Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Originals 1.02 Review: A Home is Worthless Without Family


This is your only warning. If you haven’t watched tonight’s episode of The Originals, titled ‘House of the Rising Son’, then now would be a good time to do so. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.
Not a bad episode, not great television, but for the CW network, it’s not a bad series. The actors are pretty, and some of the acting is good, plus it’s set in a beautiful location, so no complaints there. It’s just not as thrilling as it could be, and the writing isn’t tight enough for it to be great television. There is certainly potential for greatness, but with the writers it’s got, it’s highly unlikely that it will capture it.  Plus, there’s a lot of recycled material from other, better series (*cough*Angel*cough*), that it’s really just like the second kid to say a joke because everyone laughed at it when the first kid said it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still tune in from week to week, but my standards won’t be set too high.
We got a bit of a backstory to Marcel this week, and for the most part it was good. I don’t like it that he was the one to betray his desires for Rebecca, and then goes and acts like she was the problem now, but I’m sure we’ll get more to that later. I do like the actor they’ve picked for the role, but he does seem to come across a little too arrogant. And also, what is his deal with Cami (he does like his blondes)? He seems to be fixated on her a little too much. She’s barely been around, but it’s like the King wants a Queen. It’s quite unrealistic; they don’t even know each other well enough. That’s the problem with some of these series’, they set up young kids with unrealistic expectations of love, it’s not natural for someone to be in love (the end all kind) with someone in a matter of days. But I relent.
While I liked the flashbacks scenes that had to do with Marcel, particularly the ones with Rebecca in them as well, I wasn’t too fond of the beginning flashback, with Rebecca’s voiceover. Flashbacks really don’t need voiceovers; they’re unnecessary and rather annoying. But like I said, I enjoyed the ones with Marcel and Rebecca, and I’d definitely liked to see them together a lot more. Though, they need to work a bit on their chemistry. There’s a spark there, but it doesn’t completely feel like flames to me. That feeling they imply they have for each other, about still wanting each other, it almost feels a bit one sided. But I suppose time does change people when you live as long as they can.
Okay, thought here. So Marcel’s asked Davina to find a way to kill an Original. Basically, he could use it against Klaus if he wanted, but that would kill him, because he stems from Klaus’s line. Does he know that? Is he going to get Davina to work some way around that? Because Bonnie couldn’t even do that without putting Klaus in someone else’s body, so it would be unfair if she could. Bonnie is supposed to be the strongest witch, straight from Salem. So what is with this Davina chick? Don’t get me wrong, she’s intriguing, and the father-daughter thing she’s got going on with Marcel compels me to believe he raised her, but there’s no way she’s simply a witch. I’m ridiculously curious to know what it is about her.
Two final notes about the episode, before I sign off for a time. One, I can really see that background of friendship between Phoebe Tonkin, who plays Hayley, and Claire Holt, who plays Rebecca. The two actresses worked together in their homeland of Australia, and it’s easy to read the friendship they have with each other in their characters scenes. It’s a little too easy for the characters, but I understand where it’s coming from.
The other note I have about the episode was the end song. While this series hasn’t bestowed us with the most amazing music, mostly stuff I can’t remember, but I rather liked the closing song for this episode. Sacrilege by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Immediately after I heard it, I went and downloaded. That’s the stuff I want to hear in this series, not nameless garbage.
My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:
“You narcissistic, backstabbing wanker.” – Rebecca yells, calling out for Klaus.
“I’d have greater chance of draining the Mississippi with a straw.” – Klaus yells after Marcel, regarding controlling his sister.
“I’ll have someone see to the air conditioning.” – Klaus tells Hayley, lightening up a deep conversational mood.
“Our home is worthless without family.” – Rebecca apprises Klaus rather poignantly.


Okay, I’m off to go colour my hair, then I think I’ll watch New Girl while it sets. After that it’s Trophy Wife, Supernatural, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

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