"This ipakita is always going to be about Stefan and Elena. It has to be. They're soulmates."
Kevin Williamson

"No!" I wanted to yell after I'd read this confounding little statement over once, and then twice to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. "No, no, NO!!" Why was Kevin Williamson doing this? It was like he was hinting that no matter what happened, Stefan and Elena would always be together because...well, there WAS no 'because,' that was just the way things were. They were the number one couple on the show, 'soulmates', together forever. I was crushed. Then I wondered: why are they bothering to pursue the whole pag-ibig tatsulok thing anyway? If Stefan and Elena were always going to be end game, then why drag Damon into it at all? Hasn't the poor guy been through enough? Does he have to get his puso broken twice? (And do we really need a segundo 'Twilight'?)
It's a little strange that Kevin Williamson felt the need to define Stelena as soulmates so early on. Who was he trying to convince? Us...or himself? After all, fans of the ipakita are madami than capable of making their own judgements on whether they think a couple suit each other or not. They don't need to be told that two people are a perfect match. sa pamamagitan ng giving us one perspective of SE, he fails to take into account of their relationship as a whole. He's simply telling us: "This is how it is. They're soulmates. No explanation necessary." Actually Mr Williamson, an explanation IS necessary. WHY are they soulmates? Many SE fans probably cheered, thinking "Yesss! He's on our side!" but I think he's made a fatal mistake. He's put Elena and Stefan into a pretty tight box. sa pamamagitan ng defining them as 'meant for each other', he's ensured their relationship can't develop any further. sa pamamagitan ng attaining the 'meant for each other' status so early, it becomes impossible for the couple (and the writers) to maintain it throughout the following seasons. But it's not just Kevin. Julie Plec declared on the Paley red carpet that 'The bottom line is, Elena and Stefan are the true, epic pag-ibig story of the show.' It might come as a surprise to Julie and Kevin that not everyone shares their opinion. While I was Pagsulat this article, I came across two sources which seemed to state the opposite. TVGuide named Stefan and Elena as one of the TV couples they want to split: ("They're boring,") and Zap2it pronounced their relationship as: "We're Just Not That Into You: TV Couples Not Worth Caring About." Now while I admit to liking Stefan, acknowledging that he and Elena have chemistry together, and that they do pag-ibig each other; try as I might, I just cannot describe their story as epic. Maybe it's because the story of their relationship so far has nothing to do with what I'd define as 'epic love'.

What makes a relationship epic? On 'Veronica Mars', Logan described it as 'Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined. Bloodshed. Epic.' When Veronica asks him if he really thinks a relationship should be that hard, he sagot 'No-one writes songs about the ones that come easy.' He's right. Because if it was easy, then it wouldn't be epic. And this is precisely the reason why Stefan and Elena's relationship falls short of the 'E' word. It can hardly be described as grand or impressive when you look at the timeline of their relationship throughout the season. On some TV shows, the writers draw out as much tension and angst for as long as possible, but with SE that just didn't happen. Stefan and Elena managed to check off the three most important moments for any couple sa pamamagitan ng the tenth episode. They had their first halik in the segundo episode, then sinabi 'I pag-ibig you' and had sex in episode 10. And it's only the first season!! Is that really Julie's definition of what it means to have a 'true, epic love'?
I'm not denying that Elena and Stefan don't have an intense connection, nor am I suggesting that they make a bad couple or are incompatible. What I'm saying is, when it comes to the term 'epic love', they simply do not cut it. And when it comes to accepting that essentially, they are the BIG pag-ibig story of the show, then I have a major problem with that, because I don't believe they are, and I would feel that way even if I didn't ship Delena. Because the biggest give-away that Stefan and Elena might not be soulmates is fairly obvious, and that is in the pag-ibig tatsulok the ipakita is based upon. Elena and Stefan are arguably not the meant-for-each-other, soulmates, epic-y pag-ibig story the producers are making them out to be if Elena finds herself irresistibly drawn to Damon at the same time. If Stefan and Elena really are soulmates, then it doesn't make sense for her to have feelings for Damon too. We don't know how it will happen in the show, but if she's already met her soulmate and 'true love' Stefan, then why does she later end up falling for Damon...?

I can understand the appeal of SE even though I don't ship them - they are 'safe'. They are like two characters in a Disney movie, pledging to pag-ibig each other forever ten minutos into the film. Damon is the dark knight, someone who's supposed to be the villain. He makes witty one-liners and sarcastic jokes. He messes everything up, we don't know if we can trust him. He makes killing people look easy. He's not a character you would typically associate with love. The dark knight is allowed to be...well, maybe not evil, but dark. He's not supposed to fall in love. pag-ibig is not an emotion to expect from him, and for me, this is what makes Delena so captivating to watch. Stefan always had the capacity to care for and pag-ibig another person - even as a newly turned vampire, Emily warns him that his pure puso will be his curse - Damon's humanity however, is questionable, having Nawawala or rejected it along the way. But his need for pag-ibig and to be loved is still very much alive, as we see at the end of episode 3. I fell in pag-ibig with Damon and DE at the precise moment he brushed a strand of hair from Elena's face as she slept. I was stunned that someone who had previously been characterized as evil could ipakita such tenderness. When pag-ibig is powerful enough to render the darkest of hearts defenceless against it, then you know it's true. No matter what Kevin or Julie might say, Damon and Elena is, and always will be the real, epic pag-ibig story of the ipakita in my eyes.