The Originals Review: 3×12 “Dead Angels”

All this fuss over a little toy horse.

Who would have known that an innocent little wooden toy could cause such a commotion within a supernatural community? Last week on The Originals, we were thrown for a loop when Camille (Leah Pipes) made off with the miniature horse carved off from the deadly white oak tree in order to make a bid with Klaus (Joseph Morgan) for her ‘stolen’ dark objects. This week, we see how her planned negation pans out with the help of Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) and a little help from a warding spell.

As is most plans, this one does not end well. Besides the battle over of items, there is also another battle that occurs, one over leadership. Elijah (Daniel Gillies) makes an attempt to reassert his leadership over the Strix and take back what he considers his over the wishes of his past lover, Aya. (Tracy Ifeachor) This struggle of power does not last long and is complicated by the involvement of Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), in his own claim to the leadership over both of them.

Davina (Danielle Campbell) is urged to work with her new sisters of the Strix coven to channel Ariane, their fallen witch companion to discover what it was that the was put to death for. Upon discovering it, she is immediately put into danger and the plot continues to go awry.

This week was a doozy and a mind bender. The twists and turns in this episode certainly threw us for a loop at times and pulled at our heart strings with others. So without further ado, let’s break this all down.

A little help among sisters.

Davina Claire, though shunned and cast out by her ancestors, continues to follow coven rules and certainly did so when she chose to consecrate the body of Ariane. By doing so, she was given information that the other witches could not perceive. However, her unguarded nature was her downfall when a fellow sister stole the information for her own use and sought the discovered weapon on her own.

“The ancestors may hate me, but at the end of the day witches take care of their own.” - Davina

Davina continues to seek a way to rescue Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic) and believes the Strix will help her to that end. Despite the betrayal of one of the witch sisters and a sound warning that Aya will not make good on her promises, she remains loyal to the Strix if only to regain her lost love. It’s a risky move and one that even Marcel questions by way of Aya. It’s heart warming to see Marcel take an interest in Davina’s well being so much so that he strives to remove her from the involvement with the Strix from the get go. This was a nice throwback to his connection with her and the fact that he was formerly her guardian and protector against those like Aya who seek to use her powers for their own plans without her well-being in mind.

There may be not a lot Davina can do at the moment other than to be a loyal servant in the hopes of being allowed to save Kol from the limbo that he is in, but she makes good on looking out for her friends. Without her help, Camille and the rest of the gang would never have known the deeper layers of all involved in the actions of theft and deceit, but we’ll get to that later.

Give me back what is mine.

No one can really blame Cami for what she did when she swiped the wooden horse out from under everyone’s nose. She’s intelligent and witty, and now that she is a vampire and determined to be strong and unafraid, it’s no wonder she would have little thought about angering the very man she loves in order to claim some weapons for her continued well-being.

Though by doing so, she certainly did “poke a very irritable bear”, it was within her rights to scheme in order to get back what she claims as her own. Though Klaus was angered and claims that she could have trusted him, it was he who took the items in order to protect Cami from herself rather than hear out her reasoning, thus making her risk more necessary and not a shocking move at all.

“It’s the same story with you Klaus. For a thousand years you control, you manipulate, you do whatever you need to do to get your way. And I’m not gonna be a part of it anymore! I don’t care how high the risk is!” - Cami

The funny if not vexing part of Cami and Klaus’ relationship is their need to protect each other from themselves. One party makes a move for their greater good while the other only views it as a means of control and manipulation. The both of them are so very much alike that it becomes almost humorous to watch them bicker and be angry over who can protect whom the best and in the most controlling backwards selfish way possible.

If Cami and Klaus ever figure a way to make this relationship work without killing one another, I for one think it will take at least a century or two for them to establish and understand functional boundaries. You can certainly see that there is a level of affection under all the fighting and hard feelings. If Cami knew half the things Klaus had done in the past, she might consider herself lucky that he is lightly treading around her bungled attempts at claiming a personal space in her new universe at the detriment to his very life.

