Damon and Elena have the most epic romance in The Vampire Diaries, and it is fun to revisit when Damon and Elena first get together and fall in love in the fantasy series. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) were drawn together throughout the series, and the high school student soon found herself in a love triangle with both Damon and his brother Stefan (Paul Wesley). Ultimately, Damon won Elena's heart and emerged from the series finale as her eternal suitor. Elena's romance with Damon was the focal point of many significant episodes in the series.
This started with their first kiss but included other significant moments. Considering the epic nature of Elena's relationship with Damon, it is next to impossible to narrow down all of their iconic and important moments. The first kiss is only part of their long-term storyline on the popular vampire TV series. While their first kiss and official relationship milestones are significant, their romance had to start somewhere and some of their best episodes played a crucial part in their falling in love over the years, and their eventual happy ending when the show finally concluded.
20 Damon & Elena's First Official Meeting
"Night Of The Comet" (Season 1, Episode 2)
While it wasn't technically the first time that they encountered each other, the meeting between Damon and Elena in the first season episode "Night of the Comet" was the first time that she ed meeting him. They met earlier in their lives, but Damon had wiped it from her mind. In this episode, Elena had already met Stefan and started to fall in love with him. That is when she first saw his bad boy brother Damon, and they did not get along at first in any way.
She had a bad first impression of him, and while that is often the setup for a "good girl/bad boy" relationship to start, this episode looked like they would never end up compatible with each other.
While Damon knew that he liked Elena, he was more obsessed at this point with getting Katherine out of the tomb she was entrapped in. This meant that he had no time or interest in her at that point, and he honestly treated her poorly. She had a bad first impression of him, and while that is often the setup for a "good girl/bad boy" relationship to start, this episode looked like they would never end up compatible with each other. However, as the first time they met, it was an important moment in their relationship.
19 Damon & Elena's First Trip Together
"Bloodlines" (Season 1, Episode 11)
Throughout the first half of season 1, Damon was certainly the villain of the series. It wasn't until "Bloodlines" that viewers really got to see a different side of Damon. After rescuing Elena from a car crash, Damon took her to Georgia to help her get her mind off of the accident and the fact that she looks like Katherine. While out there, Damon held Elena's vervain necklace and promised not to compel her if she went with him.
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This was the first true sign of there being trust between the two. Elena believed Damon, despite his prior actions, and he held up his end of the bargain, giving them their first bonding moment. As a result, this was the first time that Elena actually started to see Damon's real personality, and it started her strong feelings for him. As a result, this was also the start of the love triangle that dominated early in the series.
18 Their First Dance
"Miss Mystic Falls" (Season 1, Episode 19)
The chemistry between Elena and Damon became undeniable to viewers in season 1's "Miss Mystic Falls." Stefan stood Elena up at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant after becoming consumed by bloodlust, but Damon saved the day by taking his brother's place and accompanying Elena as her escort. Damon and Elena's first dance together was one of the couple's most significant moments.
Neither participant could take their eyes off each other, evidencing their ionate connection. As soon as the scene was over, many fans knew this was the couple they shipped. This had several firsts for the couple in the series. It was Damon's first real romantic gesture to Elena, the first display of their chemistry, and the first time that she really started to find Damon attractive. This wasn't their last dance on The Vampire Diaries, but it was a huge fan favorite moment for the couple.
17 Damon Compels Elena
"Rose" (Season 2, Episode 8)
Season 2's "Rose" was important for Delena as, after seeking her out to return her vervain necklace, Damon itted to being in love with his brother's girlfriend. He then erased all traces of his confession from her memory. Damon's declaration of love was immediately followed by one of his first selfless acts in the series. The vampire recognized Elena's good heart and conceded that his brother was more deserving of her love, so he couldn't be selfish with her.
This episode had Stefan and Damon it that they knew Damon liked her, but they put all their own squabbles aside to promise to work together to keep her sage and protect her. Their love for her was more important than their own desires. His action in "Rose" marked one of the most selfless moments Damon did early in the series and really set the table for their future together in the series. This was the moment where Damon began to really grow as a person.
16 Damon And Elena's First Kiss
"As I Lay Dying" (Season 2, Episode 22)
Damon initially arrived in Mystic Falls as Stefan's older, darker brother. Throughout season 1, the villainous vampire formed a reluctant friendship with Elena, which led to the elder Salvatore falling in love with his brother's girlfriend. When do Damon and Elena kiss? Elena tentatively kissed Damon for the first time while the vampire was dying from a werewolf bite. He was so far gone at this time that he couldn't tell the difference between Elena and Katherine.
