Having just finished recapping 'The Vampire Diaries', its now back into the same universe and onto 'The Originals'...I'm having a cray Saturday afternoon. Initially, I thought 'The Originals' was a bad idea. Now, I'm reconsidering. Although the back door pilot was terrible and the first episode was slightly boring, this episode was GOOD! It has made me realise how Rebekah and Klaus were being constrained by 'The Vampire Diaries'...they are seriously two of the most dynamic, compelling and fascinating characters on television at the moment, and they need their stage to shine, instead of being overshadowed by one very annoying girl's boy drama (and also hair drama- can we remove that pink streak immediately please?) Although the witches still bore me (here's looking at you Sophie), Marcel is also very charismatic, and I loved the flashbacks. I also love you forever Elijah, you dapper, dapper man (and the actor himself is hilarious- check out his twitter). Let's begin!
The episode opening is a bit too 'True Blood', with Marcel's vampires attacking tourists in clubs and then compelling them to forget it. At the same time, Rebekah zooms down the road in a red convertible and rocks up at Klaus's giant Southern mansion looking for Elijah. She then meets Hayley the knocked up werewolf, who she hilariously refers to as 'the maid'. Rebekah then confronts Klaus about where Elijah is. Whenever these two are on the screen together, I can't take my eyes off them- the acting is fantastic, and the characters are brilliant. One of my favourite exchanges was when Rebekah apologies for killing some of Marcel's vampires, saying 'oh sorry, were they friends of yours', and Klaus looking generally pissed off and saying 'I do have friends! I have Marcel!'
I love the petty, immatureness of both Klaus and Rebekah, even though they are 1,000 years old. I also loved all the English phrases Rebekah said, including 'wanker' and 'Elijah doesn't welsh on deals' (that was slightly overkill). We learn in a flashback that Klaus murdered every person Rebekah fell in love with, for example throwing this fine young sir off a balcony because 'he wasn't good enough' for her:
Erm, am I the only one who thinks the relationship between Klaus and Rebekah, as well as being abusive (Rebekah is constantly scared he will dagger her and stuff her in a box for 50 years) is getting a bit incestuous? Why does Klaus care so much? Are we starting to stray on 'Game of Thrones' territory here? (Love ya Jamie Lannister). After refusing to reveal what happened to Elijah, Klaus saunters out the door with this dastardly grin:
Rebekah then shows Hayley Klaus's creepy coffins, explaining how he gets 'his jollies off' by locking his siblings up in them *cough* incest *cough*. Seriously, Klaus's romantic storyline with Caroline (pony drawings, pretty dresses, beheading her attackers with a hat etc) has made me forget what a straight up psychopathy he is. The coffins terrify Hayley, cemented by Rebekah saying 'Welcome to the family love'.
Rebekah meets up with Sophie, zzzzzzz. The only interesting piece of information is we learn that the witches of New Orleans can't leave because their power comes from the bodies of their dead ancestors. So basically, they are even more useless than Bonnie and her mum. Joy! Rebekah has another flashback, in which we learn that Marcel and Klaus had a father son relationship. Klaus rescued a ten year old Marcel from slavery, and raised him to an adult. Klaus even named him after Mars, the God of War, because he was a 'survivor' (I think there is an ongoing theme that Klaus likes survivors- see below). Rebekah states that Klaus loved Marcel because 'he knows what it is like to be a bastard whose father treats him as nothing better than a beast', and berates Sophie for bringing together 'two long lost souls'. The flash back scene where Marcel and Klaus met was very touching:
But can we just talk about Elijah's hair for a second? What the f is THIS?
Is that what a 19th century hair cut looked like?! Surely not!
Meanwhile, Klaus helps Marcel arrange a date with the world's most boring blonde bartender, and Hayley buys wolfsbane because she wants to have an abortion. Nothing much to say about both of those scenes. Next, Marcel demonstrates his Machiavellian cruelty by making two newly turned vampires, who are best friends, pick who lives and who dies. When the girl picks herself over her gay best friend, not only is the gay best friend outraged:
But Marcel kills her for betraying her friend, and zips her up in a body bag. Scary!
Meanwhile, we get another flashback. Rebekah is teaching the ten year old Marcel how to sword fight. He says he will marry her someday. Ten years later, Rebekah is still wearing the same dress and hairstyle (that is just lazy, wardrobe team!), but Marcel is grown up and super hot and they both fancy the pants off each other.
