better when Damon puts all his cards on the table:

“I have made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die.” “No, you don’t.” “I do, Elena. It’s OK. Because if I had chosen differently I wouldn’t have met you. I’m so sorry. I’ve done so many things to hurt you.” “It’s OK, I forgive you.” “I know you love Stefan. I know it will always be Stefan. But I love you. You should know that.” “I do.” “You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me.” “I like you now. Just the way you are.”

He moved us. Maybe Elena was just giving Damon comfort in his final moments or maybe it was something more. Whatever her motivation, she kissed him!!! It was sweet and kind of perfect. And how cute/perfect/awesome was it when, after the kiss, he simply said, “thank you.” There in that moment we saw the Damon of 1864, when he was good and maybe even naive and hadn’t turned into this embittered vampire. If he had died, he would have died happy. Of course that isn’t going to happen. Katherine catches them in the act and gives Damon the cure. As she’s leaving Katherine tells Elena it’s OK to love them both. Yeah, like that won’t cause problems.

“As I Lay Dying” is a game-changer for sure, especially with the Stefan-Elena-Damon triangle. Who do you want Elena to be with? When do you think she’ll see Stefan again? Do you think she’ll allow herself to feel something for Damon?