The pair didn't lock lips again until season 3's "The New Deal," when Damon shamelessly itted his feelings for Elena once more. This was more about itting their bond and possibly saying goodbye. While Damon didn't die, this was a moment where the two realized there was something bigger between them. Elena was offering a final kiss before he died, but she started to doubt her love for Stefan after this and it was a moment that eventually led to her choosing Damon in the end.
15 Damon And Elena Build Trust
"The Birthday" (Season 3, Episode 1)
Stefan's choice to go with Klaus to save his brother left Elena alone with Damon for months. While she didn't give up on Stefan or start anything with Damon during that time, it was pivotal to their relationship and future. When the third season started, Damon and Elena had spent the summer looking for Stefan, and these moments allowed them to get to know each other even more. This was important in the future, as their relationship strengthened, even as they sought to save Stefan.
Damon gave her back her cherished vervain necklace and was by her side at every turn throught the harrowing ordeal.
"The Birthday" showed them spending time together and building trust. Damon gave her back her cherished vervain necklace and was by her side at every turn through the harrowing ordeal. Without these few months, their relationship may have never come together. They didn't get together at this time, but the sexual tension was there between them, and it made fans want to see them move to the next step. A few seasons later, Elena even itted this was when she started to fall in love with Damon.
14 Damon & Elena Share A Bed For The First Time
"Ordinary People" (Season 3, Episode 8)
While it wasn't time yet for Damon and Elena to consummate their relationship, she was mostly heartbroken from how Stefan had started to change. Stefan told Elena he didn't love her anymore in the third episode of the season, and that led to a few episodes with her feeling hurt, but also playfully flirting with Damon. By the time that the eighth episode, "Ordinary People," rolled around, it was time for the two to see if they really wanted to be together or if they were better off as friends.
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The moment that ended this episode showed how conflicted everyone was from this love triangle. Elena comes home and finds Damon waiting for her in bed. She is angry that he left Stefan out to feed on people again, but she had a plan to try to help save Stefan. The two were still talking about saving Stefan as their feelings for each other kept strengthening as well. They don't do anything in bed together, but the moment where Elena curled up next to Damon and fell asleep while he watched was powerful.
13 Damon Makes His Move For Elena
"The New Deal" (Season 3, Episode 10)
Damon spent a lot of time in the first three seasons fighting his own blood lust and feelings about Elena. He was always seen as the bad boy and the villain around even those close to him. However, everything he did was out of love for his brother, his feelings for Elena, and doing what he had to do to protect them both. These feelings led to this season 3 moment where Damon decided to act selfishly and try to finally get what he knew would make him happy.
When Damon realized that his brother Stefan was not going to kill Klaus, and he ends up saving Damon, he makes his move to try to win over Elena for himself. It wasn't a moment he could be proud of, and he even itted that he felt guilty about it later. However, this was a moment where he kissed Elena and let her know that he loved her, making her almost have to decide between the brothers. This was about the time their relationship finally kicked into motion.
12 Damon & Elena's Motel Make-Out
"Heart Of Darkness" (Season 3, Episode 19)
Elena continued to dance around her feelings for Damon in season 3. During their road trip to Denver in "Heart Of Darkness," the doppelgänger finally gave in to ion and shared an intense make-out session with the elder Salvatore on a motel balcony. Damon and Elena's chemistry continued to intensify as they searched for the originator of the Salvatore bloodline.
Their steamy lip-lock was an inevitability, though the road to their happily ever after remained rocky. It was important that Elena made the move and not the other way around, but this was a moment where Damon began to question his role as a bad boy in the series. It is important to also note that they were still not a couple by the end of this episode, and they left and returned home with mixed and confused feelings about each other. This was a huge moment, but it was only a step closer to their true fate.
11 Elena Met Damon First
"The Departed" (Season 3, Episode 22)
Elena broke the hearts of Delena fans everywhere during the epic season 3 finale when she finally made her choice between the Salvatore brothers. Stranded between them, Elena decided to return to Stefan, telling Damon that things might have worked out differently if they had met first. Unbeknownst to Elena and the viewers until then, she did actually encounter the elder Salvatore first. This was the flashback episode that changed everything people knew about Damon.
The flashback reveals Damon and Elena's first meeting happened before Stefan's arrival in town, another moment that Damon compelled her to forget. This was a huge episode because this was a turning point when fans learned Damon met Elena long before she knew it. She met Damon at the pivotal moment in her life on the night when her parents died. Damon thought she was Katherine and he told her he loved her, but he then wiped her memories of the encounter.
