Article first published as THE ORIGINALS Review at Seat42F.
Last year, the CW decided to develop a spin-off to its popular show The Vampire Diaries. Called THE ORIGINALS, a backdoor pilot was integrated as an installment of TVD last spring, appropriately titled “The Originals.” This week, THE ORIGINALS’ own series premiere, “Always and Forever,” airs. For regular viewers of TVD, it will seem awfully familiar.
Last year, the CW decided to develop a spin-off to its popular show The Vampire Diaries. Called THE ORIGINALS, a backdoor pilot was integrated as an installment of TVD last spring, appropriately titled “The Originals.” This week, THE ORIGINALS’ own series premiere, “Always and Forever,” airs. For regular viewers of TVD, it will seem awfully familiar.
“Always and Forever” is mostly reused
footage from “The Originals.” There are some additional and extended
scenes, but these seem to make up far less than half of the hour.
Instead, the story of Klaus (Joseph Morgan) traveling to New Orleans and
having run-ins with the vampire that controls the town, Marcel (Charles
Michael Davis, Grey’s Anatomy), and witches, is retold. A flashback to
the Original family, from a different Vampire Diaries episode, is also
included.
This is a terrible idea. While it is
true that “Always and Forever” stands alone as a setup to the series,
and thus is plenty accessible for new viewers, most of the people tuning
into the episode, which airs immediately after the season premiere of
TVD, will have already seen a lot of this. It’s frustrating to be
waiting for something new and basically getting an enhanced rerun.
Now, I’m not saying that THE ORIGINALS
is going to be a bad show; in fact, I believe quite the contrary. As a
regular watcher of The Vampire Diaries, it seems a great idea to take a
portion of the cast and do something new with them, thus expanding the
story and the universe. And I think the premise of the new series is a
strong one, with lots of mystery and potential to go in fresh and
interesting ways. I’m just saying that repeating so many scenes sucks
for the fans.
A lot of the new stuff in the episode
centers around Elijah (Daniel Gillies). Not being a main character in
TVD, unlike Klaus, his involvement in “The Originals” was limited. But
now his part has been beefed up and he is much more involved in the
tale, so “Always and Forever” fills in those gaps, making him a major
player to this particular story.
A primary motivating factor for Elijah,
as well his sister Rebekah (Claire Holt), is family. In “Always and
Forever,” it is revealed that werewolf Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) is
carrying Klaus’ child, something everyone assumed would be impossible,
as Klaus is a vampire, and vampires cannot have children. But Klaus is
also a werewolf, and werewolves can produce offspring. Whatever the
method, though, Elijah wants to protect that new addition to the family,
the first in a very, very, very long time.
This is a side of Elijah we haven’t seen
explored in depth. Although the child is not biologically his, he
reacts as a parent would, providing protection and willing to make
sacrifices for the good of the fetus. Elijah will be the primary
guardian here, as Klaus is much more stubborn and hot-headed and, at
this time, doesn’t see any responsibility owed to the baby.
Unfortunately, Klaus has a history of
thwarting Elijah if Elijah gets in his way, and “Always and Forever”
finds that happening again. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into details,
but let’s just say Elijah is going to need some help.
One ally Elijah may have is Rebekah, if
she ever agrees to move to New Orleans. In “Always and Forever,” she is
reticent to leave Mystic Falls, understandable given how her brother
Klaus has treated her. Assumedly, this will change at some point in the
future, since Holt is a series regular on THE ORIGINALS. Though, when
last we see Rebekah in TVD, three episodes after “The Originals,” which
is also the story in “Always and Forever,” she is planning on traveling
the world with Matt, so hopefully that will be addressed, and the new
show won’t just skip over how Rebekah gets from there to here.
Along those lines, Klaus seems awfully
happy in TVD season finale when giving Carolina a graduation gift, so I
hope that plays into the timeline of this project, too.
It’s really cool that THE ORIGINALS will
be giving more time to examine the familial relationships present in
the old vampires. All of the scenes between Klaus and Elijah are really
strong, and I look forward to more of this type of character
development.
Besides the vampire family trio, and
Hayley, who is migrating over from the mothership with them, THE
ORIGINALS sports a number of new supernatural characters. Marcel is
someone Klaus and company have a past with, and he is not at all willing
to just hand over control of the city the older vamps built. He will
have some help in that arena from Davina (Danielle Campbell), a witch
who is playing a very vital role in the makeup of the town. We also have
Sophie (Daniella Pineda), the witch holding Hayley and her baby hostage
in exchange for Klaus and Elijah’s help against Marcel, and Cami (Leah
Pipes), a human bartender.
Basically, in the tradition of The
Vampire Diaries, many kinds of supernaturals will mix, often with
explosive results. There will be flashbacks and secrets and shifting
alliances and major battles. This may sound like more of the same, and
it is, but with a fresh setting and lots of new players, which should
prove a steady draw for fans who already like the first series. This is a
worthy expansion.
THE ORIGINALS premieres Thursday, October 2nd
at 9 p.m. EST in most places. Check local listings for variations, such
as here in Columbus, Ohio, where it will air at 11 p.m. EST.
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