I need you to talk to me about The Originals 1x04 (Don't hold back. Please and thank you😉)
Hmm. Hmm. Okay. Good episode. So far we’ve had Klaus and Hayley both decide that they want the baby. Rebekah has arrived and agreed to help find Elijah—as well as protect Hayley and the baby. Marcel, while having fallen prey to Klaus’s manipulations, has asked his willing witch prisoner Davina to find a way to kill the Originals, since she has one daggered in her attic.
The board is set. The pieces strategically aligned.
And Klaus decides to bring in a new player. Not truly new—Cami has already gotten involved with Marcel, and she’s even been compelled by Klaus. (such an honor!) She has some idea of how dangerous these people are—probably aware that they’re the mob. But now Klaus is ready to not only show her the board, but label all the pieces: vampire, witch, werewolf, hybrid.
Cami: okay, so he’s crazy.
(Nah, that would be my reaction.) Her immediate go-to upon being compelled is to ask about the science behind it. Meanwhile Klaus is like, idk! I’ve been doing this for a thousand years it just works, okay.
I also love how he stares dramatically at the painting they met over while he monologues—he literally went out and bought that from the artist after Cami randomly read him for filth in the square. The conversation affected him that deeply that he needed that painting, just so he could look at it from time to time in melancholy reflection.
She also reads him for filth in this first scene, giving him a basic diagnosis and recommendation for more therapy—while he is speaking melodramatically about plots against him, women trapped in situations, in need of saving, and how he’s really not evil, he’s just taking appropriate measures against tyranny!
I adore how Cami keeps her composure all the way through this megalomaniacal speech—only protesting when he brings up her boyfriend Marcel. Personal/professional boundaries, Klaus!
All in all, this opening scene gives us a great insight into how the klamille relationship plays out: Klaus makes some grand, sweeping statement or gesture about the state of things, Cami remarks on his…uh…less than stellar mental state, Klaus responds by doing something to *impress* or intimidate her, but she simply questions the mechanisms of it. Mind control is not a scientific term!
Meanwhile, back at the church attic: I put way too much time and effort into this please clap
Nah, Davina wants to keep Elijah, even though Marcel promised to return him to Klaus. (What? He’s handsome, I get it)
But then she immediately changes the subject and asks Marcel to go to a concert. She gets a little petty, throwing a witchy temper tantrum in the form of boiling Marcel’s blood to get him to agree (or she could be convincing him that she can defend herself if necessary, but I really get the vibe she’s just being a teenager. “It’s not a phase, Dad!” “Sometimes I think you forget what I’m capable of.”)
Davina’s dresses are…adorable in early season 1. They really wanted this innocent, virgin-Mary-esque image for her, and they got it. She truly does seem like a child, even though she’s meant to be 16—the same age as Elena and her friends when tvd started (although the actress was much closer to 16 than the tvd actresses, so it makes sense).
Marcel’s reaction is very interesting. He looks nervous and uncomfortable for a moment before grinning and giving in. (he says it’s a compromise, but he really does just give in. She’s such a daddy’s girl. 😁) Sometimes I miss the odd little moments of distrust and posturing between them. Yes, they care for each other, but they’re still sizing each other up. Looking for weaknesses. Assessing the worth of their alliance. This comes in handy later in the episode!
…and seeing how long this post is getting from just two scenes, I’m putting the rest under a cut. Spoilers!
When Klaus approaches Cami at Rousseau’s, she spouts off some exposition about compulsion—for the uninitiated, those who haven’t seen tvd and still need some reminders on how the world works. But we get this little gem about what Cami thinks of Klaus (paraphrased): “you leave, and I go back to thinking you’re just a hot guy with a cute accent and money to burn on his sprawling memoirs.” Okay Cami, I see you girl 😉 don’t worry, we’ve all been there.
This line also sticks out, when he is preparing to compel her to meet Marcel and Davina. “You’re going to force me to do this, aren’t you? Why even bother with politeness?”
Yeah yeah, his answer is some trite “I like you” but that’s him, isn’t it? He comes in with his smug smile and demure posture and the accent he thinks is suave and smooth and persuasive, thinking he can verbally strong-arm everyone into doing what he wants. But when that fails, he just falls back on mind control. Still a strong-arm, less pleasant. Sorry, Klaus, you can’t win on charisma alone!
