Summary

• Klaus sacrificed himself to save his family and redeem himself, absorbing the Hollow to prevent destruction.
• Elijah fulfilled his purpose to help Klaus find redemption, making a noble sacrifice to be with him in death.
• Klaus makes an appearance in the Legacies series finale, leaving a heartfelt message for his daughter Hope.

"How does The Originals end?" remains a longstanding question for The Vampire Diaries spinoff, even if fans watched it. That's because brothers Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson were killed off, a move that signified the end of Klaus' redemption journey and though the deaths were clear, the reasons behind it weren't. Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and Elijah's (Daniel Gillies) deaths set up the foundations for Legacies and ensured that the two most pivotal Mikaelson siblings to the franchise would never be seen again. It also meant they couldn't be there for Hope.

The Originals expanded on the Klaus and Elijah backstory and the Shakespearean depth of their familial dysfunction: a group of siblings turned into monsters by their parents who repeatedly tried to destroy their children after realizing their mistake. Klaus was considered the most vicious, villainous, duplicitous, ambitious, and powerful Mikaelson clan member. He was given the opportunity to rediscover his humanity and repair his fractured family thanks to the miracle tribrid baby he conceived with Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin). During season 5, Klaus made the ultimate sacrifice by transferring the Hollow to himself, sealing his fate to save his daughter.

Klaus Died To Protect His Family And Redeem Himself

Klaus' death provided the end to his redemption arc

Because he decided to absorb the Hollow, Klaus had no recourse but to end his own life at the end of The Originals. Otherwise, the power would work to amplify the darkest of his impulses, potentially causing a huge amount of death and destruction, with his family being the first to be affected. It was quite an evolution from the character introduced in The Vampire Diaries, whose self-preservation and insidious agendas took precedence over any familial affection, adding further layers to the Klaus and Elijah dynamic.

Before Klaus' death, he even offered Rebekah the Cure, which he had previously refused to give her. The main storyline throughout all 5 seasons of The Originals revolved around Klaus getting redeemed. He fought for a home for his family, suffered through years of torture to save his siblings and his daughter, and lost years of being close to Hope in order to keep her safe. In the final moments of the finale "When the Saints Go Marching In," as Klaus prepared to use the remaining White Oak stake to kill himself, Klaus and Elijah found each other.

The Originals is available to stream on Freevee.

Elijah Died With Klaus To Keep His Promise

Elijah believed his purpose was to help Klaus find redemption

Elijah told his brother his sole purpose in life had been realized, and he saw no future path for himself. " ...my unrelenting desire has always been your redemption." Elijah decided that their vow of "always and forever" would extend into the afterlife. Even more than The Originals itself as a show, Elijah fought for his brother's redemption since season 2 of The Vampire Diaries. He believed in Klaus long before anyone else did, even when everyone told him that Klaus was a lost cause.

Though Klaus had a lot he needed to atone for, he wasn't the only one. The Mikaelsons were depicted as the protagonists on The Originals but they all had done some terrible things in their long lives. Even Elijah, the noblest and often the most respectable of the clan, had many skeletons in his closet. Elijah had his own sins to atone for, namely Hayley's death. In a 2018 interview, Plec told EW:

"I think that living on this plane, knowing the part he played in the death of one of his true loves, was a bruise that he would never be able to heal from, and being able to honorably stand by his brother’s side and protect him as they go into death together was his own sacrifice that he needed to make. I think that they got freedom and peace and an understanding of the power of love, which for them after a thousand years of dysfunction and abuse and a lot of damage and drama is a really necessary and important thing for them to understand."

While fans may have thought killing off Hope's only remaining parent was cruel, for Plec, it was a happy ending for Klaus and Elijah. Hope, a main character in the spin-off Legacies, later struggles to come to terms with her father's death. However, Hope did get some closure regarding Klaus' fate during Legacies season 1 and the Legacies series finale.

Are Klaus And Elijah In Legacies?

Hope spends Legacies dealing with the death of her father

The Originals' Klaus and Elijah are not in Legacies together, but Klaus does make an actual appearance in the Legacies series finale. Prior to this episode, Klaus is not only referenced throughout the series, it's implied that his spirit lingered until his ashes were properly laid to rest in Mystic Falls. This happened in Legacies season 4, episode 15, "Everything That Can Be Lost May Also Be Found," during which Hope's family reunites for Klaus Mikaelson's funeral.

While many hoped that both Klaus and Elijah would appear in Legacies, it was only Joseph Morgan's Klaus who made a brief return. In the Legacies series finale, Hope is approached by Landon, who wished to relay a message to her from the beyond.

Played out on a projector screen, Hope sees her father looking well and happy, and he gives her a heartfelt message about what exactly she meant to him, the burdens of immortality, and that though she may not make the right choices, she will always be his "peace," starting out his tear-inducing monologue by calling her, "My dearest Hope, my littlest wolf, my miracle child."

Though the idea of Klaus and Elijah showing up hand in hand in Legacies is an attractive one, the series was always about Klaus' child's story and her own survivor guilt over the death of her father. Legacies perfectly tied up Klaus' long redemption arc with his affirming final message to his surviving offspring, proving that no matter her questionable actions throughout the series that were fueled by her own guilt, he would love her from the beyond, "Always and forever."

It was a perfect way to end The Originals character's story, with his admission that though he had regrets, she was never one of them.