All hope is not lost.

Despite the events of The Originals Season 1 Episode 16, and despite the online chatter soon afterward, Claire Holt said in a recent interview that she needed a break from the series, but she plans for this to be a "temporary absence."

And she reiterated that stance on stage at PaleyFest in Los Angeles last night.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is a temporary hiatus,” Holt said. “I’m taking a little vacation in the sun, but I’m going to return to my New Orleans family.”

The Originals Cast at PaleyFest

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Altogether now: PHEW.

What else can fans look forward to as The Originals Season 1 ends to a close?

The Mikaelson brothers will be on contrasting paths, according to Daniel Gillies, teasing that "the redemption of Klaus and the undoing of Elijah seems to be where we’re creeping towards," with Joseph Morgan piping in of his hybrid:

“He likes to see Elijah embrace the darker side. There’s an excitement."

Elijah doesn’t actually expect the treaty everyone signed on The Originals Season 1 Episode 17 to last, either.

“He’s starting to understand there’s a lot of method to Klaus’ madness and a degree of mayhem he can’t avoid,” Gillies said. “I think he’s expecting poor results, but he’s giving the factions this one final opportunity to do the right thing - which is his thing."

Hayley stepped to the forefront last Tuesday. Will we be seeing more of her as a leader?

"Throughout Hayley’s life, she’s been looking for a family,” Phoebe Tonkin explained. “Now she’s just trying to work out where her loyalties lie and what she wants to fight for. She’s a woman on a mission to protect her baby and protect what she thinks is right.”

Could there be more Originals-The Vampire Diaries crossovers? “Yes… maybe… I don’t know,” Plec said, though, come on: clearly she knows!

Visit TV Fanatic all week long for exclusive red carpet interviews with The Originals cast members.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.