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The Originals: Bloodletting

Hayley: "You will not believe the crap day that I'm having."

I'm a bit conflicted about this episode, and it has nothing to do with any of the central characters. It has to do with a certain guest star, and the depths to which he sank in his quest for revenge against Klaus.

Threatening a former friend with death is pretty damn low. Tyler pretty much lost any sympathy I might have had for him when he did that to Hayley. I wish this had been the end of his character once and for all, because that would've been pretty shocking. Actually, I have absolutely no idea why Tyler Lockwood is still alive. What purpose does he serve anymore? More so, how did Caroline ever fall in love with him? His actions paint him as a single minded monster, willing to do anything to further his goals. Even Klaus shows more growth potential than him, and that's saying a lot.

That doesn't mean I can't understand where Tyler's coming from. Klaus did some pretty horrible things to him, and his need to destroy Klaus is totally in character. It just doesn't do anything positive for him, because Tyler's already unlikeable. It does make me wonder though, how did a relatively good guy turn into the bad guy here? How is Klaus, of all people, the one I'm rooting for? Go figure. He may be petulant and has serious issues, but at least Klaus isn't bloodthirsty anymore

Klaus has even changed enough to show mercy to Tyler. Seriously, he may have trumped up some phony line about Tyler suffering, but in truth he let him go. How much did Caroline affect him? Is there something deep inside of him that is really trying to change? That's kind of encouraging. Although with that last fight with Elijah put him back into that petty, lashing out mode I'm so tired of. I'm not looking forward to Elijah suffering, because we already know the bite won't kill him. Come to think about it though, in that moment it suddenly became clear to me what Klaus' issues are. It all comes down to family, specifically Mikael.

Klaus has brought it up before, the whole bastard thing. But I'd never really gave it any attention, since that kind of thing isn't really that important nowadays. Judging someone based on a parents' indiscretion seems stupid and petty, but to Klaus it's one of his defining traits. He's an outsider in his own family. He isn't wholly a part of Rebekah and Elijah, and because of that he hates them to a degree. Basically he resents their full status as Mikael and Esther's children. That explains why he's always trying to subjugate them.

As for the whole Hybrid thing, I'm kind of not surprised. Of course Klaus' child would have his gifts. That girl is gonna be powerful, I just wonder how they are going to utilize her. Is she going to be the magical baby that everyone tries to gain possession of next season? Or will she grow up quickly so we have a character that can interact with the rest of the family? As much as I dislike that fast growing infant plot, it might be necessary. Either way, I'm pretty sure Klaus isn't really going to be the father. Maybe in name, but I'm pretty sure at this point it's going to be Hayley and Elijah raising her.

On the Marcel front, it looks like he's starting to win over Rebekah. Given her history with Klaus I'm really not surprised, and I'm thrilled that she gave Marcel the skinny on the whole Original bloodline thing (that killing Klaus would kill all his progeny). I'm pretty sure we'll see Klaus in the Garden at some point this season, and I think that might be for the best. He needs to feel what his siblings have gone through. He needs to understand how horrible being incapacitated like that feels, because once he does maybe he won't be so quick to stab them in the back. I just hope that Rebekah comes out this situation with a shred of something resembling dignity, because she needs a break badly. She needs to start healing, because she could be good, if given the chance.

Bits:

Was Tyler right about Klaus and the hybrid thing as his motivation for being enthusiastic about daddy hood? Honestly I want to think better of Klaus, even though that feels strange to say. Is there a part of Klaus that wants a real family?

Hayley immediately trusted Elijah with the truth about Tyler's suspicions. That pretty much confirms to me that they are going to be one of the big romantic couples of this show. The chemistry is simply too strong not to go that route. Unless they become like Stefan and Lexie.

I liked the fight night thing, and kind of wanted to see more of it. Sure it's pretty twisted, but makes a strange kind of sense. Marcel would want someone with strength. Two vampires enter, one vampire leaves with a reputation that brings them a step closer to getting into Marcel's inner circle.

Klaus and Elijah walking into that huge crowd of vampires and threatening them was kind of awesome. Even better was that no one challenged them about it.

Hayley's some kind of werewolf royalty? Her real name is Andrea Labonair, and she was born June 6, 1991.

The Josh and Davina scenes were a lot of fun, too. I loved how they connected, and she actually trusted him. I'm not sure how that will play out, but I like the direction at least.

Quotes:

Elijah: "If I'm moving too fast for you, Niklaus, you're welcome to wait in the car. Do be certain to leave the windows down."

Davina: "Do you like music?"
Josh: "What? I can't think about music right now. Why? I don't know. Maybe because you're giving me a voodoo lobotomy."

Klaus: "Hello, Tyler. You look well. I aim to change that."

I'm pretty sure my dislike of some of this episode was based solely on Tyler's presence. Even so, I wasn't super thrilled with this one.

2 1/2 out of 4 Voodoo lobotomies.

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.

10 comments:

  1. I will say that Haley setting up the massacre of the free hybrids because she wanted to find out about her family kind of takes away my believing that she is a "friend" that Tyler owes anything to. She couldn't have known that Klaus would then kill Tyler's mother, but her betrayal of Tyler and his rebel hybrids did directly result in Carol's death. Plus, I truly believe that Tyler is concerned that Haley's baby will be used to make more hybrids and destroy the vampire race.

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  2. Well, okay I forgot about that detail. That only makes his actions even more petty. His revenge included Hayley. Concern, doesn't not equal homicide.

