The Originals: A Spin-Off Like No Other 

Seasons 4 and 5 had Julie Plec as a showrunner when Seasons 1-3 were run mostly by Michael Narducci who wrote some of the best TVD episodes. Take that as you will. 😂😂

Joseph Morgan and Daniel Gillies were absolutely iconic in both The Originals and The Vampire Diaries. I'm genuinely frustrated they were never considered for major awards. Their performances often overshadowed their co-stars because they were JUST. THAT. GOOD.

One reason i prefer the originals over tvd is the lack of messy romance. And romance is always in the background and never the main point.

If this cast was in an HBO's version of the originals with HBO writing and budget, I am more than confident that it would have been considered one of the greatest ever tv shows

I find it especially sad that Phoebe Tonkin and Claire Holt didnt have more scenes together because they spent their whole teenage years playing best friends on H2O just add water. They have amazing chemistry and such a long history of acting together. Truly couldve had some great scenes with them and their characters

I think the greatest thing about Klaus and haley's relationship is it subverts your usual romance inspired stories and expectations, they know they don't work together but try their best to be good co parents and respect each other as such, most stories would've shoved them together regardless if they worked or not

When Joseph Morgan speaks his monoloques, it's as if you're watching a Shakespeare play, spectacular

Joseph Morgan as Klaus Mikaelson is one of the greatest vampire characters of all time and his monologues is some of the best ever. The scene where he gives his enemies a chance to pick up the coin to be spared has to be one of the most badass scenes in T.V. history.

The fact that vampire diaries went down hell after the departure of the originals says so much about how much character they bring ! Every plot that followed was a catastrophe ! And the originals was a show about adults which was perfect since we've all grown up from the teenage drama that was happening on tvd

When Rebekah takes Hope, knowing how much she always wanted to be a mom, Klaus giving her up with tears in his eyes... It makes me weep every time 😭

honestly the mikaelson siblings are just so entertaining they really hit the jackpot with the actor’s chemistry i absolutely love them

Klaus screaming "REBEKAAAAAAHHHH!" will forever be equally iconic and blood curdling

Have I've seen The Vampire Diaries? No. Have I've seen The Originals? No. Will I watch a three hours long essay about The Originals just because is Friendly Space Ninja? Absolutely.

the fact that Marcel was SO hated during its run has always baffled me because he’s genuinely one of the most interesting characters and there’s SO many parts of his story that could’ve been heavily explored but aren’t

You were spot on about Elijah's character basically regressing in the last two seasons. Honestly after Season 3 he just becomes very sad and quiet. Like after killing Marcel and scaring the shit out of Hayley and Hope from his Red Door, it's like a part of him dies, there's a light in his eyes that's gone. He's not as playful, his humor is gone, he has less to do, he hinders the people around him than helps. It's like you could tell he's just tired of living if that makes sense.

The Originals is at its heart a show about a dysfunctional family whose fate could have been avoided if just one of them had gone to therapy. Their patterns were all established when they were human and for over a millennium they've repeated their respective trauma cycles and re-experienced attachment issues over and over again. It tired me out a little to watch but also made the story so compelling because they acted so predictably human.

I will forever stick to the opinion that the original is just an overall better show then the vampire diaries. I absolutely love the mikaelsons family and I think that they are just much more charismatic and interesting characters then all other tvd characters. Plus I loved how the show was heavily focused on the family and the family relationships. Personally I found it to be much more compelling then never ending romances in tvd.

One thing I love about Vincent is how he wasn’t afraid to call out the Mikaelsons on their bullshit. He was a true pillar of the French Quarter and was even ready to tussle with Klaus when he killed one of his witches. And he didn’t hold back on laying into Elijah for murdering those four girls for a ritual.

Yusuf who plays Vincent is so underrated like his acting really sells the character. On paper, I think most people would find Vincent's character annoying. If they had switched him out for another actor, no doubt he would be more hated. But he's just so good, he's like one of the only characters that tells off The Mikealson's to their face and they just stay silent and accept it. He has such a strong backbone of authority that everyone just accepts.

I can't help but think to myself "He's going to be so disappointed once he starts Legacies" The Originals was truly one of a kind and no character will ever top Klaus in that universe....

Daniel Gillies hated the way Elijah died. He has spoken very passionately about it on a fan covention type thing. It's on youtube and I think it's worth a watch, because it's absolutely hilarious how outraged he is 😂

Damn, Rebekah being written out was really seamless. I didn’t know it was because she was trying to work less. And “filler episodes” were seamless to me also just because I like the characters, maybe it wasn’t necessary but we definitely got to know them well.

