Damon Salvatore was one of the most popular and divisive characters in The Vampire Diaries. To many fans, the older Salvatore brother was a snarky and sassy anti-hero known for his witty one-liners and ionate romance with Elena Gilbert. To other fans, however, Damon was an unrepentant bad guy who committed heaps of atrocities and deserved Elena far less than his brother, Stefan.
Damon was a complicated character. At times, we loved the vampire and felt sympathy for the senior Salvatore's struggles. However, Damon wasn't always likable. and several moments made us despise him.
Loved: Car Ride To The Other Side
Damon and Elena's romance is a central plot point in The Vampire Diaries. In Season 5, the vampire lovers get a Thelma And Louise-like moment during the destruction of the Other Side. The couple drives Damon's car into the Mystic Grill as part of an elaborate plan to rescue Stefan from the supernatural afterlife.
This ends in heartbreak as Elena returns from death, only to discover that Damon didn't make it back in time. Regardless, it remains one of their best scenes that showcases the "ride or die" love Damon and Elena had for one another.
Hated: Abusing Caroline
Damon was the first antagonist of the series, and his character committed countless unspeakable acts against other fan-favorite figures. In Season 1, Damon abuses a human, Caroline Forbes. He manipulates her with compulsion, feeding on her blood and using her sexually, with plans to eventually kill her.
Damon does try to kill Caroline in Season 2's "Brave New World" when the blonde becomes a vampire. The senior Salvatore repeats his predatory behavior with Andie the reporter in Season 2.
Loved: First Kiss With Elena
Damon and Elena's romance gradually developed throughout the show's first three seasons, with their romance taking on a slow burn role as the doppelganger struggled with her feelings. Their first kiss in Season 3's "Heart Of Darkness" was a long time coming, and made Delena fans everywhere rejoice.
It is difficult not to love Damon after witnessing his devotion to Elena. She inspired him to move on from his toxic obsession with Katherine, and become a better person.
Hated: Killing Lexi
Damon was a despicable character throughout the majority of Season 1. In "162 Candles," Stefan's best friend Lexi comes to town to celebrate his birthday. Damon frames her for murder and stakes her to death, much to Stefan's dismay.
This was an appalling act that made many fans despise the older Salvatore brother. Lexi was a refreshing character who could have stuck around for the rest of the season. Damon kills his brother's best friend — and his former lover, as Season 4 reveals — without a moment's hesitation.
Loved: Urging Stefan To Keep Living
Elena's departure from The Vampire Diaries in Season 7 meant that the show focused more on the complex relationship between the Salvatore brothers. One of the best scenes in the series includes a frantic Damon urging his brother to keep living after Stefan's soul is trapped inside the body of a human fugitive.
In Season 7's "I Went To The Woods," Stefan wanders through the snowy forest, and almost succumbs to the freezing temperature. He is rescued by his older brother, who refuses to let Stefan die.
Hated: Tormenting Stefan
Damon wasn't always ive of Stefan, however. The older Salvatore torments his young brother in Season 1 after returning to Mystic Falls. He reminds Stefan that he promised him an "eternity of misery" as he targets the residents of the town.
Damon attacks Vicki Donovan, and turns her into a vampire to further create chaos in Stefan's life. This pettiness makes it easy to detest Damon as he actively seeks to destroy his younger brother's budding relationship with Elena.
Loved: Best Friends With Bonnie
Damon and Bonnie strike up an unlikely friendship in Season 6 when they are stranded in Kai's 1994 prison world together. The vampire and the witch grow close, and their friendship remains one of the highlights of the show's later seasons.
Bonnie helps Damon return to the land of the living, and the pair are eventually reunited when she escapes the prison world. Bonnie's relationship with Damon humanizes him throughout Season 6-8. The Bennett witch takes on a similar role to Elena as the older Salvatore's moral com.
Hated: Killing Tyler
Damon reverts to his former villainous ways in Season 8. The vampire is enslaved by Sybil, and the cannibalistic Siren forces him to do her bidding. In "An Eternity Of Misery," Damon solidifies his dark descent when he kills series regular, Tyler Lockwood.
This is the point of no return for Damon. He murders one of Elena's friends, and proves that without the doppelganger to keep him in check, he is a liability and a danger to the people around him.
Loved: Killing Kai
Kai Parker was one of the evilest villains in The Vampire Diaries. The siphoner, who was formerly a member of the Gemini coven before he murdered of his family, kills his pregnant sister Jo during her wedding to Alaric Saltzman. Kai attempts to kill Bonnie until Damon intervenes and decapitates him.
It initially appeared as though Damon was prepared to leave Bonnie to die so he could be reunited with Elena. However, he proves that his friendship with Bonnie is the real deal by killing Kai, putting a temporary end to one of the show's most heinous Big Bads.
Hated: Turning Abby Into A Vampire
Before his friendship with Bonnie, Damon showed no regard for the Bennett witch or her loved ones. In Season 3, Damon forcibly turns Abby, Bonnie's mother, into a vampire to save Elena's life.
Esther Mikaelson draws on the power of the Bennett family, so Damon turns Abby into a vampire to sever the connection. This is a devastating blow to Bonnie. The witch sacrificed everything, and lost both her parents to the supernatural threats in Mystic Falls.