The Originals - Midseason Finale Recap: All Hail King Klaus?

Episode 9 of Season 1 of The Originals, “Reigning Pain in New Orleans,” saw clever Cami (Leah Pipes) planting clues to evade the compulsions of Klaus (Joseph Morgan), while the tyrant himself attempted to rule his new kingdom with an iron fist to no avail. Meanwhile, at Hayley’s (Phoebe Tonkin) request, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Rebekah (Claire Holt) attempted to make nice with the local werewolves, while Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) feigned a front of friendship with his new leader. Lastly, as Davina (Danielle Campbell) prepared for life in Klaus’ home, the truth regarding the crumbling of her old coven rose to the surface. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 1 Episode 9 of The Originals, “Reigning Pain in New Orleans”! It was the midseason finale!

Episode 9 opened with a ceremonial toast from Klaus marking the beginning of a new chapter of the rule of vampires in New Orleans. Needless to say, nobody was here for that, but most of the group, under Marcel’s patient suggestion, bit their tongues in order to keep themselves alive and well. Hayley, unfortunately, was the odd wolf out, yet the baby inside of her protected its mother from execution. To appease the vampires’ lingering disdain for wolves, Klaus made a peace offering. In exchange for Hayley’s safekeeping, he offered the lives of the werewolves of the bayou, Hayley’s last lingering family members. Remember, if there are no werewolves, Klaus cannot make more hybrids once his baby is born. Thus, he squashed rumors of being a dastardly dad by sacrificing Hayley’s last hope for answers.

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Devastated, Hayley eventually turned to Rebekah and Elijah for help. Bound to the compound, Hayley was useless to her people, but knowing how important the information kept by the clan remains to Hayley, Elijah happily obliged. Rebekah, begrudgingly, joined her Original brother in his quest to stop the onslaught of Marcel’s vampire buddies that descended on the swamp.

Marcel and Klaus, meanwhile, started off on shaky ground during this midseason finale. Under Rebekah’s advisement, Marcel feigned a friendship with Klaus in order to keep the peace and protect his loyal friends. Over the course of Episode 9, things would slowly evolve between the two. First, Marcel became aware of Klaus’ hold over Cami, who’d continued to diligently record Klaus’ memoirs while quipping at the Original hybrid. Remember, Cami is compelled to forget about the existence of the supernatural world entirely as soon as she leaves his presence, plaguing her with plot holes in her memory she knows are somehow tied to Klaus. At first, I assumed Cami had slipped up in her anxiousness when she revealed the photo of Klaus and Marcel from 1919. By the time she returned home having lost the memory, the answer became clear. Post-it notes pointed the way to a secret tape recorder in the pocket of her purse. The recorder, needless to say, copied the entire encounter with Klaus and Marcel.

Marcel, with some help from Father Kieran (Todd Stashwick), organized a meeting of the town humans responsible for helping to keep the vampire world and the people of New Orleans in a healthy relationship. There, Klaus' brash nature and refusal to negotiate with those who challenge his power in any way, clashed with an obnoxious council member whose attitude towards vampires certainly rubbed the current ruler the wrong way. Refusing to bend to the will of subordinate humans, Klaus threw out their proposal to keep the city in line and subsequently stormed out. At a local bar, Klaus and Marcel chatted regarding Klaus’ lack of diplomacy and how it might threaten their kingdom in the Quarter. Unfortunately for Marcel, his friends would pay the price. A surprise attack on the bar saw the windows blown to pieces, frying most of the vampires inside save for Marcel and Klaus. A violent act of defiance pushed Marcel to the edge, removing the cloak of his false friendship as he blamed his former mentor for the loss of his true friends; however, Marcel’s rage against the humans outweighed his current frustration with Klaus, and the two planned a subsequent act of revenge against the pompous council.

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See, I don’t understand how any of those people thought they’d get away with murdering vampires like that. Klaus can't be killed at all! Even when Klaus made his presence known at the subsequent fake council meeting that he’d called, it didn’t seem like any of these humans were shaking in their boots. That is, until they were, well, dying in their boots. Father Kieran was the only life they’d spared in hopes of rebuilding a new relationship with more tolerant humans.

Disappointed with Marcel’s fall from power, Davina herself was powerless in her efforts to remain in the attic. Klaus, who’d been coveting the little witch since his move to New Orleans, finally had her abilities in his clutches. Luckily for Davina, Josh (Steven Krueger) had snuck his way back into the garage of the compound under Klaus’ nose. If you recall, Josh is in hot water following his decision to lead Klaus into the ambush. Hayley, meanwhile, also made her presence known as a prisoner of the Original hybrid, though the two were hesitant to trust her.

