For my last post on some horror themed properties, I thought
it was time to return to the CW. No, there aren’t any superheroes present, but
we do have beings with some pretty cool and deadly powers. I just didn’t
realize that it would spin off from a vampire soap opera of all places.
I have only seen two episodes of the Vampire Diaries. One was probably airing after Smallville years ago, and the other was a possible binge for me and Liz to go down on. Our trip in the VD universe actually started with Legacies, their latest and last show. She got me started on it, and after a while, we finished binging it on Netflix. As for the Originals, the first spin-off show, I got curious about how everything led up to Legacies. After the pilot episode, I had to watch more, and a new binge was born. The Originals got taken off of Netflix during our watch, but I found it on Freevee. You know I gotta like a show if I’m hunting for it all over these dang streaming channels! So, what do I think about these two shows?
The Originals
The Originals aired on the CW from 2013 to 2018. The show
primarily revolves around the Mikaelsons, the original vampires of this
universe. They were a bit of a mainstay on the Vampire Diaries as sometime
villains. I say sometimes because they’re all over the place. I mean a family
of vampires who have lived for 1,000 years is bound to have a lot of drama
especially when one of them is Klaus Mikaelson, the vampire/werewolf hybrid
with that British accent and badass clothing. Heck, he’s probably why this show
exists in the first place. I’ve been watching old clips of VD on YouTube, and I
definitely see the appeal.
So, the basic premise is this: The remaining Mikaelsons, Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gilles), and Rebecca (Claire Holt), return to New Orleans, the city they helped build and rule back in the day. When they arrive, the three supernatural factions (Vampire, Werewolves, and Witches) are at odds with one another. Even though things may be at their bleakest, there may be something that can quell the rage in Klaus. It turns out that his one-night stand with Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tomkin), a werewolf who also appeared in VD, has produced a child which is something unheard of with vampires. When Klaus and the family find out, they do their best to protect the child and themselves (aptly named “Hope”) from the many enemies they made over the years.
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| I guess every photo needs one glum boy. |
So, what made me want to sit through about five seasons of vampire drama? A lot of things actually. This show was fun, and the characters were the main reason I found it so captivating. It all starts with the Mikaelsons because they are one messy lot! There’s constant backstabbing (literally), romancing, back-braking (as well as neck-breaking), and just overall calamity. Even though the Mikaelsons are horrible to one another and everyone else, there’s just something likable and noble about them. Everyone is well cast and acted, but Daniel Gillies’s accent always threw me off. I think the fact that he was one of the most punctual dudes around helped because I never got tired of him calling Klaus by his real name. Klaus’s and Elijah’s bond with one another was also really good.
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| Whelp, Klaus has set his eyes on yet another blonde lady. Maybe this'll work out... I hope. |
Even though the Mikaelsons were the draw, a lot of other good characters were in on the madness. Hayley Marshall was one werewolf lady you didn’t want to mess with. Then, we got Marcel Gerard (Charles Michael Davis), Klaus’s protégé and leader of the vampire clan in New Orleans. Think Klaus only Black and less nutty. Other favorites were Camille O’Donnell (Leah Pipes), Josh Rosza (Steven Kruger), Jackson Kenner (Nathan Parsons), and Hope (Danielle Rose Mitchell). Even though he’s not on the show long, we get some Power Rangers rep in Eka Darville as Diego. Then, there’s my favorite character from the series who even trumps Klaus: Vincent Griffith (Yusef Gatewood). This brotha always knew the right things to say and never put up with the Mikaelsons’ antics. Even when he was possessed by Finn Mikaelson (long story), Yusef Gatewood was still awesome in his role.
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| Vincent was definitely the MVP for the show. I was praying dude would make it all the way through! |
The story arcs for each season were pretty solid for the most part. Season 1 basically dealt with the birth of Hope and the warring between the clans. Season 2 was more of a personal nature with the whole Mikaelson family coming to play in New Orleans. Season 3 (probably my favorite) dealt with a prophecy and a war between the Mikaelsons and their first sires, the De Martels. The last couple of seasons pull off time jumps that strangely enough worked for me. Seven years pass with Season 4 as the Mikaelsons have to deal with an ancient witch who’s out for Hope. Season 5 is kinda all over the place (Nazi vampires, a troubled teen, and all out calamity), but it does have the Mikaelsons still doing their thing five years later.
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| All the relationships on here were messy, and the Marcel/Rebekah romance is the messiest of them all. I love it! |
While I do like the show, it has a few pitfalls. You get a few characters that aren’t all that great. I’m looking at you, Davina (Danielle Campbell). While I liked all the arcs, you would get some episodes that weren’t well written. Sometimes, they’d have the Mikaelsons do something that even I was like “okay, y’all taking this a bit far.” Case in point, you’d get some deaths that felt a bit unneeded. You know who I’m probably talking about. While I liked the last couple seasons, there was a noticeable dip in quality especially in Season 5. It felt like they were in rush mode at that point. Finally, the action was kinda subpar. It wasn’t nothing to write home about, but it did at least provide some good moments. In the end, this was a good show.
