The Originals review – 1×12: ‘Dance Back from the Grave’

The witches are back in full force as Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and the gang try to fight a witch that has returned from the dead. How did the battle go down?

Let’s bitch it out…

Well I guess Klaus  doesn’t have to worry about how to kill Papa Tunde (Owiso Odera) anymore. For some reason I thought that the Papa Tunde story would be drawn out for much longer than just one episode. After seeing the first few minutes and realizing how terrifying he is meant to be, I assumed that he would become a new “big bad guy” that would have an arc through the end of the season. But then it dawned on me that Celeste (Shannon Kane) brought back four witches, and we’ve only met one so far. So it seems that Celeste is actually the big bad guy that will be around for awhile, and we will just meet the other three witches an episode at a time.

Speaking of dear ol’ Celeste… There is clearly more to the story between Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Celeste. Last I heard, they had a great love affair and she died tragically, leaving Elijah heartbroken and following through on the promise of burying her where no one would find her body. Now we find out that not only has she been alive for an undisclosed amount of time, but that she is bringing back witches for help with killing original vampires. Since my darling Elijah is an original vampire… I fear this only spells trouble for him. Even if she is just planning to kill Klaus, everyone knows how dedicated Elijah is to his family. So if she kills his brother, clearly there won’t be any long overdue reunions in their future.

Okay. Let’s get honest here. I think the reason I’m pushing so hard for Elijah and Celeste to somehow be reunited in their great love affair is because if Elijah is with Celeste, it means he’s not with Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin). And we all know how I feel about that “love”. A friend of mine thinks that Elijah and Hayley have some great chemistry and sexual tension. I do not feel this way at all – in fact, I feel so strongly the opposite that I started shaking my head as I was writing that sentence. I just can’t get there. And I love Elijah. I especially love Elijah in a suit, which is a lovely treat this episode. But Elijah and Hayley is a show stopper for me. He’s wayyyyy too good for her.

I sincerely hope the writers delve deeper in to the idea that Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) originally brought Papa Tunde to New Orleans in an attempt to get rid of Klaus and reunite with Rebekah (Claire Holt). I’m secretly hoping that this will mean the return of their father, as Rebekah confesses that he is Klaus’ one true fear. I like the idea of anything that brings Klaus down a few pegs. As Rebekah is fighting with Elijah about the sacrifices that they make for Klaus’ happiness, it makes me upset for them. These two siblings are constantly sacrificing their own happiness and love, and forgiving their brother for his continuous mistakes just to keep the peace in the family. At some point, these two deserve some happiness as well and shouldn’t always be doing the sacrificing. It makes me angry with Klaus, so I hope that their father returns (in flashbacks of course, since Klaus killed him in Mystic Falls a few seasons ago on The Vampire Diaries), if only to scare him for awhile.

Other Observations:

• Seems like the Cami (Leah Pipes) character has run its course having her own storyline so she is now going to be thrown back in as the love interest of both Klaus and Marcel. It is sweet to see how Klaus wants to protect her, but her hatred of him is oddly reminiscent of my girl Caroline (Candice Accola) back in Mystic Falls. I sure hope the writers don’t think they can try to recreate the Klaroline magic, because it ain’t happening. Cami is no Caroline. Remember that.
• Here’s a little insider info on this reviewer: I’m deathly afraid of snakes. Like shudder at the mere thought of them, wake up sweating from nightmares about them kind of terrified. So clearly I had a difficult time with the Papa Tunde sacrifice scenes and all the snake blood he uses in his rituals. I could do without that for the next witch, thanks.
• I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’ve never realized this before but… The Original dad’s name is Michael Mikaelson?! Say it ain’t so.

What did you think of tonight’s episode? Are you liking that we are dealing with one witch at a time? What do you think Celeste’s motives are? Do you think Hayley will ever give birth to this child?! Sound off below!

The Originals airs on Tuesdays at 8pm EST on the CW.