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After watching the screener of The Originals premiere episode “Always and Forever” multiple times, it’s safe to say that we’re more in love with these characters than ever and the episode itself was even better than we could have imagined (and our expectations we’re beyond high).
On that note, thanks to fan questions and feedback on social media, we’ve come across a lot of misconceptions about the episode and we want to do our part to clear those up because we hope to see this show succeed and stick around for a very long time. Look for a companion piece article on Sunday that will address as many concerns as possible.
But for now, let’s talk spoilers. And by ‘spoilers’, we mean teases because there is only so much information we’re allowed to give or The CW will be angry at us. Besides, as much as we like spoilers, we prefer to watch the best secrets unfold on the screen. It’s more fun that way.
Without further ado, here are seven tidbits to look forward to:
#1 The cold open (the scene before ‘The Originals’ title card appears) – As you probably know, Elijah narrates this episode and his voice is the first one you hear as it begins. But he’s not the first Original to appear onscreen. What’s happening in the scene? We can’t share that, but we will say that it is going on our list of best scenes ever. If you’ve never watched an episode of The Vampire Diaries, this scene will give you a character lesson. If you already know the characters, you’ll love how spot on it is.
#2 Sophie’s introduction – For us, we didn’t get any real ‘vibe’ on Sophie watching the pilot/director’s cut. We understood her role, but the character didn’t leave a real impression. The premiere changes that. We get to see more of Sophie’s personality and we definitely like what we see. She goes toe to toe with the Originals and doesn’t blink and she’s quite frank over why she’s so brave. We also get a deeper glimpse into her grief and some insight from her fellow witches.
#3 Rebekah’s snark is in full effect – While we liked seeing Rebekah get a little happiness at the end of season four, we prefer our favorite Original sister when she’s being bitchy (think season three Rebekah). She hasn’t agreed to come to New Orleans yet and some of her back and forth conversations with Elijah are hilarious, but also very telling as to where Rebekah’s loyalty really lies.
#4 History lessons – There are a lot of flashbacks in this episode; some longer than others. Some are completely new; others are snippets that have appeared in TVD episodes. But all of them are important and are being shown for a reason. New viewers need this history to help them understand the characters and we don’t think people who have already seen TVD will be bored for a second. We’re very impressed with how the scenes were structured between present day and flashbacks.
#5 Elijah and Klaus’ dynamic – The Mikaelson brothers have ISSUES with a capital ISSUES. For new viewers, the episode does a fantastic job giving us glimpses at over 1,000 years of history, for better or worse. But for us, it was the present day scenes, two in particular that we can’t spoil even a little, that really showcased the bond these brothers share and the lengths Elijah is willing to go to make their family whole again. Every second the two were onscreen together captivated us.
#6 Marcel, Hayley, Cami and Davina – Since this episode is told from Elijah’s point of view, there are some major differences in the way we’re introduced to these characters. Cami, like Davina, only makes a cameo appearance. New viewers might not realize Cami is a supporting character and not just a day player, but we think episode two will fix that. As for Davina, her scene is short too, but important, and has us asking even more questions than the director’s cut did.
As for Hayley and Marcel, we meet each of them through Elijah’s eyes first. Viewers that haven’t seen the backdoor pilot/director’s cut might not get the full impression of Marcel, which is a shame because the ‘How Do You Like Me Now’ introduction is flawless. Instead, we mostly see his ‘this is my town’ side. On the other hand, for us, this new introduction to Hayley is pretty great and new viewers don’t have to deal with the baggage of inconsistencies that TVD viewers are familiar with.
#7 The final 30 seconds – if you don’t gasp audibly and stare blankly at your TV/computer wondering if you just saw what you think you saw, you weren’t paying attention. Holy OMFG, people…
Editor’s Note: Is there something you still want to know about the episode or the feel of the show as a whole? Hit the comments or find me on Twitter or Tumblr and let me know! I’ll do my best to address it in my column tomorrow.
The Originals premieres Thursday, Oct. 3 at 9/8c before moving to its regular night and time on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 8/7c on The CW.
BEST SHOW EVER
OMG I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS!