The Originals Review: All In The Family

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We've been watching The Originals for four weeks now. Falling in love with old characters in new ways, meeting new faces and discovering a new place. We've been asking questions and waiting for answers. Choosing sides.

Team Witch or Team Vampire? (Team Werewolf?)

After The Originals Season 1 Episode 5, the answer is simple: Team Davina. 

Secrets From the Past

Tonight was, quite simply, the best episode yet of The Originals. There was background. There was character development. There was snark. The parallel storytelling - Marcel's story to Klaus and Davina's story to Elijah - revealed how Marcel came to be so powerful, why he detests the witches and the secret to Davina's magic.

In just one episode, this spin-off became more than just a cousin to TVD. It became more than witches against vampires or Marcel's desire to own the quarter and Klaus' desire to regain his lost empire. More than a love triangle or a magical miracle baby that might bring about the end of all witches.

Finally! Elijah! The honorable brother returned from the land of the daggered for good (we hope!) and got a slap across the face from Hayley for failing to keep his promise to keep her safe. Is it just me or are there some sparks there?

As he told Rebekah last week, Elijah has a plan for getting Davina to choose their side instead of Marcel's. He believes that gaining her trust is the key to gaining her power and in his attempts to do that, he learned the secret behind her power.

In short, she's not supposed to have it and she can't control it.

Davina told him the story of the Harvest and how just 8 months prior she had been selected as one of four teenage members of her coven to be sacrificed so that the witches could remain connected to their ancestral power. The girls thought they would be put into a state of limbo to be resurrected during the Reaping, but on the night of the Harvest, Davina watched as one by one, the throats of the other three girls were slit for the greater good of their coven.

Sophie, who didn't believe in the Harvest, tried to stop it. She went to Father Keiran to intervene and the witches put a hex on Sean, his nephew and Cami's twin, which caused him to slaughter his fellow students before taking his own life.

Watching Klaus make that discovery was a brilliant moment. He knows that the witches are the reason for Cami's suffering, and he's nothing if not a fan of retribution. He promised Cami he would find answers and now he has them. There's no way he won't bring down the same wrath he used to slaughter a dozen hybrids and Carol Lockwood on the French Quarter witches.

As Father Kieran left town, he asked Marcel to intervene with the witches. One of Marcel's rules is that children are sacred. No one hurts children.

Marcel intended only to stop the Harvest, but as he watched Davina fight for her life, he was reminded of himself before Klaus saved him and made him family. He rescued the young witch before he knew about the power she possessed. Power which was transferred to her as the last in line to be slaughtered.

If she dies, the Harvest is complete and the witches will regain their power. If she doesn't and the Reaping passes, their ancestral magic will die, they'll no longer be able to practice magic, and Davina will be normal and free.

But the other three girls who died will remain dead and one of those girls is Sophie Deveraux's niece. Sophie has a promise to fulfill to Jane Anne and included in that promise is that Davina will die. 

"Family above all," as Elijah says. Family is the key to everything.

Davina is now the most protected witch - and probably the most powerful - in all of Lousiana.

Marcel keeps her alive because he feels a kinship to her. She's his family. He gives her the promise of a normal life if only she outlasts the Reaping. And if she dies the witches will probably flay him a la Willow because they'll have their power back.

But Elijah offered her the opportunity to learn to control her magic by studying his mother's grimmoires and she accepted. There's something alluring about having that kind of power. The only trouble with his plan is that it means at some point she'll have to die. Otherwise the magic is gone and all is for naught.

The tides are changing in New Orleans. While Klaus and Marcel both want the power Davina represents, they're united in their desire to see the girl remain alive, even if for different reasons.

Marcel wants to squash the witches and set Davina free. Klaus probably wants to use her power to destroy the witches for what they did to Cami. Both reasons are good reasons, and how this will play out will be awesome to watch.

What did you think of "Sinners and Saints?" Are you Team Witch or Team Vampire? What do you think of a possible Elijah-Hayley pairing?

Review

Editor Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
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Miranda Wicker was a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in 2017. Follow her on Twitter.

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The Originals Quotes

Klaus: Leaving me to do what, exactly?
Hayley: Stay here and protect our daughter.

You're gonna like me, Davina Claire. And I'm gonna let you pretend a while that you don't already.

Kaleb

The Originals Music

  Song Artist
Song Too Late M83 iTunes
Freaks The Hawk In Paris iTunes
Bones MS MR iTunes