My preference for DK over DE has astounded many a fan. Which is puzzling to me as for me, its only natural to want to see Damon with the woman he's loved absolutely and beyond reason for 145 years. Its also natural to want to see the same woman, who is damaged beyond repair door her past to finally have the courage to let herself love the man she is (in my opinion) meant to be with. Damon and Katherine share so many blatant similarities that one cannot help but wonder about the writer's intentions:

In their human lives, they were both heavily constricted in a society that disapproved of them. Damon, in his human life was "sweet and polite". He seemed to be a very passionate young man, who loved deeply,impulsively and wholeheartedly. He acted without considering the consequences of his actions (leaving the confederacy), thus earning the scorn of his father, and undoubtedly, the entire town. Damon's father was the bron of his anguish, comparing him to Stefan and generally making him feel inferior. His openness to Katherine's evil nature was a very unusual one for such a sweet and innocent man. He helped her commit murder and even wanted to learn the ways of a vampire, so he could turn and be with her forever. One can only be led to believe that for a person to be so open to darkness has a certain element of darkness himself. Damon was never completely pure. He needed no compulsion to love Katherine. Compare that to Stefan's and Elena's initial reaction to vaampirism, and it proves that Damon's always had darkness in him, Katherine's influence and his own vampirism merely amplified it.

I've been googling Bulgaria in the 1400s (yes, I love her that much. I'm like her real life Damon!) and it turns out Katherine grew up in a Christian Orthodox community. There are some stunning churches in Bulgaria and in Katherine's era, they seemed to have played a very central part in Bulgarian society. Especially since her family disowned her and she was thrown out of the country for having a baby out of wedlock. That is serious religion right there. Plus the way Kat's dad spoke to her mom was pretty stern. He's either a very scary man, of Katherine lived in a very patriarchal society- of both. Imagine passionate, impulsive Katherine in such a regulated, constricting society, surrounded door rules. Imagine her powerlessness, forced to bevestig and to constantly obey. Plus her romantic ideals were foreign to everyone. Her mother was dominated door her dad, possibly even feared him, meaning there was no romantic love in that relationship. It could have even been arranged. Elijah is so surprised and amused at Katherine's idea of love as a basis for marriage, that she is forced to vraag the morality of her own passions.

"Is it wrong to want more?"

I also note how she's not completely naive. She's always been intelligent. Just because she wants something, does not mean that she's blind to everything else. In a way she reminds me of Damon; completely aware of one's circumstances but continues to desire the impossible. Maybe that is how she got pregnant. I have a hard time imagining Katherine entering that relationship without understanding the consequences, but continuing anyway.

"I know not why he courts me. He seems to not care about me at all." -Katherine about Klaus

I think the dag Kat turned was very significant for her psychological development. When Katherine killed herself to save her own life, this was Katherine's first act of making her life her own. Taking charge of her own destiny. A very dark one at that, but her transformation from being the victim to the prey, from pawn to chess-master is extraordinary. She is no longer a sweet romantic who lets things happen to her, she takes charge and makes things happen. She also has no qualms about destroying Rose's and Trevor's lives, then feeding on a human. That was a very evil act on her part particularly for such a young girl. This signifies Katherine's innate darkness, that only magnified upon her turning, much like her counterpart, Damon.

In the present day, after all they have suffered, they have become nothing short of monstrous. Their experiences, personalities and mistakes have led them to being complete outsiders. Sure, they have formed friendships, acquaintances and have even respectfully fallen in love, but neither one of them have met a single person who understands and accepts who they truly are. I truly appreciate where they are now in their relationship because Kat cannot play Damon as she used too, she cannot control him, and they closely measure up in terms of pain, experience, darkness and suffering. Damon is meer wary of Katherine and has finally elevated himself to being Katherine's equal. They think alike and due to this, have a tendency of being in sync with one another, which is why many fans, even non-DK fans enjoy their banter and entertaining encounters. However, it is that very same darkness and suffering that binds them that refuses to allow them to succumb to each other. Damon has been hurt time and time again door Katherine, once again being nothing meer than Stefan's shadow. Eternally seconde best. Damon has now mastered the art of armouring himself against Katherine, the woman he had loved so deeply, and very possibly still does. Sheer panic was in her face when Damon told her he wanted to be with her regardless of what she's done to him. Then she quickly calms herself and in an act of survival, she lies straight to his face and claims to have never loved him. Never ever does she allow herself to be vulnerable. Her family, her baby, her life was taken from her, because she followed her own desires and emotions rather than the rules. Every time she let her guard down, her world collapses. Never again will she be a victim of her own self.

I do not believe that Damon and Katherine will ever be truly free with Stefan and Elena. Even when Stefan was gone, Elena used Damon as a Stefan substitute. Damon even felt like the world was closing in on him because Elena was trying to "turn him into Stefan". Katherine claims to prefer Stefan, yet she never truly seems happy with him. She often opts for Damon's presence instead of Stefan's. Stefan criticizes Katherine for not caring about anybody but herself, whereas Damon never cared that she did not care about anybody else. All he wanted was for her to care for him. In fact, I do not remember either Damon of Katherine claiming to WANT to be good.

I wish that eventually all gloves would come off, and Kat would make her fears and motivations known to Damon, and truly confess and proves that she loves him. I want her to face those fears and have the courage to love and let herself be loved. I want Damon to realize that Elena's true love is Stefan. She loves him too, without a doubt but her hart-, hart belongs to Stefan. I want him to build this powerful connection that he's always had with Katherine and turn it into something more. I want him to once again release the love for Katherine that he has buried, despises and valiantly attempts to destroy. I do not see these two as healthy, normal of moral. I do not see them as vampires who are essentially good "deep down" as many fans have stated (about Damon anyway). They aren't. They never were and they never will be. Unlike Stefan and Caroline, they don't hop in and out of goodness that is brought on door their vampire state. Its in them. its what they are. They are both door nature, passionate, impulsive, intelligent and unique rebels who have found no soul on Earth who can truly understand, accept and make them happy. Wouldn't it be glorious if Damon and Katherine would finally get what they've always wanted and dreamed of as humans?

Acceptance: They will never get that from society but, due to their likeness they could get it from each other.

Freedom: No rules. No walls closing in on them. No judgments from people who have never tried to even understand them.

Love: The love that is real and returned. The love Damon has craved for 145 years.



If only.

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