The Originals 1.09 Review: We Rule Together

All those that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of The Originals, entitled ‘Reigning Pain in New Orleans’, I suggest you go do that now before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Despite my belief that Klaus managed to usurp Marcel’s power structure so quickly, this was a decent episode nonetheless. I’m absolutely loving Hayley in this series versus the series she was introduced to us in. She seems to be the most grounded, real character this series has, most likely due to the fact she’s the only one Klaus won’t kill/dagger, as long as she’s – to quote her character in this episode – in the family way.

There was a really nice, tender moment between Klaus and Marcel in this episode, where Klaus explains to Marcel the reasons he took the kingdom from him, and why he wants the body now. This was a surprisingly tender moment for this character, particularly being that he’s not one to let anyone in. Being that this character is supposed to be psychotic though, I’m not sure how integral this was to the story so early on in the series. I am kind of missing the loveable bad ass that Klaus was on The Vampire Diaries.

A few other things to note regarding this week’s installment of the series. I loved the use of a musical beat as Marcel smiles and accepts the equal status Klaus has asked of him. Also, the absolutely wonderful use of language that both Klaus and Elijah exhibit. What is it with the British and their beautiful use of their native tongue? First Sleepy Hollow’s Ichabod speaks so eloquently, and also Klaus and Elijah now. Another thing, I loved the way Davina said to Cami, “Oh, you’ve been compelled.” Just like it’s another walk in the park, as simple as that. And, finally, I have to address the fact that this series somehow has tried to substitute Klaus’s feelings for Caroline by throwing in the similarly blonde Cami. While the scene between them was beautifully acted, it just did not fit with this character, and the fact that Caroline is honestly still it for him. Oh, and I did enjoy the little exchange between Klaus and Hayley where she addresses what will happen to her after the baby is born, and he’s basically stumped in what to tell her.

Basically, this was a decent episode in a series that had a stronger six or seven episode opening. Unfortunately the last two or three episodes have not quite lived up to the earlier episodes, and this series is seeming to become less than a guilty pleasure and more of just something watched out of intrigue. I do believe the showrunners need to get this series back on a track that is suited for these characters and the beautiful city of New Orleans. Sadly, they seem to be managing to run these characters into the ground more than they’re providing well-developed progress.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“You’re Hayley? Klaus’s wife.” – Davina asks. “Ew. No. Never.” – Hayley replies.

“Darling, we have to stop meeting like this, this is how rumours begin.” – Elijah tells the vampire whose throat he clutches.

“You’re choosing him over me, aren’t you? Again.” – Rebekah says to Marcel.

“You don’t make it easy to love you, brother.” – Elijah explains to Klaus.

Okay, I’m off to watch Supernatural now, and afterwards it’s Trophy Wife. Stay tuned.

The Originals 1.08 Review: Fear is Not the Same Thing as Loyalty

For all those that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of The Originals, entitled ‘The River in Reverse’, here is where I suggest you go do that before proceeding ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

I’m not sure how to dictate my feelings towards this episode. It seems like all of this was culminating, but almost like we got to the end of the chapter far too quickly. Klaus gained control of the kingdom by having Marcel swear allegiance to him, but it seems like this has happened way too early in this series. I thought for sure that this would at least play out until the end of the season, but I suppose this and The Vampire Diaries are ones to have half-season arcs, rather than full season arcs that made Buffy the Vampire Slayer work so well. Yes, this episode had its moments, but it didn’t work quite as well as it could have, had it done a season long arc.

For the first five minutes of this episode, I blissfully forgot that Tyler had hopped over to this series. And then we came around to the scene of planning an attack against Klaus, and there he was, in all his terrible glory. At least Rebekah snapped his neck and he now appears to be in the garden for some time, at least I hope. They really didn’t need to keep Tyler around on this series passed that one episode he did two weeks ago; he doesn’t fit in this world, and he always manages to ruin Hayley’s character whenever they’re around one another. Plus he’s gone so far off the deep end that it would really be nice if he would go away, permanently.

Marcel and Bekah working together and being together is another little issue I had. It was easy to see their attraction towards each other, even with the obstacle of him having affection for Cami – which was terribly written out – but they got together far too quickly. While this series has managed to have its good moments, it seems to be wanting to progress things far too quickly than it should, and Marcel and Rebekah was one of those things.

There were a couple things I did like about this episode. One was definitely when Klaus wiped the floor with all those vampires, especially when he gave them his hybrid face. Another was when Rebekah told Marcel to take the coin. And the third was Hayley’s hair. That girl has some gorgeously maintained locks that I would desperately like to get my hands on.

Overall, I’m becoming more iffy on this series. I expected more from Elijah’s fever dreams, as well as more about Hayley’s lineage that we did get. The girl’s supposed to descend from some royal werewolf line, but her family lives in a bayou? I get that they were driven out by Marcel, but why stay near there? They’re not the witches; they don’t depend on ancestral magic to stay werewolves. But still, I am enjoying parts of this series, I just desperately wish that Caroline was here already. I don’t like the way their writing Cami, at all, even if the actress does the part well, I just want Caroline.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Remind me to annihilate your brother when you get healthy.” – Hayley says. “Yes, remind me to remind you to get in line.” – Elijah replies.

