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The Originals: Girl in New Orleans

"We all must stand alone against our demons."

Well, this episode was certainly a bit more meaty as far as character interactions and backstory go, and we got some decent action, too. We found out more about Cami and Davina, and I'm liking both characters quite a bit.

Even though we haven't learned all that much about Davina's past, she seems to be a teenage girl who just happens to have a lot of power. That power makes her dangerous and volatile, a powder keg waiting to go off. Marcel wasn't bending to her will so much as dancing on eggshells. It makes the idea of Davina on Klaus' side all the more scary. If only he could be trusted to not use her as badly as Marcel, I'd almost be rooting for him. Still, I think he was successful in driving at least a little wedge between Marcel and Davina, planting a seed of doubt about Marcel's motivations.

The whole situation in the church with Davina's poor friend Tim was interesting. Klaus seemed to genuinely not want to kill the boy, and even appreciated his artistry. Unfortunately, although Klaus is no longer doing evil things for the sake of doing evil things and has made a couple of small strides towards a nice shade of gray, he is definitely still wearing a black hat. Dropping that boy and his violin over the balcony with a quippy apology was kinda brutal, even though he saved him ultimately.

I liked that Klaus just told Cami the truth, and then made that truth a part of some sort of compartmentalized compulsion. One minute she has no clue about the supernatural world, and then in Klaus' presence, she's in the know. That solves a bunch of plot issues involving anticipation about when or if she would ever find out, because she's not the puppet sort at all. I'm also not really getting romantic vibes from the two of them. She seems more like an eventual ally or friend. Not a lover, although I could be wrong about that.

As misplaced as Klaus's motivations might be, I think in that wonderful final scene between him and Cami, he really did want to help her. He was nearly in tears. I think Klaus wants the world to be good. Maybe he wants to be good but doesn't know how to be anything but what he is. It was the most powerful and well done moment in the series so far, and I'm curious to find out more about Cami's twin and the massacre of the nine seminary students. Just letting her have a night of peaceful sleep was a gift; you could see the relief on her face. I believe Klaus will look for answers, in his own Klaus like way.

Elijah believes that it is family that will eventually bring Klaus around, an idea that Rebekah is beginning to share. She's now taken up Elijah's promise to protect Hayley. Unfortunately, the witches can't be trusted. Last week we had Katie give Marcel information; this week we got the supposedly friendly witch Agnes setting up the "Bayou baby doctor" death trap. Fortunately, Hayley's pretty badass, even without the super creepy baby healing powers. I am curious about what killed those guys, though. Was it Hayley reacting instinctively to protect her child? Or was it yet another unseen faction, maybe the mysterious wolf cousins she came down to Louisiana to find?

Bits:

They're going pretty heavy with the local New Orleans flavor.

The scene where Elijah created a mental link with Rebekah through a mutual memory was fun.

That violin solo was played against the images of blood splattered on a church wall. Kinda disturbing and macabre, which fits with the overall tone of the series so far.

Cami's twin Sean and the massacre explains her psych degree.

There's a new player, Father Kieran (Todd Stashwick). He has a history with Marcel, he might know the truth about Cami's brother, he takes Vervain, and he fooled Rebekah into thinking she had successfully compelled him. That's a lot for a new character.

So, does Marcel still want Rebekah? My money is on yes, but he's been so twisted by Klaus he can't even see it.

Fun little tidbit I just found out: Claire Holt and Phoebe Tonkin both starred in an Australian kids show about magical mermaids called H2O: Just add water.

Davina playing the windchimes with magic was a nice touch. It showed her loneliness and isolation without words. Her only reminder of Tim now is a broken violin. How symbolic.

Klaus is coming to Cami's window now. How Twilight of him.

Klaus is writing his memoirs. I'd actually want to read that. A thousand years of anything involving vampires would be fascinating.

So Yay! Elijah's back. About time.

Quotes:

Klaus: "Please, sister, tell me you're not still at it with the internet search? How does one begin anyway? Just type in 'anonymous attic'?"

Klaus: "I prefer actual strategy, as opposed to mind-numbing labor."

Marcel: "Sucker's resilient. He's like a cockroach in a suit."

Hayley: "Can we go home now? I'd really like to sleep for a few days."

Rebekah: "Wow. You abandoned your quest for power to help out your family. Having an off day?"

Klaus: "So tell me, Cami. Does that sound evil to you?"
Cami: "I don't believe in 'evil' as a diagnosis. I think you have unstable personal relationships, stress-related paranoia, chronic anger issues, fear of abandonment. I think you could benefit from talking to someone professionally."

This was a solid episode, and I really like how they are developing the characters.

3 out of 4 Broken Violins.

Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.

5 comments:

  1. I could not breath during the scene at the end between Klaus and Cami. Couldn't take a breath.
    If the desperate way she pleaded with him to keep her memories (because she knows she can't stop him)was what broke my heart, then the look on his face kicked me while I was down. Am I crazy to think that Klaus didn't really want to compel her? He's just still too selfish to do something that doesn't directly serve his purpose? Is there hope that he will ever be able to care about another persons feeling as much as his own? Very powerful scene.
    Elijah! :)
    Great review JD!

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  2. I was affected by that Klaus/Cami scene, too. I didn't think I'd like The Originals this much, but the writers and producers appear to be putting a lot of effort into making it unique and different, a lot more than a second (and inferior) hour of The Vampire Diaries.

    The thing with Klaus compelling Cami is more interesting than what we've seen before with compulsion; it's like they're making her into two completely different characters (with Klaus, and without Klaus). And Davina is like an out of control supersized Bonnie. Boiling blood? Really?

    I'm also surprised (and I think I mentioned this before) at how much I'm liking Rebekah and Hayley. Are they turning into better characters because they're main characters? Or did someone put some serious thought into their motivations?

    Ditto Laure -- great review, J.D.!

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  3. I used to watch H2O: Just Add Water, it also had Luke Mitchell who is now in The Tomorrow People.

    I really liked the moment when Klaus scooped Hayley up after she collapsed.

    Apparently Daniel Gillies's other show was cancelled, but I'm not too sure.

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  4. As a musician, I was way more upset by Klaus dropping the violin over the balcony than Tim. I'm still upset about it! :)

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  5. I came to this series late, since I'd falled waaaay behind on Vampire Diaries and only recently got mostly caught up. I was very curious to see what they'd do with the surviving Originals(the two siblings who were killed over on VD were boring anyway), and I gotta say so far I'm enjoying the heck out of this show. In fact, at this point I think I'm enjoying it even more than Season 5 of Vampire Diaries. Especially that scene with Klaus & Cami at the end, talk about intense. And Elijah continues to be one of the COOLEST vampires ever put on screen. Seriously, Daniel Gillies has quite some screen presence.

    ReplyDelete

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