    Using and abusing her was not the actions of a good man defending his hybrid brothers. It was the actions of a revenge fueled asshat who clearly can't tell right from wrong anymore. Basically the witches did the same thing to Hayley and they were monsters. How is what Tyler did any different from that?

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  3. Klaus/Hayley/Elijah doesn't bother me as much as it probably would when it comes to CW love triangles. I think it's partly to do with the fact that two parties have no romantic feelings for each other, they're just somewhat dysfunctional parents to be. So I guess it doesn't really make it a love triangle, just a really awkward family dinner.

    Tyler seems to be the most logical crossover character at this point in time. It would seem too early to bring in someone like Caroline or one of the main three. Yes, Tyler is a capital D-bag, but I did like how it brings in a fresh storyline while also connecting to the primary ones?

    Phoebe Tonkin looked gorgeous in this episode, especially considering she was being attacked and stabbed and running through the woods. Darn her.

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  4. All through this episode I was like....'gosh, I didn't like Tyler as a good guy, and I don't like home as a bad guy', there is just something indescribably unlikeable about the character. I completely understand his motives for revenge, but this all struck me as incredibly violent and almost insane this episode. I hope he is not going to become a regular...although this could be a good hook to bring in Caroline and I want to see her here (and with Klaus).
    I really enjoy the Originals, I have stopped watching VD altogether as I begun to find the characters annoying and stereotypically one dimensional. The storylines became quite predicable as well.
    I find the Originals 'fresh' on a saturated media market of vampires/witches/werewolves, maybe because the plots are more unpredictable, and the characters are definitely shades of grey. I am definitely an Elijah girl, but find Klaus just fascinating as a character to watch-he is so complex, damaged and conflicted.
    I am enjoying the evolution of all the characters who have had such twisted lives---and love how the writers, directors, etc are demonstrating 1000 years is not necessarily a blessing if you cant have social and familial connections, humanity and, trust and love. I look forward to where this is gong.
    By the way, I am wondering when Mummy dearest with show up....

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  5. I still love VD, but I'm very much enjoying The Originals, too. I'm an Elijah girl too, Robyn, and I agree that if they didn't have Klaus, there would be so little conflict.

    I think Elijah's interest in Hayley and his lack of jealousy that her baby is his brother's is an acknowledgement by the writers that these characters are *very* old and very strange and they just don't react to situations the way regular old humans do. (Loved what you said, Morgan, about "a really awkward family dinner". :) Their sibling relationship is so bizarre, anyway.

    Like you, J.D., I thought the scene where Elijah and Klaus walked right into an entire cadre of vampires and calmly threatened to kill them all was awesome.

    Can't stand Tyler. He's just the last VD character that I want crossing over. Although it might be worth it if it brings Caroline over, too.

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  6. Morgan, I loved the awkward dinner line. Phoebe Tonkin is always gorgeous, but I think she might be prettier in this show then anywhere else I've seen her. I totally agree that Tyler was the obvious first crossover character that made sense. I could also see Bonnie's vamp mother showing up to defend the witches later on too. My hope is that Kathrine will show up eventually, but that seems unlikely. Also, I bet the PTB are saving Caroline for further down the line. Her arrival should feel significant.

    Robyn, Although I don't really agree about VD, I think this season his been pretty good so far, I think you're totally right that this show deals with more shades of gray, and that the reason Klaus remains at all watchable is because he is so complex a character. Sure vampires are probably at the saturation point, but so are zombies and werewolves. This happens every ten years or so. Remember when Interview with the Vampire came out, there were so many vampire movies released that the backlash at the box office was pretty bad.

    Billie, you have a great point about how the Mikaelson family don't really react the way we would expect. Being as old as they are. Also I will totally cop to the fact that I dislike Tyler immensely, which is probably why I wasn't that fond of the drama this week. For a little while in VD season threeish, I kind of liked him. During the height of the Tyler/Caroline romance. After that, total asshat.

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  7. Tyler is an idiot. He left a sweet deal where he could play house with Caroline to muck around in the swamp and hassle Klaus - somebody he probably can't kill at all, and certainly can't kill without (literally) dying himself? Stupid. I was kind of hoping Klaus would go ahead and pluck his heart and put Tyler (and us) out of his misery.

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  8. I've never like Tyler either and I'm not really sure why, but I was glad that Klaus didn't kill him. I don't want Klaus to go back on his word to Caroline so easily although I don't think it would have been out of character if he had.

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  9. I never really enjoyed Tyler when he was on VD, and I couldn't stand him in this episode. Even though I knew he would survive, I was kinda hoping Klaus would just kill him and get it over with.

    Speaking of Klaus, we're back to the Klaus I absolutely despise and want to slap silly. He tortures, demeans and otherwise treats his family like crap, and is then somehow offended when they aren't slavishly loyal to him? *sigh* It's like they just went and undid the last 2 years of Klaus' character arc. :(

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  10. I'm trying to watch The Originals, which is my version of a cry for help: I have truly run out of shows to watch.

    This episode was so, so hard to watch. As I have made clear in my TVD reviews, I have no affection for Tyler. But watching this episode, I started to think about how comfortable both TVD and TO are with framing male anger as an appropriate way of dealing with emotional trauma. Like, we're supposed to sort of see where Tyler is coming from? When he sticks a huge needle into a pregnant woman?

    The show seems to have the same issue with Klaus.

    Anyway: I should give credit where credit is due. Much of my resistance to The Originals is due to the fact that I watched Legacies (the spinoff of this spinoff) and it really fixes a lot of the problematic issues in TVD and TO. It's a bit performatively woke, but you can see how Plec and the Legacies powers that be are staying in conversation with the current moment.

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