The writers made an interesting choice to not stretch out the werewolf storyline, and instead concentrate on getting on with the Mikaelson family drama. Before curtains closed on the season premiere, Hayley (Pheobe Tonkin) had made short work of the matriarch of that family, making room for the matriarch of another to easily take her place. Esther may have a new, young face, but she still has the same agenda. Esther is plotting, with the help of her two sons, who both apparently found a way out of the other side before it collapsed, to continue what she started before being outsmarted and killed during her short stint on TVD (Finn and Kol also were staked during that same storyline).
Maybe it’s the weird dynamic between the three of them, or simply just being accustomed to seeing these characters portrayed by different actors, but there’s something slightly unsettling about being reunited with Esther (Natalie Dreyfuss), Finn (Yusuf Gatewood), and Kol (Daniel Sharman) in this manner. Besides knowing their intentions are malicious, they seem out of place in this setting.
Beyond that, the love triangles are already starting up and they probably shouldn’t. It seems like the writers of both The Originals and The Vampire Diaries make love triangles their goto romantic arc, but it would just be nice if Klaus or Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) or Elijah (Daniel Gillies) would finally be able to have a love interest that they didn’t have to share.
Klaus and Hayley may be parents together, but it looks like the romance ship has sailed for these two (not that it ever really docked), but there’s still Cami (Leah Pipes) – who is currently bedding Marcel. This is only going to lead to additional drama as the narrative unfolds. On the plus side, with Finn attempting to manipulate her for his own purposes, she’ll have twice the protection for the time being.
Although Klaus’s motivational speech to Hayley toward the close of the episode stole a lot of the thunder, the scene that was slightly more revealing was between him and Cami. When she showed up at their home, closed to the public, she not only made her preference for vampires over werewolves known, but she actually was able to sense his presence. There’s something to be said for a connection like that, and it’s probably that she should stop sleeping with his best friend/adopted son.
The Originals started off their second season by staking their claim to New Orleans all over again, and this time it won’t be outsiders who try to usurp them, but their own flesh and blood.
Things are about the get intense, and in the best way.