The Originals 1x4
I like how the “previously on” segments are used, and I hope the show continues to rotate the narrators in the way it has so far. The intros are not just situating us into the storyline, but they give us a peek into any major player’s spin on the story so far. Appropriately enough, these characters don’t write “diaries,” they’re more into memoirs. The Originals, especially Klaus, are even more self-important than they are objectively important as an unnatural aberration. While they don’t have any moral entitlement to this kind of authority over the stories of others, they do have the power, so that’s where it’s at.
I’m pleasantly surprised at how the show is managing to handle its “YA GoT” mission statement. Like, it really is unreasonable to expect that the power plays made in The Originals be as sophisticated and subtle as the ones in GoT, because that’s a very adult target audience, and lbr, even with access to meticulously detailed books half the GoT audience misses a fair amount of the shit that goes down in Westeros. The Originals moves a little slower and has its major players spell out their philosophies and strategies, and I think that works.
Part of why it seems to be working so far is the way it’s consciously sidestepping the usual assumed norms of fantasy stories. This is not about good triumphing over evil, or about evil proving its worldliness over good. In this episode, The Originals stakes its claim as optimistic realism. Klaus presents a pretty straightforward argument for self-interest being amoral rather than evil, and I’d say that’s fair enough in the universal abstract. (Vampires = evil is also a perfectly fair heuristic for humans, ofc, but we’re not in human POV.) And I’m there. But I also agree with Cami, that people do want to be good.
I was kind of at my default “like her just fine” with Cami until this episode, but our darling mini-Melfi really popped this time around. Cami handles pain and fear by trying to understand it. She has a list of diagnoses and explanations for everyone, and a thoughtful explanation for everything. Klaus tells her she’s his pawn in a terrifying war and she tries to figure out what he’s doing to her brain; she loses her twin, half of herself, and she sets to obsessing as if understanding will give her any closure. And Klaus is correct that it won’t, though of course he doesn’t have any moral right to act on that.
Davina’s unvarnished homeschooled vibe, and her creepy-child raw power, are really interesting to me, and she and Tim were totally believable as besotted teenagers. I liked getting more insight into her, and how she fits into the whole picture. Davina mostly trusts Marcel, but she does lie to him about Tim for reasons she doesn’t seem to have thought about. I think that partnership could go some really interesting places as a parallel to the boys and Becks. Davina’s ability to make blood boil is far more powerful against Marcel than against Klaus, which I think is illustrative of the contrasts between Marcel and Klaus. Marcel rules with his head. He’s the king because he is smart and that means staying calm. Basically, Marcel is the person Elijah likes to flatter himself that he is. But Davina’s less successful with Klaus, who can afford to operate on brute force and thrives on anger. All trying to make his blood boil does is piss him off and show that he's getting to you, and therefore double his incentive to lash out the way he wants to do anyway.
WHAT DID I SAY OVER THE SUMMER about Elijah being obliviously deluded about his diplomatic skills because he had Hulklaus around to terrorize people into acting into their best interests anyway?! And sure enough, that’s exactly what happens here. Elijah decides he’s going to be the one to save the day with his brilliant words, and while he’s languishing around playing with his dagger, Klaus is flinging fiddlers off roofs and forcing Davina to be on their side anyway. I wonder if they’re half so effective when they’re trying to play good cop/rabid cop. But they’re siblings, and they’re formed around each other in the way siblings are. I like the looks we’re getting at the relationship between Elijah and Rebekah.
Also I love that there are different factions of witches? Some of them are on board with Sophie’s alliance with Klaus, and some of them are openly sabotaging it - and I totally believe that everyone has their reasons. The Originals don’t always agree with each other, but they protect their interests. Everyone has their reasons, and that's what makes things work for me.
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