The Originals - Review of Episode 1.08 - The River in Reverse

As the war between Klaus and Marcel comes to a head, Klaus wins the first battle. Rebekah and Marcel’s plan to take him down goes horribly wrong, leading Marcel to surrender to Klaus. We get a glimpse at a past romance of Elijah, as he’s forced to endure the hallucinations thanks to the werewolf bite his brother gave him. Hayley helps him through it and meets a member of her family. Elijah and Hayley continue to grow closer, which has not gone unnoticed by Klaus. After a confrontation between Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah, Klaus leaves the house and moves back into their old home. He takes Hayley with him, who I assumed complied to keep Elijah and Rebekah out of harm’s way. Elsewhere in New Orleans, Cami has found a way around Klaus’ compulsion by sending herself an encrypted message. At the end of the episode a non-compelled Cami finds out that Klaus and Marcel are vampires. No Davina an Sophie this week. It’s been two episodes since we’ve seen Sophie. I do hope they continue the witch storyline soon.

Best badass moment: Tyler’s appearance was very this week was very brief, which I have a feeling most of you didn’t mind. I loved the scene where Rebekah snaps his neck. She wants to put a stop to Klaus but will not let anyone use the baby to do that. I wonder what she’ll do now that Hayley is all alone with Klaus. As for Tyler, I guess he’ll be spending some time in the garden until the writers find a way for him to be useful. Maybe he can start and ‘I hate Klaus’ club with Thierry.

Best ‘Oh no she didn’t’ moment: As much as I don’t want a romantic relationship between Klaus and Cami, I do have to admit that there’s something there. Might have something to do with her psychology degree, but she’s one of the few people (not related to him) who’s not a afraid to tell him off. Klaus must feel something for her because I doubt he’d let her live otherwise. I am curious what Cami will do with her new found information. For the past few weeks I’ve been thinking she’d end up a vampire, but now I think she might find another way to get rid of the compulsion. She’s certainly dedicated.

Most tragic moment: The flashbacks of Elijah and Celeste broke my heart. It seems Rebekah wasn’t the only one whose relationships got ruined by Klaus. I’m not sure why it is that Klaus refuses to let his siblings be happy and in love, but I do hope they clarify because it is not helping my opinion of Klaus. It’s obvious that Elijah doesn’t want to get to close to Hayley because he doesn’t want her to suffer the same fate. Celeste was probably not the first love he lost. We never did find out what happened with Tatia.

Best fight scene: Probably the best fight scene of the season so far. Klaus vs. Marcel’s army. Klaus seemed to be losing the battle at some point, until his werewolf strength kicked in. After that bodies just started flying. Rebekah convince Marcel to take the coin to save his life. By taking it he surrendered to Klaus. There were a lot more dead bodies than I thought there would be. Later Marcel points out that he’ll never have their loyalty, because it’s something that can’t be forced.

Best confrontation moment: The final confrontation between the Original siblings had me rooting for pretty much all of them. I can see where they’re coming from. Rebekah and Elijah are right that Klaus has always been the one to push them away, by daggering them or killing their loved ones. It’s completely understandable that they have given up on him. And Klaus has been messing up repeatedly. But I get that when his intentions are pure for once, and they don’t believe him, it must have hurt. He probably didn’t see the point in being good if they’re just going to accuse him otherwise anyway. Like I said, I get where both parties are coming from. However I don’t think Klaus leaving was the best solution. If he wants to be accepted by his family he’ll have to slowly gain back their trust. He can’t expect to get in back in one day after screwing up for the past 1000 years.

Favorite moment: It’s not as much a favorite scene this week. More like several moments, all of which including Josh. He’s fast becoming one of my favorite characters. Most vampires on this show have been around for at least a century, so I like his fresh take on things. It’s nice to have a newbie vampire who’s not overcome with hunger and completely freaking out. He’s also great comedic relief.

Favorite quotes: Hayley: “So you’re having weird retro sex dreams. Get over it.”

Marcel: “Relax, if he knew, he would’ve ripped your spine out through your nose by now.” Josh: “Oh, great. Now I feel totally at ease.”

Next week will be the mid-season finale. I predict a cliffhanger that will leave us at the edge of our seats. Tune in next week for a new review and let me know what you thought of 'The River in Reverse' in the comments.

Jamie Coudeville (aka Belle333Black)
19 years old from Belgium. Favorite shows are Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Teen Wolf, Castle, Revenge and Nikita.

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