Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Originals 1.03 Review: In War You Do What's Necessary


All those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of The Originals, entitled ‘Tangled up in Blue’, then I suggest you exit the screen now. As usual, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed at your own discretion.
Aside from the usage of the same jingle that plagues The Vampire Diaries, this was a pretty good episode. The costumes, as always, were quite beautiful, and the way open lighting is used to their advantage is breathtaking. That and the aged sets of where they’ve surrounded themselves with, quite magnificent. It makes me crave to see that New Orleans horizon.
Despite this series being nowhere near the best show ever created, it is still a pleasant hour to spend. For some, it might be called a guilty pleasure, for me it’s my love of the city their in and the drama that can be wrought by beautiful people. Also, the acting isn’t too shabby, despite the writing not always being there, but the actors seem to play it to the best of their abilities. I do think that there’s a little bit of two steps forward, one step back, kind of storytelling; it’s a little harrowing to be honest. But I’ll continue to watch if not for my love of psychotic characters.
While the romances with the characters may not be working out quite well at the moment, it has been set up, at least to my eyes, so that it could work out in the future. Although Marcel has a thing for Cami, it’s very obvious that him and Rebecca would be better suited for each other. And while I’m still struggling to get over the fact that Klaus had feelings for Caroline and she seemed to be the only girl in a thousand years and he’s moving on rather quickly, he could work with Cami. Then there’s Hayley, whom Klaus has gotten pregnant, it’s easy to see the chemistry she has with Elijah, so that neatly wraps all of that in a bow. Although these pairings seem like where the writers are eventually leading to, it’s a little too neat, and makes for little wiggle room with future endeavours. Especially being that this is only the series first season.
Some things I liked about this episode were how well the actress plays Davina out to be so young. I completely believe she’s a fifteen-year-old girl, and almost stalled in her aging at that. Reminds me a bit of Kirsten Dunst’s character in Interview With a Vampire. Also, how much I’m beginning to like the Hayley character. Despite how cliché, unoriginal, and unbelievable it was to make her character pregnant, she’s a lot more interesting on this show, working with the characters she interacts with, rather than on The Vampire Diaries where she was fawning after Tyler. The third thing I was impressed by was how bad I felt for the vampire Thierry after he’d killed the other vampire. He did it to protect the witch he loved, but he still knew it was a terrible act to commit. The raw emotion I felt from the man actually made me feel bad for the guy, despite his being a villain in the series. Although, I suppose that all the characters in this series would be classified a villain by normal context.
However interesting this series is progressing to be, there are still a few questions that I have, including ones about continuity. They said in this episode that Elijah was the oldest brother, and he certainly acted like it, but I could’ve sworn Finn was the eldest brother. Am I miss remembering, or is this continuity issues? Also, what happens during the full moon when Hayley changes? It’s a painful process, and she’s not a hybrid so she can’t stop the change, so would that kill the baby? And if not, is the baby protected by magic? Is that what the witch realized and had spoken in the other language? And, was that other language not Latin? I could’ve sworn it was, but I’m not very versed in old languages other than Latin.
Anyways, I’m definitely intrigued by the mysteries in episodes to come. This not an award worthy series, but it is a decent show to spend a TV junkie like me’s time watching. Plus, if you hadn’t noticed already, I just love New Orleans.
My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:
“In the front, if we’re being specific.” Klaus clarifies where he stabbed Elijah.
“And one compelled minion does not an army make.” – Klaus tells his minion (I love the use of that word, it needs to be used more by people).
“You two chitchat, I need booze.” – Rebecca says to her brother and Cami.
“He was kind to me.” – Hayley tells Klaus, referring to Elijah, saying it in such a gentle way.


All right folks, that’ll be all for tonight. Check back in tomorrow for reviews of Nashville, Revolution, and American Horror Story: Coven. Otherwise, have a nice night.

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