There really is no correct answer on this one. The both of them make incorrect moves to protect one another and themselves and end up causing more distrust and questions as to who the other really is underneath their facade of control.

Tag, you’re it.

The Strix are not having the best year ever with leadership. First, they lose Tristan (Oliver Ackland) to an eternal burial at sea. Then they’re second in command, Aya is challenged by the founder, Elijah. What are they to do? Marcel answers that question with speed and a game of cat and mouse. By placing Marcel as the frontman within the Strix, they are presented with a leader that knows the territory and does not have a past within the group, making a new found trust in him unbiased from previous dealings.

“Aya! Don’t we look so very comfortable indeed leading Tristan’s little circus. Sadly, one does not simply ascend to the position of leader, it kind of has to be my consent. You see I am, the maker, the creator, the founding father. I am the one that chooses the leader here and fortunately for every last one of you. I have an excellent candidate in mind. You see today is the day, I take back what is mine. Do hear any objections?” - Elijah

Little does Aya know and the rest of the Strix, that Marcel is only leading the group by proxy. Marcel furthers his double agent role by taking the leadership under Elijah’s guidance. It’s a smart move. The group will be eager to follow someone new and in command of the city they currently inhabit and Elijah will be free to advise him without Aya knowing the better of it. All are happy without knowing the inner details of each others minds and whims.

The best part of this entire set up is that it was skillfully planned and played out by Elijah. He has been on fire as far as solving and plotting ways to rid the family of the prophecy of doom that has been plaguing them lately. Now that he has his old organization back, with the aid of Marcel, they can cover more ground and work to find a means to an end to his and his family’s impending demise.

Conclusion: Plot twist!

And here we have it. Davina mixes with the Strix only to be betrayed by a fellow sister, who had been serving as a double agent. To whom you ask? Why, our lovely Aurora de Martel (Rebecca Breeds) to be exact. We were wondering when this lovely lady would make her play to revenge the banishment of her brother and continue her ongoing vendetta against Klaus. What we didn’t foresee is that she would be so sneaky as to employ the help of a Strix witch by promising her freedom from her servitude. Now that Aurora has the weapon in hand and quickly has it ground down for a set of interesting wooden bullets, it’s only a matter of time before we get to see her implement her plans for destruction.

I was genuinely shocked at this revelation. There was no way that I would have guessed that Aurora would have the gumption or the knowledge to infiltrate the Strix coven to keep ahead of the game. It goes to show that you can really underestimate a character, especially when they’re are portrayed as a spoiled and slightly insane. Let’s hear it for writers Kyle Arrington and Michael Narducci on this one. To me, this was one heck of a doozy and an exciting plot development as we get closer and closer to the season finale and the eventual reveal of all pieces of the cursed prophecy.

And can I just say? Yusuf Gatewood. You are killing it. Vincent has become one of the most likable and badass characters on this show. At first, being that he was used as a puppet to house the spirit of Finn (Casper Zafer), I barely gave him much notice other than to intensely hate him. Now he has risen to be the regent of the New Orleans witches, been a staunch friend and ally to those that deserve it and has lightened each episode with his own sense of wit and humor that I find him completely irreplaceable. Bravo for Vincent. He’s a fan fave of mine

Questions, Comments, and Concerns

• Will Camille and Klaus be able to look past this bump in their relationship? Trust is a major issue, especially to Klaus and it’s clear Cami has none at this current point in time. They’re almost too alike to coexist peacefully.
• Does Elijah have repressed feelings towards Aya? Does Aya still have feelings for Elijah? Will we perhaps get to see more of their backstory and adventures?
• How does Aurora plan to implement the wooden bullets we see her have fashioned from the wooden horse? Is she really ready to end her own existence for her vendetta against the Mikaelsons?
• How will Hope take the news that her favorite toy has now been pulverized to be used for wooden bullets? Will Hayley ever sleep again?
• Vincent is awesome. No question. He just is.