Personality: Alaric is, at his core, a good and respectable guy. He thoroughly believes in giving others second chances – we first see this side of him when he gives Jeremy a clean academic record when he first comes to Mystic Falls, despite Jeremy having a past of shoddy attendance and drug use; the second time, and the most notable, is when he becomes friends with Damon who, for all intents and purposes, he should despise. It probably helps that Alaric realizes what a selfish bitch Isobel was despite his total adoration of her during their marriage, but that is only one small reason why he forgives Damon for “killing” Isobel (which he initially believes is the case) and then for murdering Alaric himself.
After taking up the substitute teacher gig after Mr. Tanner’s murder, Alaric quickly acquires the role of the “cool” teacher – without really trying. Funny enough, outside of the classroom Alaric seems to be uncomfortable in large crowds, especially when he is the focus (when on stage at the Bachelor Auction and asked to relate an interesting fact about Mystic Falls, he can only fumble and eventually drop the question). He’s equally as awkward in close social encounters, such as his first few conversations with Jenna when he seems to overshare embarrassing stories and facts about his past. As he gets closer to people, he warms up to them very quickly; he smiles often and is generally very open in his conversations.
Alaric is pretty damn courageous, too. Despite knowing Stefan and Damon are vampires and could quite easily kill him – especially the latter – he never gives into their demands (unless blackmail is involved, of course). This is especially clear when he specifically hunts down Damon to kill him, knowing full well that vampires are many times stronger than humans. His devotion to Isobel, which led to his quest for vengeance, is another defining feature: if he gets into a relationship, he’s in it for the long run. He stayed dedicated to Isobel’s memory for over two years despite being told she was dead. Even when she finally confronts him as a vampire and denies feeling remorse for leaving him, Alaric stands up to her and refuses to believe that she ever stopped loving him.
Damon is an interesting gray area for Alaric; initially he wanted nothing more than to kill the other, especially after Damon rubbed turning Isobel in Alaric’s face. After Damon kills him, things seem to gradually change between them. Just a few days after Damon murders him, Damon asks him for help in saving his brother – although he initially denies the request, he gives in because he sees the way Damon is willing to protect Elena, which proves he has some humanity in him after all. As time goes on, Alaric continues to help Damon in his various escapades, despite the fact that his activities should push him onto Alaric’s shit list. Like Stefan, Alaric seems to grudgingly acknowledge that Damon is a murderer and that murder is what he does; this acceptance creates a morally cloudy area where Alaric temporarily shifts his strict moral code in order to give a berth for the vampire. The berth grows to the point where he keeps following Damon into very shitty, life-threatening plans, and in 2x15 he makes a demand of Damon for the first time: that he stops lying to Alaric, especially when it puts people he loves in danger. He firmly establishes himself as Damon’s friend, exemplifying how far Alaric’s forgiveness and ability to appreciate even a monster’s humanity goes.
Unlike Damon, however, Alaric is not particularly skilled in the art of deception. He instead prefers an honest approach, and he isn’t exactly afraid to voice his opinion, even if he does it in a less than succinct way. This means he usually gives Damon and Stefan shit for their horrible plans. In a way, Alaric is the sole voice of reason out of the entire cast. (And, maybe for this reason, he’s also left out of a lot of particularly bad plans.)
With his friendly and warm demeanor, it’s also particularly difficult to get Alaric riled up – unless, of course, Isobel is used as the stick poking at the embers. He reacts amazingly quickly in moments of dire urgency – such as staking Henry immediately when he begins to attack – and is crafty in his invention of new weapons to be used against vampires. All of the weapons the group uses, including compressed-air powered guns, vervain-filled darts, and spring-loaded stake-shooting guns that wrap around the wrist were invented by Alaric; all of these are the result of a mind that is greatly interested in the history of places and people.
