The Originals - Recap: Spoiler! Klaus Mentions Caroline

Episode 7 of Season 1 of The Originals, “Bloodletting,” introduced Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino) to the five or six folks out there who’ve never seen The Vampire Diaries, yet still choose to tune in to the Klaus-driven spinoff, The Originals. I can’t really imagine most viewers sympathizing too much with Klaus (Joseph Morgan) having not witnessed his arc on TVD, but I assure you, he earned his role as the dynamic star of this series. Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Elijah (Daniel Gillies) did their part back in Mystic Falls, too. Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin), on the other hand, has truly come into her own in New Orleans. Who’d have thought being held against your will by nearly everyone you encounter in life would have such ravishing effects on one’s character? Here is the Recap and Review of Season 1 Episode 7 of The Originals, “Bloodletting”!

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Klaus and Elijah wasted no time crashing Marcel’s (Charles Michael Davis) “vampire fight night” event in the French Quarter. While daywalkers scrambled to win the ultimate prize, a daylight ring, Josh (Steven Krueger) watched on as Klaus and Elijah made their presence known with a bang. *random neck snap* The party was over, and Marcel was asked to account for his actions. Where had he hidden Hayley after paying their plantation home a visit? In truth, Marcel was clueless to the whereabouts of the pregnant she-wolf, though he admitted to not quite knowing why the Original family was so fixated on this specific girl. Push came to shove, and Marcel inevitably set his differences with the Mikaelsons aside in favor of offering a helping hand. Sabine (Shannon Kane) the witch was gifted to the brothers for a one-shot deal, an opportunity to use a locator spell free of charge. Sabine, putting her special power to good use, was able to map out Hayley’s location pretty effortlessly.

If Marcel wasn’t behind Hayley’s disappearance, though, then who was? Ladies and vamps, I give you the one other living hybrid… Tyler Lockwood! Tyler rolled into town unbeknownst to Klaus in order to put a theory to the test. Having easily apprehended Hayley, Tyler proceeded to take the girl pregnant with Klaus’ spawn deep into the bayou, to an encampment run by werewolves in hiding. Remember, Marcel does not allow werewolves to walk freely in New Orleans, and vampires have been in hot pursuit of this specific “royal” clan, a pack Hayley is connected to by blood. Inside of a sufficiently dank shack, Hayley was clued in to the reason behind Tyler’s decision to take his aggression towards Klaus out on her and her baby. Tyler, looking to steal that which Klaus most cherishes in an effort to pay back the Original hybrid for destroying his life in Mystic Falls, would then continue to jam a giant syringe into Hayley’s stomach, stealing a sample of blood for an undisclosed reason. Hayley, having been introduced to a local wolf, watched in horror as Tyler proceeded to inject the man, Dwayne, with Hayley’s blood before snapping his neck and killing him in a flash.

Tyler, in truth, had learned of a prophecy from a witch friend of his. This baby inside of Hayley will, indeed, bring death and destruction to witches… and vampires alike! If you Vampire Diaries fans recall, Klaus normally needs the blood of a doppelganger like Elena Gilbert to create hybrids. Now, his child could essentially do the trick for him. The werewolf Tyler had slain died willingly in an effort to prove the prophecy true. When he arose again as a hybrid, the theory was, indeed, solidified as a fact. Klaus is constantly hungry for power and has shown very little selflessness, especially on The Originals, but we’ve never truly been led to believe that he was privy to this knowledge regarding his unborn daughter. Well, at least, we think it's a girl! Tyler and an increasingly skeptical Hayley seemed to begin recognizing that Hayley has been, in a sense, acting as a human “incubator,” as Elijah would state so well later. Interestingly enough, a twist was thrown into the mix shortly after Tyler’s experiment. The hybrid was sired, indeed, but not to Klaus. Instead, Dwayne appeared bonded to Hayley. In an effort to free Hayley from harm by Tyler, the baby hybrid lunged at Klaus’ rival, giving the pregnant she-wolf enough time to fly the coop before Tyler could snuff her out. In truth, there was no way Hayley would have been able to outrun Tyler, a hybrid, for long. Luckily, Elijah and Klaus had already sniffed her out, quite literally, and the rank stench of Tyler was all Klaus needed to prepare for one last battle with the teenage thorn in his side.

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As this transpired, Marcel put Davina (Danielle Campbell) to work on removing the compulsion Klaus maintained over Josh. In an arc that would prove to be way more endearing than it was painful to watch, the two would actually take the time to bond over stories of being “freaks” trapped in the war between the vampires, the witches, and the Originals. Davina is a teenage witch with immense power, but, in an effort to keep her safe, Marcel has her bound to a church attic and forbidden to even, say, play music like most girls her age for fear of exposing her location. Josh, having suffered a life plagued with the depression that centered on bullying and struggles with his sexuality, related to Davina as a new friend. In the end, both of these quite normal young people simply want to break free and find boys to love them. Davina managed to perform a bewitching “lobotomy” on Josh, removing him from Klaus’ control… allegedly. Of course, by the close of Episode 7, I’d become concerned. Davina was originally instructed to erase Josh’s memory of her existence as well, yet the two had come to build a strange new companionship over the course of this week’s 44-minute block of television. Will Josh inevitably break their pinky swear and rat Davina’s whereabouts out to a looming threat? Maybe this recap writer is just paranoid. Here I am sapping the heart out of the most pleasing storyline of the week.

