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AN ORIGINALS ASK!!!!!

okay so was watching originals ep 1 and what gets me confused is klaus reaction to the baby news. yeah, he’s like so ??? and what’s up and ur LYING but what confuses me is — his journey to accepting it and by the end of the ep, changing his mind.

like he genuinely seemed like he was okay abt saying u can kill them off but did seem like he’d react badly if he did happen. and that he didn’t want to think about the baby but he was affected. and I do wonder the partial reason he was like idgaf and was like kill them is because Elijah was there and he’d be trying to save them baby??? but also seems like a very klaus thing to say one thing and regret/react badly about it (not explaining it well but yeah)

and also I know it was something that Elijah said after they had their lil fight (which was beautiful<3) that got thro to klaus but exactly it was… not sure and ahaha I wonder why it was *this* time that worked and not the rest. like I feel like I could get it if I digged deeper and looked at each sides, maybe but idk my brain isn’t getting it rn.

also HDJJDJDJ lmao I was so surprised when Rebekah was so??? offhanded??? About Elijah telling her about the baby?? I feel like she’d be affected and care somehow???? Like idk something a bit off about how she just wanted Elijah to just leave and “are we an orphanage now” djdjdjdj. like it both made sense and tots not at all for her to say stuff like that cuz it seemed like she seemed totally???? unaffected???? and unbothered?????

I mean we don’t see her actual reaction to when Elijah tell hers and just cuts to her already knowing it.

also Hilarious, I didn’t realise at how prevalent presence Rebekah’s presence was in ep one??? like so funny after something happens we cut to Elijah updating news to his sister HFJJDJDJD and I love that Rebekah looked like she’d been in the bath for that whole time. I mean she was in her bathroom next time we cut to that, but she could have just been lazing it but hilarious of her. I keep forgetting that originals is a continuation from tvd and not separate whole thing where they just shift to the New Orleans setting

ALSO DJDJDJN KNOWING THEIR HISTORY is so hilarious how they act towards marcel being alive 😂😂😂 especially Rebekah fjfjfjfj I mean they were shocked but also we would Not know their history of family being close to marcel like that and dying by their father. ALSO PLS

not marcel being like to klaus u ran away or etc about the city but um. wasn’t u and Rebekah who called mikael and drove him away? after it went bad in the worst way cuz u know the plan sucked anyways. it was mikael (that Is How to spell his name right??)) pls i love them

and klaus reacting Badly the moment Sophie starts to say if you do exactly this way or whatever the approximate. lmao the way you see his face Change in real time and Elijah reacting in the bg, like oh she really shouldn’t have said that. ALSO LOVE how lmaoooo pls klaus hearing what Marcel was saying and very obviously not liking it and breaking his rules and teething (djjdjdjd omg I love referring to wolf bites like that, it’s hilarious) and anyways, teething thealous or whatever his name was and marcel obviously not be able to do anything about it and HOW AT THE END OF THE EP….. HE ASKS SHIT WHAT WAS HER NAME I — DAVINA !!!! and what a fun thing it was to see herrrr omg feels like a life time IT WAS THE START OF THEIR ORIGINS !!!!!!! ERA!!!!!

And obessed with klaus giving Elijah to marvel STOP TYPOUNH MARCEL AS MARVEL, ME. anyways cuz I really don’t think he would have done this if it was another person???? I mean Stephen…..Stefan….! Yeah Stefan, pretty sure had his family coffins. But I think he stole it??? But also interesting that he says family is weakness or whatever but he literally gives him to marcel lmao, which idk shows how he trusts marcel on some level which is interesting.

stopping myself here before it starts to become a commentary on ep one ahhaha <3 I SAY THIS BUT I LOVE HOW I WAS READING OVER WHAT I JUST SAID TO MAKE SURE I WAS SAYING IT AND I ENDED UP ADDING A BUNCH OF COMMENTARY pls im hilarious

OKAY THATS IT!!!!!! YUKI OUT!!!! djjfjfjf

Omg Yuki I LOVE this ask. I have a love/hate relationship with the pilot episode because, like I’ve said before, it’s less of an episode and more setup and recap of everything the Originals are about and have experienced thus far in the tvdu. Most of it is covered in the tvd’s backdoor pilot in a much more conventionally audience-hooking way. If you’ve seen the backdoor pilot, TO 1x01 is a complete retread. If you haven’t seen tvd or the backdoor pilot, you’re inundated with exposition and a cascade of characters you don’t yet care about. The only thing that really hooks people is the acting, specifically from Joseph and Daniel.

