The Originals - Ne Me Quitte Pas - Review

This week’s episode of The Originals focused on Elijah’s storyline. We saw him figure out how to be a vampire, meet a new love, Antoinette, and become obsessed with finding out his past. After a few confrontations, and a mass killing spree, he gave up and moved to France reuniting with Antoinette where he spent the last 7 years. Cue Klaus trying to mess it all up. Elijah refuses to leave with Klaus and metaphorically (and in a very creepy way) rises from the ashes as a new man. 

The paradox: Paradox probably isn’t the right word here. I’m not sure Elijah fully realized what he was getting himself into when he asked Marcel to take his memories. It’s one thing to make the conscious decision to forget, but once you’ve forgotten you also won’t remember why you wanted to. Elijah became obsessed with figuring out his past, something he should’ve foreseen. We all knew a silly piece of paper telling him to not look back wouldn’t be enough, he’d need to know why. Once he found out his name, his research gave him plenty of reasons to never return, just not the right one. 

Favorite character: I’ve never made it a secret that Elijah isn’t my favorite Original sibling. But I must say that I have never been more intrigued by him than in this episode. He forgot everything, even what he was (something Marcel probably should’ve left alone). We’ve seen plenty of newbie vampires on both The Originals and The Vampire Diaries, but never quite like this. Elijah actually figured things out rather quickly, probably because most of his instincts were still there. We got to see a side of Elijah this week, that we’ve never really seen. He’s always tried to be the honorable one, always tried to be there for his siblings, to be the strong and put together one. But now he didn’t have to be strong for anyone. He could just be himself, without any sibling influence. He just seemed so carefree in this episode, which just made me realize how much weight he’s been carrying on his shoulders. 

Best scene: I don’t really know what Klaus was thinking in this episode. He doesn’t really need this brother to find Hayley. He knows damn well that bringing Elijah back would just make matters worse in New Orleans, that’s why he sent Hope back to school. Klaus has been on his own for the past 7 years but always around people who don’t know him that well. So if he appears as a monster to them, well who cares, they don’t matter. But New Orleans is a sort of home to him, returning there alone scares him. And while he does have Freya, it’s not the same as when Elijah was by his side. I think that’s why he wanted to bring him back, to have someone there to keep him in check around people he cares for. But Elijah, understandably, was not on board. And why would he be? There was no way he would leave everything he’s built for the past 7 years to run off into danger for people he doesn’t know. He will not return until he has his memories back. I actually like that Elijah stood his ground to Klaus. In the past, Always and Forever has often been enough to get him to at least reluctantly help out. But no more. Elijah, for the first time, chose his own happiness over that of his siblings. Kind of sad that it took losing his memory. 

Suspect: I really liked the dynamic between Elijah and Antoinette right until I found out she’s been keeping important things from him. And I can actually understand why she’s been keeping his identity a secret. She was probably worried that once he found out he would revert back to his old self. But my biggest issue is that from what I understood, she intersected with Elijah on purpose. It wasn’t explicitly stated but Klaus seemed to imply that he planted her in Elijah’s life. I think I need to see more of her before I can make a final judgment on her. 

What’s next: Like I said somewhere above, I think Elijah will only return to his family when he gets his memories back. At this point, I don’t see him leaving his life behind. And I think he’s right about Klaus not returning, but I’m not sure the same can be said for his other siblings, most of all Rebekah. I think she might give it a shot, and I would love to see that scene. 

Best quotes: Elijah: “I need food.” 
Elijah: “Elijah Mikaelson spent every day of his wretched life trying to save you from yourself. I mean, I can’t even imagine a more miserable existence. From what I understand, that poor bastard was lucky to find any moment of pleasure.” 

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. 

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