Oh, Hayley’s subplot! I forget how there was always a witch just…hanging around the plantation house in the early episodes. She’s also reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting, a nice touch. She’s probably not paying much attention.
And Rebekah is looking on Google Maps for a church attic! Our little Nancy Drew Mikaelson. Klaus is skeptical of it, but she actually does find the church this way. The internet isn’t all bad!
She makes a side trip to the vampire’s nest, where we see her slightly hate-flirting with Diego—one of my favorite minor characters from season 1. O fun background characters, where have thou gone? Also, Claire is gorgeous 🥰
Aww, and we get a glimpse into who Davina used to be, before all this harvest nonsense happened to her! She was apparently a normal girl who went to school, had crushes. Practiced magic on the side. But her only true friends seem to be other witches—Monique and Cassie and…that’s it, I guess? Yeah, they don’t go too much into Davina’s inner life.
But I get the sense that the French Quarter coven is a little like religious fundamentalists here in the US. Strict upbringing, rules on who the kids can talk to/be influenced by. Sophie references this too later, that her traveling and becoming a chef at a bar was a big *rebellion* by their standards. They don’t go too much into it, but it just seems a little cult-y to me. Not to mention the whole…child sacrifice…thing we learn about later. (Hey I never said this show was perfect—it says a lot of things, but it doesn’t always know what it’s saying!)
Anyway, back to the little fiddler Tim. He’s adorable, and I really wish we’d gotten to know him even a little better. True, he was just a plot device—but he was a glimpse into Davina’s world, and we don’t get too much of that.
Marcel is oblivious to how weirdly accepting Cami is of all these red flags he’s leaving scattered about. “We all have our hot-headed moments,” she says, smiling sycophantically and shrugging nonchalantly. If I didn’t know the truth, I’d be yelling girl run.
But if Cami is oblivious to Marcel, she sees what Marcel misses—Davina’s crush on the cute curly-haired fiddler. (He looks like a Timothee Chalamet prototype, now that I think about it.)
Ooh, and this episode is where we meet the wonderful, enigmatic Father Kieran! I first saw Todd Stashwick in a fantastic, one-off episode of Supernatural where he plays, I kid you not, Dracula—who is obsessed with old monster movies. It’s campy and hilarious and I highly recommend it, even to non-spn fans! Anyway, the hey-it’s-that-guy actor gives a great performance here in this other campy, supernatural drama.
His quick thinking when Rebekah tries to compel him? Brilliant. How else would he have avoided attention? He’s a smart dude.
And we get his backstory—which is also tangentially Cami’s backstory—of the St. Anne’s massacre. Sean murdering people, and then himself, with a sickle.
“You’re standing on blood.”
“I’m not squeamish.”
A+ line for Rebekah, honestly. Written, delivery, just. *chef’s kiss* that’s her.
Elijah’s vision gives us what is technically our first present-day Relijah interaction in this show. Long overdue, imo.
I’ve already spoken about how TO simplifies the Rebekah/Elijah relationship to “siblings who care a lot about each other and don’t necessarily want to fight on any given day.” Which, honestly, I prefer to the sneering and posturing they did to each other on tvd.
They hug, because they’re happy to see each other! They’re happy the other is okay!
This plot point does bring up an interesting bit of lore that TO kind of neglects: in order to neutralize the Originals, the dagger must first be dipped in white oak ash. This is why Elijah can wake up after Davina pulls the dagger out—she didn’t re-dip it in white oak ash before re-stabbing him. But TO glosses over the why, and as far as I remember, never explicitly states the lore about ash again, even though we see originals get daggered many times over the course of the series.
But enough silly plot logic. This show is about family! And I’m okay with at least one sibling relationship being just…uncomplicated affection. One could even make a case that they’re the most themselves around each other. This is how they were as humans—kind, loving, lots of care for each other and those around them.