“I doubt you’d trust your own reflection.” – Cami tells Klaus, hitting it right on the nail.

“It’s an ancient mystical plot I’m using to destroy you.” – Cami informs Klaus, dryly, before revealing it to be doodles for a tattoo idea.

“Yes, it is ironic discussing freewill with a mind-controlling vampire.” – Father Kieran mutters.

Okay, I’m off to watch Supernatural now, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. afterwards. Stay tuned.

The Originals 1.06 Review: No One Hurts Family and Lives to Talk About It

Anyone that has yet to watch Tuesday night’s episode of The Originals, entitled ‘Fruit of the Poisoned Tree’, now is your last chance to do so without the threat of spoilers before reading ahead. As always, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This series is such a guilty pleasure for me because I absolutely love it. It doesn’t always end up moving the way I expect, or want, it to go, but I keep tuning in every week and enjoying this series to no end. Perhaps it’s partly due to my deep love for all things New Orleans, or even my masterful crush on series lead Joseph Morgan, but either way I just love this series. It’s not the best, nor most intellectual of series I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing, but it is a good, enjoyable watch.

One thing I absolutely love about this series is its strange, but strong family values. The Mikaelson’s are such a screwed up family unit, but the bond they have to each other is amazing. Being a person that has a strong family value myself, I quite admire their family unit. They won’t think twice about murder, but at least they have each other, even if they sometimes screw up.

My two favourite elements to this series are definitely Klaus and Elijah, and while it is Klaus’s series to an extent, Elijah is beginning to steal the focus of this show. I love Joseph Morgan and Klaus, but Elijah’s honour and dependability in his word just makes him such a class act that I both yearn for and enjoy watching. He definitely has that older brother vibe, always having to take care of his younger siblings, although I still swear Finn was the oldest, and while I, myself, only have one sibling I understand the desire to protect and almost take care of the younger siblings – although I don’t hold as steadfast to my word and am closer to Klaus in my selfish, stubbornness.

Two subtle moments to this episode that I absolutely adored were when Hayley smiled after Elijah corrected himself in saying they may need to kill everyone, and when Klaus smiled after Elijah ripped out the hearts of the witches in the church. Such brilliance in something so subtle, which makes me undoubtedly believe the cinematography in this series, is absolutely well done. It may not have the most original ideas when it comes to writing, but the acting and the way it is shot is especially well done.

Even a day after having watched the episode, I have this excited feeling in my chest that I get when I watch or read an especially moving piece of work. A feeling that tells me I am in love with an idea or a string of scenes, and this series is definitely beginning to get that. As I lose interest in The Vampire Diaries, this series gains my interest. It could be that these people are gorgeous and that it has yet to especially let me down due to it not having aired very long, but I have hope that it will continue to grow into something exciting and fresh. Back when I heard that this idea of a spinoff was in the works, I desperately hoped it wouldn’t come to fruition, but after having watched it these last six episodes, I find that instinct quite wrong. Still, the one thing that is missing is Caroline.

When it was first introduced, I thought the idea of Hayley pregnant, a character I couldn’t stand on The Vampire Diaries but have grown to love on this series, was just an idea stolen from Angel. Now I’ve grown to actually find this tantalizing storytelling, something The Vampire Diaries has mostly lost. Maybe all the good (and I say that very lightly) writers have left that series for this one, because this one is easily better than its predecessor. I’m just really not looking forward to having Tyler on this series, we finally just got rid of him on The Vampire Diaries, why does he have to come and probably ruin Hayley’s character on here?

The one thing I have real issue with on this series is the character of Cami. I just find her useless, and just something in the way of Klaroline, and to distract all of those shippers (of which I will honestly say that I am apart of) from that having been written into the mothership series. I could care less about her character now that Klaus has ruined her character by bringing her into things, but only when he’s near her. It’s just too much fluff for my taste. Yeah, sure, the actress is very good in the part, the emotion of her character’s woes comes across quite easily, but I just don’t find she’s necessary to the story.

All in all, I adore this series. This week’s episode fit quite well coming out of last week’s episode that told the story behind Davina and her extreme amount of witchy power. There was a definite race against the clock type feel to it that came from Elijah and Klaus trying to unlink Hayley from Sophie, to save Hayley’s baby. And I can hardly wait for the next episode to find out what happened to Hayley and where she went. It was probably necessary to get Rebekah to stick around, but I’m curious nonetheless. This series has a lot more going for it than it’s predecessor.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Probably no one. (Pause) Alright, potentially everyone.” – Elijah utters, about who they’ll have to kill.

“I feel like I’ve been microwaved.” – Hayley states about the curse that was put on Sophie to get to Hayley’s baby.

Yay, only one more review to catch up on and it should be pretty easy. Stick around for my review of Supernatural. Then I’m going to watch Revolution and American Horror Story: Coven and review those. Happy watching!

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.

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.