In the previous episode, Elijah brokered a peace accord with the various factions in New Orleans.  In typical style for this series (and, to be fair, the franchise as a whole), all of that is effectively tossed out the window in short order.  Once again we get an episode in which the characters state their current intentions and motivations, but considering that this has been the tenth time this has happened on the series in this inaugural season, it’s hard to invest in any of it.

 

What do we know?  Elijah has limits to how much idiocy he’ll accept from Klaus, but I can’t see how these circumstances are entirely different than anything else Klaus has done in the past 1000 years.  Hayley is now a queen among the werewolves.  Marcel is taking his resistance against the Mikaelsons to the next level, but that’s really just paying off the same threats he’s been making all along.  It’s hard to feel as if progress has been made.

 

The biggest problem with The Originals, other than the loss of Rebekah, has been the inability to stick with a basic set of conflicts for more than a couple episodes.  Alliances shift before the viewer can even begin to choose sides.  And it never comes to much of anything.  Considering how often characters start making odd choices or acting out of character (as Klaus seems to, much of this episode), the audience isn’t given much solid ground.

 

Considering that the best moments still belong to Elijah, who is far more suited to being the ruler of New Orleans than his ridiculously impulsive brother, I still maintain that he should have been the focus of the series.  But if he’s taking actions without holding back, why in the world would he let Marcel live?  All it did was show the vampires that Marcel could get away with it, and now his ranks are growing.

 

The writers seem to be setting up Genevieve and Monique as a threat to Hayley for the season finale, with Marcel’s antics serving to distract the Mikaelsons and force them into difficult choices.  Honestly, there’s two of them, so it should be easy.  Elijah could snap the witches in half before they knew he was even there, and it’s high time Klaus put Marcel down, once and for all.

The Originals has already been renewed, and I’m sure that the writers were simply trying to figure out a way to make the rest of the season work after Claire Holt’s unexpected departure.  I can only hope that the second season is a bit more cohesive and sensible, with tangible character progression and long-term stakes.  As it currently stands, I’m seeing all the action, but I don’t quite know why any of it matters.