The Originals 3×21 Review: “Give ‘Em Hell Kid”

Lines Been Drawn and Connections Have Been Severed. On this week’s The Originals the Battlefield is Set.

Two funerals and two dead ladies divide those who used to be family and allies. On this week’s The Originals 3×31, “Give ‘Em Hell Kid,” Cami (Leah Pipes) and Davina (Danielle Campbell) are laid properly to rest and those that loved them mourn in their own ways. The difference is that one of the ladies could have been saved and brought back but would have surely meant the death of another at the hands of Lucien (Andrew Lees) who met his own demise last week with the help of a controversial decision made my Freya (Riley Voelkel) and Elijah (Daniel Gillies). Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) has made no secret of the fact that he no longer wishes to be associated with Klaus (Joseph Morgan) or the rest of the Mikaelson family after what happened to Davina. Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic) forsakes his family also joins Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) and Josh (Steven Krueger) in impending war against the Originals. With a dangerous serum in the balance and the city of New Orleans at stake, decisions are made to aid and to hinder each side in their moves forward to thwart the impending prophecy and their own grievances against one another. The season finale-eve episode threw us for a major loop and also set the stage for huge changes the future for everyone. Let’s take a closer look at what happened and discussed what this could mean in the long run.

The Heart Still Remembers.

Ever since Klaus fell for Cami, there have been subtle ways we’ve seen him try to change parts of himself as far as how he reacts to other people. He has been more helpful and more thoughtful even to what other people would need and want rather than him giving into his selfish whims on immediate impulse. The interaction between himself and Officer Kinney (Jason Dohring) at Cami’s wake in an easy example. Instead of storming off and cutting short the small talk, he stays and chats and indulges in conversation with someone Cami considered a friend. This is very unlike Klaus and shows that a tiny bit of human decency may be creeping back into his hardened soul. Some would argue that this has made him soft and has allowed for more mistakes to happen from those that usually stay out of the fray. In his own way of mourning, Klaus is honoring Cami by taking the higher road and trying to make peace with those that are wrong by him and his family rather than defaulting to violence and disruption to get his own way. This change may be a little too late in happening in regards to Marcel, as he grew up with the consequences and knows what destruction has been wrought due to the rash decisions Klaus has made in the past. Now that he is trying to change the way he protects his family as well as think about the good of all, his siblings have not followed the same path and continue to operate as they have done in the past. This combination has them all out of sync and the mistakes made are adding up as Klaus takes a back seat to being directly responsible for them all.

“There’s no polite summation that will do her justice. But you’re brave to try and she would have admired that.” - Klaus

Although Klaus may be making a change to allow his softer human side to resurface, it’s a fine line that’s drawn between himself and Marcel. Klaus admits it himself that when he took in the boy Marcellus, he saw elements of himself within him and a strength that made him proud. Now that many years have passed, he also admits that he was afraid Marcel would surpass him in power and in stature as well as in his personage. He was right to be afraid since Marcel has always been clever and a class act to boot. His reign over New Orleans was a welcome one and only disrupted by the presence of Klaus himself. Now that there have been too many mistakes to take back or correct that have affected Marcel himself, he’s finally putting his foot down and showing his adopted family, that he has since disavowed, that he is, in fact, their equal, or maybe, in this case, their better.

Give ’em Hell, Davina.

A delightful return to the New Orleans seen is Officer Kinney. It was heartwarming to see him arrive at Cami’s wake and offer his condolences to a mysteriously familiar Klaus. What’s more fascinating is his friendship with Vincent and the decision on Vincent’s part to inform him of what has really been going on in New Orleans all these years right under the Officer’s nose. HIs willingness to so readily expose the secrets of the witch society no doubt show how much Vincent is really fed up with the meddling ancestors. He basically divulged his entire real life to the man at the drop of a hat, spurned on by his anger over Davina and also Camille. It was a little frightening that he already had a weapon that would do away with the ancestral well so readily. It goes to show that the old witches of New Orleans really had no clue what they were dealing with when they welcomed Vincent into their fold. He really does have some gumption to bring a plan like that to its completion, given the consequences and the danger that he will no doubt be faced with from the living witch residences of New Orleans.

“I don’t know how to say goodbye to you.” - Davina

With the weapon in place, this plan gives Kol an excuse to protect Vincent in the afterlife from those that had harmed in the past, but also to say goodbye to his true love, Davina. I was bit confused that her soul was still there in the ancestral well after the magical marking that we witnessed from the last episode. From my understanding her soul had been ripped to pieces and there was no way to return from that. Be it as it may, she was there to help with the destruction of the witchy afterworld and complete the revenge that Vincent had in mind. Along with helping with this plan, she was able to say goodbye to a few friends and more importantly, to the man that she loved. There really is no way to have the perfect words for that kind of occasion, but I think both Kol and Davina handled it well. I know, I was on the verge of tears watching the entire interaction but I was also cheering at what she brought about with the last little bit of her remaining power. That sacrifice was worth the effort.