Hayley gets into some trouble in the bayou—our first real glimpse of her as a Tough Grrl who Fights For Herself. She is also rescued by Rebekah and a Mysterious Wolf. (instead of a Horse Girl, Hayley’s a Wolf Girl) but other than that, this mainly acts to set up the plot for the next few episodes (which I enjoy immensely!)
Back to Davina and her Cute Fiddler—their reunion serves as background noise to the real star of the episode, Cami’s trauma and her musings on the nature of evil and humanity.
“The world is an awful place. Best to meet it on its own terms.”
“No. The world isn’t awful. People aren’t awful. They want to be good. Something makes them bad.”
(In Klaus’s case it was rejection, daddy issues, and time. Stir and simmer for a millennium.)
But Cami’s desperation to understand her brother’s senseless killings, his suicide, is the first glimpse we get into her psyche. Her world. So far she’s just been a tool in the narrative. She could’ve been anyone. But now she’s someone. Someone who not only listens and responds to Klaus, but who has her own problems and her own worries. Her brother—her twin brother—killed people with no warning. And if she, who knew him like no one else did, couldn’t see it coming, how can she protect herself from the same?
Klaus: I don’t know anything about this and all I can say is “stand alone against your demons” because that’s all I’ve done and clearly it’s working great for me. Okbyetimeforyoutogo
(He’s not great at therapy. Or encouragement in general.)
He then struts down to the altar where he plants himself in front of Jesus and mother Mary and postures to Davina. What an incredible show. The audacity. I love it.
Same as before, Klaus tries to win her over by being suave and smooth and genteel. But that doesn’t work—so he pouts and uses brute force. Since he can’t compel Davina, he goes for her cute fiddler. Oh no!
Davina shatters the windows and then runs outside (?) in search of Tim. Meanwhile Klaus has him up top, where he unceremoniously tosses him over the railing. And then his fiddle. (Oh my gosh I hate him so much.)
I think this is meant to imply Davina thinks she hurt Tim with her magic, and Klaus can heal him to make her owe him something. Unfortunately, this is something I don’t think they ever circle back to—except that it cements Davina’s eternal and undying hatred for Klaus, something that never leaves, not even after the Few Seasons Fatigue sets in. She will always hate him. I respect her for that, but it does get boring. Girl, this is literally the Klaus Mikaelson Show. Accept it.
“If he remembers meeting you and comes knocking, poor Timothy might end up caught in an awful scheme to control you…again.”
Oh my GOSH he’s awful. The devil emoji was made for him.
And there’s another small hint of conflict between Marcel and Davina! When he asks her what happened at the church, why she’s there, she retorts rather resentfully, “I live here, remember?” Another fascinating thing that never quite comes full circle.
Klaus’s little snarl when he finds out Hayley has disappeared. His little smirk when he learns the baby has healed Hayley.
And we end on the star of the episode again—Cami’s sad, sad story. She invites Klaus in rather blithely—“this is super weird. Come in.” Girl, even uncompelled you have awful boundaries. Don’t let your employer in your house at night! Even if he asks politely! Even if you think his accent is cute!
Once again, Klaus reduces her agency. He takes away her part of the story—her brother’s suicide, her investigation, her worries. She is nothing more than a tool in his story, the story of how he wrested the city back from Marcel and became king of New Orleans. She can’t afford to have her own life, it’ll get in the way of his! Not to mention Sean’s breakdown is a dead end—he’s dead and he’s not coming back. So he must compel this interesting story out of her. But he’ll feel a little bit bad about it.
I love this line, where he appeals to family, to him trying to honor his brother (lol. You were the one who put him in a coffin, Klaus! You caused at least half these problems!) And Cami shoots back: “what about my brother?” because family in the abstract isn’t important to Klaus. Klaus’s family is important to Klaus, and only in that he can use them to help him retake the city.
It really makes me sad we never get to see Cami before Sean died. She goes through this show missing half of herself, and it’s implied she changed a lot after hearing the news. Yet we don’t hear much about it even past this season.
I’ve always thought the season doesn’t really get started until Elijah’s back with us. So, I guess the end of this episode is where the show really starts! Everyone welcome back the creepy guy in a suit who likes hanging out with little girls in attics—Elijah Mikaelson, guys!
We’ll be back this time next week to see who eats who: Elijah…or Davina.
