5.02 - 'One Wrong Turn On Bourbon' (The Originals)
I didn't expect to write this episode up, but after finally getting to watch it tonight, here I am. Not very wordy, but still, here it is.
I really like Hope. (Yup, pre-cut character of whom I spoke.) And I really like the relationship that we are seeing between her and Klaus. The backstory of how and why he stopped communicating, the callback to Cami’s journals about Klaus and how Hope used the same tricks. Hope using her own tricks on Klaus and then him turning the tables on her. Joseph Morgan and Danielle Rose Russell not only look remarkably like father and daughter, but also have fantastic chemistry and play off each beautifully.
The other relationships were very well done as well. The friendship between Freya (I love her so much) and Vincent remains wonderful, as does her devotion to her family… even as it comes at the cost to the one with Keelin. *sigh* All the beats leading up to their final scene where Freya told her to leave were perfectly played out. I hated every moment, but not a single note was false. I completely understood why Freya did what she did, and I know that Keelin did as well. It didn’t make it any less heartbreaking.
The small moments with Marcel and Klaus, Marcel and Hope, Hope and Declan, Marcel and Josh, all of them were again well done. I know I’m not Carina Addy McKenzie’s biggest fan (*sigh*), but I can’t deny this was a very well-crafted episode. Not only were the established relationships handled well, but the newest one-only briefly touched upon the premiere-Hope and Roman was given a good introduction as well. I quite liked our teen potential romance, I must say.
Aside from the character beats, the plot mechanics were nicely done too. The Hayley reveal wasn’t slammed over our head, I didn’t think. At least for me it wasn’t. It wasn’t until a moment or two we saw that it was Hope that threw Klaus off Declan that I remembered that Hayley had been taken down in the same fashion that I realized, ‘Oh, man, it was Hope.’ I also really liked how Klaus handled the reveal. He was angry, but he also realized Hope is not just any child… she is special and there are major extenuating circumstances at play here. And in the end when Hayley was truly, and violently, missing he full-on took the blame, doing the most to assuage Hope’s guilt. Good on Klaus.
OK, randoms…
- Alaric mention! Lizzie Saltzman mention! Woohoo!
- Declan (a.k.a. Torrence Combs remains pretty. I do not think he's evil now which means he will be dead soon.)
- I admit I totally thought that it was Hope coming to free Henry from the entombment at first until we saw her meeting Roman at his care at the end.
- So will Hope wind up being the end of them all? Nah, I'm going with Vincent's belief that she will save them all. Booyah!
- So much for Marcel’s big speech. That’s going to hurt his crown appeal. Uh huh.
- Freya and Vincent’s friendship is adorable.
- The reference to Aurora was hilarious. Hah!
- I know it’s only been two episodes, but this final season of The Originals feels way more character than plot-heavy than the final season of The Vampire Diaries and it makes me think even more that I may have been right. When the that final season was conceived they thought they would have a full 22 episodes like usual and so intended a normal plot-heavy season that would allow for the normal rich, character stuff that would have resolution. However, when that order was reduced to 16 instead, some of that plot *and* character stuff and resolution got cut. Knowing with this final season that there would only 13 episodes from the on-set, Julie Plec and company were able to plan as such from the get-go. It’s possible. (This is, of course, not to say that I still didn’t love the final season of The Vampire Diaries overall.)
Anyhoo, good episode. Surprisingly good enough that I wrote this up even with limited feedback and no Caroline, Alaric, Mystic Falls, Elijah *or* Rebekah present!
I really like Hope. (Yup, pre-cut character of whom I spoke.) And I really like the relationship that we are seeing between her and Klaus. The backstory of how and why he stopped communicating, the callback to Cami’s journals about Klaus and how Hope used the same tricks. Hope using her own tricks on Klaus and then him turning the tables on her. Joseph Morgan and Danielle Rose Russell not only look remarkably like father and daughter, but also have fantastic chemistry and play off each beautifully.
The other relationships were very well done as well. The friendship between Freya (I love her so much) and Vincent remains wonderful, as does her devotion to her family… even as it comes at the cost to the one with Keelin. *sigh* All the beats leading up to their final scene where Freya told her to leave were perfectly played out. I hated every moment, but not a single note was false. I completely understood why Freya did what she did, and I know that Keelin did as well. It didn’t make it any less heartbreaking.
The small moments with Marcel and Klaus, Marcel and Hope, Hope and Declan, Marcel and Josh, all of them were again well done. I know I’m not Carina Addy McKenzie’s biggest fan (*sigh*), but I can’t deny this was a very well-crafted episode. Not only were the established relationships handled well, but the newest one-only briefly touched upon the premiere-Hope and Roman was given a good introduction as well. I quite liked our teen potential romance, I must say.
Aside from the character beats, the plot mechanics were nicely done too. The Hayley reveal wasn’t slammed over our head, I didn’t think. At least for me it wasn’t. It wasn’t until a moment or two we saw that it was Hope that threw Klaus off Declan that I remembered that Hayley had been taken down in the same fashion that I realized, ‘Oh, man, it was Hope.’ I also really liked how Klaus handled the reveal. He was angry, but he also realized Hope is not just any child… she is special and there are major extenuating circumstances at play here. And in the end when Hayley was truly, and violently, missing he full-on took the blame, doing the most to assuage Hope’s guilt. Good on Klaus.
OK, randoms…
- Alaric mention! Lizzie Saltzman mention! Woohoo!
- Declan (a.k.a. Torrence Combs remains pretty. I do not think he's evil now which means he will be dead soon.)
- I admit I totally thought that it was Hope coming to free Henry from the entombment at first until we saw her meeting Roman at his care at the end.
- So will Hope wind up being the end of them all? Nah, I'm going with Vincent's belief that she will save them all. Booyah!
- So much for Marcel’s big speech. That’s going to hurt his crown appeal. Uh huh.
- Freya and Vincent’s friendship is adorable.
- The reference to Aurora was hilarious. Hah!
- I know it’s only been two episodes, but this final season of The Originals feels way more character than plot-heavy than the final season of The Vampire Diaries and it makes me think even more that I may have been right. When the that final season was conceived they thought they would have a full 22 episodes like usual and so intended a normal plot-heavy season that would allow for the normal rich, character stuff that would have resolution. However, when that order was reduced to 16 instead, some of that plot *and* character stuff and resolution got cut. Knowing with this final season that there would only 13 episodes from the on-set, Julie Plec and company were able to plan as such from the get-go. It’s possible. (This is, of course, not to say that I still didn’t love the final season of The Vampire Diaries overall.)
Anyhoo, good episode. Surprisingly good enough that I wrote this up even with limited feedback and no Caroline, Alaric, Mystic Falls, Elijah *or* Rebekah present!