‘The Originals’ Review: Hollow Hauntings

Once upon a time, only white oak taken from a specific tree could kill an Original vampire.

Then, werewolf venom from multiple wolf packs, combined with Esther’s Original-creating formula, packed a punch, or a bite, that could bring down an Original.

And now The Originals introduced a new way to potentially kill off the reasons we watch this show in the first place.

With a twig. Yes, a twig, coated in Marcel’s blood.

I watch a lot of TV. I know there needs to be a feeling in genre shows that anyone can die at any time. But there’s also an unspoken agreement between the show and its audience: changing mythology for plot convenience is lazy and it pisses us off.

“I Hear You Knocking” was never going to be in the running for best episode of the season. Another Klaus vs. Marcel fight where we knew going into it neither man would be dead when the credits rolled.

But there was still potential.

Hayley and Elijah took Hope to visit Mary, which led to some cute moments between the two. And now we all have an image of Elijah in jean shorts and flip-flops in our heads. And we are grateful for that.

Plus, Hayley put together more puzzle pieces. She believes Mary’s husband may have been possessed by the Hollow when he killed her parents. She also thinks maybe Hope is a target, not because she’s a Mikaelson, but because the Lebonair family is cursed.

I’m all for Hayley getting a story that’s centered on her. I had to text a friend to ask if we knew Jack’s grandpa killed her parents. Because I barely remembered the reveal since Hayley was allowed two seconds to process it before it was swept under the rug, and not mentioned again until now.

Freya also got a turn in the storyline spotlight. Sure, she was still doing everything for her family, because that’s her role as big sister. But this time, she wasn’t alone. Keelin stayed with her, even though they’d already made the weapon to bring down Marcel. It’s nice to see Freya have someone on her side.

And, yes, the chemistry between the two ladies is starting to shine brighter. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes. Love and any member of the Mikaelson family usually end with a dead love interest. But maybe Freya will get a few moments of happiness first.

Now, back to Klaus and Marcel. With the Hollow messing with their minds, Klaus saw Mikael everywhere he went while Elijah haunted and taunted Marcel. Double Elijah is a win in my book. And it’s always nice to have Sebastian Roche back. Mikael will always haunt Klaus more than any of his other demons.

I don’t love Elijah and Marcel being enemies. Although, I do enjoy watching Elijah threatening people. He’s so passionate about Klaus’ redemption. And I think he’s right. Klaus did show Marcel mercy. It wasn’t all strategy and circumstances. Klaus didn’t kill Marcel last season, and he’s not going to do it now. One child is not a replacement for the other.

But the new weapon Sofya and her witch friend created infuriates me. Because it violates the rules. And it’s a twig! The idea of an Original vampire being brought down by a scratch from a twig is laughable. But not the good kind of laughable. The kind that makes me question how we’re supposed to take this show seriously.

(And, no. That’s not a challenge to kill off one of the Originals with the twig).

Plot contrivance aside, where did the Hollow go? I assume Freya’s correct, and it’s not in Klaus and Marcel any longer. I don’t think it slipped into Freya or Elijah. Sofya’s witch? Sofya? Someone else? Not knowing where the manipulative evil is—that’s the kind of psychological terror I want the Mikaelsons to fear.

Not a twig.