The Originals 3×20 Review: “Where Nothing Stays Buried”

The Originals Seek Their Revenge But End Up With More Heartbreak and a War Looming on the Horizon.

Last week on The Originals we lost Camille O’Connell (Leah Pipes) and seemingly Davina (Danielle Campbell) at the hands of her true love, Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic). This week, we try to sort out all that has happened and the consequences of all the death and turmoil. Klaus (Joseph Morgan) is grieving in his own way and is set more than ever to go after Lucien (Andrew Lees) for the destruction and tragedy he has brought about. Discovering Kol with the dead body of Davina in his arms sets Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) on a mission with the aid of Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) to revive his adopted daughter and keep from the ancestors’ wrath. Freya (Riley Voelkel) and Elijah (Daniel Gillies) help in both missions after Lucien makes it known that he is going after Rebekah (Claire Holt) while she lay helpless and daggered. As per usual, nothing goes as planned. While some victories go answered, the way that it is achieved is anything but for the good of all. The mayhem brought about my Lucien runs deep and causes complications even he may have never foreseen when the Original family finally squares things up with the out of control super vampire on the loose. Let’s take a closer look and discuss what all went down this last week on The Originals.

She Will Be Risen

As is the case, tragedy is always around the corner for our favorite vampire family of New Orleans. Kol having succumbed to the curse of the ancestors has killed Davina. Though, Marcel after having roughed him up a bit inspires hope by bringing up the fact that she can be resurrected. The only catch is that the ancestors hate Davina and will do anything to dispose of her. This fact has not gone unnoticed by her friend Vincent and ally Freya. With the co-erced help of the current regent, Van (Lawrence Kao), a plan is made to consecrate Davina’s body and pull her spirit into a safe place from the vengeful ancestors until they can safely bring her back to her physical body once and for all. Sounds simple, right?

“This is New Orleans. Witch spirits can be brought back from the dead, so that is exactly what we are going to do. We are going to bring her back.” - Marcel

Wrong. All goes well for the first part of the plan. Davina is consecrated and in the nice of time, Freya is able to bring her spirit back to the land of the living within a protective circle. However, they soon learn that the ancestors did not wait around to exact their hateful revenge upon Davina. The sacred circle is the only things keeping her from allowing the witches to sever her soul from her body and break it into a million pieces, the highest form of punishment put upon any witch. Time is dwindling for the family to find a way to bring Davina back but also use the power of the ancestors against Lucien who has threatened to kill Rebekah while she is helpless in her resting place. Klaus and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) go out to retrieve Rebekah to keep her safe from Lucien’s plot but are waylaid by Lucien himself. Time has run out and Freya and Elijah make a hasty decision to remove Davina from her protective circle in order to draw upon the power needed to dispose of Lucien once and for all. This betrayal is not only against Davina herself, but that of Marcel, Kol, and Vincent who trusted the both of them to keep her safe until they could attain the additional power needed to bring her back for good. As suspected, Davina is thrown back to the wrath of the ancestors and the magical punishment is completed. There is no telling now if the young witch will ever recover or be brought back to the land of the living. For now, she is lost.

The Debt is Paid

Things have not been going well for our anti-hero, Klaus. He’s lost the protection of his sire line and now the love of his life. His mood is understandably stuck in brood-angry mode, or as we’ll call it: brangry. Within the hours of Cami’s death, we see in true fashion his continued denial to succumb to grief but rather the jump forward to retribution when Hayley begins talking plans of throwing a wake. His assumption is that there is no time to plan trivial human rituals, there is only time to bring an end to the cause of the tragedy. Wasting no time after the threat is made to the family of Rebekah’s impending demise, Klaus and Hayley go off on a mission to save her from her resting place. While on this mission, Klaus waxes nostalgic about his grief in losing Cami and offers from friendly advice to Hayley to seize the day when it comes to love. He reminds her that though they are immortal, you never know when you will live your last day, so to speak. It’s a touching eulogy to Cami that Klaus is thinking around the usual selfish notions in protecting the family and trying his hardest to prevent his siblings from suffering the same heartbreak he has faced.

“And in the end, despite the gift of immortality you have always known what you truly are… You. Are. Nothing.” - Klaus

Though touching as it is, the attempt to bring an end to Lucien without betrayal and the cost of another life is brought short by the interference of Lucien himself. When Klaus and Hayley are on their way back to their haven of safety, their vehicle is destroyed and they are left to the mercy of Lucien and his terrible temper. To put it lightly, Lucien knocks the both of them around and eventually forces Klaus to bend on knee whilst Hayley’s life is literally in his hands. It looks as if this will be the end to one of both of them, but low and behold, Freya and Elijah show up on the scene with fresh power, brought about by sacrificing Davina to the powers of the ancients. This power allows them to strip Lucien of his super hybrid status and puts him at the mercy of the family he tried ever so hard to destroy. Klaus makes a flowery speech about Lucien’s true status, before bestowing him with the scar he once bore as a human before ending him completely. It would be a satisfying death if it had not come about by ill means and a massive betrayal in trust to those that were close to them.

