The Originals - Gather Up the Killers - Review

After 10 long months, The Originals is finally back and did not disappoint. We pick up 5 years after the events of last season. Hope is now 7 years old. Hayley has been looking for a cure for the Original siblings and has finally reached the last step. Marcel has been keeping Klaus locked up at the Mikaelson compound. He spends the episode dealing with Alistair, one of Klaus’ enemies, and realizes a new threat is in New Orleans. Hayley finally manages to cure and wake up the Mikaelsons just in time, because their enemies have caught up with her. A young witch is taken and Hope seems to have dreamt about it. 

Favorite character: I remember, back in season one, when episodes that were kind of Hayley-centric used to get a lot of hate. Specific parts of the fandom really despised her. I’d like to think that most of that is behind us now. If not, look away. Hayley really went above and beyond this week, and the past five years. While raising her daughter (and hiding from Klaus’ enemies) she managed to cure Rebekah and Freya. With the help of Mary, she also managed to get blood samples of the different werewolf clans. The show picked back up right when she’s about to get the final ingredient. I can’t help but wonder if this is the first time Klaus’ enemies have gotten this close to her. She didn’t seem very out of practice. Her fight in wolf form has to be one of my favorite scenes of her yet. Even if Elijah hadn’t joined the fight at the end, I think she would’ve been able to handle it. 

Character that I want to hate: I went into this episode wanting to hate Marcel so badly. And don’t worry, I don’t suddenly love him or anything but I did find it hard to hate him as I did at the end of last season. Part of me wonders if the writers didn’t pull him back a bit on purpose, to make him more likable. While I don’t like what he’s done to the Original family, it does seem to have been effective. According to Vincent, things have been relatively peaceful these past 5 years without them. Aside from the occasional visiting vampire that is. He told his people that Hayley and Hope were off limits and even went easier on Klaus after a while, feeding him and only occasionally using the blade. Though, at this time he was under the impression that Elijah and Kol were dead. So it’s entirely possible that he would’ve sent someone after Hayley eventually. I still haven’t forgiven him for the events of last season, though. He brought a bunch of angry vampires to the house where Hope was sleeping, endangering her life. He tried to kill Kol, which is something Davina never would’ve wanted. And while he seems to still have feelings for Rebekah, what he did to her family is unforgivable. I really hope the writers don’t try to put them together again. I wouldn’t put it past them. 

That didn’t last long: Alastair’s quick demise was certainly unexpected. Normally the writers would drag out the presence of a character like him for at least two episodes. Alas, despite all of his bravado, Klaus managed to take him out quite easily despite not being at full strength. I did understand his anger. What Klaus did to him was beyond cruel, making him kill his own family. But he really shouldn’t have threatened Hope. The minute he started doing that, I knew he was toast. 

Biggest change: It’s not difficult to figure out who’s changed to most in the past five years. I’m going to miss the twins that played Hope (they were so cute) but I do love Summer Fontana in the role. I know there’s been a lot of discussion about the color of her hair. Allow me to put finally put it to rest. I happen to know firsthand that it’s possible to be a redhead even if neither of your parents are (living proof right here). Can we let this go now? Okay. Anyway, we haven’t seen much of her powers yet, but Hayley did mention that she needed help to figure those out so some of it must have already started manifesting. There were a lot of drawings on her bad, so those premonitions have probably been happening for a while. I can’t wait to see what else she can do. 

Potential plot hole: Keelin is a werewolf, right? So why was Hayley able to snap her neck? Because it sure as hell sounded like a neck snap. And it confused the hell out of me for the remainder of the episode. I’m not the only one who heard a snap, right? If she did just knock her out, the sound department needs to figure out a way to make the two a bit less similar. 

What’s next: Well, obviously the Mikaelsons will be headed straight for New Orleans to free Klaus. As for in the long run, there does seem to be a new big bad in town that seems to be taking children (aka Hope will be next). Freya seems a lot darker than last season, I think she’ll continue on that path for a while. As for Marcel and Vincent, I have a feeling they won’t be on the same side for much longer. I expect a conflict with the witches will occur at some point. Especially if the Originals come back to town. 

Best quotes: Josh: “Hey Casanova, I may be going out on a limb here but she’s into you.” Vincent: “Maxine?” Josh: “Fun, cool, ridiculously gorgeous single mom? Yeah. But, hey, if you’d rather be a monk the rest of your life…” 
Keelin: “You just waved your hand and his brain melted?” Freya: “That’s what happens when people annoy me.” 
Hayley: “You want more? Come on!” 

That’s it for this week. Check in again next week for an all-new review and let me know in the comments what you thought of this week’s episode.