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[WARNING: Spoilers ahead from Tuesday’s finale of The Originals, “From a Cradle to the Grave”]
The Originals finale tied up some loose ends, while also setting up season-two mysteries.
The CW drama, which wrapped its freshman run beating Fox’s Glee closer in the ratings, wasn’t shy about tugging on viewers’ heartstrings. Klaus and Hayley agreed to give up their newborn daughter, fittingly named Hope, so their child could have a safer childhood — and they’re not wrong. There was only one person Klaus thought of to look after their child: Rebekah.
Q&A: ‘The Originals’ Star Daniel Gillies on Finale: ‘We’re Watching the Kingdom Torn Asunder’
Meanwhile, Klaus and Elijah’s resurrected father, Mikael, returned from the dead but Davina is his maker, Marcel reconciled with Klaus, Hayley transitioned to being a hybrid and Esther returned, setting up what’s sure to be a hellish season two.
Executive producer Julie Plec talks to The Hollywood Reporter about Rebekah’s bittersweet return, the young man next to Esther and the aftermath of the finale.
Congratulations on the first season. We have to start off by talking about the heartbreaking final moment between Klaus and Rebekah.
The first time I saw the cut, I just started crying and didn’t stop. That was the cut that was a hundred minutes long, so I was crying for other reasons — not necessarily good ones — but that was my first “Wow” emotional moment.
Was that a moment you wanted to build to?
Yeah. We knew from the beginning that we were most likely losing Claire [Holt] about three-quarters of the way through the season, so when we were planning what would happen with the baby, it was very clear that that was the way [it should end]. It would be a beautiful resolution for both Rebekah’s character and Hope’s character, giving Rebekah in essence exactly what she said she wanted when she walked out of the cemetery for the last time. She said she wanted to live and she wanted a family and the human experience, and now she gets to have it.
She gets her white picket fence and her happy ending.
Yeah.
STORY: ‘The Originals’: Joseph Morgan on Klaus’ Love of Power Trips, ‘Tough’ Stay on Top
What’s going through Klaus’ mind as he’s giving up his baby? That’s a huge decision a parent has to make.
If I’m Klaus, given that he tends to be a little bit tunnel vision, [he’s] sort of dealing with the emotions thing by already being 37 steps ahead and plotting his revenge. (Laughs.) Woe to those who have wronged him because I have a feeling he is going to strike back fairly strongly.
This opens possibilities for Mikaelson family reunions down the line. What are the chances Rebekah will return at some point next season?
There are definite opportunities for Rebekah over the course of the future of the series — certainly, if nothing else, to check in and make sure she hasn’t accidentally drowned the baby in the bathtub. (Laughs.) And to see if she’s lived up to the promise of the white picket fence. As we go along, with luck, there’ll be other opportunities that we’ll be able to have with her so Claire can come back and play with us.
So baby Hope may be seen again?
Yes, we will. Like I said, in that same context of Claire, being able to check in and not forget that she was born and [they] handed her off. We will definitely keep the idea of her alive in story and every now and then, with luck, we’ll be able to see her again.
A lot of people in town believe that Hope is dead, and we know secrets are dangerous. How difficult will it be for Hayley, Elijah and Klaus to keep up this ruse?
It’s not going to be easy but they’re the master strategists, the master manipulators. It’s going to take an emotional toll on them having to keep up this ruse of grief, which, although legitimate and genuine in their own way, is still not being able to act or react for a while, while they have to play the part of the family who lost their child is going to have Klaus when we return really chomping at the bit to get out there and shed some blood.
STORY: ‘The Originals’ Closer Tops ‘Glee’ Finale in Ratings
At the end of the finale, Esther is standing next to a young man. Who is he? There’s a theory floating around that it’s Finn.
(Laughs.) It’s definitely meant to be a mystery, but if I was a Vampire Diaries fan, I could probably give a pretty good guess. That’s about all I can say.
After being someone else’s secret weapon, Davina gets to use Mikael as hers. How much will Mikael regret his decision to want to be resurrected?
(Laughs.) I have a feeling when we finally return and we see Davina and Mikael, he is not going to be a happy camper. With the exception of two years of death he’s had, he’s spent about 998 years being a complete terror, although he was chained up for part of that. Nevertheless, he was still roaming free and causing trouble. Horrible circumstances bring him submissive to a 17-year-old girl who basically gets to tell him what to do and how to do it and [who] doesn’t particularly like him very much. He is not going to be very happy.
Are we just scratching the surface with Davina?
I think so. I’d like to see Davina with a romantic interest. I’d like to see Davina really exploring different worlds of magic and where her strengths lie. I’d like to see her find her own way outside this militant witch community that exists within the French Quarter. I’d like to see her have some sort of normalcy despite the abnormal circumstances that she’s living in. There’s so much to look at with her.
How soon before Elijah and Klaus discover Mikael is alive?
It’s early enough in the new season. I’m not going to say when, but as we ramp up to the season, that’s one secret that shocks them early.
What’s in store for Hayley, now a hybrid, and Elijah?
We got to see Elijah probably at his most raw and most vulnerable, which was so beautiful, and unfortunately, Hayley now is going to be in her most raw and her most vulnerable. It’s going to take her to a place where it’s going to make it difficult for her to communicate how she’s feeling, for her to express herself. She’s going to isolate herself a little bit. Elijah is really going to have to work hard to fight his way through the walls that she’s erected around herself now that she’s a new being that she doesn’t quite understand and missing her child and feeling all the pain of being a mother who’s not physically in the same space as her daughter. It’s a rough road ahead definitely for poor Hayley. She’s strong and it’ll all be about how Elijah and the boys pull her out of that place that she falls into.
Marcel and Klaus’ reconciliation was another big moment …
I loved that too. I cried when the baby looks back at him.
Will it be a challenging road for them to get back to that dynamic duo we saw in the beginning?
It’s a hard road for them to get back to that, not because they don’t want to, but because of Francesca, the werewolf that made all the big moves in last week’s episode. When we come back, we’re going to learn that she’s pulled a Marcel and set some rules in place in the French Quarter, the first of which is “No vampires allowed.” And vampires entering the Quarter is punishable by death. Marcel’s temporary residence across the river where he’s been hiding out has become his permanent residence, and he’s trying to figure out how to rebuild and start over and build a family of his own. It’ll be fun to see how he does that and how Klaus, and ultimately Elijah, tie into that agenda as well.
Klaus broke off his friendship with Cami and even called her “beautiful,” which is more salt on the wound. What’s in store for them?
I don’t think Cami understands why she was friend-dumped. She’s always been the one who has been able to get through to Klaus and connect with him and talk to him and keep him calm and steady, if that’s even possible. For her, it’s going to be really troubling that 1) they don’t have the dynamic they used to have and 2) not knowing the real story of what happened, she’s not going to understand why he’s behaving the way he’s behaving and why he’s making decisions he’s making. For her, it’s about getting to the bottom of what is Klaus doing and why. In that, we’ll also see how she’s maybe been spending her time romantically in the interim and who her new friends are and what kind of life she’s been living.
The Originals finale beat Glee‘s in the ratings last night.
I just saw the headline. Somebody emailed me about that, so I’ll have to do some digging. I’ll take it. I accept.
Email: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
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