The Vampire Diaries 4.20 “The Originals” Review

At the heart of The Vampire Diaries family is what matters and if “The Originals” turns from an episode into a series via this backdoor pilot, family will be central to that story too. Since the Originals were introduced back in season 2 it has been clear that their family dynamic is a dysfunctional one with loyalty being craved and mistrust existing in its place. This might be what happens when you dagger someone and cart them around in a box for long periods of time.

Much of Klaus’ paranoia stems from his status as a hybrid; he has always been different to his siblings and his dual desire for power and loyalty has pushed those close to him further away. At this point Rebekah and Elijah are the only family that Klaus has left; Rebekah like Klaus is quick to act and so she has no desire to help or reconcile with her brother who has ruined her chances of a human life. Elijah is different, he is willing to sacrifice his personal happiness with Katherine to become the family that they once were and this is where New Orleans comes in.

New Orleans was home to the Original family until they were run out when their father came to town a century ago and as Elijah mentions it was one of the places that they were truly happy together. Just because they had this happiness once doesn’t mean that they will be able to recapture this feeling but Elijah wants to try. There is also a major new factor to consider and this is the plot point that I had some issue with as Hayley is pregnant with Klaus’ baby. Damon mentioned long ago that vampires can’t procreate and it’s because of Klaus’ werewolf side that this is a possibility; yep it’s one of nature’s pesky loopholes. I have to admit that I initially rolled my eyes at this story because it does seem like a plot contrivance and an easy way to get Klaus to leave Mystic Falls and attempt to win New Orleans back.

While I have my misgivings about this pregnancy it does mean that Klaus has been offered everything he ever wanted with this child; family and loyalty. His relationship with Hayley is courteous at best and I hope that she doesn’t simply become a vessel for Klaus’ potential redemption. I think it’s interesting that they aren’t this big love story, it makes the situation more complicated and because Klaus is the impulsive brother he will have to be more measured in how he handles the plan to take back New Orleans.

This brings me to Marcel who is currently in charge of the city and as Marcel’s mentor was Klaus this means that he has gained this power by using everything that Klaus has taught him. Marcel is different to Klaus as he isn’t burdened with all Klaus’ Original family neuroses and he is a fun addition to the cast. Marcel is dangerous and won’t allow anyone to break his rules and like Klaus he doesn’t hesitate when it comes to killing someone. Marcel has some tricks up his sleeve as he refuses to divulge just exactly how he knows when a witch is practising magic (got to keep some secrets for when this hopefully gets picked up).

Marcel exerts his power by making the way he dishes out punishments as a public spectacle and the death of Jane-Anne Deveraux is another way that this episode demonstrates the importance of family. Jane-Anne’s sister Sophie, who appeared to be the meek, mild one is now in charge and wants to destroy Marcel. As we have seen with witches in the past they are a force to be reckoned with when one of their own has been killed.

There are a few brief scenes in Mystic Falls to show that Damon and Stefan are waiting for Elena to become desperate for blood so they can work their torture charms on her to try and fear her emotions back. These scenes bookended the episode and Katherine also made a brief appearance as she knew that Klaus was out of town. Katherine in a self-aware moment laid out why she and Klaus are similar; they’re both manipulative, have a thirst for control but at their core they’re alone and hate it. Katherine ends the episode alone again as Klaus chooses family over love, though I’m guessing this isn’t the last we have heard of this relationship.

If the spinoff does get picked up by The CW then there are plenty of potential crossover stories, including this Elijah/Katherine thread. This spinoff will give The Vampire Diaries an opportunity to move forward and it means that we can still explore characters like Klaus in an entirely new environment. Mystic Falls is too small of a town to produce consistently good stories for all of these characters and I think that is one reason why the show has been spinning its wheels this season. It also means that there will be more screen time for characters like Elijah and that can only be a good thing.

Other thoughts

– Klaus got a potential new love interest in the form of Camille (or Cami), a bartender who appears to be pretty fearless and is interested in art. Oh yeah, Klaus likes to paint doesn’t he?!

– This doesn’t mean that he has forgotten Caroline as he left her a voicemail telling her he would like to bring her to New Orleans one day.

– Elijah got to use his favorite heart ripping move on one of the vampires who threatened Sophie.

– And Klaus to gets his special move with his deadly bite and then curing with his own blood.

– Marcel takes vervain, smart move. He also has a terrific singing voice.

Watch a preview for the May 2 episode of The Vampire Diaries here and you can also browse through photos for the episode here.

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