The Originals 3×22 Review: “The Bloody Crown”

There’s a New King of the Quarter in the Season Finale of The Originals and His Name is Marcel.

All is not well in the heart of New Orleans. Last week’s season finale of The Originals 3×22 titled, “The Bloody Crown,” certainly gave us a showdown for the ages with Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) at the heart of it. Newly revived and eager for the blood of Klaus (Joseph Morgan) Mikaelson and all of his siblings, Marcel holds nothing back when he invades their inner sanctum, laying low Freya (Riley Voelkel) by poison, biting Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic) and Elijah (Daniel Gillies) before any sort of discussion can be had. A face we’ve long missed returned by way of Rebekah (Claire Holt) to act as a sort of intermediary with the little time that she had before continuing to go slowly mad. There is a lot of revolt and anger and action in this episode with little resolve other than to satisfy those hungry for Klaus’ blood and turn the reigns of the Quarter over to the now invincible and dangerous Marcel. What turns out to be little more than a witch trial, which is more than ironic, Klaus is given the punishment he deserves, or at least what the masses think he deserves. This leaves Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) with a quite a responsibility on her hands and not just being the sole parent to Hope. A season finale is always full of action and sometimes more than a little unrest and this one did not disappoint.

You Must Pay for Your Crimes

Marcel has always had the flair for the dramatic when dealing with his demons and in seeking out justice and revenge for those left in the Mikaelsons’ wake of existing, he puts on an extra special show. All of Klaus’ former sires that have felt wronged have gathered in New Orleans since the severing of his sire bond episodes ago. The Mikaelson home is ravaged and in turn becomes an unsafe for the family causing them to flee only after Freya is poisoned and Kol and Elijah are bitten by Marcel. Only Rebekah remains behind to speak to Marcel and convince him on her brother’s behalf that he deserves a fair chance to face up to whatever atrocities those that hate him claim he has done. It’s a noble task for her to undertake considering she is still cursed and slowly descending into madness with every passing waking minute.

“I have nothing to hide, Marcel. You wish to put me on trial for my many grievous sins. Well, go on. Have at it.” - Klaus

The gathered group of vampires from the past have an interesting back story. The few that we are introduced to almost beg to have their own featured story lines for themselves. It makes you wonder what all of the groups stories are and what variety of horrible things Klaus had previously done to them before turning them into the immortal creatures that they were today. It’s a great calling back to the variety of evil deeds done by Klaus all in the name of inspiring fear. We all forget all of the small cruel things that Klaus is capable of and the trial was a great way to highlight that aspect of his character. These days he’s softened and become more of a calculated thinker rather than an easily angered monster. Whether that’s a good thing or not is not clear. The one thing is that Klaus has come a very long way from his early baby-vampire days and has earned his notorious place in the halls of history and those he gave his dark gift to. Marcel himself inherited a portion of that from Klaus being raised by him. Though he fights to deny it, there is no denying he is in a sense the son of the head Mikaelson and just as quickly angered and eager to be feared.

Loyal to the Very End

Rebekah has a lot to say about her dearest brother Klaus when it comes to their past and sworn loyalties. In reality, he has caused more trouble and heartache for her than several other people in her life combined. It’s amazing that she remains so staunchly loyal to someone that has held her back time and time again all for the sake of misguided familial love and outlook on life that held too much fear and disdain for those around them. Her words cut to the quick, even when defending her dear brother you cannot deny the bitter edge to it all. Yes, they are siblings and she loves him, but she also probably harbors at least a boatload of resentment for all the wrong he has done her and trouble he has caused in the past in order to ‘protect’ her and their family. She really does live her life on a double edged sword in staying in the company of her brother Klaus.

“Death is too good for him!” - Rebekah

Not surprisingly, Rebekah gets her say in the negative for Klaus at the trial. She lays out her own experience of what crimes he’s committed against her and the rest of their family. Her words are almost the most damning out of the entire crowd. She brings up the fact that he killed their mother, murdered both of his fathers, and daggered her and her siblings more times than she could count throughout their entire lives. Her case is a strong one, but it’s also her words that keep Klaus alive. Though Rebekah was more than genuine when laying out her grievances with her brother, she also was protecting him in her own way. The act that she put on persuades Marcel to put in a mute trance of suffering and pain. This allows Freya to buy some time by putting the rest of the ailing siblings in a trance while Marcel is free to brick up Klaus until who knows when. Rebekah certainly is loyal and always will be loyal to the brother she loves most of all.