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Down by the bayou, Rebekah and Elijah were able to easily thwart Klaus' ordered attack on Hayley’s people, but, in truth, they weren’t the ones who needed protection. I’m sure you recall Eve, the werewolf who’d informed Hayley of her people’s curse during the previous episode. During Episode 9, she pointed Elijah and Rebekah in the direction of werewolf newcomers who’d entered the region unaware of the quarrels with Marcel and his vampires in order to witness the miracle pregnancy. The werewolves of the bayou are experts at hiding, avoiding vampire onslaughts for years. These newbies, however, were not ready for Klaus’ forces. Luckily, Rebekah and Elijah managed to prevent the future attack that evening as well, and as Eve had pointed out, the new pack in town had information well worth the effort.

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Back at the compound, Davina struggled with unpacking, only to find herself in the presence of Hayley yet again. Hayley, who obviously wanted her magical help with something, ended up filling Davina in on the death of crazy Agnes, the elder witch Elijah had slaughtered a few episodes back. Davina, in disbelief, refused to listen to Hayley’s “lies,” figuring that Marcel had only ever been honest with her. If Agnes was, in truth, dead meat, than Davina would have been able to walk free. Meaning, Marcel would have to have been lying to Davina to keep her in his control. Later, it was Josh who cleared the rumor as a reality, but where could Davina call home? Will she, in the end, help Hayley to lift the curse on her people?

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To close the recap, Episode 9 ended with some great touching moments of reconciliation for mostly everyone, especially Klaus. Klaus has had a rough go on a series that is essentially his to lose. The Originals hasn’t done much to paint him in a decent light, yet we often forget all that he’s been through. First, it’s important to note what his siblings discovered in the bayou. The pack of werewolves new to the region carried a symbolic ring… a symbol previously worn by their mother, a very powerful witch. The tribe is that of Klaus’ birth father, the werewolf with whom his mother had an affair. It’s also important to note that Elijah made peace with his brother during this midseason finale by truly apologizing for misjudging Klaus’ intentions towards his unborn son. In return, Klaus invited both Elijah and Rebekah to live in his compound, their old family home. Hmm… Do we think that maybe Klaus' werewolf line and Hayley's werewolf line have some sort of ancient history? Could that be why she was able to get pregnant beyond the simple fact that Klaus is a vampire-werewolf hybrid? I mean, we have to assume Klaus has had a lot of sex! Wouldn't there have been other pregnancy scares along the way if there wasn't some special magic at work here?

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Klaus and Marcel also forged a new friendship this week, airing out their dirty laundry and revealing their true feelings towards each other. Recognizing his failure to breed loyalty among the people, Klaus gave Marcel his credit. Marcel, in exchange, reminded Klaus that it was he who’d taught Marcel how to be a man in the first place. Klaus, swallowing his pride and admitting to his initial jealousy, also revealed the witches’ plot that had forced him to usurp Marcel as part of a pact, even if Klaus was happy to do so. Klaus invited Marcel to rule as his partner, and the two formed a new bond. Rebekah, in a private moment following, couldn’t believe that the man she loved had betrayed her, yet again, for her twisted tyrant of a brother; however, Rebekah has a piece of the puzzle we’ve yet to be clued in on… something that would make Klaus hate Marcel forever. This something is tied to the picture Cami had drudged up from 1919 that was snapped mere moments before a fire.

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Finally, Klaus met with Kieran one last time while he prayed in the church. In exchange for Kieran’s secret protection of his father’s werewolf clan, Klaus agreed to compel Cami to leave town for her own sanity’s sake. At her home, Cami seemed equal parts startled and relieved to find Klaus before her in a flash. Coming apart at the seams, Cami had been desperate for answers, and she was quick to call Klaus out for his cowardice. Had Klaus been terrified to truly let her in? Klaus, finally giving Cami that which she desired, allowed the memories of his own torture at his father’s hand and with Elijah’s aid to flow into Cami’s mind. Cami, absolutely heartbroken to have witnessed that which Klaus endured, showed him mercy and kindness even considering how she’s been treated. Klaus, refusing to allow her to suffer because of this supernatural war, compelled her to forget everything and leave town, much to his own agony. Unfortunately for Klaus, just as Cami was ready to head out of New Orleans for good, Davina showed up at her door in a panic. Realizing that Cami had been compelled, Davina closed out Episode 9 of The Originals by removing the compulsion from her friend’s mind.

What did you think of The Originals Season 1 Episode 9, “Reigning Pain in New Orleans”? Are you happy with how the series is going so far? Do you feel sympathy for Klaus? Do you feel sorry for Rebekah? Are Klaus and Marcel better together or apart? Will Elijah ever give in to his desire for Hayley? Weren’t the final moments a great couple of scenes? What do you think about my werewolf bloodline theories?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of The Originals Season 1 Episode 9, “Reigning Pain in New Orleans”!