The Originals Review 3×16: “Alone with Everybody”

The Prophecy continues to unwind on last week’s The Originals and new threats begin to emerge. The Mikaelson’s attempt to band together to keep the family alive and strong.

The wait is over and The Originals have returned! Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) continue their journey out of New Orleans to shelter their daughter Hope from harm. As they find out the threat they were most afraid of isn’t just limited to the last remaining shred of the white oak. Back in New Orleans, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) with the help of Josh (Steven Krueger), find an elusive auctioneer set out to lure the highest bidder into offering a fortune for the privilege of owning the last weapon known to do away with Klaus and his family. Freya (Riley Voelkel) spurns the attentions of Lucien (Andrew Lees) all the while trying to establish peace between the two brothers, Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic) and Finn (Casper Zafer) with Elijah (Daniel Gillies) also acting as an intermediary. This episode was a fun change from the usual frolic in the quarter and gave us a chance to maybe see some pivotal changes in characters that were until now somewhat set in their ways. Let’s take a closer look at the finer points of what this episode had to offer.

Klaus Mikaelson: One bad mother trucker.

The little road trip in the name of keeping Hope safe ends up bringing Klaus and Hayley back into familiar territory. It allows Hayley to get in touch with those she considered friends and family as far as her old wolf pack went. Klaus on the other hand could care less for where the journey has taken them. Though they are out protecting their daughter and in turn themselves, it’s clear that Klaus would prefer not to linger in the back country or strike up conversations with old acquaintances. In fact, he spends most of his time complaining and insulting everything and everyone around them. There is no love lost between he and Hayley as well.

“And you have hit your quota for the day, congrats. You are officially the worst.” - Hayley

While Hayley exchanges verbal barbs with Klaus, she is also intent on helping out those that may need a little kindness. Especially those that she had connections with when she was younger. No little surprise, this doesn’t go over well with Klaus. His main mission is to keep his daughter safe and himself by fleeing New Orleans, that does not include taking pit stops to make new friends even if they are dear friends of his daughter’s mother. By the end of the ordeal, Hayley does what she sets out to do and aids her old pack by offering kind words to a young girl set to experience her first turning. While witnessing this, Klaus is given some words of advice by Hayley that being kind is not a weakness. He seems to take it to heart and coins the term: Team Hope. It looks as if Klaus and Hayley have finally come to a truce but also have discovered a devious plot of an unknown who seems to be hunting werewolves. Is this someone an enemy of Klaus’ past or is this the work of someone new? It will be interesting to see how this ties in with the dim predictions of the prophecy.

A tortured soul but still family.

Finn is a pain but he has a good point when it comes to the reality of his own suffering. He is loyal to his family even though he has proved treacherous to them several times as well. He was the direct cause of Kol dying and being banished to the afterlife, causing Davina to devote her life into bringing him back. Now that she has succeeded in that endeavor, she’s moved on to another motive, making her boyfriend Kol happy. That includes taking matters into her own hands and casting spells that ensure Finn’s suffering, all for the sake of Kol’s approval. Kol himself is headed down his own path, sinking back into the abysmal darkness that he suffered from before his life came to a brief end.

“I recommend we dispense with all of this posturing and get down to some good old fashioned family bonding.” - Elijah

With no end in sight, the only hope for Finn to end the misery he suffers from is now the white oak bullet. It’s almost heartbreaking to see him break down in such a way and be so desperate for the only weapon that can ensure his family’s downfall continue to exist. Whatever plans he had after being resurrected back in his vampire body they definitely did not include being imprisoned there for an eternity. Now that Finn is around for good, does that mean that he’ll be hanging around the Quarter in order to protect his family? There certainly isn’t much else for him to stay around for now that freeing himself from vampirism is not in the cards. Certainly, his past deviant behavior would not serve him well if he’s going to be living in misery for the rest of eternity.

The lurking threat.

With the white oak bullet being put up for auction by a mysterious patron, it’s no wonder Marcel and Josh get in the mix to retrieve it. Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) helps in this endeavor being that the bullet was taken from him in the first place. When they manage to get the weapon safely in their hands they have only a moment to celebrate before they realize their plot has gone awry. The mysterious woman working for the unnamed patron is set free by Vincent himself, having suffered being under the control of another mysterious power.

“I’m beginning to fear that the real threat has been in front of us all along.” - Elijah

The mysterious patron turns out to be none other than Lucien. This does not however, explain the hold he has over Vincent, unless for some reason he is the originator or the creator of the prophecy itself with the aid of witches on his side. If this were true, the only question would be, why did he take so long to carry out this plan? Was he hoping that Aurora (Rebecca Breeds) and Tristan (Oliver Ackland) would do the dirty work for him, only to have been disappointed at their failure? His bid to woo Freya with a bouquet of flowers really did not help him in the least to garner her trust. Now that he has her captive along with the white bullet, a field of flowers probably wouldn’t help him.

Conclusion: The Prophecy may not be that far off in it’s conclusion.

Being that Lucien was involved romantically with Aurora in the past, this really was to be expected, but him taking matters into his own hands in the downfall of Klaus was almost entirely unexpected. The prophecy has already come to pass regarding family with Elijah having staked Rebekah (Claire Holt) at her request, and by the Martels’ attempts the foe, but now are we now witnessing the friend component come to a head? If there is one thing to take away from this, it’s that Lucien certainly took the coin of phrase ‘keep your friends close, your enemies closer’ very close to heart. Who would have known that he would ever have the gumption to take it so far.

Writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson dish out a lovely plot and script for this episode, highlighting the extent of what a royal pain Klaus can actually be when not comfortable in his own environment. The scenes between Joseph Morgan and Phoebe Tonkin were humorous but also functional in portraying just how different both their characters truly are and that they both have a lot to learn from one another. There really is heart hidden way down deep in the hard exterior of he that is Klaus. Will there be more emotional exchanges between the two in the future and will they indeed join together in the endeavor of raising their daughter the right way, the way both of them can agree on is correct and true.

Questions, Comments & Concerns

• Does Klaus actively set out to insult everyone and be displeased with everything that he doesn’t remotely have some sort of control over?
• How awesome was Elijah playing that piano at the intro? Pretty darn awesome, right?
• It looks like Kol is headed down the psychotic maniac road again. What will that mean for the future of his and Davina’s relationship?
• Will Finn let Davina live after the stunt she pulled on him? Considering she pretty much ruined his life.
• Will Klaus keep Hayley’s lessons to heart and work on being a better person and less the prickly pear when it comes to showing a bit of kindness to those in need? Doubtful, but we can hope.
• Is Lucien the friend that was set to betray the Mikaelson’s from the prophecy?