The Originals Review: Episode 2×04 – “Live and Let Die”

“The Originals” Brings A Touch Of Battle Royale And Introduces A New Romance

On tonight’s The Originals, the fists are flying. Mikael’s training at the cabin and Davina decides she wants to learn a thing or two. Kol’s still sneaking around, keeping his knowledge of Mikael’s return a secret and biding his time waiting for Davina to share the location of her hideout with him. Klaus is also on the hunt for Davina so as to get his hands on Mikael but Cami’s got a thing or two to say to him first. Elijah finally decides to play teacher to Gia while Marcel trains the other vamps to prepare for the inevitable showdown with the wolves serving Ester, but what happens when one wolf decides that Finn has taken things too far? Let’s discuss.

And How Does That Make You Feel?

So Cami’s back in this episode and has her sights set on Klaus. Her first scene felt a bit shaky and unnecessarily morbid. The scene wasn’t morbid itself but she was almost mopey and it was rather off-putting to watch. But once Klaus dropped in with his crooked smile, things picked up. It makes sense that Cami is able to provide as much perspective as she does because she has her degree in Psychology. Director Jeffrey Hunt maintained the shape of the story as it transitioned from busy street, to moody bar, to the dark woods. The entire portion of Klaus and Cami’s story in the bar was solid, with the mood set by the pitchy wailing of the accompanying song to reflect the torment Klaus always carries with him. We’re not quite sure what to make of the Klaus/Cami relationship yet. Sure, there’s an attraction there but we’re not sure if we’re inclined to want this to become a romance. Cami is able to provide a willingness to listen, guidance, and support, none of which necessarily constitutes a romantic relationship. But the final scene between the two in the woods where he promises to not harm Davina was overall touching, as Cami appeared equally concerned for Klaus’ well-being to Davina’s. It’s fascinating to watch Klaus deal with an entirely new (better) treatment from someone else and Joseph Morgan and Leah Pipes did commendable work together. With Klaus having his parents to battle and a baby to get back, will there time for him to explore that type of relationship? We’ll have to wait and see.

“There’s more to life than the pain that they made you feel. A cold beer, a slow song, a good friend. There are good things, Klaus, and you need to see that too. There’s no real peace in revenge.” ~ Cami

It’s About To Be A Supe-Fight

There was some a large quantity of action in tonight’s episode ranging from training with sticks to gruesome dismembering. In a surprise move by Davina, she asks Mikael to help her learn how to find some strength, and to be honest we weren’t all that impressed by this sequence. It made little sense for her to attempt to find her strength by reaching out to Mikael, someone she knows she can’t trust at all, and her injury was a sloppily executed plot device just to get Kol to the cabin so he could get Mikael free to battle Klaus. The only upside of this sequence was that writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson managed to inject some material in that gave us a bit more perspective on both Mikael (views on parenting and strength) and Davina (abandonment and trust issues). Now as for Klaus’ showdown with Mikael, this action was a bit more satisfying to watch though it felt a tad short once Klaus used Papa Tunde’s blade to take Mikael down. At first, we didn’t realise what had happened and wondered if he’d been killed, which in hindsight seems a bit silly because we don’t actually believe the writers would have brought Mikael back just to be take out in so anticlimactic a manner.

“As a devout feminist, I refuse to say you hit like a girl.” ~ Elijah

The training scene between Elijah and Gia was perhaps one of our favorites of the episode. The percussive soundtrack kept the energy up and fit in well with the the musical foundation of their lessons. The chemistry between the two was downright electric and Nishi Munshi executed the fight-training choreography with precision and grace. We also enjoyed seeing the aftermath of Elijah (and Oliver’s) showdown with Ester’s wolves. It’s a shame we couldn’t see the fight in its entirety but judging by the deliciously macabre aftermath, it’s clear that such content would not have been able to be aired unless on a premium network.

The Love Connection We’ve Been Waiting For

Josh had already built up a bit of a fan following but Aiden won a place in people’s heart tonight with his bravery and compassion. When he learns of Finn’s plan to have all the werewolf younglings kill on the blood moon to trigger their curse, one of which would be his younger brother, he is willing to risk it all and ask the vampires he had just threatened for help. So little by little, we see these two begin to connect. Now with the abundance of supernatural genre media, the passionate love stories within them typically aim to whip fans up into a frenzy. After a while, they start to feel stale. But now with this relationship between vampire Josh and werewolf Aiden, we have something that actually feels new. Let’s put aside the obvious part, the fact that this is a same-sex couple and the importance of the representation being provided, and focus on what else this plot development had going for it. Director Jeffrey Hunt beautifully incorporated shots to hint at the simmering connection between Josh and Aiden that were placed well and didn’t detract from more important happenings. Then once things settled down at the end of the episode, Josh and Aiden were able to sit down and have a conversation. Writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson composed honest dialogue that was understated in its beauty. It was so refreshing to not have characters talk about some unexplainable, epic connection despite knowing nothing about one another, but to simply have a mutual attraction along with a desire to not be alone in the midst of all the bad surrounding them. What’s so special about the chemistry between Steven Krueger and Colin Woodell is that they don’t have to force it. A simple shared glance and smile is enough to make us believe it and we are positively giddy to watch more from them.