Klaus sees them making out, goes into a blind rage, and warns Marcel off her. Apparently he is her 'constant', even though men 'come and go'. Incest bells ringing yet?
Marcel doesn't listen, kisses her, Klaus sees, and Klaus daggers Rebekah. Klaus daggers siblings so often it has actually become comical. What isn't comical is the chilling scene afterwards, where Rebekah wakes up to find out that Marcel chose being a vampire over her, and Klaus has kept her daggered for FIFTY YEARS! Can you IMAGINE? Rebekah thought it had only been a week. It was actually heartbreaking. As Rebekah tries to take in the news she has lost fifty years and the guy she was in love with betrayed her, Klaus is sat there with this patronising smirk on his face, surrounded by about a thousand candles (I bet he did it for dramatic purposes):
How mean was it when he said 'I have been waiting to see your face, and it is, indeed, priceless?' VERY mean! This scene showed the extent of Klaus's physical, and emotional, abuse of Rebekah, and I felt very very sorry for her.
In the modern day, Marcel turns up and is a douche to Rebekah, and then leaps gracefully off a balcony to go and meet Klaus in a bar. Marcel angrily asks Klaus if he needs to know anything about Rebekah, and Klaus knocks it out the park with two hilarious comments, firstly by saying that Rebekah 'has grown considerably more insane over the years' and also that 'if you aren't a high school quarterback she won't be interesting'. Matt Donovan reference! Hell yeah.
Meanwhile, Haley decides not to have an abortion, is attacked by Marcel's vampires, and saved by Rebekah. And we have the first example of the classic Vampire Diaries shot, which is a vampire standing over the body of someone they have just killed holding their heart, and saying a witty one liner (in this case, 'that is no way to treat a pregnant lady').
There is then some weird flashback where Klaus, like someone in 'Ocean's Eleven' explains his scheming against Marcel and Rebekah and Haley have messed everything up. Anyway, Klaus tries to strangle Haley (typical Klaus ey!) and tearfully confesses how he daggered Elijah and gave his body to Marcel. Does anyone do anguished, stubborn guilt as well as Joseph Morgan? I think not!
Sad as it was, I don't buy his reasoning that he is 'honouring Elijah's wish' by daggering him.
Rebekah and Haley bond on the porch, and Rebekah reveals how even though they hate each other, their hate is 'so powerful' and 'they can't quit' each other. IT IS JAMIE AND CERSEI LANNISTER BUT VAMPIRES. Anyway, turns out Haley stole the daggers from Klaus and gives them to Rebekah.
I always mildly disliked Haley on 'The Vampire Diaries', but I am warming to her now. Rebekah finds Marcel, gets led to Elijah's body in the attic, and gets thrown out a window by this sassy bundle of witchy power:
Okay, so, the attic witch, 'Davina'. First of all, must all the witches be brunettes and look so alike? It gets very confusing. Neither Davina or Sophie are interesting enough looking to stand out. Also, Davina's relationship with Marcel is kind of creepy ('She hasn't been very nice to me tonight'). Also, what is she, some kind of super witch? Questions, questions.
Next, Klaus is snooping around Haley's room. Can I just point out how much I love Klaus's laid back, surfer style? Check out those necklaces! He pulls it off in such a weird way.
Anyway, Klaus says he thinks him and Haley are more alike than he thought, because they are both survivors, and fight when backed into a corner. It was so powerful when he said 'its time to fight...little wolf'. Klaus, I hate you but I love you!
Anyway, the episode ends with Rebekah deciding to stay to find Elijah, and Klaus saying he will help 'whatever it takes'. Across town, Marcel tells the attic witch to find out how to kill an original. OMG is she going to practise on Elijah's body? That would be awful! More to the point, is she going to head over to Mystic Falls and ask Damon where she can find some white oak stakes? What HAPPENED to all the white oak stakes? There must be some lying around, right? A cross over episode would be awesome.
Watching this episode has made me wonder how 'The Vampire Diaries' managed to fit so many good characters and actors in when it actually did- Damon, Katherine, Stefan, Jeremy, Elijah, Rebekah, Klaus, Caroline (sorry Bonnie, Aunt Jenna and Elena, but lets be honest). I think the decision to split it up into two shows was very, very wise, and here's opening 'The Originals' carries on getting stronger, because I think it has the writers, producers and actors to do it.
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