I was Hoping You Would be Different

With the witches of New Orleans displaced in power, it stands to reason that the vampires would uprise and cause more problems that will go unchecked. This is seen when Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) takes his friend Officer Kinney (Jason Dohring) to the old church gym/fighting arena per the Officer’s request due to a grisly crime scene he cannot explain, he finds a scene that is full of carnage and more than a murderous rampage. Evidently, Marcel had no more use for those left that were members of The Strix and so he did away with them as he could with his new powers. That type of behavior was unexpected and uncalled for within the agreement between Vincent and his new ally Marcel. While at the church, Kinney is injured by a vampire that is still not quite dead and thus the poor man is further drawn into the supernatural fray of the city.

“The King is dead, all hail the King.” - Vincent

You can see the contempt and anger Vincent begins to harbor towards Marcel. From the get go he told him that he didn’t like vampires nor trust them but that the both of them had a shared goal, to be rid of the Mikaelson family from New Orleans. It is sad that Vincent expected better from Marcel and that he let him down and what’s more, Vincent was not really all that surprised. Marcel’s quick act to go straight to violence to set his city to rights does not sit well with Vincent and he says so. Not only that he takes back the church and has plans to make it a sanctuary to those that seek it. Maybe that is all that New Orleans needs in the wake of the feuds and power struggles all stemming from the feud between ancients and the Mikaelsons.

Conclusion: Everyone is Dead

It doesn’t look for the Original family. Not in the least. Freya has been incurably poisoned. Rebekah is still going crazy. Kol and Elijah have been bitten by Marcel who has no cure for his lethal bite a la magical serum. And finally, Klaus has been magically pain daggered and bricked up behind a wall. That leaves Hayley to take care of Hope and take what she can of the family off to safer places while she alone searches for a way to cure them all. Only time will tell how long that search will last. There really is no timeline set in place for this. It could be one year or it could be ten. Heck, it could even be then thousand for all we know. Everyone is in suspended animation and the only way we all will know how much time has passed is by the age of Hope the next time we see her. Will the littlest wolf be a young woman at the side of her immortal hybrid mother when they find a way to save all of the siblings from their demise? It would be an interesting take on things and certainly an unexpected fast forward to the story line that can go any direction at this point.

Director Matthew Hastings put together a very convincing lynch mob and the angry crowd when introducing those of Klaus’ past into the Mikaelson abode. The only thing missing to the angry villager effect was pitchforks and torches, but I’m sure if this trial had been set back years ago they would have been present. Writers Beau DeMayo and Diane Ademu-John brought some great dialogue and back story to the apparent crimes of Klaus in this one. Each highlighted wronged vampire in the crowd no doubt had some interesting back story and I’d be willing to guess that each of those back stories would make wonderful episodes in and of themselves in the MIkaelson backstory of sowing chaos and havoc and fear amongst the living. As far as a season finale goes, this one seemed a little too final. It’s a cliffhanger for sure, but it’s also left us with an opportunity to fast forward things a bit to soothe some of the chaos and unrest that has happened within the supernatural community of New Orleans of late. When The Originals return, I will be eager to see just where they’re going with this and how in the world they will have found a cure for those suspended in time.

Questions, Comments, & Concerns

• Will there be an all out war between the witches and vampires once we return back to New Orleans?
• If so, who will be the victor? The witches have lost considerable power yet the vampires are being led again by Marcel who is not of the soundest mind with his new found power.
• Will Hayley be able to keep Hope safe on her own and find a way to heal all of the ailing family?
• How will Klaus be freed from his bricked in prison?
• How much time will pass before we see the family again? Will Hope be more involved with bringing the family back to their true glory by then?
• How will we survive not knowing any of this before the next season begins?