Like Elena, he tends to have both a martyr streak and a hefty amount of self-deprecation. After Jenna’s death (which he blames himself exclusively for,) he begins drowning his sorrows in alcohol, barely functioning at all as the guardian for the Gilbert children he wants to be. He often comments how he’s failing them, letting them down, and that he’s a horrible teacher and an even worse role model. Eventually Elena points out how the only family they have is each other, and he starts lifting himself after the post-death rut in order to really get involved in protecting his town and his (pseudo) children.
Aside from that, and probably because of it, Alaric is often quick to sacrifice himself for others. In a way, the ring which allows him to regenerate after death from supernatural causes has helped seal that low sense of self-worth. He, along with the other characters, generally see him as a sort of meatshield because his deaths quickly start to lose their meaning. Regardless, even without the ring, Alaric does not hesitate to help anyone who asks for it. He is the morally strong center of a show that is populated with morally corrupt characters. Alaric’s “dark past,” hinted at by another character, is actually a series of spots on his records in which he would start bar fights in order to white knight for the weak. While his friends are monsters, he has an intense affinity for humanity and will stop at nothing to protect them from the creatures that prey on them.
Betrayed by his obsessive need to find Isobel when everyone else had pronounced her dead, Alaric has a loyalty that is easily earned but hard to lose. He admits near the end of the series (a canonpoint past my own) that the life he had taking care of Jeremy and Elena as their guardian was “the closest [he] ever got to the life [he] always wanted.” Alaric’s love for his family transcends most things, and they are the people he will sacrifice absolutely anything for. Despite Isobel hiding the existence of Elena from him, he finds himself loving her anyway, taking her on as both a pupil and a daughter. He becomes the male role model for Jeremy when he has none, also taking him on as a father. While Alaric would be the first to admit what a terrible guardian he is in every aspect, he has never hesitated in doing what he thinks is right for them, even when what he thinks is right is exiling himself from their lives. Because of the dangerous company they surround themselves with, he has taken it upon himself to train Elena in a matter of various self defense techniques, using the knowledge he has gained from being a vampire hunter to teach her weaponry, fighting strategies, and to physically bulk her up. Assuming from later episodes in which Jeremy utilizes a crossbow effectively, he does the same for Jeremy. As much as Alaric wants to protect his family, he knows it’s far more important that they protect themselves.
Personality
After taking up the substitute teacher gig after Mr. Tanner’s murder, Alaric quickly acquires the role of the “cool” teacher – without really trying. Funny enough, outside of the classroom Alaric seems to be uncomfortable in large crowds, especially when he is the focus (when on stage at the Bachelor Auction and asked to relate an interesting fact about Mystic Falls, he can only fumble and eventually drop the question). He’s equally as awkward in close social encounters, such as his first few conversations with Jenna when he seems to overshare embarrassing stories and facts about his past. As he gets closer to people, he warms up to them very quickly; he smiles often and is generally very open in his conversations.
Alaric is pretty damn courageous, too. Despite knowing Stefan and Damon are vampires and could quite easily kill him – especially the latter – he never gives into their demands (unless blackmail is involved, of course). This is especially clear when he specifically hunts down Damon to kill him, knowing full well that vampires are many times stronger than humans. His devotion to Isobel, which led to his quest for vengeance, is another defining feature: if he gets into a relationship, he’s in it for the long run. He stayed dedicated to Isobel’s memory for over two years despite being told she was dead. Even when she finally confronts him as a vampire and denies feeling remorse for leaving him, Alaric stands up to her and refuses to believe that she ever stopped loving him.
