The Originals 3×17 Review: “Behind the Black Horizon”

Klaus shows solidarity with Hayley to continue the theme of Team Hope.

Davina cooperates and works towards solving the problem instead of thwarting the Mikaelson family out of spite.

Vincent continues to cover all bases and stays on the side of the "good guys."

Finn gets a taste of what family can be like in a positive light.

Camille made an appearance!

Mystic Falls and Matt made an appearance!

Hayley remains a rough and tough girl to be reckoned with.

Kol continually sinks into further jerk territory.

Lucien manages to get away with far more than he should have.

Luck was not on the side of Finn this episode.

All with business seems to be bad business.

Rating

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Acting

A+

Plot

A+

Writing

B-

Character

A+

Production

A+

BOTTOM LINE:

The Mikaelson's are usually on top of things as enemies go, but this time the threat remained unnoticed or realized until it was too late. A step behind, they family suffers a great loss and discovers there is only more trouble on the immediate horizon.

A+

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Things are not always what they appear to be and this week on The Originals, the Mikaelson clan face a foe that may be more than they can handle.

The rules are changing rapidly in the land of The Originals. This week, the usual kidnap Freya (Riley Voelkel) plot unfolded at the hands of Lucien (Andrew Lees) but had an all too different ending, besides her dutiful brothers, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and in this case, Finn (Casper Zafer) coming to her rescue. Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) was once again used for his expertise and power, but after this adventure, it may have swayed him to take a more prominent stand against those who would threaten to do the same. In a rare show of solidarity towards extended family, Klaus (Joseph Morgan) chooses to stay by Hayley’s (Phoebe Tonkin) side and discover the source of those that are hunting the werewolf packs around New Orleans. Team Hope is growing stronger by the second, but will it all be for not? There’s a new threat in town and there may not be a simple answer to be rid of it. This episode was a roller coaster ride from start to finish. Let’s discuss.

All in for Team Hope.

There are not many things that would sway Klaus from racing to the aid of his siblings in a time of need, but it seems that Hayley has managed to become one of those reasons. In the last episode, Klaus and Hayley had discovered a disturbing trend of werewolves going missing. Suspecting that they had been hunted down on purpose in some sort of connection to the enemies gathering to take down the Originals in New Orleans, they pursue the root of the plot together. By choosing to stay with Hayley and track down the source of the werewolf threat, we see a beginning to Klaus’ staunch promise to do everything to protect his daughter. That includes embracing both sides of her heritage as well as his own, and not just protecting his immediate family in doing so. By taking this route it leads both of them to a familiar corporation called “The Kingmakers”, but when they arrive, it seems they were expected.

“The wolves, Freya’s abduction, can’t all be coincidence. We’ll let my brothers pursue the obvious path. You and I, will pursue this one. No doubt all roads lead to the same treacherous bastard.” – Klaus

A colossal lab heist ensues, showcasing just how badass the team of Klaus and Hayley can actually be when they’re working together for the same cause. I particularly liked the camera work on this scene, the silhouettes of action going down highlighted by just the right angles of blood spatter. It gave the scene a very high class and mysterious edge that was befitting of what is discovered on the inside of the devious corporation. It seems the Kingmakers were hunting down werewolves in order to retrieve their venom, along with one unfortunate vampire victim that was used as some sort of guinea pig. The source of Lucien’s mysterious werewolf bite healing venom is finally revealed by the revelation of the inner workings of the corporation. However, is this the work of Lucien alone? And if not, who gave him so much power and allowed him so much leeway to utilize it?

Family business is never casual.

Once again, Freya has been abducted in order to bring out the usual suspects. Only this time, it leads the family to their place of origin, Mystic Falls. The bickering is at an all-time high, not only between Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic) but also between Elijah and Finn. Leaving Kol behind with his witch girlfriend, Davina (Danielle Campbell) may have been a wise decision in this case, as the brothers meet up with a bit of hassle upon their arrival in the all too familiar town. A surprise appearance by Matt (Zach Roerig) puts a minor kink in the cogs of the plan to save their sister without a hassle and stirs up some bitter remembrances of Finn’s first somewhat final death. There is no love lost between any of these characters in this reunion, but it was still fun to see all of them facing off against each other once more. Cross-overs are always a fun aspect of this show and this one was no exception. Elijah and Finn manage to sidestep the minor annoyance Matt presents and retrieve their sister from the hands of Lucien who has already brought most of his plan to fruition, drinking the magical serum he produced and injures Finn with a lethal bite. His plan to become a super hybrid seems to have succeeded and that spells danger for all of the Mikaelson clan.

