Tonight is the season 2 finale of The Vampire Diaries and what better way to celebrate it (and commiserate the super long summer hiatus) than to look at the relationship between the Salvatore brothers and other fraternal relationships that have featured both physical and emotional conflict.
As we go in to tonight's finale of The Vampire Diaries it looks like Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) will have to put aside their differences and recent confrontations to try and find a cure for the deadly wolf bite that Damon received in "The Last Day". Stefan's reaction to the news that his brother was likely to die was one of anguish, despite the fact that Damon had only recently shoved a giant stake in Stefan's gut and is openly in love with his girlfriend Elena (Nina Dobrev). When it comes down to it he will do anything to save his brother even after all the bad stuff they have done to each other. Stefan also still feels an enormous amount of guilt in his role of seeing that Damon completed his transition back in 1864 in becoming a vampire. It is this event that has led to the bitter rivalry for the past 150 years as well as being in love with the same woman on two separate occasions. One minute Stefan and Damon will be fighting, the next helping each other, either to help Elena or to save each other and if one thing is for certain the only person killing Stefan or Damon is the other brother and they will stop any one else who tries to do it to the other.
This slideshow looks at brothers on TV who have had their fair share of conflicts, some have injured each other, some have merely fought through words and non violent actions, and in the most extreme cases one brother has killed the other. What they do have in common is that there is a bond between brothers that produces compelling television particularly when there is conflict in these relationships. The brothers that I have chosen come from drama, comedy and sci-fi and offer a spectrum of different warring behaviour, but are there any warring brothers on TV that we might have missed? Let us know in the comments below.
Also for more on tonight's finale of The Vampire Diaries check out the promo pictures here, the promo video here and a sneak peak here. Be sure to join us tomorrow where we will be reacting to "As I Lay Dying".
Hating each other since 1864, stopping every so often to save the others' lives
I think you forgot one important. Dan Scott and Keith Scott from One Tree Hill. THE GUY KILLED HIS BROTHER in cold blood!!!! I would add the other Scott brothers but they are not as epic as the two aforementioned..!! I think they should take Ryan's and -what's his name- from the O.C…. :)
I love this article! The Salvatore Brothers very 1st scene together in the pilot had me sit up & take notice (head slapping, fang popping, window crashing awesomeness). That scene is what sold me on the entire series. The brothers love/conflict relationship is the heart of the show & is the foundation for the other relationships & story lines. Ian & Paul bring out the best in one another & their scenes, whether it's a Salvatore Brother Smackdown, brothers united or comic relief, they tend to be some of the best scenes of the show. Some of my favorites are:
6. Mimicking one another at the bar. I DIED over this scene! Paul has Ian's eye wiggle thing down & Damon's "you just kill everyone, you're so mean" had me rolling.
5. Damon preening in front of the mirror & loving being the "eternal stud" to which Stefan replies "yes, being a 100+ teenager has been the height of my happiness" to which Damon replies "You cracked a funny, Stefan" makes me giggle every time.
4. Salvatore Brother Smackdowns: From the 1st installment from the pilot "Hello, Brother" to the most recent "I'm going to Vamp out & feed our doppleganger my blood, you beat me to a pulp & then I skewer you with a big pole". And every smackdown in between.
3. The scene in Masquerade, where Stefan is flipping out over Katherine, & Damon grabs his shoulders & says "I got your back"
2. Stefan going hunting, Damon fixing the clock & saying "I have 2 liters of soccer mom in the fridge" (one of my FAVORITE Damonisms) & then "give my regards to the squirrels"
1. The very last scene of the most recent episode "The Sun Also Rises" Damon fiddling with his ring, Stefan making Damon look at him to reassure him he will find a cure. But especially Stefan's hand shaking as Damon walked away alone. This UNDID me. #TeamSalvatore forever~
I rewatched "The Sun Also Rises" last night and only caught the hand shaking thing the second time round and thought it was a lovely subtle touch. Great list of Damon/Stefan moments here and I'm sure we will have some more to add to list after tonight.
Great list, Emma! Going along with the Supernatural theme- Castiel and Rafael are having a civil war in heaven…which will be (hopefully) playing out in about 8 days, 7 hrs from now … ;)
I can't believe you missed off the Sheens/Estevezs!
America's real disfunctional family.
Hey, how about Elijah & Klaus..?? That's wicked, really. While Elijah saves Klaus' life, Klaus takes his in return -really vicious. And I like Elijah – he seems to be a good vampire, with morals, too. Hope they bring him back.
You mention Michael and Lucifer but not Dean and Sam? Gabriel said it, "As it is in Heaven, so shall it be on earth." Michael and Lucifer were the cosmic versions of Dean and Sam change one thing: Dean and Sam chose family over destiny.