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The Originals (2013–2018) is set in the rich, gothic heart of New Orleans. It is a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, following the Mikaelson family, the first vampires ever. They are trying to snatch back their city, lay down the law, and fix the fire they have made of their own lives.
The place is brimming with witches, werewolves, and vampires, all clawing for a piece of the action. The city is a supernatural mosh pit, and you can forget about anybody making it out with their hands clean.
The Originals laughs in the face of good vs. evil. Every character gets thrown into idealism, innocence, and moral codes, until what’s left is, well, complicated. Survival and family come first, always, even if it means getting your soul a little dirty (or a lot).
So, we are delving into eight of the big players, tracking how each one gets twisted, broken, and occasionally redeemed. What makes The Originals actually pop in a sea of supernatural shows is the way it refuses to pick sides. Nobody gets to be the pure-hearted hero here. The city itself is a character, tempting and corrupting just about everyone until “Always and Forever” starts to sound more like a curse than a promise.
And, the stakes aren’t just about saving the world — it is personal. The Mikaelsons are breaking hearts, betraying each other, and building a legacy out of ashes and bad decisions. Critics and fans both have clocked how tangled and dark these stories get — that’s why we keep watching.
Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion. Readers’ discretion is advised.
The Originals: Eight character arcs that prove no one stays pure
Klaus Mikaelson: From monstrous tyrant to tragic redeemer
Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan), the OG hybrid and the family’s chaos engine, is the loudest, most dramatic proof of what The Originals is all about. He rolls up in New Orleans, ready to snatch back the city he built.
At first, Klaus is pure menace — paranoid, power-hungry, and hell-bent on revenge. His “legendary cruelty” isn’t just some empty phrase — we are talking murder in the family, both dad and siblings, and he messes with people’s heads for fun, friends and foes alike.
But you stick with The Originals for five seasons, and things get complicated. Klaus becomes a dad and has a kid, Hope, who cracks his shell. His siblings won’t quit on him, no matter how many times he screws them over, and the messy relationships with Marcel and Cami challenge his nihilism. You start seeing the cracks in his “I don’t care about anything” routine.
His entire arc was a slow crawl toward redemption, and by the finale, he finally gets a little peace, which nobody thought was in the cards for him. Still, it is not like Klaus gets to ride off into the sunset without leaving a trail of wreckage. His “growth” always comes at a cost, usually paid by the same people who love him — sometimes literally in blood.
Fans on social media debated whether Klaus ever got redeemed or just became a slightly more tolerable villain.
Elijah Mikaelson: The noble idealist’s fall
Elijah (Daniel Gillies) walks around in a suit, and he has a “noble vampire” aesthetic down to a science. He puts honor, promises, and family over everything. You know those people who would rather light themselves on fire than break a pinky swear? That’s Elijah.
His big, tragic flaw is that he can’t let it go. He ties himself in knots trying to prop up Klaus and keeps torching his own shot at happiness for the greater “good.” At a certain point, you have to ask: Is it still nobility if you are just making messes and then cleaning them up with even messier “deals”?
End of the day, Elijah is this walking contradiction — he wants to be the good guy so badly that he ends up just as bloody as the monsters he is trying to save. The Originals proves that if you stick to your ideals hard enough, you might just break them and yourself in the process.
Rebekah Mikaelson: The pursuit of love at all costs
Rebekah keeps chasing love and a place to call home, only to get tripped up every time by her own family — especially Klaus and his king-sized control issues. She starts off all wide-eyed and sweet, but season by season, that innocence just gets chewed up. Now, she is scheming, stabbing folks in the back, even double-crossing Klaus when it suits her.
You can’t blame her for wanting something real, but she gets savage when her own happiness is on the line. Rebekah has got this wild streak, and when you throw her in with the rest of that dysfunctional crew, plus the endless parade of sketchy side characters, things get spicy fast.
By The Originals finale, she is not the naive little sister anymore. She is tough, a bit jaded, and who wouldn’t be after all that family drama?
