Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) have a sire bond in season 4 of The Vampire Diaries, and it has been a point of contention ever since. First introduced in season 3, episode 6, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" the sire bond came into play when Damon revealed Tyler (Michael Lockwood) was sired to Klaus (Joseph Morgan) after he was made a 'hybrid'. It was learned that this "sire connection" was forged out of gratitude (as Tyler was now able to prevent himself from turning into a werewolf). However, a consequence of this was that Tyler had to do everything Klaus told him to.
Initially, it did seem like the sired bond was just going to be another fact to include in TVD lore, but it turned out that producers, Julie Plec and Caroline Dries, had bigger plans for it in season 4 when they revealed that a sire bond can emerge between vampires. However, this version was seen to be surrounded in controversy. Although Elena's feelings for Damon are core to TVD, the sire bond storyline has received criticism since the beginning of Damon and Elena's 'iconic' romance began with a power imbalance, and questions surrounding consent and agency being raised.
Damon & Elena's Sire Bond Began As A Result Of Him Feeding Her His Blood In Season 3
Although Elena and Damon's romance officially started in season 4, episode 7, "My Brother's Keeper," they did struggle after the writers introduced the sire bond storyline. After the two slept together, the episodes that followed shockingly revealed that 'vampire sire bonds' could exist after Caroline (Candice King) and Stefan began to notice that Elena was acting differently and doing anything to please Damon. After investigating, it turned out that their sire bond was forged after Elena died with Damon's blood in her system, which transformed her into a vampire (season 3, episode 22, "The Departed"). The sire bond can only be made when the human-turned-vampire loves their maker too.
Damon And Elena's Controversial Sire Bond Was In Service Of The Story
Executive producers, Dries and Plec, spoke on the podcast EW's Binge: The Vampire Diaries about how the sire bond between the two fan favorite characters was "controversial." They included it because after Elena's younger brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) dies, the sire bond storyline explained Elena's "heightened" emotions. Plec said, "We then had to do a lot of work to untangle the fact that they had sex while she was technically under the effects of some supernatural link" (via EW.com). While this explanation makes sense, Elena is already an emotional character in touch with her sensitive side, so the sire bond didn't feel necessary.
Because the couple has sex during the sire bond, this brings up the question of consent as Elena isn't in control. While it doesn't change the fact that, later, Elena and Damon live a human life together, it's hard not to view it as problematic. Because a character who has been sired must do whatever the vampire wants so they can always make them happy, this is an uncomfortable storyline that doesn't match the typical strong storytelling of The Vampire Diaries. While the show delves into supernatural territory, it otherwise features realistic and sweet relationships. Damon and Elena's sire bond feels out of place.