The Originals - From a Cradle to a Grave - Review

Wow, just wow. The finale was without a doubt the best episode of the season. It had everything. Emotion, action, cliffhangers, … 
A brief summary: most of the vampires are dead; Hayley’s a hybrid; Hope will be staying with Rebekah (off screen unfortunately); Klaus and Marcel made up; Monique, Genevieve and the other harvest girl are dead; Mikael, Esther and Finn are not; everybody thinks Hope is dead and that’s pretty much it. 

Best chemistry moment: The flashback between Klaus and Hayley was so beautiful. I hate that we never got scenes like this throughout the season. The letter she wrote to her daughter was beautiful, you could tell that she knew there was a chance she wouldn’t make it through this alive and wanted her daughter to have something of her. Unlike Hayley herself, who had nothing of her parents. The overlapping with the birth was very well edited. 

Character I will miss the least: I sort of predicted Monique would die in the first half of the episode. So she technically died 15 seconds into the second half, I still consider myself right. I swear, when she slit Hayley’s throat, the first thing that went through my mind was: “Oh, I hope you die a slow and painful death.” It may not have been slow, but I can imagine that a thousand cuts is probably kind of painful. So ding dong, the witch is dead. 

Best death: Another character I won’t miss, Genevieve. Honestly Hayley did her a favor by killing her quickly because it looked like the spirits had a very slow and painful death in mind for her. You can see by Elijah’s expression that he can see a difference in Hayley. Well yeah, if someone slit your throat and ripped your newborn from your arms, you’d be different too. I’m surprised she’s not more screwed up. 

Best fight: Klaus, Hayley and Elijah versus the witches. So you know how when someone is in transition they usually feel pretty weak? Hayley was so pissed off she actually managed to get some good punches in. But they were no match for the witches (both alive and dead). Luckily Marcel saved the day with a ninja star. 

Worst idea: Davina is going to regret this, I guarantee it. I get that she wants to make Klaus pay, but bringing back Mikael, who is worse than Klaus, is not the way. And considering she’s keeping him on a tight leash, I’m guessing when he gets out of that, he’ll most likely turn on her. 

Best sacrifice: Phoebe did an amazing job during the scene where she tells Klaus and Elijah that they should give Hope up. I was trying very hard not to cry during this scene (later in this review you will read how I failed miserably). I can only imagine how hard it is to have to give up your child, especially because of things you can’t control. But she’s right, Hope would not be safe there. Especially now that the vampire army has shrunken down to (I think) Marcel and Josh. 

Best ‘O shit’ moment: I think you all know which moment I’m referring to. Esther is back, and it would seem that she’s brought Finn back as well. It’s a shame they couldn’t come back in their own bodies. I’m not a big fan of the body-take-over (mainly because it makes viding a lot harder). But I understand if they couldn’t get the actors back, I know they used a stunt double for the flashback featuring Esther in the premiere. But having both mama and papa Original back means big trouble. Am I the only one who wants to see them face off. And are you seriously telling me that the only Original that is still dead happens to be one of my favorites. I demand we get Kol back as well. 

Best name: Hope, it’s absolutely perfect. If I remember correctly, in the beginning of the season this baby was described as hope for both Klaus and the Original family. But she’s more than that. She brought out Klaus’ redemption, gave Elijah a chance to open up his heart again, made Hayley grow up and realize where her priorities are and has given Rebekah the chance to life a human life, with a white picket fence. I could not have come up with a better name. 

Best speech: As much as I am a Klayley fan, I really liked Elijah’s speech to Klaus about how he let Hayley in. Over the centuries Elijah’s problem has not been that he didn’t trust, like Klaus, but that whenever he let someone in, they would either end up dead (Celeste) or betray him (Katherine). I can only imagine what happened with Tatia, a story I desperately want answers to. But he did let Hayley in, and you could see how heartbroken he was to find out that she was dead. 

Worst speech: Elijah again, when he started yelling at Klaus in the church, blaming him, I got a little upset with him. I get that he was sad and angry, but this was not the time or the place for this. Klaus just saw the mother of his child get murdered and then his child was ripped out of her arms so it could be sacrificed. Go find her instead of yelling, Hayley would’ve been pissed if she knew they’d wasted time arguing. Something I do need to add is that I thought that Elijah felt a little out of place. This episode was mainly about Klaus, Hayley and their baby. The fact that Elijah was so involved in the second part of the episode, when they were making the decision to give her up, felt weird to me. But that is just my opinion. 

Best Return/Favorite scene: Okay, so by the time we got to this point, I was barely holding myself together. I started thinking of who Klaus and Hayley would trust to give their daughter to. I knew it wouldn’t be a stranger because Hayley wouldn’t want the same thing that happened to her, happen to her daughter. You know how I said last week that this would’ve been a great moment for Rebekah to come save the day? Well I never expected it to actually happen. The fact that it was Claire who left the show, gave me little hope that we’d see her any time soon. And yet, there she was. The minute Rebekah stepped out of the car I started sobbing, like uncontrollably sobbing. This is probably my favorite scene of the entire season, it’s exactly what I wanted from ‘The Originals’. Rebekah’s face when they meet again, she seems happy and content. The fact that even though they did not exactly part on good terms, he still trusts her. I think some time apart from one another did them good, they were making each other miserable. But seeing them together again has made me realize how much I’ve missed them. My absolute favorite part of this scene is when he gives her the wooden toy from when they were kids. Rebekah’s reaction to finding out that after all of these centuries, after all of their fights, he still kept it was perfect. We better see Rebekah and Hope again soon, and I don’t mean the next finale. 

Biggest questions: 
- What are Esther and Finn up to? 
- How will Hayley handle being a hybrid? 
- When will we see Rebekah and Hope again?
- When will we get Kol back? 
- When will Josh get a love interest? 
- What happened with Tatia?
- Now that the Other Side is gone, will this have an effect on the witches who practice ancestral magic? 
- How long do you think it’ll take before Oliver bites the dust as well? 

Best quotes: 
Rebekah: “She looks like her mother. Maybe there is a god after all.” 
Josh: “Okay, I am hallucinating.” 
Klaus: “In spite of our differences, Rebekah, there is no one I would trust more with my daughter’s life. Be happy, sister.” 

So I know I’m a little late with this, but I’ve been so busy studying for finals (first exam is Tuesday, wish me luck). I can’t wait for season two. I’ve been a little disappointed with the last few episodes, but this finale totally made up for it. Let me know in the comments what you guys thought.

About the Author - Belle333Black

Jamie Coudeville (Belle333Black) writes reviews for The Originals. She's 19, lives in Belgium and her favorite shows are The Originals, Vampire Diaries, Orphan Black, Nikita, ...