The Alliance is Broken

The original family was doing pretty good with various alliances until they stepped too far to protect themselves. Freya made a foolish move in order to protect her family, but in doing so betrayed those that had come to trust them. With that trust broken, she broke whatever fragile alliance they all had to bring them out of the prophecy. Vincent harbors a hatred for all vampires, with good reason. He once was the unwilling conduit for Finn by the power of the Mikaelsons’ witch mother. He has been yanked about in so many directions due to the meddling of this family in New Orleans affairs that it has become too numerous to count. It’s little wonder that Freya’s rash decision to use the power at Davina’s detriment was the last straw for him. An alliance they once had with the once regent is now a thing of the past.

“Stop, Freya! You’re just as much of a blood sucker as the rest of them.” - Vincent

Vampires are not the only enemies in Vincent’s mind now, it’s the Mikaelsons themselves. The bigger picture has become apparent to him, and now that Lucien is gone, he will undoubtedly be back in the favor of the ancestors. However, what they did to Davina was not something he condoned. It seems Vincent has become a rogue witch with a vendetta against the biggest vampire family in New Orleans. He will most likely use his closest ally in shared betrayal, Marcel to exact whatever revenge possible. The ancestors themselves may condone what he would like to achieve regarding the Original family, but it is doubtful he would side with them after Davina’s punishment. Using the serum removed from Aurora’s (Rebecca Breeds) heart, he offers it to Marcel. It makes perfect sense that he would accept in his grief after disowning Klaus and Elijah and the lot of them for Davina’s death. The creation of a bigger monster with more reason to hate the entire Mikaelson family has been born.

Conclusion: No One Expected Betrayal to Come From Within.

Marcel has been at the right hand of the Mikaelson family even when they took over his city and waged full out war. He’s had his ups and downs, but now that Elijah and Freya were the direct means of Davina’s cruel fate, the girl he looked at as a daughter, he has severed his ties with the family and has set out on a mission to avenge her soul. With Vincent’s offer of the serum to make him a super hybrid in front of him, it’s no wonder that he would readily accept and bring down his wrath upon the family that always seems to bring about death and destruction to those around them and the people that they love. This is a direction that is unexpected yet makes perfect sense in the wake of all that has occurred. Davina was his ward and he swore to protect her. Their bond was something special, and now she is dead after linking herself to the family. This fate is an all too common one for outsiders that find their way into the Mikaelsons’ domain. As the season finale draws closer, will the prophecy become more clear? It’s likely Marcel has been a large part of it from the beginning and it is only now that the fact of that comes to light.

Writers Carina Adly Mackenzie and Christopher Hollier, gave us a satisfying end to a villain who will live on in infamy but also threw us for a loop by adding betrayal, tragedy, and a turn in a direction that we never we saw coming. The team up of Vincent and Marcel against Klaus and his family is a threat that may be their actual undoing. From the get go, Vincent has always been clever and had the power to back it up, now that he is no longer using that power for the benefit of their family after Cami’s death and now Davina’s, he is an enemy that will most likely succeed where others have not. With Marcel at his side, he has created a weapon that cuts straight to the heart. I cannot mention enough how much Yusuf Gatewood has made Vincent such a lovable yet feared character. His character arc continues to excite and bring life to the overall plot and storyline of the Originals. No matter what happens at the end of this season, I for one, am hoping that Vincent will be around for a very long time.

Questions, Comments & Concerns

• Klaus has softened, but in a good way. His insistence upon finding another route to free themselves of Lucien without having to expose Davina to her possible permanent demise showed promise.
• Elijah and Freya however have a lot to learn about the good of all vs the good of the family.
• Will Hayley and Elijah finally renew their affair?
• The family is broken. How will Klaus deal with the looming threat of Marcel?
• Vincent is a force to be reckoned with. United with Marcel, it is possible they will bring about at least part of the prophecy to end the seemingly unstoppable force of the Original family.
• Will Kol betray his family as well and join the cause with Marcel and Vincent? Davina was his true love and though he killed her initially it was not entirely his fault.
• How long will the Original family remain in New Orleans? Is it time for them to seek shelter elsewhere?