Damon is an interesting gray area for Alaric; initially he wanted nothing more than to kill the other, especially after Damon rubbed turning Isobel in Alaric’s face. After Damon kills him, things seem to gradually change between them. Just a few days after Damon murders him, Damon asks him for help in saving his brother – although he initially denies the request, he gives in because he sees the way Damon is willing to protect Elena, which proves he has some humanity in him after all. As time goes on, Alaric continues to help Damon in his various escapades, despite the fact that his activities should push him onto Alaric’s shit list. Like Stefan, Alaric seems to grudgingly acknowledge that Damon is a murderer and that murder is what he does; this acceptance creates a morally cloudy area where Alaric temporarily shifts his strict moral code in order to give a berth for the vampire. The berth grows to the point where he keeps following Damon into very shitty, life-threatening plans, and in 2x15 he makes a demand of Damon for the first time: that he stops lying to Alaric, especially when it puts people he loves in danger. He firmly establishes himself as Damon’s friend, exemplifying how far Alaric’s forgiveness and ability to appreciate even a monster’s humanity goes.
Unlike Damon, however, Alaric is not particularly skilled in the art of deception. He instead prefers an honest approach, and he isn’t exactly afraid to voice his opinion, even if he does it in a less than succinct way. This means he usually gives Damon and Stefan shit for their horrible plans. In a way, Alaric is the sole voice of reason out of the entire cast. (And, maybe for this reason, he’s also left out of a lot of particularly bad plans.)
With his friendly and warm demeanor, it’s also particularly difficult to get Alaric riled up – unless, of course, Isobel is used as the stick poking at the embers. He reacts amazingly quickly in moments of dire urgency – such as staking Henry immediately when he begins to attack – and is crafty in his invention of new weapons to be used against vampires. All of the weapons the group uses, including compressed-air powered guns, vervain-filled darts, and spring-loaded stake-shooting guns that wrap around the wrist were invented by Alaric; all of these are the result of a mind that is greatly interested in the history of places and people.
Like Elena, he tends to have both a martyr streak and a hefty amount of self-deprecation. After Jenna’s death (which he blames himself exclusively for,) he begins drowning his sorrows in alcohol, barely functioning at all as the guardian for the Gilbert children he wants to be. He often comments how he’s failing them, letting them down, and that he’s a horrible teacher and an even worse role model. Eventually Elena points out how the only family they have is each other, and he starts lifting himself after the post-death rut in order to really get involved in protecting his town and his (pseudo) children.
Aside from that, and probably because of it, Alaric is often quick to sacrifice himself for others. In a way, the ring which allows him to regenerate after death from supernatural causes has helped seal that low sense of self-worth. He, along with the other characters, generally see him as a sort of meatshield because his deaths quickly start to lose their meaning. Regardless, even without the ring, Alaric does not hesitate to help anyone who asks for it. He is the morally strong center of a show that is populated with morally corrupt characters. Alaric’s “dark past,” hinted at by another character, is actually a series of spots on his records in which he would start bar fights in order to white knight for the weak. While his friends are monsters, he has an intense affinity for humanity and will stop at nothing to protect them from the creatures that prey on them.
Betrayed by his obsessive need to find Isobel when everyone else had pronounced her dead, Alaric has a loyalty that is easily earned but hard to lose. He admits near the end of the series (a canonpoint past my own) that the life he had taking care of Jeremy and Elena as their guardian was “the closest [he] ever got to the life [he] always wanted.” Alaric’s love for his family transcends most things, and they are the people he will sacrifice absolutely anything for. Despite Isobel hiding the existence of Elena from him, he finds himself loving her anyway, taking her on as both a pupil and a daughter. He becomes the male role model for Jeremy when he has none, also taking him on as a father. While Alaric would be the first to admit what a terrible guardian he is in every aspect, he has never hesitated in doing what he thinks is right for them, even when what he thinks is right is exiling himself from their lives. Because of the dangerous company they surround themselves with, he has taken it upon himself to train Elena in a matter of various self defense techniques, using the knowledge he has gained from being a vampire hunter to teach her weaponry, fighting strategies, and to physically bulk her up. Assuming from later episodes in which Jeremy utilizes a crossbow effectively, he does the same for Jeremy. As much as Alaric wants to protect his family, he knows it’s far more important that they protect themselves.