“I guess I hoped seeing you might make me feel a little less, I don’t know, alone?” ~ Aiden
“Okay look, maybe for tonight we could pretend things are different. I’m not a vampire, you’re not a wolf, the city isn’t about to implode. We could just, I don’t know, be ourselves?” ~ Josh
“I’d like that.” ~ Aiden

FINAL VERDICT

Though we’ve talked about some highlights from tonight’s episode, there were a few things we didn’t cover. We briefly mentioned how it didn’t make sense for Davina to seek counsel from Mikael and in general, we don’t care for how her character’s being handled. It’s not just that she doesn’t seem to know what she’s doing, it feels as if the writers don’t know what they’re doing with her. How did she fall so far off from being the badass witch prodigy that was ready to make Mikael her puppet so she could take out Klaus? She was almost unrecognisable tonight and very all-over-the-place. We’d like to see her get back on track and find focus again. With Kol having released Mikael, it will be interesting to see how he covers his tracks with Davina. Sebastian Roche never fails to impress, as he can jam-pack so much hatred and menace into a single word, “Boy.” Though Mikael’s traded one captor for another, it will be good to see more of those father/not-my-son scenes as they’ve typically proven to be strong dramatic content. There wasn’t as much going on with Marcel, save for a few moments of leadership, so hopefully upcoming episodes will dive back into more of what’s going on with him. We did, however, enjoy this new tension between Elijah and Hayley. The level of sass these two were exchanging was rather exhilarating to watch and Phoebe Tonkin held her own opposite Daniel Gillies, who has long since established his ability to mesh manners and cheek. Though the episode wasn’t entirely consistent, there were enough strong points to make us come away having enjoyed ourselves.

Questions, Comments, Concerns…

• Endless feuding between vampires and werewolves. Why can’t we all just get along?
• Yikes, Cami, try turning down the morbidity.
• “Abs for days”… damn right he does.
• Elijah and Hayley getting feisty with each other; I LIKE IT.
• “That crooked smile thing” I KNOW RIGHT
• New-Finn is slick and slimy but I’m actually rather enjoying it.
• Must not check out the abusive scumbag father, must not check out the abusive scumbag father, *looks*, DAMN IT. Put your shirt back on.
• Davina asking to be taught by the master-manipulator. Seriously? Probably not the best person to let inside your head. -_-
• Elijah don’t you pretend you didn’t just have fun snapping those necks. 🙂
• Noooo, not the children!
• Davina, come on! Big bad Mikael’s talking smack? Magically sew his lips together or something. Get it together, girl.
• Yes Klaus, it’s about time you vented your feelings.
• Seriously, Davina? All that magic and you can’t even heal a rolled ankle??? *sneezes* plot hole! Just call your Whitelighter. Oh no. Wait. Wrong show. Damn I’m getting old.
• ELIJAH’S A FEMINIST?! As if the suits weren’t reason enough for him to be my fave! And now he’s talking music. Now THAT is the proper way to talk dirty. #IApprove
• WHAT THE HELL, ELIJAH! No penetration on a first date! xD
• Oooooh Josh, I see you peeping Aiden. Go on and get it, boo!
• Klaus’ parents clearly just needed a hobby. You’d be surprised how many problems in fiction can be solved if people would just get a damn hobby.
• “There’s no real peace in revenge.” Well damn, that’s some insightful wisdom there, Cami. I think you just exploded Klaus’ mind.
• I don’t care how cute you are, spreading rotten peanut butter on an ankle is not and should not be considered a good flirting strategy.
• Elijah’s having none of your nonsense today, Oliver.
• Elijah’s about to go all Fight Club on these fools. Yes.
• JOSH, we all just saw you give Aiden the once-over! Ask for his number! *begins shoving Josh in the direction of Aiden*
• Look at Elijah all mussed up and dishevelled. *heart eyes*
• Mikael, are you seriously growling at Klaus right now? And you have the gall to call HIM a dog???
• Snap! Mikael’s on the loose! Everybody duck and cover!
• JOSH AND AIDEN ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER AND I CAN’T STOP SQUEALING ABOUT IT
• Shut up, Ester! And get off your high horse.