Who’s Afraid of a White Oak Stake? Review: The Originals – “Le Grand Guignol”

Season 1, Episode 15

Air Date: Thursday, March 4, 2014, 8/7c on The CW

RATING: ★★★★★

“I will always choose him!” – Elijah

The Originals ups the ick factor considerably. I’m no stranger to blood and gore but damn if I didn’t feel the urge to upchuck while watching the opening scene. Vampires can be so blasé about things like … decapitation, digging into torsos, you know. Makes for an interesting hour.

Observations and thoughts:

The Wampire Prince

I like Klaus. He’s mean but enjoyable to watch.

What can take out an Original vampire you ask? A white oak stake. Hadn’t all the spooky sticks been destroyed once upon a time? I’m a bit confused as to why there’s yet another Original killing implement hidden amongst the Mikaelson home. That damn Klaus (Joseph Morgan) is tricky. Morgan does an excellent job of portraying a man/vampire harboring an immense amount of hate. It consumes Klaus to the point of madness, and Morgan shows that on screen with a cutting gaze, bulging neck veins, and fierce speech. I always wonder where actors in a paranormal series draw their inspiration from. How they can appeal to the animalistic side of themselves and bring about the machinations of a vampire or werewolf. It’s quite fascinating. Most of the time actors who portray vampires do a lot of growling and looking mean. Morgan doesn’t do that. He makes you feel for Klaus; he humanizes him but subtly reminds you that he’s not human at all.

The Qualms of Letting Go

I had no idea I would like Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) with Elijah (Daniel Gillies). As much as the idea is foreign to me, I think it would be sweet. The two seem to have some kind of connection but Hayley is still drawn to saving her family. She doesn’t see anything else but finding her place in the world. How tender are the moments between Hayley and Elijah. “I’ll always come back,” Elijah says. *swoon* I’ve grown to adore the little ‘romance’ between the two. So why have the writers thrown the two together, only to keep them apart? Are we meant to see another side to Elijah? Is the relationship brewing between a girl and her soon to be born child’s uncle important for some reason? Is Hayley Elijah’s one great love? I don’t want to see them split up. Things are just beginning between them and I’d like to see where their feelings will take them. I’m so on board for Elijah and Hayley to confess their hidden emotions to one another.

Random thoughts:

Elijah and the woman he loves or the woman he hates?

I’ve never seen Elijah bested by anyone until daddy dearest shows up. I’d almost forgotten how awesome Mikael (Sebastian Roche) is. I enjoyed seeing him again and hope we get more time with the talented Roche as The Originals continues. The flashbacks have been quite engaging, showing us more of the history the Original family continues to hide.

If the witches only need words to wreak their havoc, why does Elijah bind Sabine’s (Shannon Kane) hands?

Is Klaus turning into the father who haunted him for so many years? The vampires are more alike than not. Their anger fuels their rage to the point of no recompense. And Klaus calls Mikael a “monster.” Pot meet kettle.

You want to get Klaus to back down from something, you have to call in Caroline (Candice Accola). I love Cami (Leah Pipes) as much as the next person but she doesn’t hold Klaus’ heart. Caroline can get him to listen to reason. Are the writers trying to drive one blonde out of his mind and replace her with this new one? Cami can’t replace Caroline. And I’m not going for that mess.

Memorable lines:

Elijah to Cami: “My brother has a mystical torture device buried in his chest, and the mother of his child is inexplicably missing, so I assure you, I have no time to play any games either.”

Mikael to Elijah about the defining characters of his brother: “Nicklaus is an abomination. You do not talk to abominations;, you do not reason with them or try to change them; you erase them. So yes, I’m asking you to help me kill your brother.”

Cami rails on Klaus about his callousness: “When Davina showed me all you did to me—all you took from me—I wanted to kill you. I even thought about burying that blade in you like the witches asked me too but I didn’t. I stopped, I thought, I weighed; the good I see in you versus the horrible things I know you’ve done. And I realized if I hurt you, I’d be filled with a terrible regret.”

Papa Mikaelson returns if only in a memory.

“Le Grand Guignol” shifts the storyline of The Originals to the werewolves. It’s not a huge shift, but we can see the witches are losing their steam and the werewolves will be coming into their own. Since Klaus is half werewolf anyway, I think the change in direction will be interesting. Maybe he’ll dig deeper into his other side. Who knows? I’m curious to find out though. Drop me a line in the comments below if you want to discuss the episode, or hit me up on Twitter @ellemoe with your thoughts.

Tune in to The Originals, Tuesdays at 8/7c only on The CW. For more on the show, visit the official site.

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Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle