The Originals 1.04 Review: Where Allegiances Lie

For any that have yet to watch last night’s episode of The Originals, entitled ‘Girl in New Orleans’, I suggest you go and do so now. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

For a series that isn’t the greatest thing to grace television, I sure don’t like it when the episode is done. Perhaps the characters provide for interesting dilemmas, or maybe it’s how much I really do love New Orleans, but either way this series is growing on me. The writing’s not great, and the actors are a little too pretty but it is a decent series to spend an hour a week watching. I only wish The Vampire Diaries was this intriguing still.

The character of Cami was given a fair amount of backstory this week. I have to say that I am intrigued by the acts her brother committed. Might I add how beautifully shot that brief flashback was? I also enjoyed the performance from the priest in this episode. While I saw it coming that he would ingest vervain, how broken up he was about the murders was quite moving. Again, can I just say how much I enjoy Hayley on this series as opposed to The Vampire Diaries? She’s a much better character, and actress, playing against all of these other characters. The way she acted in this episode was wonderful, killing her actors, and then fainting into Klaus’s arm at the end. Still, I’m curious to know why they want her dead. We got to see more of Davina this week, and she’s a perplexing character. I definitely want to know more in reference to her abilities and her background, as well as how her and Elijah will interact with each other.

This series is something of a guilty pleasure, but I don’t mind that. The actors are pretty, I’m still intrigued by what is going to happen, and I look forward to the episodes and the music each week. Sure, I could write circles around these writers, and there’s only so long this story will be able to survive, but for now it’s a nice easy watch each week. Not great, but good.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Line:

“If I had a dollar for every mess my family’s gotten me into.” – Rebecca mutters.

Okay, I’m going to go take a break now. Check back in later for my review of Supernatural.

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.