Jane Anne, the witch that lured Klaus back, is dead and Sophie (Daniella Pineda) is her living sister. Sophie is a very determined and serious young woman. She’s so determined that she dares to threaten Klaus and Elijah both. Everything is very complicated, even from the beginning. You’ve got vampires, werewolves, witches, and humans all vying for control of the French Quarter. With the originals back, now there are two factions of vampires and there have always been several factions of werewolves. As of now, the werewolves have been exiled to the bayou and the witches and humans have been under Marcel’s rule. Things are going to change quite quickly since Klaus wants control back and Marcel is not going to give the power up. Apparently, there is a lot more history between Klaus and Marcel than we previously knew and more past between Rebekah and Marcel, which just further complicates things.
Davina (Danielle Campbell), a young teen, is the most powerful witch I’ve seen yet. She can do pretty much anything, but it comes with a price. Cami (Leah Pipes) is our "good human" in the show. She’s like the Matt (Zach Roerig) character from The Vampire Diaries. Cami knew nothing about this supernatural world, but she’s got a lot longer history with it than she realizes. Cami is the niece of Father Kieran (Todd Stashwick), the leader of the human faction in the loosely connected treaty of vampires, witches, and humans. Marcel is the leader of the vampires. The witches are led by their elders. When you throw Klaus and Elijah into this mix, there are going to be many, many problems.
Klaus is, by far, the most devious creature I have seen yet, even worse than Katherine (Nina Dobrev). Man, I love him! If he’d just learn a little bit of patience and tact, he would be completely unstoppable! Of course, Elijah is even better than Klaus. He’s got such a calm, cool demeanor, but when he decides to kill, it is without mercy. He is close to replacing Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) as my favorite vampire, close but not quite. Klaus and Rebekah working together are quite fun too. I feel bad for Rebekah. No one really gets her or understands her. She is continually used because she can’t control that craving for someone to love her unconditionally. She craves someone that will choose her first, over anyone or anything else. I guess that makes her and Klaus very much alike, but they handle it differently. This is an extremely dysfunctional family, one that definitely does not need a child added to the mix, but I love them. I still think Klaus and Caroline (Candice Accola) would be the perfect couple. Maybe after The Vampire Diaries are over, we will see her in New Orleans. I do like that even though it is set in New Orleans, they did not try and go overboard on all the accents. Living right next to New Orleans, it really pains me to hear the shows that try and imitate the accents. However, watching Rebekah boil crawfish on the stove in a small pot made me laugh. That is not how you do crawfish!
My only problem with The Originals is that Elijah is the only one that seems to have a concept of loyalty. It seems like witches, vampires, werewolves, and humans alike are all changing who they support weekly. They need at least a few more people who understand loyalty. Granted, when you’re a hybrid or carrying a hybrid child, it is difficult to choose a side. I like the fact that the drama of the show centers more on family than anything, but I think Marcel, Klaus, Rebekah, and quite a few more need to learn how to be good family. I am hoping on Season Two that we will see the original family, including Marcel and Hayley, truly bond and stop plotting against each other. There are plenty more people to hate and if they would stop the in-fighting, they could truly rule the world.
The Originals: The Complete First Season comes with the Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultra-violet versions of the show. This is helpful if you don’t have a Blu-ray player handy, but I highly recommend the Blu-ray if possible. The visual difference is beyond compare. Considering this takes place in New Orleans, you will get a lot of jazz music, which means the audio sounds better on the Blu-ray as well. The featurettes available are quite good. If you want a quick update on the whole family’s backstory, watch "A Bite-Sized Backstory." All of the featurettes are quite informative and fun and I’d recommend watching them all. If you like The Vampire Diaries, then you will love The Originals. Even if you’re never seen The Vampire Diaries, you should still watch The Originals. It stands completely alone as its own show and you don’t need to know any history other than what they show you in The Originals. I highly recommend that you pick up The Originals: The Complete First Season today!