The scene where Hayley is yelling at Klaus to fight back, just gets me every time!! I can hear the pain in her voice, and Pheobe BODIED that scene!!!

what i loved about the Originals is that unlike TVD it isnt tied to any teenage drama of love triangles and high school, so more time was devoted to the lore and the politics. the adult themes were done so well because the characters weren't annoying teenagers

The Originals are for sure one of the best original series I've ever encountered. Something screams deep inside me that this could be better than The Vampire Diaries, but that's just my two cents. We can't deny the fact that this has a stellar cast of actors portraying every single one of the characters rather charmingly and seamlessly.

"Are there any more inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?" "Give me a month. I'll get you a list." Hands down one of my favourite lines of dialogue in a TV show ever.

So many things worked for it, the cast, the city as setting, New Orleans. And a CW show with the focus on adults. ADULTS, not teenagers. Loved it, still do.

Let's be honest here the whole damn cast of this show is talented as fuck. Especially Joseph Morgan and Daniel Gillies who are mad underrated in my opinion.

I truly believe there will be no character like Klaus Mikaelson. Such a well written, magnificently acted character.

The most heart shattering scene in all of the TVDU is when Elijah gets his memories back and realizes he had a part to play in the love of his life’s death, defending the enemy

I was very disappointed in the lack of commentary on Freya's introduction. I personally think it was one of the best introductions in the entire TVDU universe and deserved a shoutout or so. It was creepy, interesting and definitely had me in suspense of knowing her true origin and character.

i think we can all agree that joseph morgan is an outstanding actor and klaus wouldve never worked if it wasnt for him like he acted the hell out of klaus character

I'm really glad that Yusuf Gatewood got highlighted here, because he was so freaking good in this role. He was absolutely one of the best parts of the show and it's a shame that he hasn't been in a lot of things because he's an amazing actor.

I absolutely ADORE Rebekah, so I am pretty sad that she couldn't have full arcs with her actress's absence, but I'm also eternally grateful that her actress didn't want to leave us hanging. Her limited participation still gave us SO much

you forgot to show that the monologue in season 3 was specifically designed by Klaus to make sure they didn't kill him so his siblings' lives could be saved. it was a sacrifice in which he riled them up enough so that when he said that his death was a small price to pay for what he had done to them all in order to save his family. It was a change from how the seasons usually ended with Klaus on top due to sacrificing everyone else.

I'm just going to say - no, Hayley could not in fact just throw her enemy off her. She was facing a significantly older vampire with no hybrid strength who had her pinned to a wall and who had Hayley's heart in her hand. Perhaps people miss this but that never changed, she tore off a finger, but her heart was still firmly in her opponent's hand. She had only one moment to act while her enemy was stunned (keep in mind vampires recover from pain when its enough for them to feel very fast). Klaus had a wooden stake wedged through his spine. The only real issue on a mechanical level there was the instantaneous burst of flame, something we saw before in that season but which wasn't consistent with earlier TVD universe where you would burn for several seconds before bursting a flame and the flame took a few seconds to kill you. That said it was a kinda lame death.

I think the actress playing Hailey got better because she was surrounded by such great actors and they have said for years that great actors can pull out the best in others

In my personal opinion I think the originals completely blows tvd out of the water! The ensemble cast is SO talented and their characters just have more depth to me! I also love how the originals is kind of a character study of klaus mikaelson, and his character arc will forever go down as one of my favorites! I love the complicated relationships they all have with each other and how even after everything they put each other through, they’re still family.

The only thing I disagreed with is when you said Elijah was hope’s closet uncle. From her perspective she barely knew the guy. During the time jump of season 3 to 4, he was asleep because of Marcel’s venom. Therefore, didn’t see hope grow up to whatever age she was in the 4th season. Then Elijah gets his memory erased from season 4 to 5, so they don’t interact at all until he remembers everything. Then he is partially responsible for Hailey‘s death., and hope is pissed at him for it. From hope’s perspective, he is a guy she barely knows that had a hand in killing her mother. Arguably, I would say marcel is her closet uncle.

I am simple man, never saw TVD or The Originals, but spent 6 hours watching the two series' analysis videos and now I can say Klaus is one my fav character of all time.