I do love the way Klaus is acting, because whether or not you’re familiar with our favorite drama-queen hybrid from tvd, it’s clear he’s in dire straits. Joseph Morgan’s silence speaks just as many volumes as his shouts. It’s clear the idea of the baby, of him having a child, affects him greatly. But right away, before he can even unpack it as something he would want, his paranoia kicks in. He’s been fighting a—kind-of imaginary—war for centuries against his enemies! He can’t afford any kind of weakness! And a baby? Is the ultimate weakness.

So when he says “kill her and the baby. What do I care,” he’s LYING! He’s pretending he doesn’t want any of that, because the all-powerful king has no use for a child or a paramour. You’re right—he’s trying not to think about what a baby could mean to him.

Elijah is two steps ahead, already imagining what a child could do for Klaus’s psyche. He’s that guy who has a kid to save his marriage fr :’) and yes, I love the long, eloquent speech he makes to get Klaus to listen, and Klaus just waits til the end and says “no ❤️” because he’s That Bitch. You wondered what it was the second time around that Elijah said that got Klaus to listen, and to be honest I’m not sure it was anything he said. I think it was the physical fight—that Elijah got hands-dirty violent with him, forcing Klaus to get violent back…and then Elijah backed down. He let Klaus beat him, so to speak. He sat on the ground, defeated in a way, and still asked Klaus to join him. And then that laugh—it’s so bitter and world-weary, but you know from that moment that Elijah’s got him. He’s convinced. Now it’s just a question of how much longer Klaus will drag his feet admitting that Elijah’s convinced him. (It takes the rest of the episode, sadly)

Now Rebekah—you’re right, I’ve always been a little puzzled by her indifference in the pilot. Because no, she doesn’t know Hayley, nor does she care about witch politics, but this is the immortal girl who’d kill to be human. Who’d kill to have a family and a spouse to grow old with. Wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity for her? Well, if Nik doesn’t want the baby, I’ll take it. (Cue the AU in which Rebekah runs away with Hayley at the very beginning…) My only guess is that she hasn’t fully connected the baby with her family yet. She is still very much vampire royalty, and she has a hard time seeing humans as worthy of her time. Who is this random werewolf tramp claiming Nik knocked her up? Why is Elijah falling over himself to save her? Why can’t I just have a nice vacation away from my brothers and pretend I’m human for a bit?

(Elijah stopping every five seconds to update Rebekah on the NOLA tea is also hilarious in retrospect. “Hay gurl, remember the boyfriend before your current one? Our adopted son? Yeah, that one. He’s alive and Klaus is having a pissing contest with him. Yeah you should come watch.”)

Also! Fantastic point about Klaus giving Elijah to Marcel! Klaus is a control freak, especially about his daggered siblings. Contrast this to when Stefan steals the coffins in tvd—he loses his absolute shit. Yet he just? Hands Elijah over to Marcel? No muss, no fuss? Yes, it’s a part of the long game he’s playing. But the trust he has in Marcel, even with their current pissing contest, is unparalleled. Especially since Marcel immediately tells Davina to find a way to kill him.

Messy! Is the best word I can use to describe this pilot. It’s ridiculously messy, especially compared to the rest of the season. But it does help set up the kind of political machinations that will dominate the story—the backstage conversations where all the sausage is made, while the political theater up front is all smiles and facades. I love it in all its CW-style ~complexity~ and…yeah, I want to start season 1 again. Thanks, Yuki!

#asks #beloved yuki #if you do watch more episodes please do update me! i love your liveblogs <3 #the originals #to 1x01 #klaus mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #marcel gerard #ridiculous show i’ll love it forever #long post #kylerrambles

So now that I've gone back to the beginning... I need your impressions on the pilot of TO. Things you love. Things you hate (if any). Things you love to hate about it. Did you know when you first saw it that you were going to become addicted to these lovely murder children? Also, it's been a while, so I can't remember, but do we ever see Marcel wearing a beanie in ANY other episode?🤭 That's probably a weird detail to fixate on, but looking back it seems so OOC for him.

Christina, you may regret sending me this ask 😉 once I start talking about The Originals, I’m liable to never shut up.

So. Pilot. I will admit, the first time I watched it I was rather on autopilot (hee). I’d been bingeing tvd, and while it hadn’t gotten awful yet, it was formulaic and cliche. The Mikaelsons on tvd, while still fundamentally the same characters I’d grow to love and go insane over, were written as stereotypical villains. They were written as though they had a long and storied history together, and yet they still acted like impulsive high schoolers. They annoyed me with their constant back and forth, their love and unity in one episode, and their hatred and discord in the next. They simply acted however the plot needed them to as opposition to the tvd protagonists. (We will still see this tempestuous dynamic in TO, but it will be much more nuanced!)

So while I was intrigued by the spinoff based on them, I wasn’t quite sure how it would work. Klaus, while he had been infected with the classic tvd villain decay (the once terrifyingly formidable threat is gradually—or all at once—defeated but sticks around and becomes toothless yet snarky) was still staunchly portrayed as a Bad Guy. He was mean, ruthless, killed without compunction, betrayed his family and allies whenever it suited him, and generally showed no remorse for any of it.

