Distributor: Warner Home Video
Episodes: 22
Duration: 45 min (per episode)
The Originals: Season 2 (Blu-ray) – Series Review
Vampires and werewolves are among the most used fantasy characters in fiction. Though they are done to undeath, and basically every aspect of their curse has been explored in various media, The Originals dares to take on the matter. This series was inspired by the ‘Vampire Diaries’ novels so fans of those series will gladly tune in to this one.
This is the second season in the series, so a little background information might be needed for those who aren’t up to speed yet. In the first season, the main point was the feud between the werewolves, vampires and the witches. In the middle of this, Hayley was with child. In the tumultuous events of the first season she dies while giving birth. She is brought back as a hybrid and Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and Elijah (Daniel Gillies) have to take care of the witches who were after the life of the child.
They succeed in tricking the witch coven into thinking that Klaus’ daughter has died. The events of the first season fuel the events of the second quite well. Klaus’ daughter got away and those few in the know are constantly trying to keep it a secret, even from their allies. The first episode wraps up the events of the first season and make sure that the season starts off with a bang. If you tune into the series without having seen the first season, you might be left with a couple of questions, but by the time you’ve seen the first couple of episodes, you’ll be up to speed.
Klaus and Elijah are the brothers that are usually in the middle of all the fighting. They go against their mother, who is a witch and has returned from the dead to kill Klaus’ daughter. The brothers have to ally with werewolves and the odd witch to protect what is most precious to them. Season 2 is more about Klaus’ daughter than it is about reclaiming New Orleans, though that subject is never really far off.
The quarrel between the vampires, witches and werewolves never really gets resolved. Though this might seem like it’s just the writers way of keeping things interesting and you might expect it to grow boring after several episodes, nothing could be further from the truth. The writers are quite apt at throwing curve balls and nothing is what it seems. Characters constantly go against what is known about them and don’t always act predictable.
The Originals doesn’t do one dimension characters. Some episodes give flashbacks about what happened to certain characters and this keeps them interesting. These flashbacks often reveal important information. This information is by then only known by the character and you. This is interesting, but this creates another problem. When the events unfold and things go south, a lot of the situations could be averted by just talking. No, scrap that, they could be averted if the characters were to say the right things at the right time and would keep from boasting and adding fuel to the another’s rage. If you back up your reasoning and why you did something it might save your life. That is if you’re not trying to get your son’s daughter killed.
With 22 episodes of 45 minutes each, there is a lot of content to watch, as such the series flows quite freely and gives the writers the ease of pacing. The Originals has a lot of cliff hangers. So much that whenever you notice a cliff hanger or a cue to a cliff hanger you expect the episode to end. When the episode doesn’t end, you almost feel let down that you got the cue wrong.
Something you have to get used to if you aren’t used to the series is the accent of Klaus, which is a heavy English accent. With every other character having American accents his stands out the most. It takes some time for it to click, but when it does, it really sticks.
When talking acting, that’s where the director makes some errors. There are some moments that are really emotionally laden, but would be better if they were less lingering. Some moments would really benefit by making them like a swift kick in the ribs than a slow stab in the back.
Rather early into the series, Esther Mikealson changes actresses. She jumps from Natalie Dreyfuss to Sonja Sohn, the latter serving her character far better than the first. The simple reason is that the motivations of Esther are evil to say the least, but when you see her side of the facts, it’s more tragic than you’d imagine. Sonja plays a very convincing heartbroken woman and is better cast for it.
Yusuf Gatewood plays as a person who got possessed by the spirit of Fin Mikealson, one of Niklaus’ brothers. His intentions are never clear because his face is a perfect poker face. You’ll be wondering what he’s up to. This also accounts for Kol Mikealson (Daniel Sharman), who is and stays a trickster.
The only character on whom you might see that he’s seen the ages is Mikeal (Sebastian Roché), this is explained by the fact that eye candy sells.
Graphically the series doesn’t really adhere to the whole traditional vampire, werewolves and witches setting. None of them have really outstanding features. The werewolves have yellow eyes when they get mad, and the vampires sometimes show their fangs. The series was mostly targeted to women and thus the graphical side of the violence gets a bit of a back seat, but then again the series relies more in intrigue than it does on violence, which is a good thing.
Not only does the dvd box contain the series, it also holds a trove of extra’s: The Originals: Always and Forever, The Originals: Awakening web series, The Originals 2014 Comic-Con Panel Come Vissit Geaorgia PSA, unaired scenes and a gag reel. That way it’s not all death and muder and seriousness when it comes to the serie.
Conclusion
The Originals is something which will appease the ‘Vampire Diaries’ fans. If you are into vampire/werewolves/witches series and like a lot of intrigue, then you might want to take a look into this. There are some really cool plot twists to keep the series interesting. 22 long episodes make for a lot of time, yet none of it is wasted. There are some recaps which seem superfluous but do help to jog the memory to key moments in the series, things you might not have given a second thought.
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