Joseph’s voice really puts the cherry on top for his performance. It doesn’t matter what he’s saying, you just wanna listen. Another guy with a similar voice is Jeremy irons. Look him up..you’re welcome.

I always joke with my friends that The Originals is basically what happens when you cast some HBO level actors in a cw show. Joseph Morgan and David Gilles are way too good for this show!

Yeah, I feel like people don’t realize how important consistency is when having different actors portray the same character. Like, I’m a big fan of Chinese dramas and in one of my favorites, the two leads body swap (twice). And I cannot stress how much those scenes would not have worked if the two actors hadn’t captured each other’s characters so well. It’s so immersion breaking when an actor portraying a character with previous characterization can’t capture it-and Esther’s character is a prime example of that.

I have to say immortal families have weird relationships where you need flow chart to understand it. Klaus fosters Marcel, who marries Rebekah, who is his foster aunt. Marcel fosters Davina, who marries Kol, who is Marcel’s foster uncle so then Davina’s foster great uncle. Hope is Klaus’ daughter so she’s Marcel’s foster sister but also uncle through Rebekah and Davina is her foster niece but also aunt through Kol. Also weird how Klaus and Marcel are foster father and son but they shared a love interest in Camille. And don’t even get me started on TVD’s characters relationship.

i will never forget marcels speech on episode 1. he immediately commanded my attention as a character worthy enough to join the mikaelson ranks especially closing out with his "IM THE KING" line

One of the first examples where the spin off was way better than the main Tv show.

I think the originals is way better in being a vampire show than the vampire diaries ever was. Also this show felt like it was made for the audience that felt in love with the vampire diaries in season 2/3

I will _NEVER_ understand the way that so many people will fail to establish in their minds the clear line necessary between fiction versus reality and will so rabidly misdirect/redirect or project their dislike for fiction onto the actors and actresses who are literally just doing their jobs. *SMH.* It's disgusted me since literal childhood, back when the Star Wars prequel trilogy first started coming out in cinemas.

This just reminded me how little time was Klaus actually able to spend with Hope. First they had to give her to Rebecca, then he was imprisoned by Marcel for 5 years and then he had to stay away from her for another 7 years and THEN he died.

I can't believe people voted in your poll when they hadn't seen both shows. I think, for sure, the Originals would win in a poll consisting only of people who had seen them both. It's genuinely the best show the CW has ever created, I couldn't agree with you more!

The energy thing from the body swapping was so true. The actress who played Rebecca was perfect she did an awesome job playing Rebecca like Claire did. Its why I didnt buy Kol, he was okay but too different to Nathaniels take.

The disappointment I felt when I found out Matt Davis is the way he is was massive. I personally ADORE Alaric, his story in the TVD is so tragic by constantly losing every woman he loved, his friendship with Damon despite the fact he killed his wife, how he became a parent to Elena and Jeremy when they lost everyone in their family, and how amazing of a father he became to Lizzie and Josie made me love him. It was such a shame to find out the actor isn’t the greatest person, he’s kind of a creep and made the girls in both TVD and Legacies pretty uncomfortable. P.S Klaus finding Camille dead next to him after finally confessing his love and feeling genuinely happy in a long time WAS THE MOST HEARTBREAKING SHIT I’VE EVER SEEN. I actually really liked Camille and I thought she was really good for Klaus. I don’t claim the TVD fandom toxicity.

“This city would have seen you dead, but I will have it your home, and every soul who wishes you harm will be struck down, just as sure as my blood runs in your veins. You will return to me.” I will have the moment I heard this quote forever ingrained in my mind. It was perfection.

I remember being so surprised when Klaus appeared in TVD cause he really stands out for being so greatly written AND acted, but also because, as you kinda pointed out, he is probably the only one in TVD universe which is written with consistency. The writers just really understood every aspect of him and it just reflects on how much he stands out in comparison to other characters in the series (also props to Joseph Morgan for playing him perfectly), like I don't believe there's anyone who has seen the show and doesn't love Klaus.

Watched it as a teenager and it marked me. Some scenes still live in my head and have rlly changed what I look for in some TV shows, some action scenes, some villains... I'm so glad to see someone able to explain just what was so special and winning about this show. To this day, Klaus is an unmatched character as are Marcel, Hayley and Rebekah. S1-S3 had me on the edge of my seat and it was soo dramatic but in a way that was totally immersive.