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Of course, there was something about watching Klaus ruin Tyler’s life all over again that warrants an honorable mention. Speaking of mentioning, I believe this was the first actual murmur of the lady-vampire Klaus has alleged to wanting to spend the rest of eternity with. It's nice to know that he remembers Caroline! Right, TVD fans? Klaus and Tyler fought through quite the brawl, eventually leading to Klaus’ fist clenched around Tyler’s heart. Tyler, unafraid of death, braced himself for the peaceful end, only further cluing Klaus in on his true desire. Klaus, having stolen everything from Tyler (Even killing his mother!), was baited into murdering him; however, he’d have a change of heart. Instead, Klaus would compel the hybrid he’d seemingly broken to live each day knowing that he is “nothing” to the Original. Tyler, appearing shattered and lost, had been defeated.

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While Klaus took care of business with his old rival, Rebekah finally weaseled some real emotion out of Marcel. Of course, we don’t ever truly know if Klaus or Marcel have ever had or will ever have honestly selfless intentions, but Marcel was dead set on convincing Rebekah that he is not like her brother. The Garden might not seem like the ideal place to woo a lady with your humble charms, but the foundation that now houses Marcel’s prisoners in its walls was once the alleged sight of his future home with Rebekah. Rebekah, if you recall, had run off with Klaus when her father ventured into New Orleans set on slaying them all. Will Rebekah now choose to side with Marcel in his efforts to silence Klaus by burying him in the very ruins in which they currently stood? By the end of Episode 7, Rebekah’s romantic love for Marcel just might overshadow the undying sympathetic love for her brother.

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Hayley fled the confines of the shack and ran straight into Elijah’s arms. Filling the noble Original in on her newfound information regarding her unborn child, the two appeared to find themselves in a tough predicament. Elijah had promised to protect Hayley above all else, and there’s quite obviously chemistry brewing between these two, yet what would happen if saving Hayley meant betraying his brother? Klaus, in truth, would appear unsurprised but simultaneously hurt by yet another instance of distrust on Elijah’s part. Klaus has burned every bridge involved on The Originals time and time again, yet he consistently expects sincere and honest trust on the part of others. Elijah is expected to back his brother as his blood, but just several episodes back Elijah's slumbering daggered body was used as a bartering tool in an effort to win Marcel’s trust. Trust that, needless to say, Klaus was looking to use and manipulate in his favor. In his defense, though, there is something about the bastard hybrid that is perpetually heartbreaking in all of his lonely glory. Perhaps Cami, who was conspicuously absent this week, might end up being the key to Klaus’ vulnerability. Let’s not forget, however, that she has her own brand new vendetta against Mikaelson.

Klaus would inevitably leave Elijah and Hayley stranded in the bayou after nipping his brother on the neck. Remember, a werewolf/ hybrid bite is lethal to most vampires, yet an Original like Elijah would simply struggle through the impending annoyance of dementia and hallucinations. From within the same shack where Tyler had tested the witch’s prophecy, Hayley and Elijah sifted through old documents in search of answers regarding Hayley’s bloodline. It was not inside but outside, though, that they did, indeed, learn of answers. A stranger mysteriously left a bible on the porch, a book that contained knowledge of Hayley’s family tree. Is Hayley truly this “Andrea Labonair” character? Her crescent moon birthmark seems to suggest so!

At home, Klaus would fill Rebekah in on his day’s excursion to the bayou that concluded with a bite on their brother’s neck as punishment for merely suggesting that he, Klaus, is untrustworthy. How dare Elijah! Rebekah, welling up with tears, refused to sell out Marcel, fibbing to Klaus in an effort to cover her old lover’s true wish. Klaus sees his siblings as weapons in this war, yet he refuses to recognize the truth in the fact that they’d hand him the world in exchange for the returned familial love on his end of their relationships.

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To conclude the recap, Episode 7 of The Originals closed with Marcel meeting an unlikely, albeit perfect, new ally at a local bar. There, Tyler informed him of everything that he needs to know… including the fact that Hayley is carrying the key to his utter demise.

What did you think of The Originals Episode 7, “Bloodletting”? Are you happy to see Michael Trevino popping up as Tyler Lockwood on this spinoff, or would you have left the hybrid wandering around Mystic Falls on The Vampire Diaries? Will Rebekah side with either Klaus or Marcel? When will things get hot and heavy between Elijah and Hayley? Did you enjoy watching Davina and Josh bond?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of The Originals Episode 7, “Bloodletting”!