Ian Somerhalder didn't think Damon deserved a happy ending.

The Vampire Diaries remains one of the most hotly debated finales in any CW fandom. While most fans accepted the necessary sacrifice of Stefan Salvatore, others felt that he deserved a happy ending with his new wife. 

While Paul Wesley has always said he believes Stefan needed to die to achieve redemption, Ian Somerhalder doesn’t believe Damon earned his happy ending. 

Speaking at Anaheim Nostalgia Con, Somerhalder revealed the ending he believes Damon actually deserved. 

The Vampire Diaries ended after eight seasons, with Stefan sacrificing himself shortly after his marriage to Caroline to save the town of Mystic Falls from an all-consuming hellfire. His death was framed as a redemption arc for the crimes he committed as a vampire. 

At the same time, Damon reverts to human form and lives a long, happy life with Elena, eventually reuniting with Stefan in the afterlife after dying of old age. 

Over the course of 177 episodes, viewers watched Damon kill, manipulate and generally wreak havoc throughout Mystic Falls. 

While the show tried to redeem him through his relationship with Elena, Somerhalder argues that Damon didn’t deserve a happy ending. 

“We honestly thought the boys should have died together,” Somerhalder told fans as Wesley nodded next to him. “Let the town go back to being a town, and not celebrate the destruction.”

Somerhalder added that he thinks Damon and Stefan got away with too much. “These guys are cool. They were hot, handsome, rich and wore nice clothes and shit. But they destroyed the town, and they destroyed lives. And I didn't think we should celebrate that.”

“I’d rather be Team Human,” Somerhalder concluded.

Somerhalder believes Damon deserved a far less merciful ending than the show gave him, but one that would have let him conclude his time as a vampire alongside his brother. 

“So we thought the boys should have died together. You know how? Sitting on the beach, drinking 60-year-old Barbados rum in speedos. As the sun comes up, they take their one last toast, and they gaze into each other's eyes. ‘Love you, brother.’ And then have a sip, and then take their ring off and throw it in the water. The next shot you see is little speedos, just lapping in the ocean. Cut. End series.”

Wesley added an emphatic thumbs-up as Somerhalder shared his preferred ending. 

It’s rare for actors to argue that their character wasn’t punished enough, but Somerhalder believes that while Stefan completed his arc through his sacrifice, Damon never truly atoned for his crimes and that his happy ending is undeserved, even if it ultimately pleased fans of the show. 

Somerhalder also shared the NSFW prank he pulled on Paul Wesley during The Vampire Diaries.

Watch the video here.