Phoebe and Claire will always hold a special place in my heart bc they fr gave me the best childhood with H20 and then made my teen years good with the originals to.

So glad he made this video, in my opinion the Originals is so much better than TVD. The dialogue in certain scenes had a gravitas not commonly found on CW shows, especially and not limited to its predecessor TVD. Even the acting was pretty solid, Gillies and Morgan in particular, there were no real weak links. Moreover, the story just felt more sophisticated and mature, possibly because we were so used to the relationship drama filled TVD but nevertheless it’s first 3 seasons are some of the most solid television the CW has put out and no one can change my mind.

Regarding Elijah deciding to die with klaus, I totally agree that it felt out of character and not at all like something Elijah would do. I feel like that decision was just the writers preparing for Legacies and if Daniel Gillies didn’t sign on for that show, there would be no in universe explanation that would make any sense for Elijah not to be heavily involved in Hope’s life. I’ve never seen Legacies, but that’s my theory

I'm so sad that the community was so foul to Cami's actress. I loved her chemistry with Klaus (never cared for Klaroline either) and I loved how she was able to humble his enormous ego. Fans ruin everything😢

Look, I actually was a Klaroline shipper, and I freaking adored Cami & her dynamic with Klaus even _in spite_ of myself.!! And the whole entire foundation of Klaroline being that they are immortals and don't have to be each other's first or only loves in order to still be there for each other in the end makes it work, plus .. sometimes life is just like that, when things don't work out the way you want, sometimes that opens the door for something else coming in completely unexpectedly on its heels that you could not have predicted at the time; sometimes, shite changes. There is literally nothing wrong with this. And it does not necessarily mean it has to at all demean or take anything away from what came before that, it just means that the trajectory in the end might not look anything at all like anyone thought it would beforehand, and some people have more trouble coping with that than others do. I guess. ( But I also was no longer really actively engaging with the fandom, overall, by the time The Originals was going. I was still watching the shows, sooner or later, but I wasn't actively engaging with the fandom surrounding the universe anymore. So I kinda just happily existed in my own little bubble, alone with my own thoughts/feelings. Lolll 🤷‍♀️ ^-^ )

I think The Originals did a good job of having complex characters who are- in a lot of ways- the villains of this universe, and not trying to make them 'good'. This family has done horrible things, a lot of which they feel no remorse for, but we still care because even 'monsters' have family and hopes and demons to work through. They're not black or white, and we don't need to them to be the 'good guys' to care about them. They're bad people, and the show owns that and develops on that. In TVD, characters like Damon and Stefan have done horrible things in the past, but the show distorts things so that the viewers are supposed to believe they're the good guys all of a sudden. It just felt like a cop out. Damon has killed a lot if people, but he gets to grow old with Elena with very little push back. I guess I just think TO had characters that guided the story, but in TVD it felt like the writers were forcing the characters into unnatural directions.

A love Niklaus, he's such a complex caracter. The person capable of everything to protect his family is also the person who is constantly hurting his family. And a love that, even after he becomes a father and discovers a whole new level of love and devotion, he continues to make the same mistakes. The man is a thousand years old, a thousand years of paranoia, enemies and death. A love that giving him a daughter and a family that will stand by him and her doesn't "fix" his issues. But you know that when the time arrives, he will sacrifice himself for said family and daughter. The man is iconic, completely unhinged and full of problems, but iconic nonetheless. As for my biggest criticism of the show: the lore being broken and rewritten over and over... honestly, that is the most consistent pattern in Julie Plec writing. It is exhausting and makes you want to give up many times, but at least The Originals had amazing characters. Unlike Legacies who only had the weakest point of Julie Plec writing: broken lore and weak boring characters. Ps* We all know that Klaus, Hayley and Elijah dying in the end is just because they wanted to milk the TVD universe even more with Legacies. Hope wouldn't be doing shit in that show if even one of them was alive. Hell, is already unforgivable how both Rebekah and Freya show up like once in that dumpster fire of a show. Legacies can only exist if the people who loved Hope the most were dead. It's very disrespectful but we all know how the industry works.

I felt so bad for Davina man I didn't really like her either but I didn't expect them to all be so heartless towards her and just let her die like that. I also felt bad for Kol, since he had finally become somewhat decent due to finally finding love...

I just wanna say, Klaus' speech to the compelled cop at Camille's request is one of the greatest quoutes ( Kanye Voice) OF ALL TIME

Klaus is the most complex CW character to ever grace this earth. He is genuinely fascinating in every single way.

