The Originals season 2 episode 4 review: Live And Let Die

This review contains spoilers.

2.4 Live And Let Die

For all my wishing that it would take at least until the mid-season break for Esther and Mikael to get the upper hand on their kids, I’m actually quite glad The Originals went its usual route and jumped the gun this time.

Esther has Elijah and Mikael is presumably moments away from turning the tables on Klaus. This show never really did well with suspense, preferring to jump straight into the action, and I guess that’s one of the things we love most about it.

But that was just the cliffhanger, and there was so much more to love about Live And Let Die. A returning Cami, for one, who has never been as dynamic and watchable as she was here. I’m definitely not jumping on board with any of her prospective romances – irritatingly and awkwardly summarised in that initial therapy scene – but her role on the show is ever-more important as the rest of the elements get crazier and crazier as the weeks go by.

She’s the human element that’s desperately needed, especially since even Hayley is now a hybrid, and those scenes between her and Klaus, flirtation aside, reintroduced that grounding force that’s sometimes missing from the more action-packed episodes. The Originals deals with such grand themes and ridiculous ideas, and a bit of normalcy goes a long way for both the audience and the characters involved.

But of course, she isn’t a miracle-worker, and one little speech about the little joys of life isn’t enough to talk Klaus down from his revenge mission. His impulses have become ingrained in his DNA over thousands of years, and no one short of Caroline Forbes (or baby hope) is going to change something so fundamental.

Likewise, Marcel’s plan to get Elijah on his side by giving him a plaything in Gia is going swimmingly, as Elijah seems to be revelling in having someone to mould and train without the annoyances that come with Klaus and the complications that come with Hayley. We also get zingers like: “As a devout feminist, I refuse to say that you hit like a girl.”

The werewolves’ place in all this has gotten considerably more complicated. Thankfully, Oliver and newbie Aiden have both defected from the more extremist members of their pack, and Esther and Finn’s idea to bring unturned teen wolves into the fold was enough to make them thing maybe teaming up with an unhinged witch with a centuries-old vendetta wasn’t the best idea in the first place.

This allies them with Elijah and Hayley by default, which has the wonderful side-effect of making Aiden and Josh’s little romance the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen. The potential of a vampire and a werewolf trying to be in a relationship while their families tear each other’s throats out is huge, epic and fantastic viewing for us.

The showdowns between Klaus and Mikael are always a bit a letdown, and maybe because this is almost a direct retread of what we saw in Vampire Diaries back in the day. It’s not the show’s fault – it’s understandable that they’d want to transfer that storyline over to a show that actually has room for it, but it’s still a case of ‘been there, done that.’

The return of Papa Tunde’s “ludicrous knife of mystical torment” was welcome, though, and enough to allow us to forgive Klaus for being a little careless.

But I have to say that the sheer genius of Kol and Finn’s reintroductions has made Mikael and Esther feel a little superfluous. Before this season, I was indifferent to Finn and indignant to Kol, but now I just want more of them on my screen. Bravo, The Originals, you actually made all five of the Mikaelson siblings into characters I care about – now bring back Rebekah!

Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Every Mother’s Son, here.

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