The Originals episode 5 review: Sinners and Saints

This review contains spoilers.

1.5 Sinners and Saints

Thankfully, as was the case with its parent show, now that we’re out of that awkward beginning stage, The Originals is getting better and better. Last week we fleshed out Cami’s character and made a start on Davina, but that was nothing compared to this. As Elijah surmised at the end of the episode, the hour proved that the series isn’t about what we thought it was, and what we’re getting looks a lot more exciting. A war is coming, but it’s not between the two groups we were expecting.

Marcel isn’t the enemy, for a start, which frees up the narrative enough to allow he and Klaus to air their real feelings. Because Elijah chose to stay in the church attic rather than be recovered by Rebekah, he got to have a little chat with Davina and she was very forthcoming. This is a flashback episode, and flashback episodes aren’t traditionally very exciting and/or important in this franchise, but Sinners and Saints defied my expectations by not only being interesting, but also changing the entire show going forwards.

She reveals that she’s in hiding from her fellow witches, who, eight months ago staged a ritual sacrifice of four teenage girls to renew their connection to their ancestors. Davina was meant to be one of the four for the Harvest, but was saved at the last minute by Marcel and his vampires. They had been asked for help by Kieron, the priest we met last week, but they only got there in time to save one girl. Now, the witches believe that the girls will be reborn if they complete the ritual, and they’re after Davina. Are the lying about the subsequent resurrection, or will Davina’s death only be temporary?

It was just a happy coincidence for Marcel that Davina now held the power of all four girls and he could use that to his advantage – he’s otherwise quite the hero. He has a rule about people who abuse kids, and that hatred is now applied to witches on the whole. Sophie’s sister, Jane Anne, was fully complicit in the massacre and her niece was one of the fallen girls, so Sophie’s investment in this has also been revealed. She found Hayley, lured Klaus to New Orleans and plans to use him to overthrow Marcel and get her hands on Davina. We should  have known not to trust the witches.

Last week, Hayley, the witches and the Mikaelsons were the good guys and everyone else was a villain but, now the witches have switched places with Marcel, his vampires and Davina, and this makes things a lot more exciting. It means we don’t have to pretend to root for the destruction of Marcel, for one, and Haley’s link to Sophie puts her in an increasingly precarious position. Throw in Kieron’s threat of human players, the witches’ responsibility for Cami’s brother, a prophecy of the baby’s destruction of witches and a super-charged sixteen-year-old and we’ve got a show I wanna watch. It took a while, but we’re finally there.

It’s also fantastic that Elijah is out of his box, and I’m looking forward to seeing the Mikaelsons operate as a trio for what must be the first time in years. That’s where the strength of the series is, after all, and the impending war is just something for them to do. The players are just about set, providing there isn’t another big twist on its way, and this switch around has made me infinitely more excited for the season to come. Next week the threat to Hayley’s life becomes more immediate, and the witches show their true colours. See you there!

Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Girl In New Orleans, here.

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