Yusef Gatewood also played Ray Chestnut in the Umbrella Academy and he was good there too! Ray never gets a lot of screentime but Yusef is really good at making Ray feel like the confused husband whos brought into this superpowered world and both sceptical of it while also infinitely fascinated

love the way you point out it’s easier to be feared than loved for klaus’ character. mikael only ever taught him fear and i think his fathers abuse towards him was the real reason that he felt estranged from his siblings even before becoming a hybrid and learning he’s not mikael’s son, but that just made it worse of course.

Klaus is such a good and complex character since he was in tvd. He’s so well written and Joseph Morgan is TOO good in this role.

Klaus and Elijah will always and forever be two of my favorite television characters ever. The way that Elijah chooses to leave the earth WITH Klaus? After hundreds and hundreds of years always trying to save his soul?? And choosing to do it due to the love for his brother and his own feelings of tiredness from living for so long??? The love I have for those two is so unmatched. I’m so happy you covered this show! Despite the less than great final two seasons 😂

The fact that after everything that it was Klaus that Hayley looked at before dying, and Klaus crying over Hayley reading her letters, ended their story and relationship perfectly. I do like the theory that they’re platonic soulmates.

The Originals is one of the only shows that stays in the back of mind, for some reason. I could be doing anything and suddenly find myself quoting the show or thinking about how badass that family was. It is one of the few examples of a sequel not only being good, but being better than the source. Best CW show (and one of the best WB shows) by far.

Just came to let you know this video essay convinced me to watch the show, and less than a month later i'm proud to announce that i've finished all of it and i loved it. Also i agree that elijah's arc gave me whiplash in season 5 and it's so dumb that they killed him off. He would've absolutely stayed by hope's side

Orphan Black is one of my all time favorite shows ever. Tatiana’s Maslany is an absolute powerhouse. The best part is when she’s playing one of the clones playing a different clone. 500/10

An excellent example of how to do a spinoff right. I can't wait to dive in and hear Dylan's myriad thoughts over the next three hours!

the ending is actually kind of heartbreaking for Klaus, Haley, and Hope. I mean, everything Haley wanted basically never came true considering Hope ended up an orphan at the end. The thought of that being the conclusion for Haley and Hope just makes me very sad.

I think the storyline of how Klaus treated his siblings showed how and why they fell out of power as a whole and explained why essentially no one feared their power outside of vampire diaries. Klause had them all if not most of them locked away for hundreds of years. When Elijah got back to Mistic Falls, non of the vampires knew who he was and were oblivious that he couldnt die. They never heard of Klaus, the possibility of a hybrid, nothing. Eventually, they just werent around to make people fearful or protect one another. Then once Esther returned, instead of keeping her family together at their strongest she tried to kill them and revealed their biggest weakness, that they can be killed by the remaining with any remaining white oak. Defeating her helped them get closer but by loosing Cole and Fynn along with their sire lines, it was open season for anyone who had an issue with an Original or their line. It made sense that the oldest vampires would battle it out. When it was all said and done, the only lines remaining were Rebekkas and Klause, although, I'm not sure if cole can start a new line now that he's back in his body. So technically there's 3 of the original 5.

Thank you for lauding the cast. They are so, so iconic. Especially the originals. Joseph Morgan is just spectacular. He gives Klaus this just this sense of grandiosity, this feeling of being *ancient,* while Daniel Gillies gives the same sense but *suave,* somehow. He gives this almost slinking panther feeling. Suave and beautiful on the outside, vicious and violent underneath. Joseph Morgan effortlessly goes from grandiose speech to ripping heads off and it still all feels like Klaus. Claire Holt absolutely does the same with Rebekah, but gives this almost teenaged, whiny quality to her that constantly reminds you that she was just a girl once, who wanted just to grow up and have a family of her own. And she's willing to kill to get it. Marcel was a great addition to this set of characters. Charles Michael Davis gives Marcel this sense of attempting to live up to the grand nature of the originals and failing, but without seeming like he's actually inferior. He knows who he is and what he wants and how to get it, but he has a humbleness that the originals lack-that they can't seem to actually drum up within themselves. I love these characters and actors so much.

The minute they were introduced in TVD, I just knew they were getting a spinoff, this family is truly so INSANE, yet TOP TIER. Who else is doing it like the Mikaelsons? No one.