Legacies
Right after The Originals ended, Legacies started its run. It aired from 2018 through 2022 right through the COVID pandemic. It also brings back Mystic Falls, VA, the hometown for all the spooky and supernatural. The basic premise is this: X-Men - Children of the Cauldron! Look, I got to get at least one X-Men joke out of this, okay? Heck, one of the reasons I stuck through with the show was because of its obvious X-Men vibes. This show really needed X-Men Evolution’s theme being played at the beginning. If I had the clips, I’d make one myself!
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| You know, for all the X-Men vibes the show has and the fact that MG's a comic geek, we get no Marvel references. |
While I didn’t have as much fun with Legacies as I did with The
Originals, it was still a pretty nice time. Quite a few things make this show
good. Unlike the family drama of the Mikaelsons, we get to deal with teen angst
and feeeeelings. If you’re in for that type of thing (the opposite of me at
times), you might like this. I’m not joking about the X-Men/Harry Potter vibe
it has either. You got the literal
backstabbing, romance-making, neck-breaking, spell-casting, and crossbow
shooting going on at this school. Add in mythological monsters, and you got a show. That was
one thing that set the show apart from the others, and it was a nice move. It
made this world that already had a supernatural element much more interesting.
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| These are just a few examples of the good makeup and costumes on the show. |
Once again, the characters were pretty solid. I had a few
favorites for the series. Obviously, Hope Mikaelson was able to bring the same
gravitas (not as chaotic) as her father did. The Salztman Twins, Lizzie (Jenny
Boyd) and Josie (Kaylee Bryant), had some interesting arcs. MG (Quincy Fouse)
and Kaleb (Chris Lee) were a couple of cool black vampires. While he didn’t
have a long stay on the show, I liked Rafael (Peyton Alex Smith), a newly
turned werewolf. One late edition I really became fond of was Cleo Sowande (Omono
Okojie), a young witch who was forced to be in league with Malivore. Even
though he wasn’t my favorite, I did like Landon Kirby, so if you’re wondering where he is, here! There was one villain on here that kept coming back and
usually had me in laughs called the Necromancer (Ben Geurens).
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| Kaleb wasn't all that great in the beginning, but he really grew to be one of the best characters on the show. His friendship with MG was awesome. Black Power! |
The stories for the show were mostly good. Malivore was
pretty much the main threat for the show, since it would send different
monsters out in the world to get Landon or some artifact. You would also get
episodes where a student would be the baddie. Let’s just say that someone on
the writers’ staff probably has the Dark Phoenix Saga on their bookshelf. It
also was a show that didn’t always take itself so seriously since we were
dealing with a younger cast. You got to see them not be in such danger every
episode. The best episode I can think of is when an entity shows up to the school
and makes everyone put on a musical. Of the four seasons, I’d say that the
first two seasons are pretty solid.
The action was pretty decent, but it also wasn’t anything to
write home about. I will say that I kinda enjoyed it more than the action from
the Originals. Maybe it was shot a little better. I also got to credit the
makeup and costume department because we got some good-looking beasts here.
Yes, we would also get some of that CGI that you would see on stuff like the
Flash. Unfortunately, we don’t get a “Gorilla Grodd chasing down a young Barack
Obama” moment, but we get enough wackiness to deal with here.
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| It's safe to say that Alaric may have been an okay dad, but he probably wasn't the best headmaster for a supernatural school. |
As for my dislikes, I will say that the writing can get a bit cringe at times. There were also some arcs that didn’t pan out too well. Season 3 was really where things started to get a little bad writing-wise. I also think the COVID pandemic may have affected those last two seasons because things just looked off. Also, you would get the usual high school tropes you see in just about any teen drama show. I also thought Hope and Landon didn’t have the same staying power like most main couples had. I kinda started rooting for the other couples on the show more than them. I think I even started to like Lizzie (shocker!) more than Hope towards the end. Even though things didn’t end too well on the show, I still had a good time with it.
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| Can I say it? I'm gonna say it! Okay... these two kinda became the Clark/Lana of the show! Not a good thing. |
………………………………………………………
In the end, these are two pretty good fantasy horror shows. The
Originals wins out in the end for me, but Legacies shouldn’t be slept on
either. It has its good moments. I don’t know when me and Liz will get around
to a Vampire Diaries binge. I was kind of drained on vamps. Well, that’s all I
got for tonight. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
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