Even the Strongest Walls Crumble.

With Klaus constantly trying to take the high road and soften his knee-jerk reactions of anger and isolation, Elijah is left seeking the low road for the sake of their family’s protection. Decisions and choices really do have perilous cause and effects when you’re a member of one the most notorious supernatural families in the world. Elijah is not alone in his string of terrible reaction choices gone wrong, his long lost sister Freya is there at his side, often times convincing him that it is the only way for their family to be safe from the looming prophecy. There is always someone in the Mikaelson family ready to make a rash decision based on fear. Elijah has stepped up to be that decision maker while Klaus tries his hand at being more of a peace maker and benevolent ruler. I really couldn’t blame him for the quick and gasp-worthy choice of snatching Marcel’s heart from his chest. I believe my exact words were: “Oh my god! He didn’t… Noooooooooooo!!!”

“It’s Marcel. I took his life.” - Elijah

The redeeming point to Elijah’s more than willing murder of Marcel to protect his family was his emotional breakdown after. He may not have shown that side to Klaus when the deed was done, but he was on his knees and weeping as confessed his sins to Hayley and hoped for some kind of absolution. As far as he knew, he had all out murdered an adopted member of their family, a nephew, if you will. Seeing Elijah’s facade of self-control and distance crumble was hard to watch, but was made all the more heartbreaking with Hayley coming to his rescue, soothing him and promising him that it would be okay, Not only does she tell him that he made the right choice, she also stands up for him to Klaus. The relationship between Hayley and Elijah has always been an interesting romance with enough spark and passion for keeping it believable, but now we’re getting a chance to allow their feelings for each other to develop depth. I’m hoping they will be allowed to be together for longer than most Mikaelson romances have seen to last. I enjoy their chemistry and look forward to what may be in store for them in the future.

Conclusion: The Original Family has Much to Fear.

Marcel means business and now that the lines have most definitely been drawn, he will use his advantage to press his equal status among the Original family without hesitation. New Orleans will be in turmoil once again, not only with the battle of the vampires but the witches will feel the loss of power after the demolition of the ancestral well. No faction is safe anymore in the city and the supernatural government is going to be shaken up and many changes will have to happen in order for all of them to move on and resolve their differences that have sprung up in light of the recent chaos. I was devastated that Elijah had killed Marcel because no one comes back from a heart snatch. However, I was delighted that he had taken the serum and the loss of his heart really had not mattered in the long run. It is ironic that his life was ended by removal of his heart after his declarations of no longer caring for the family that brought him up and gifted him with eternal life. What remains to be seen as if he will have the emotional resolve to bring a more permanent end to the family that he claimed to have once loved. Yes, he has been wronged in many ways due to their terrible shenanigans and need to survive at any cost, but does he really have the resolve to do away with all of them for good?

Writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson brought home the emotional factor to a tee on this one. Not only did they show the softer side to many of the characters in question, they allowed them to also show their fierceness and loyalties to each given cause. They’ve managed to bring multiple dimensions to a war that would at one time be very two dimensional. This entire season has been a great build up to some of the underlying issues involved in living in the midst of a supernatural city, having a millennium of years to piss people off, and what’s more a gaggle of those that have been betrayed, all in the name of ‘Always and Forever.’ It has been a fun ride watching the consequences come to light and the prophecy wind down to what may be the most epic showdown ever on The Originals. One performance that really stood out to me on this one was that of Daniel Gillies. Elijah is always so calm and collected, even when he’s calculating and menacing. It always a surprise and very moving to watch when we see him otherwise. His break down after killing Marcel was so believable and heart-wrenching that I actually began to cry, myself. That takes a lot for me to reach that point unless I am truly gung-ho for a character and in this case, I liked Marcel, but I didn’t have that sort of attachment to him. So the fact that I cried? I give that one to Gillies.

Next week is the big showdown. The reveal that Marcel is alive and well and from the looks of it, he’s pulling out all the stops. The return of Claire Holt as Rebekah will be a welcome one. Hopefully, that welcome will not turn to tragedy.

Questions, Comments & Concerns

• Is Klaus becoming soft after losing his heart to Cami?
• Will this softness cause Klaus in the impending battle between his family and Marcel?
• The destruction of the ancestral well seemed a little too easy to accomplish. Why was Davina even there? Wasn’t her soul ripped into a million pieces? How?
• Now that the witches of New Orleans have no ancestral power to draw on, will they remain in the city or will most move on to other places?
• Has Elijah and Freya become too consumed with ending the prophecy that they cannot see the emotional turmoil and consequences caused by their actions?
• Is Kol free to leave the city now? Will he ever forgive his family for the death of Davina?
• Will Marcel take back the city and banish the Mikaelsons’ or will he stop at nothing to at least be rid of some of them once and for all?
• Will the prophecy finally come to fruition or will it be stopped for good?