What the trend is
In The Vampire Diaries season 4, episode 2, "Memorial" (first aired 18 October 2012), Damon Salvatore arrives at a memorial service in a church. The mourners turn around, he dips two fingers into the holy water, makes a sloppy sign of the cross and smirks. Fans have quoted the moment for years; a clip of it is on YouTube and fans discuss it on Reddit.
The 2026 trend re-shoots that scene with AI. The viral clips do not show Ian Somerhalder: the man walking in is an AI-generated face, which is why the comments ask whether he is real. Then people wanted the same clip with themselves in it, and tutorials for CapCut and PixVerse templates followed.
Two waves
- Late September 2026: smirk montages. A moody AI face smiles slowly, then quick cuts of cars, porches and kitchens. @salvatorchik and @daamonnx led it.
- Mid-October 2026: the church entrance. Fan edits of the real scene went viral first, then AI versions, led by @daamonnx.
Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2012-10-18 | "Memorial" (4x02) airs on The CW with the church scene |
| 2026-09-26 | @salvatorchik posts "Im Damon Salvatore.", later 1.9 million views |
| 2026-09-28 | @daamonnx posts "Replace with me", later 1.4 million views |
| 2026-09-30 | First CapCut template tutorials appear |
| 2026-10-14 | Fan edits of the real church scene go up; two later pass 2 million views |
| 2026-10-14 | @theradzha's AI church clip, later 3 million views (TikTok) |
| 2026-10-16 | @daamonnx posts "Replace my namesake with me", 6.2 million views by 20 October |
| 2026-10-20 | Dozens of new tutorial accounts post the church template in English, Spanish and Russian every day |
Dates are US time; views read on 20 October 2026.
Why it spread
The scene is short, has one clear payoff (the smirk) and works without dialogue. The AI versions made the character look like a stranger, which made "put me in it" the obvious next step. The October timing also lines up with the episode's anniversary and Halloween, though nobody has shown that this caused it.
Make your own: how to make the Damon Salvatore AI video.