In the film Moonlight, the three actors that played the main character (each played him at different times in his life) worked together to make sure the performances were consistant and that the audience would believe they're watching a true progression of one person. I don't think cw shows would ever put that much effort into prepping actors to play the same character.

Re: the Orphan Black shout-out, I saw the actress who played Siobhan on a panel telling a story about Tatiana Maslany's own mother finding herself forgetting that her daughter was on-screen during certain scenes, because her acting was just so good that she essentially didn't recognize her daughter when a scene with one of her other characters ended. Incredible actress.

Honestly I think it's a shame that Cami and Caroline never met, in my opinion they would've gotten along very well.

I will never forgive the writers for not utilizing Nathaniel Buzolic to the fullest potential. He is such a good actor and they could have made Kol a bigger character in the series and given him more to do than what they did what a waste of potential

I wish you had talked a little more about Vincent. He was a standout character to me especially in later seasons. I didn't like Davina either but I really loved Cami and I can't believe that fans were so horrible to her. I hated how the show ended and that plot hole made me feel worse. I'd love to forget the last two seasons and that the whole of legacies exists lol

Everything you are saying about Elijah's character in the finale stretch is true-buut he chose to erase his memory of his family specifically _BECAUSE_ of how much he knew that he would never be able to abandon his family even though he literally physically *HAD* to walk away from them in order to keep them alive, and even though it absolutely would make sense if Elijah transferred his loyalty to Hope[ after Klaus was gone] .. the thing is that Hope doesn't really need him to, Hope has so many other people in her life and family still, but Elijah has always been Klaus's one singular constant in life and Klaus' biggest fear was always to be utterly alone so how in the world[ even for Hope] could Elijah realistically have ever lived with himself IF - _even _*_after_*_ Klaus had finally actually became a decent man[ just like Elijah had always wanted and seen the potential for in Klaus]_ - Elijah had ever actually let Klaus die alone . . Just because Klaus was finally willing to try and face/brave that loneliness/aloneness specifically for the benefit of his daughter? . Like, do I *like* that they both died in the end? NO. Did I *want* to see Elijah go out that way? Also, NO! Buuut I thought it *_did_* actually make sense, even if I do completely understand why it was either hit or miss for other viewers. But maybe that's just me, and my own weird way of looking at it & trying to rationalize it away so that I can bear it, or something! 🤷‍♀️🤷🤷‍♀️ 🤷🏻‍♂️ 😁 Loll

What you said about this cast is so true. They are utterly captivating. They elevate the material they are given and created such complex yet beloved iconic characters. The thing I always loved the most about it is just scenes where the Original family actors share the screen and get to play. Their dynamic is perfection.

I loved Camille's character and was always disturbed by the amount of hatred Camille/Leah Pipes got. I felt Camille was a nurturer and that her character was crucial in Klaus' character development. She brought out the softer, more vulnerable side to Klaus. People acted like only one woman could be critical to his development. 😂 I also really loved Davina as a character and never understood why she was so hated. 😂 I liked that she was a formidable foe for the Originals throughout the series.

The body hopping is an issue we saw with Matt Davis playing Klaus initially. Even though I’m pretty sure this is moreso on the writers not being quite sure how Klaus would act and behave, Davis played Klaus veeeery differently than what we saw with Morgan. Later on, Trevino plays Klaus too, when he’s in Tyler’s body, and you still don’t get the feeling that this is the Klaus we know in there. They should’ve done what they did in Deathly Hallows and have the original actor play the character as written and have the others emulate the performance.

49:26 that's why, as short as it is, I love the Captain America cameo in Thor: The Dark World. Chris Evans had to come on set and play Loki, who is pretending to play captain America. It's a short clip but I love it because you can see that Evans studied Tom Hiddleston's speech patterns and stuff. Also Freaky Friday does the body thing and technically I'd argue it's a bit different just because the actresses don't necessarily always embody the other, it does challenge Lindsey Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis to act different from their ages and that can be hard to do. JLC is convincing as a teenager trapped in a middle aged woman's body, LL is convincing as a weary middle aged woman trapped in a teenager's body. I'd argue it was a harder role for Lohan because where Curtis could pull from her life experience having been a teenager, Lohan was still young so she had to do the extra work of figuring out how to play an older woman trapped in a teen body. Anyway body swap plotlines give me great pleasure when executed properly Edit: meant to add that's also why impersonations are impressive when done insanely well because you can learn to speak like a person SURE but what really sells it is the mannerisms, speech patterns, how you move your face. I saw a video of an older man doing impressions and that man looks nothing like Patrick Stewart but when he switches to playing him I could swear he looked exactly like Stewart because of how he moved his face. It's crazy

Regarding Marcel, I’m not so fond of how he was treated by his adoptive family. He basically was “rescued” from slavery only to endure even more abuse (Elijah killing him). It was really only Klaus and Rebekah who viewed him as a member of their family. That being said his relationship with the latter was also very creepy, idc what the fandom says it’s just weird to get with someone who’s technically your aunt. But I think it was good for him to survive in the end.

