This Vampire Diaries Ship Still Has Fans Heartbroken 13 Years Later (2024)

Romance is the hallmark of CW's The Vampire Diaries, even if the show was positioned as a fantasy outing for the network, and one particular ship remains as popular as ever, even though it never worked out. Damon Salvatore is usually associated with Elena Gilbert because of their love triangle, but Rose Marie was one of his most intriguing love interests from Season 2 of The Vampire Diaries.

Fresh off of his villain era from Season 1 of TVD, Damon was slowly becoming the beloved anti-hero that fans know today in Season 2 of the show. Previously infamous for killing, draining, maiming, and generally disrespecting the human population, he had been the certified antagonist of the show in its debut installment. However, this would slowly change as the show went on, and Damon allowed himself to be vulnerable to people. He accepted his brother's flaws, vowed to become better himself, and felt love in his heart. Rose was a big marker of Damon's growth on the show, as she managed to reach into his depths and release a more compassionate and generous version of him. Rose and Damon's ship remains a tragic one that never did sail, but fans love to speculate about it to date.

Why Did Rose Come to Mystic Falls?

• Rose, played by Lauren Cohen, first appeared in The Vampire Diaries Season 2, Episode 8, "Rose."

While Rose made a huge difference in Damon's life, her character did not exist merely to service other male characters on the show. Rose Marie had a rich inner life of her own, and her arc was also quite an interesting one, rife with flashbacks, mistakes, and some beautiful highs. Rose was much older than the other TVD characters -- a whopping 560 years old when she first appeared. She was born in St. Austell, England, in 1450 and was turned by Mary Porter when she was 22 years old. This meant that Rose was a part of Klaus' sireline. Her history with doppelgängers and Klaus was complicated, and it was Katerina Petrova's actions that made Rose and her best friend, Trevor, into runaways.

Rose met Katherine when she was on the run from Klaus Mikaelson in 1492, who wanted to drain her doppelgänger's blood to unleash his hidden Hybrid side. Trevor dropped Katherine off at Rose's cottage, where the elder vampire decided to give her refuge. This turned out to be a fatal mistake, as Katherine tricked Rose into feeding her vampire blood, and when Rose went to check on her, Katherine had killed herself in order to transition into a vampire herself. Having unwittingly double-crossed Klaus, the most powerful Original vampire, Rose was on the hit list just as much as Katherine was. This was why she spent her life on the run or in hiding up until she showed up in Mystic Falls.

The news of a new doppelgänger in town was what brought Rose Marie to Mystic Falls. Seeing an opportunity to smooth Klaus' ruffled feathers by presenting him with another Petrova to sacrifice to undo his curse, Rose and Trevor came out of hiding and kidnapped Elena. Even though Elena had been snatched by Rose, the older vampire treated her with respect. Rose had nothing against the young teen, and she only wanted to buy freedom for herself and her best friend, which was why she summoned Elijah once she had the infamous TVD doppelgänger on hand. Thus, Rose was quite a bit of a villain herself when she became a part of the show, as she was ruthlessly leading young Elena to her death by offering her up to the Originals as a sacrifice. What Rose did not figure into her plan were two Salvatore brothers who would do anything to save their precious lady love, even somehow defeating Elijah (temporarily) to rescue her from the clutches of her perpetrators.

Rose Was Better For Damon Than Elena

• Rose reappeared as a ghost for the final time in Season 3, Episode 19, "Heart of Darkness," where she communicated with Jeremy to tell Damon and Elena about her sire. Rose also wanted Jeremy to tell Damon that he was still "dripping sex" and that she was rooting for Damon and Elena from the afterlife.

Even as Rose attempted to deliver Elena to Klaus, she switched sides fairly quickly and began helping the Mystic Falls Gang. She helped Damon find out more about the Originals by introducing him to her friend Slater, even though it compromised her own safety. While combing through all the information, Damon and Rose found some semblance of love, which led them to have a physical and emotional affair with each other. They shared a scintillating chemistry that was intimate in every way possible. In the meantime, Elena decided to go on a suicide mission and tricked Rose into leading her to vampires who were in touch with Klaus so that she could offer herself up to the Original vampires without any of her friends and family getting hurt. It only proved how genuine Rose was that she stopped Elena and told Damon about what she wanted to do, even though this would have saved Rose's life from Klaus.

While Rose and Damon's affair may seem like a fling, it was clear that it went deeper than that. The two vampires shared a rather primal connection with each other, and they understood each other completely. Unlike Elena, Rose was older and more experienced, and she had seen more of life than the former. Rose figured out first that Damon's darkness was just a cover for his insecurities, and she provided him with a safe space where he could speak about his most private feelings freely. They had similarly practical natures, where they put survival over everything else and took pragmatic decisions that could be blunt but ultimately for the greater good. The English vampire was aware of Damon's affections for Elena, and she accepted that his heart belonged to someone else. However, this would have set the stage perfectly for an endgame romance, where Rose could help Damon get with Elena until Damon realized that all he needed was right in front of him -- his friend Rose was the true object of his affection.

Rose was a breath of fresh air in The Vampire Diaries and had the potential to be the perfect mate for somebody like Damon. With their morally grey characteristics, the Rose and Damon ship would have been the perfect solution to the iconic love triangle that was Damon, Elena, and Stefan, but that was unfortunately not meant to be. In Season 2, Episode 12, "The Descent," Rose met her end after a long battle against the inevitable. Rose had been bitten by Jules, a werewolf, and her bite proved to be fatal to the ancient vampire. Damon stayed by Rose's side even as she hallucinated and went feral because of the werewolf venom. Rose brought out a more humane side to Damon as he transported himself into Rose's mind and took her back to her favorite place, her home so that she could have a peaceful and loving death. It was unlike Damon to make these gestures for anyone, but his reaction to Rose's untimely demise showed that his feelings for her ran deep. At the end of this episode, Damon even told a young woman that all he wanted was to be human again, and Rose was the one who made him realize his heart's most desperate desire. Rose was inarguably the best love interest that Damon ever had, and Elena was a close second.

The Vampire Diaries

TV-14

Fantasy

Horror

Romance

The Vampire Diaries follows the lives, loves, dangers and disasters in the town Mystic Falls, Virginia. Creatures of unspeakable horror lurk beneath this town as a teenage girl is suddenly torn between two vampire brothers.

Release Date

September 10, 2009

Cast

Nina Dobrev , Paul Wesley , Ian Somerhalder , Kat Graham

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

8 Seasons

Creator

Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson

Production Company

Outerbanks Entertainment, Alloy Entertainment, CBS Television Studios