“Of course, Mystic Falls. Birthplace of all our sorrows.” – Finn

There’s little to do once they discover that Finn cannot be saved by Klaus’ blood as usual. Lucien was not taken seriously or considered much of a threat, even after he was successful in carrying out his plan with the aid of Vincent and Freya, if not by their choice. The happy note is that after all of this time, Finn finally is given a taste of that “forever and always” he was always witnessing and hearing about and seeing the good in it. It’s a shame he only is able to embrace it once he is meeting his demise for a final and eternal time. There really is no coming back after you’ve been brought down by a hybrid bite or in this case a super hybrid bite using the venom of every werewolf pack in existence in the United States or maybe beyond that. Funnily enough, even the final death of Finn does little to ease the grudge Kol holds for him. Let’s just hope Finn does find peace in the afterlife this time and isn’t brought back by some weird witch plot in the future.

Witch business never ends well.

The witches of New Orleans have to be the busiest busy bodies that ever were. They are always up in each other’s business and that kind of snooping and controlling has no end. Even in death the ancestors demand to be obeyed and use they power to wield their will over the living. It’s no surprise that Vincent has grown weary of this. A number of times that the ancestors or some other witch clan have used him and Davina within the city walls of New Orleans has been staggering. It’s never some easy task and it always makes for more trouble in the end. It was satisfying to see Vincent acknowledge this after all had gone down and to bring Davina into their plans for bringing the control to an end was exciting and comforting. I sincerely hope they get their satisfaction in the end and take back their freedom and their powers to do with as they will without the interference of some lurking plot in the name of the ancestors.

“They’ve got to be stopped, Davina. They’ve got to be stopped. And it looks like it’s just gonna be on us to do it.” – Vincent

Speaking of witches and being used, the entire plot that rested on Vincent casting a spell for Lucien’s benefit may have been successful but just how long lasting is it? Was the spell powerful enough to be permanent and how does Lucien plan to take down the entire Mikaelson family on his own? Of course, we discover that he plans to have Aurora (Rebecca Breeds) aid him in his endeavor especially since he made enough of the serum to administer a second dose to give to his psychotic long lost love. Though the added person in the super hybrid plan may look like a decent one, I would not be surprised if Aurora turns out to be a thorn in Lucien’s side and cause his ultimate plan to fail in some way. After all, Aurora loves her brother and will do anything to save him from his watery fate. It would not be surprising to see a double cross in the immediate future.

Conclusion: Time is running out and a new enemy is on the rise.

I hate to be the one to say “I told you so.” But… if Klaus had taken care of Aurora in the first place as Camille (Leah Pipes) had wanted, he may have been seeing a whole new outcome on this whole super plot against him. After all, it was Cami’s wish that he be done with Aurora for good after what she did to her. But in true Klaus fashion, he opted for the long torture route and now he will have to deal with the consequences. The introduction to new rules and the danger of no one being safe sets a great precedent for anything can happen along the story line of the downfall and realization of the whole prophecy of doom. Before this, there was always some opt out option and a safety net to keep loved ones from meeting their fate. Now, it’s anyone’s guess and none are safe, now that Lucien has found a way to become the most lethal of enemies.

Special attention must be noted here that Joseph Morgan not only starred in this episode, he also directed. I’ve got to say, he did a superb job in directing this one. The acting was on point and even more the way each scene was shot. You’ve got to hand it to the talented man for framing things in such a way you lose yourself in the macabre vision and find yourself appreciating a shot for the aesthetic quality as well as the way it sets the theme in telling the story. Major kudos to the writers, Declan de Barra, and Diane Ademu-John, who not only kept the action going but also pumped in the emotional side of each character connection as well as bringing up stories of the past to add depth to the brief Vampire Diaries crossover. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for the Originals clan now that the tables have turned and Klaus is truly vulnerable as well as the rest of his family for the very first time since the death of his step-father. This is going to be a wild ride.

Questions, Comments & Concerns

It’s nice to see Klaus standing up for Hayley once and not running off at the drop of a hat to go aid his siblings.
Freya always gets captured. They should really find a tower to stow her in with a dragon.
Is Kol cursed? If so, is it by the Strix witches as Davina claims?
Will Vincent and Davina be able to work together to be rid of the ancestors shenanigans?
What will happen to New Orleans and it’s source of magic should Vincent and Davina succeed?
How will they Mikaelson’s stand up and defeat the new super hybrids now the loose? Is there a way to defeat them that doesn’t involve an extraordinary amount of magic?
It was awesome to see Mystic Falls and Matt in this episode. The little crossovers are always so fun to watch.

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About the Author

Theresa Peters

Theresa lives in Alaska where she can be found raising her three wild children, snuggling her seven-toed cat, and trying to convince her husband that he really is part Dwarf a la Tolkien. When she's not busy driving her family insane with her obsession with Mumford & Sons and Thai food, she can be found enjoying the following television shows: The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Doctor Who, The Originals, Outlander, Game of Thrones, and the occasional History Channel special. Her hobbies also include, reading, running, writing, painting, and pretending to be a T-Rex.

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