The backdoor pilot sets up this conflict between Klaus and Marcel, a new character who was at first portrayed to be a tyrant Just Like Klaus And Maybe Even Worse. I remember being worried about that, about Klaus’s look of hesitation? discomfort? when Marcel killed a witch in front of his cheering gang of nightwalkers. Like, Klaus has done that and worse? Why is he put off by this?

I’ll be honest, the pilot had me under the impression that Klaus and Marcel would go head to head, and the first season would end with Klaus taking the city. Maybe the second season would explore Klaus not being a good ruler, but ultimately he would triumph over the Evil Monster He Created, Marcel.

I’ve never been more happy to be wrong.

Since my initial viewing and subsequent binges of TO, I’ve watched the pilot probably a hundred times at least? Enough to have whole scenes memorized, enough to spot the footage sewn into the episode from the backdoor pilot, enough to notice all the weird narrative and dialogue loopholes they have to climb through to make this different from tvd’s backdoor pilot yet convey the same setup of the plot, while also welcoming new viewers who have never watched tvd and know nothing about this campy, bloody universe. I can pick out the ADR’d lines and cringe at the weird expository dialogue. I can point like the Leo DiCaprio meme at all the foreshadowing and recite Elijah’s dumb stupid heartfelt speech right along with him.

The pilot is by no means my favorite episode, because functionally nothing Happens except decisions—but it still has some incredible moments.

I love that Cami’s first appearance on the show is with Elijah—it establishes their little relationship easily, even though they’re functionally bonding over Klaus, the main character of the universe. (I really wish they’d kept her scene with Klaus in, though!)

I love Elijah’s first meeting with Hayley. Honestly, on first viewing I picked up none of the romantic chemistry. These were simply two key characters meeting and getting to know each other! Never mind that he places his hands on her head and tells her intimate details about his life…I’m dumb sometimes, okay? But the flashbacks are fun. (And by fun I mean they hurt!)

I love Elijah’s conversations with Klaus. I love that a second one, with a fight, was added for the series pilot. It places Elijah’s narrative sway much higher than the backdoor pilot did with his one unsuccessful speech (which Klaus answers with a “no ❤️” like the little brat he is). It establishes their bond and its importance so well. How entangled they truly are. How Elijah’s behavior we’ve seen thus far (on tvd) is actually wildly deviant from his norm, something akin to a midlife crisis for him. His true nature is the big brother who seeks Klaus’s redemption as atonement for his failure a millennium ago.

I actually, unironically, love Marcel’s beanie! I wish he’d worn one more often. Accessories are often used to help establish character when we first start a story, but sometimes they disappear as we get to know the character and no longer need anything but the bare minimum (see how Dean Winchester’s “bad boy” look went from leather jacket, ring, bracelets, necklace, and overly gelled hair to generic plaid layers over spn’s run). Marcel is ancient but not—chic, stylish, and full of *youthful arrogance.* That’s what I get from his pilot characterization—also his singing in the backdoor pilot! It establishes him as a clear foil to Klaus in every way, including style and personality.

I love the ending! I love Klaus stabbing his brother. He is still awful, and he is not suddenly going to become the hero. I love his cold acceptance of Hayley and the baby despite his want for her going deep. I love the ghost of Mikael hovering over the whole show, and the different ways Klaus and Elijah are still trying to defeat him.

As for things I hate, there’s not much I outright hate about the pilot—just things I lament. Cami only has one scene in the ep, right at the beginning. If we hadn’t already met her in the backdoor pilot (which funnily enough established her as an important character who Will Be Back much better) I might’ve thought her an extra. I want her deleted scenes back in! Her meetings with Klaus, and her second meeting with Elijah. To those who never watched the backdoor pilot, they will never know the importance of that painting. That night, the jazz, the crowd. A very important scene in season 3 is rendered useless because they cut these scenes! And that makes me sad, show!

I also never bought that Rebekah wouldn’t care about a baby. I get that she’s mad at Klaus when the pilot happens, but Rebekah’s singular wish for the whole of tvd’s season 4 was to be human and have a family. I think she would’ve cared a little more for a potential baby than the pilot shows us. She can write Klaus off, sure, and she can be indifferent towards Hayley at first—but when Elijah tells her we’re gonna be parents! I don’t think her response would just be no thanks.

Things I love to hate about it…all the clunky exposition is painful, especially now that I’ve watched the episode so much. This show is high camp, and everything is weird always. The pilot is more setup than actual plot, but it does its job. It sets everyone up on their paths—and it fooled me into thinking this show would be even slightly straightforward. I love it.