Hayley Marshall: From outcast to martyr
Hayley comes into town as this total outsider — she is a werewolf, doesn’t really have a pack, just wants to find somewhere she fits, maybe a little family, some security. Then, she gets pregnant with Klaus’s kid. This twist kicks off half the chaos in The Originals.
At first, she is just vibing off pure mom instincts, desperate for some peace, but New Orleans doesn’t do calm. She gets pulled right into all the supernatural power drama. Watching her go from this ignored orphan to the boss lady of the Crescent wolves is crazy. She even ends up sacrificing herself for her kid.
Hayley’s whole storyline is the heart of The Originals' obsession with agency. She wants to control her own life, wants acceptance, but the world keeps throwing her into lose-lose decisions. Sometimes she has to do some sketchy stuff just to keep her daughter safe. That tug-of-war between wanting to nurture and having to be ruthless never gets settled. If anything, it just gets messier the longer she sticks around.
Marcel Gerard: Protégé turned king, then outlaw
Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) used to be Klaus’s right-hand man in The Originals. He has a real talent for stirring the pot when it comes to loyalty and power plays. Tossed out by his so-called family, he doesn’t just mope around. He takes over New Orleans, running the city.
At first, he has got “I’m doing what’s necessary” energy, but it doesn’t take long before he is just ruling with an iron fist. Eventually, things go sideways. Marcel loses his grip, tries to snatch control back from the Mikaelsons, and the whole thing spirals into a messy cocktail of revenge and desperate need for belonging.
Fans online eat this storyline up. It’s pretty much textbook “rise and fall,” and Marcel totally owns every minute of it.
Freya Mikaelson: The witch who crossed every line
Freya (Riley Voelkel) is the long-lost oldest sibling who randomly shows up after centuries locked away. She shows up with stupid levels of magic and this die-hard "family above all" mindset. She will do anything for them — mess with souls, bend the rules, even make deals with folks she really shouldn't be trusting. Additionally, Klaus actually letting her in and walking her down the aisle is a major plot twist.
Still, don’t let the sparkly family moments fool you. Freya is cool with dabbling in some seriously shady magic if it means protecting her crew. Love makes people do crazy stuff, but in this clan, it is a license to get messy. No one’s hands stay clean in The Originals, not even when their heart is in the right place.
Kol Mikaelson: The “wild child” reduced to pragmatism
Kol Mikaelson (Nathaniel Buzolic) is often described as a “psychotic maniac sibling”. Out of all the Original siblings, he is chaos on legs — always diving into trouble, half for the thrill and half because he is desperate for someone in his family to actually notice him. Kol’s deal reads like a big sign flashing “alienated little brother.”
He starts just wrecking everything for fun. But then Davina Claire shows up, and the psycho has got a soft spot. He is now dabbling in magic with a bit more self-control.
Still, let’s not get all mushy. His past is a mess. Centuries of pain tend to leave some scars, and the violence and backstabbing never really go away, no matter how many cute moments he has with Davina. He is never getting that lost innocence back — and fans love that.
Camille “Cami” O’Connell: Innocence eclipsed by tragedy
Cami sticks out like a sore thumb in a lineup full of vampires and witches. She is just a regular human psychologist, at least at first glance. But her story hits just as hard as any of the Mikaelsons when it comes to the “fall from grace” thing.
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Cami starts off as Klaus’s moral compass, trying to keep him tethered to whatever is left of his humanity. Of course, that doesn’t last. The more time she spends tangled up in the Mikaelson mess, the more her optimism gets chewed up and spit out. Suddenly, she is not just the voice of reason — she is angry, vengeful, and eventually, she makes the ultimate sacrifice.
When Cami’s story wrapped up in The Originals, the internet caught fire. Fans were devastated, arguing nonstop about whether she really brought out the good in Klaus or just got swallowed whole by his darkness. Either way, people seriously mourned the end of her innocence, and who can blame them?
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