A Review of the CW’s “The Originals” by Tiffany A. White
For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of the supernatural on TV. Since the conclusion of Charmed and Buffy, I found a small void in my television viewing that needed to be filled. Luckily for me, and the rest of the female population, we did have one program to keep us entertained in the meantime—Supernatural—but I’m greedy and wanted more. Which is why when the CW launched The Vampire Diaries, I immediately set my DVR.
To me, there are three main characters of The Vampire Diaries: Elena Gilbert, Stefan Salvatore, and Damon Salvatore. Now for whatever reason, I’ve never been an Elena or a Stefan fan. However, Damon caught my eye and captured my heart from the get go.
But The Vampire Diaries is more than just Elena and the Salvatore brothers. First, we have the three high school boys that make up Elena’s inner circle: Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler. Next, we have Elena’s best friends: Bonnie and Caroline. Not only are all five of these supporting cast members absolutely gorgeous, they’re likable… even when they act like the jock who’s better than everyone else (Tyler), or the ex-boyfriend who continues to be a doormat (Matt), or the little brother who will do anything to fit in (Jeremy), or the cheerleader who has to lead every single school activity… her way (Caroline).
Heck, even a few of the late-comers won me over more than Elena and Stefan ever have. Take the older Alaric as an example. Perhaps I liked Alaric because he was closer to my age, as well as a nice piece of eye candy. But even when he was a hunter and he was trying to kill the vampire population, I still had a small TV crush on him.
Throughout the seasons, each character has become more and more evolved as well, building stronger and stronger individual arcs and making viewers, like me, appreciate them more than I already did.
And as the seasons roll by, the same remains true: I find myself still preferring everyone BUT Elena and Stefan—even the “bad” vamps (Katherine, Rebekah, and the super-sexy Klaus).
Klaus… let’s talk about him.
We first met Klaus season two and watched the bad-boy vamp as he killed Elena’s and Jeremy’s Aunt Jenna right in front of us. Bad, right? Just flat out mean! So why do I love the character so much?
Because over the seasons, like many of the other characters, Klaus has evolved.
Klaus—the evil Original with the sexy accent… I’ve actually wanted to hug Klaus multiple times, and he’s supposed to be the BIG EVIL of the show. Poor Klaus is so misunderstood and he really does let his feelings get the best of him, like any one of the multiple times he has come to the realization after the fact that Caroline is only playing his feelings for her to get what she and the group needs from him. And Big Bad Klaus really does love his family, as evident when he witnessed his brother’s death at the Gilbert house last season… even if he has previously daggered each sibling so they don’t interfere with his plans.
But The Vampire Diaries can’t really be all about Klaus, now can it? Not when Elena, Stefan, and Damon are the main characters of the show. And not when the supporting cast already has as many characters as it does with Matt, Jeremy, Tyler, Bonnie, and Caroline. That’s a lot of screen time to share. So what’s the next best thing for Klaus?
Give Klaus an opportunity at his own show! Originally airing as an episode of The Vampire Diaries on April 24th, viewers caught a glimpse of what it would be like having Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah outside Mystic Falls. Instead of hanging out at all the same locations as our TVD kids, this backdoor pilot took us to New Orleans. This then potential spinoff followed our favorite Originals and introduced us to a few new vamps, witches, and humans, as well as brought along Tyler’s seductive werewolf friend, Haley.
Within a day of the backdoor pilot airing on the CW, The Originals was given the green light.
I watched it. And I liked it. It was a breath of fresh air, stepping away from boring Elena and Stefan. The pilot had it all—Klaus’ old vampire running mates (conflict), witches and their spells (more conflict), the promise of a hybrid baby (surely this won’t be without conflict), and King Klaus (who is conflict all by himself).
The only thing missing was my beloved Damon.
So, having already seen The Originals first episode, I already know I’ll tune in for more. For a pilot, it really wasn’t all that slow, nor did it throw too much information at the viewers all at once. I’m sure that’s because the characters were already developed through their seasons on The Vampire Diaries, but still—it’s a bonus for the new program. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if I watch Klaus and the gang before I press play on my boy Damon every week, no matter how much I love him…
*****
Tiffany A. White is the author of the YA mystery “Football Sweetheart” series. She blogs at The Ooo Factor and is available for contact via Twitter at , Facebook at , or by email at .
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