I will defend Cami until the day I die. Such an underrated character that was underused because of rabid, delusional shippers yelling at the writers about how we all allegedly hated her. Also, Leah Pipes didn't request to be written off. In an interview she said she was informed the character was dying. So, the showrunners saw the years of body shaming and death threats and decided to reward those nasty people with her on screen death. It was messed up.

i love how much credit you have given to the actors - they are iconic and they are all one of a kind

I think one of the weird things this show reveals about the overall lore of the world is that both the vampires and werewolves were created by a witch’s curse. The Hollow is not just a non-threatening orb of blue that compels people to kill children, she is also the origin of the werewolf curse. Similarly, the vampires were created by witch magic. Therefore witches should be the most powerful, since they’ve created immortals, vampires, and werewolves. And Hope is a living witch with two very powerful witch spells placed on her.

Finally someone points out nina‘s great job to Portrait two different characters in one show. Even when the two characters imitated each other it had a different color to it. Amazing ❤

It breaks my heart that ppl hated Camille. I actually really liked her as a character. And her chemistry w klaus was unmatched imo. I literally cried during both her deaths I did not want her to die. I wanted to see more of her soooo bad

Julie Plec turned the last season of the Originals into a Legacies back-door pilot and I'll never forgive her for that.

50:00 it's really killed it on what bugged me about the original's mother. Every actress played her differently and you could never really get a feel of who she was

I am glad you talked about vincent griffith. He is slept on. The actors that plays him is so ridiculously good. Griffith on player is boring af but the actor breaths life into him and made him one of my favorites.

I think I'm the only person who genuinely loved Camille and was sorry to see her character arc end. She and Klaus had great chemistry, and I loved the way she would yell at him when he had his head up his ass even though she knew full well he could kill her easier than she could kill a mosquito. I had no idea Leah Pipes suffered such terrible abuse from the fans, though, so for her sake, I'm glad she got out of that toxic hell.

i love hearing about a show that you actually liked for the most part. beating up and endlessly talking about bad shows can be very tiring to listen to and it’s so prevalent. it’s much harder to talk positively about something than negativity and i really appreciate the effort

Dude you’re right if Hope had had to have been the one to kill Klaus at the end, the ending would have been SO much more impactful and then Legacies would have had sooo much more to play with there! Obviously not as a fight, but as Klaus giving the stake to Hope after his funeral/dinner thing with everyone else. They even still could have gone to that river where he dies in the show and had their heartfelt conversation there instead of in the house’s entryway. It would’ve added even more depth if they kept it a secret that Hope was the one to do it maybe so Klaus could try to spare Hope from others’ scorn of having killed her own father (like he got) even though she would be doing it nobly (unlike Klaus did). Then it even could be a huge reveal to build up to with all the characters in Legacies. They could’ve had Elijah help her do it (bc ofc she would initially not want to before accepting it was what had to be done) even so only they know and that way he’d still be there too after figuring out Klaus’s plan (but not die this time) or just had her do it alone. Either way I think if they acted it well, Hope could show a range of emotions on her face when having to stab him and finally ending on determination and acceptance while crying. It would show soooo much maturity and her growing into her own as the next generation and the Tribid, being the only one powerful enough to “defeat” the Hybrid. And they could throw in an Always and Forever really elegantly there with Klaus starting the phrase and Hope finishing it as she stabs him. Then he could turn to dust and the camera could pan out the exact same way but maybe a rear view of her collapsing to knees with her head tilted down and no other close up of her face as the camera pans up and away. If Elijah was there then he would of course just be standing stoically with a sad look (the one only Elijah/the actor can do so well) maybe with a hand on Hope’s shoulders comforting her. And then if the writers didn’t hate Legacies and always try to sabotage it, they would’ve had so much more to go off of there.