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The Originals: Le Grand Guignol

"This was all you."

Well, I guess Klaus does have a good reason to be pissed.

Wow, Mikael is just awful. I knew he was evil, and did some pretty malicious and petty things in his quest to destroy Klaus. They just never detailed how bad he really was. I wonder if it was self hatred that drove Mikael to those ends. Either way, it was really fun and fascinating to see the events that drove Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah out of New Orleans.

What also struck me about the flashbacks was how Klaus's vision for New Orleans was pretty cool. He successfully created a unified, happy, maybe corrupt but still relatively non-violent home for himself and his family. I'd always imagined he would be a dictator, who subjugated his people and took everything for himself. Even more telling was Klaus's reaction when Mikael was threatening him. It felt that the idea that Klaus's name would be tarnished was more upsetting than his impending death.

The flashbacks also proved that Klaus could be human, too. In fact, all the Mikaelsons seemed to be pretty loyal and heroic. Rebekah might've been acting out of guilt, but she showed up and tried to stop her father. Elijah never even once backed down, and stalwartly defended his brother. Klaus even approved of Rebekah and Marcel's relationship. So apparently Klaus wanting to reclaim what he lost is actually a good thing. Go figure.

Of course the writers were building up the Klaus side of story so that Rebekah's betrayal had some context. Up until now I was totally on her side, and thought Klaus was basically unjustified in his blind desire to kill his sister. While his murderous intent is going too far, I can now see how badly she messed up. Cami was right, though -- he is acting like his father. In fact the more I learn about Klaus's past the more I can see the shades of Mikael laced through his personality.

In the end of the episode, where the three of them were trapped together in the cemetery, paralleled really well with their expulsion from New Orleans. In the past they were pushed together, now that the truth is out they are falling apart. Last week I didn't see how they were going to work past this situation, and for the most part I still don't. But what if what Cami said to Klaus sinks in a bit? What if he realizes by killing Rebekah he will cross the line that turns him into his father? I'm not sure Klaus is capable of that kind of self-reflection, but it's still an interesting idea.

Then there was the rest of the episode. It was a lot of moving around and hostage nonsense, with Celeste trying to survive by being crafty. Thankfully Elijah was ahead of the curve this time, by tapping Monique to do a spell to trap Celeste. Thankfully it looked like it worked, because not only is Celeste gone already, but we got Davina back as well. Yay! Plus Hayley got a cure for her family's werewolf curse. That's a lot of progress in one episode.

On the romantic front, Elijah chose not to betray Hayley even though he might lose her. I'm not sure if there was ever a conflict in Elijah's mind, though. It would've been out of character for him to destroy the cure. Though I think Celeste is underestimating Hayley, who doesn't seem like the type to fall in love and turn away even if her family starts to dominate her time. That strikes me as actual love, not whatever Celeste believes is love. Still, I don't think Hayley and Elijah's love story will be an easy one, but I have hope for them.

Bits:

Okay, so in a previous review I criticized the continuity department with the whole Rebekah/Klaus/Stefan stuff being weird because of Marcel. Well, I was totally wrong. First off those scenes in Vampire Diaries happened during prohibition, and second they occurred in Chicago. Prohibition lasted for thirteen years, and the Mikaelson family left New Orleans at the end of 1919 (which was just before Prohibition started). That means there was more than enough time for Rebekah to grieve over Marcel before encountering Stefan. So oops, my bad.

Loved Marcel beheading Bastiana, she gave me the creeps. Thankfully Genevieve is still around, she has some redeeming qualities. If it was a choice between Genevieve and Davina it wouldn't be as simple, but with Davina back I'm glad Genevieve survived as well.

Did Celeste hint that the only way Hayley and Mikael could have a future is for Hayley to become immortal? Hmmm.

Rebekah called Klaus a "Toerag". This is an old British insult that has fallen out of use and replaced by words like Tosser and Wanker, partially because it wasn't as obscene as those other insults, and partially because it invoked the old class system. A toe rag was a piece of cloth used by vagrants and homeless as a substitute for socks to keep warm. It means a bunch of things like scoundrel, criminal, thief, obnoxious twit, or more generally worthless or indecent.

During the scene in the opera balcony with Klaus and Mikael pictured side by side, their resemblance was pretty striking. And they're not even related. Elijah looks nothing like Mikael. Go figure.

So Davina's death really was supernatural, her body was in perfect condition after at least several days if not weeks that have passed since she died.

Is that really the end of Celeste? It would be fitting.

Celeste's spell to keep Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah in the cemetery is only good until the following moonrise. Unfortunately that's more than enough time for Klaus to do something horrible to Rebekah.

Quotes:

Cami: "Things I never thought I'd be doing: feeding a vampire. My sixteen year old self would think I’m really cool right now."

Cami: "Be a good little boy and get back into bed."
Klaus: "If I had a quid for every time a woman's tried that line on me…"
Cami: "You'd have, like, no money."

Elijah: "A good soprano is never dinner."

Most of my previous reservations about this plot development have been squashed by one really good episode.

4 out of 4 Hidden White Ash Stakes.

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. After last week's slightly disappointing episode, this week felt like a return to form. I have no clue how Klaus' anger towards Rebekah will be resolved, but this was a tremendous bit of back story, and we finally got Davina back.

    And, for the record, 'toe rag' most definitely hasn't fallen out of favour. I hear it all the time. I even say it occasionally. Toe rag! There, I just said it. Myth well and truly busted ;)

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  2. I thought they said "toe rack". I couldn't figure out what a toe rack was. Some sort of strange torture device involving the feet?

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  3. Do spells still work if the witch who casts them dies? I'm thinking they may not be trapped now after all. And I'm fairly certain Marcel will show up with Davina to rescue Rebekah.

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