‘The Originals’ Review: Shattering Unbreakable Bonds

“I felt them leave. My sire line is broken.”

Who else is still crying on the floor after the latest episode of The Originals? Sure, “A Streetcar Named Desire” brought Stefan Salvatore and his hero hair into the fight after Klaus rescued him from a huntress. And we’re going to talk about how seamlessly Stefan fit into the show. But first, there’s plenty of crying to do.

Two plans took shape early in the episode. Aya and Aurora plotted to trap Klaus and Elijah in a mind prison (just like Finn did to his brothers last season). While their bodies remained paralyzed, Davina and her Strix sister witches would use Jackson’s heart to unlink the sire lines. Once the spell was complete, Aya planned to test its validity by killing Klaus and waiting to see whether or not Marcel and company died. If they survived, she could turn Aurora’s white oak bullets on Elijah.

We learned this addendum to the plan from Lucien (He’s back!). It turns out Aurora didn’t appreciate it when she shared her death to Klaus plan and Lucien refused to jump on board. Hayley rescued a desiccating Lucien and Freya opted to channel him in order to generate enough power to enter the mind trap so big sister could save the day. In the meantime, Marcel would sneak Hayley and Stefan into the witch lair and stop the spell. Easy enough. What could go wrong?

Everything.

Just picture pain and suffering all over the place. Pain, suffering, amazing acting, and terrific writing—the true formula that makes this show one of the most consistently engaging and emotional hours of TV each week.

Starting with the “light” stuff (and I’m using that in the loosest sense), Freya and Lucien are so fun together. I’m not saying they should ride off into the sunset or anything, but their chemistry should not be wasted. So much sass—plus she seemed genuinely concerned about his well-being at one point. Then her focus returned to her family because she’s a Mikaelson and that’s how they roll.

Another great pairing this episode—Stefan and Hayley as they waited in the confines of Marcel’s trunk (I enjoyed the Stefan/Freya scenes too, but the abundance of exposition hurt. I know they were just keeping potential new crossover viewers up to speed, but it felt clunky). Stefan and Hayley discussing why they were putting themselves on the line turned out to be a lovely scene because 1) Paul Wesley and Phoebe Tonkin are fantastic and 2) sometimes it’s easier to open up to a stranger. Stefan’s pride in Caroline shone through and Hayley had a chance to talk about how much Klaus and Elijah taught her about family.

Speaking of family, Tristan and Aurora’s reunion and goodbyes packed an emotional punch. Like the Mikaelson siblings, they love each other deeply. And now they’re doomed to suffer for an eternity—each one alone in a makeshift prison. I might not have been rooting for either of them to win the war (Team Mikaelson), but their stories are tragic too. Tristan claimed to have learned from Elijah’s mistakes and just wanted a chance to survive. Too bad revenge blinded him as jealousy did to Aurora. As much as I think Mikaelson enemies should be killed to be on the safe side, being forced to live this way is much worse.

As for Aya, we may as well add her to the tragic list. Once Freya freed Elijah and he teamed with Hayley and Marcel to kill the witches, her chance to escape Elijah’s sire line evaporated. After seeing his brother in pain, Elijah didn’t want to let Aya lie. But he hesitated (again!). Aya made him see things from her point of view—why and how he failed her and how tired she was of having her life tied to this man who’d abandoned her. Elijah could not bring himself to pull the trigger. But Hayley had no problem driving a stake through Aya’s heart in Jackson’s name.

Powerful, powerful scene. Elijah cares for very few people, but when he does care, he cares forever. His love for Klaus might trump all, but as he said, he’ll never forgive himself for what he did to Aya. As much as I’ve wanted him to stop showing mercy, I’m glad Hayley was the one who took Aya’s life. The queens continue to be the ones getting things done.

Unfortunately, that extends to our teenage witch with the never ending chip on her shoulder. Even with the other witches dead, the Strix falling in the huntress’ path, and Marcel asking her not to do it, Davina focused all her energy and power on Klaus. She completed the spell. We watched Lucien, Marcel, and Stefan begin to crumble, their skin burning as the magic left their bodies. When it was over, Elijah jumped into the water and cradled his brother as Klaus confirmed he felt the link break.

Ugh. Just leave me here to drown in my pain.

While they were trapped in the mind prison, Aurora taunted Klaus about how his sire line only stood by him because their lives depended on his. No one chose to help him because they loved him—a sentiment Klaus echoed later when he said goodbye to Stefan. I think we all know paranoid Klaus will be returning. And while he does have reason to be paranoid (enemies are going to be all over this new weakness), Klaus still has family who will stand with him. But knowing Klaus, he may try to push them away and that’s going to hurt too.

Pain and suffering—always and forever.

I know we’re probably not supposed to want Davina to die, but she’s the villain at this point. She did what she did to bring Kol back and I don’t think she would have cared if Marcel and Josh died in the process. But that’s not going to be a happily ever after, right? I’m assuming Kol’s a vampire and not a witch given the way he tossed Klaus in the promo. That’s probably going to cause some issues between Kol and Davina and I am here for that.

After all was said and done, Klaus and Stefan shared one last moment. They’d each saved each other and now they were no longer magically linked. Their goodbye felt final and while I’m sure Stefan wants it to be, I won’t be sad if they cross paths again. I’m sure the logistics of crossovers involving the leads from each show are not easy to pull off, but I will always enjoy any scene these two share (Team Klefan).

Before we wrap up, I want to talk about the prophecy. Has it been fulfilled? Rebekah fell by family. Marcel (friend) daggered Elijah, and now Davina (foe) took down Klaus. Freya’s been buried alive. Klaus’ sire line burned. Tristan and Aurora have been removed from the playing field. We know better than to assume that’s the last of the danger. But what’s worse than what’s already come to pass?

I’m sure we’re going to find out and it will include the usual ingredients—pain and suffering.