An underrated thing about Klaus and Hayley’s final scene talking about Elijah and his red door: Klaus wasn’t trying to tell Hayley not to give up on Elijah romantically (which seems to be many people’s take away, which I for one cannot stand). He was simply telling her what he perceived as the truth. That they’re all monsters. That he is a monster maybe most of all. While Elijah, although having done bad things, did them for reasons that were beyond himself. Which, if you’ve ever kept up with the narrative, know that it is actually not very true. Elijah is often selfish and violent without cause, but he always uses his family as a shield for his crimes, a red door to keep them buried, and a clean suit to appear pure. Vincent has made a point of revealing this more than a few times this season, and Hayley now herself is truly seeing Elijah maybe for the first time ever as he really is. And you know what, I don’t think she likes what she sees. But Klaus, he can’t help but see Elijah as the better brother. He’s always felt indebted to him for standing by his side through it all, and he wants Hayley to see that too. He’s not telling her to run into the arms of his brother with open forgiveness, rather that they’re all terrible creatures as a simple matter of fact. And it’s really sad to see Klaus say that Elijah is the better brother because quite frankly the narrative is leading us to understand that he isn’t. Vincent calls Elijah out on his lack of virtue going so far as to say he is an infection on the city and dangerous to Hope and the rest of his family. Now Vincent is no fan of Klaus, but he praises Klaus for his sacrifice FOR FAMILY by saying that Camille, who is narratively meant to act as a moral compass for the show, would be proud. Now look, the writers of TO may not always be consistent, but this is some blatant pointing at Elijah and his fake morality, and Klaus' development being juxtaposed very consistently this season. They've also made a very strong point to have Hayley's reaction to them both as well. And this scene, ohhhh how this scene kills me because Klaus doesn't know that Elijah hurt Hayley. He doesn't have the ability to see Elijah as he is because his love for his brother and family ACTUALLY IS PURE. He is slowly but surely becoming a good man and, dare I say, the better man. That scene between Klaus and Hayley was not a prop up to hayl*jah at all. Maybe I'm giving the writers to much credit, but it was oozing with irony if you ask me. It was meant to make both us as viewers, and Hayley to really evaluate who Elijah is and who Klaus is now. Actually the whole season is. It's forcing us to hold up these characters side by side and see how they compare. Klaus sees Elijah as he himself presents himself to be: the pure and good brother who always puts family first. He says this to Hayley in that scene. However, we as viewers are meant to catch that maybe how Klaus views himself and his brother might not be the truth. And Hayley is recognizing this. That scene was golden. This season is golden. It's shifting the dynamic between the main three (Klaus, Hayley, and Elijah). In what way, it's hard to say, but the writers have been giving a slow and natural decay of the hayl*jah romance while klayley has been thriving and growing together as a team for Hope and for themselves. That final scene is just more proof of it.
