If you were around for the peak era of The CW, you know that the "Delena" versus "Stelena" war wasn't just a fan debate. It was a lifestyle. But if we’re being honest, there is one specific moment that basically broke the internet before "breaking the internet" was even a thing. I’m talking about the motel balcony.
The Elena and Damon make out scene in Season 3, Episode 19, "Heart of Darkness," is arguably the most analyzed thirty seconds of television in the 2010s. It wasn't just about two attractive people finally locking lips. It was the culmination of three years of "will-they-won't-they" tension that had been stretched so thin it was vibrating.
The Denver Motel: More Than Just a Pit Stop
Most people remember the kiss, but the context is what makes it hit so hard. Elena and Damon were in Denver to pick up Jeremy. They were supposed to be on a mission. Standard Vampire Diaries stuff. But the showrunners—Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson—decided to trap them in a cheap motel room with only one bed.
Classic trope? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.
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The scene starts inside the room. Damon is lying on the bed, shirtless (obviously), and Elena is pretending to sleep. You can feel the air getting heavy. When Damon reaches out and just... touches her hand? That was it. Elena bolts for the door because she can’t breathe, let alone think.
Why She Was the One to Move
The most important part of this entire sequence is that Elena Gilbert initiates it. For years, Damon Salvatore had been the aggressor. He was the one making the comments, the one stealing the glances, the one being "the bad guy."
When she walks out onto that balcony and he follows her, the power dynamic shifts. She tells him "don't" when he tries to speak. And then? She lunges.
It wasn’t a soft, romantic "I love you" kiss. It was desperate. It was "I’ve been repressing this for fifty episodes and I’m about to explode." Florence + The Machine’s "Never Let Me Go" starts playing in the background, and honestly, the music supervisor deserved a raise for that choice alone.
The Aftermath and the Sire Bond Controversy
You can't talk about them making out without talking about the mess that followed. Fans were ecstatic. Finally, the ship had sailed! But then Season 4 happened.
The show introduced the sire bond. This plot point suggested that Elena only had these intense feelings for Damon because his blood turned her into a vampire. It was a massive gut-punch to the fandom.
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- The Pro-Delena View: They argued the bond only heightens what is already there. You can't be sired to someone you don't already have deep feelings for.
- The Anti-Delena View: They felt it invalidated Elena’s agency. It turned a passionate romance into a supernatural "glitch."
Eventually, the show cleared this up. Elena’s feelings remained even after the bond was broken, but that specific make-out session in Denver remains the "purest" moment because she was still human. She chose him while her moral compass was still (mostly) intact.
Breaking Down the Chemistry
Why does this specific scene still rack up millions of views on YouTube over a decade later? Chemistry.
Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev were dating in real life during the filming of the early seasons. You can't fake that kind of kinetic energy. The way he pins her against the wall of the motel—it wasn't just "TV acting." It felt intrusive, in a way that made the audience feel like they were voyeurs.
Key Milestones Leading Up to the Kiss
- The Road Trip (Season 1): Their trip to Georgia showed they could actually get along.
- The Dance (Season 1): When Stefan flaked, Damon stepped in for the Miss Mystic Falls dance. The eye contact was lethal.
- The Porch Kiss (Season 3): Damon kisses her and says, "If I’m going to feel guilty about something, I’m going to feel guilty about this."
- The Motel (Season 3): The first full-blown make-out session where Elena doesn't pull away.
What Most People Get Wrong
A common misconception is that this was their "first kiss." It wasn't.
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Damon kissed Katherine (thinking she was Elena) in the Season 1 finale. He kissed a dying Elena in the Season 2 finale. He kissed her on her porch in Season 3. But the Denver motel scene was the first time they made out as a mutual, active choice with no looming death sentence or identity confusion.
It was also the moment Jeremy Gilbert became the most hated character for a solid week because he walked outside and interrupted them. Talk about bad timing.
The Cultural Legacy of the Scene
Even in 2026, the "Delena Motel Scene" is a blueprint for the "Enemies to Lovers" or "Slow Burn" tropes in YA fiction and TV. It proved that you didn't need a wedding or a confession to define a relationship. Sometimes, a messy, frantic moment at a 2-star motel in the middle of nowhere says everything.
If you're looking to revisit the peak of the Salvatore love triangle, go back to Season 3, Episode 19. It’s the definitive turning point for the series. It moved the show from being a story about a girl and her vampire boyfriend to a story about a girl, her choice, and the darker, more "consuming" love she was afraid to want.
To truly understand the impact of their dynamic, watch the transition from that human kiss to their first night together in Season 4, Episode 7. The contrast between her hesitation as a human and her abandon as a vampire tells the whole story of Elena Gilbert's transformation.