The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals had some of the most well-designed arcs in television history. Not only were the personal storylines neatly wrapped up, but in spite of the moving sacrifices and the sad finale, the main characters were able to find some form of closure at the end.
Though fans weren’t too happy that Klaus and Elijah were both killed off at the end, there is a lot of poignance in their deaths as it adds an element of redemption to their arc. It’s important to note that the fourth season of The Vampire Diaries featured a backdoor pilot to The Originals, but many elements from that episode were rehashed for the first season of The Originals.
Elijah
“I’d rather you didn’t.” - “It’s been a glorious ride, Niklaus. And my greatest honor.”
Elijah was first seen in the series doing what he does best - stopping his siblings from being unreasonably cruel. The spin-off actually began by tracing the journey of the Originals to New Orleans as it began with a 300-year-old flashback. Elijah, Rebekah and Klaus arrive in the French Quarter of New Orleans in a ship, along with Finn and Kol who lay daggered in their coffins.
They are discovered by a man on shore and while Rebekah wanted to drink his blood, Elijah compelled him to carry their luggage off-shore. Elijah last spoke right before he and Klaus daggered each other to sacrifice their lives to the Hollow, so Hope’s life would be spared.
Klaus
“Are We Saving The Best For Last?” - “I don’t deserve the love you’ve given me, brother. But I am so grateful.”
Much like Rebekah and Elijah, Klaus or Niklaus was also brought in the very first scene of the show which showed the Mikaelsons arriving in New Orleans on a ship. As Elijah and Rebekah were busy dealing with the person who had walked into the ship with Rebekah introducing themselves to him, Klaus was seen sucking the blood of someone on the top of the stairs. This is the most predictable first scene considering Klaus’ history.
But his last line in the series goes to show how much he had evolved emotionally and how far removed he really was from the version that first stepped into New Orleans. The show ends with Klaus and Elijah stabbing themselves and expressing their love and gratitude to each other before they end each other’s lives.
Rebekah
“Hello, lovely to see such a handsome face after a long journey.” - “I would very much like to be your wife.”
Rebekah’s first lines on the show were quite predatory as she planned to drink the blood of the footman who had stumbled into their ship. Though Elijah stops her, it was clear that Rebekah was keen on playing mind games with the man before she could eventually feed on him.
Her last lines were part of her proposal to Marcel, whom she wanted to marry. Rebekah tells Marcel about the cure in the series finale and tells him that she wants to grow old with him. She proposes marriage, to which Marcel agreed.
Hayley
“Who the hell are you?” - “You care about her, I know you do.”
In the first episode, Hayley had recently discovered that she was pregnant with Klaus’ child and had been kidnapped by the witches of New Orleans as a bargaining chip to seek Elijah’s favor. Hayley was quite directionless about what to do and her first words on the show alluded to Elijah as she did not know who he is.
Her last moments, however, were spent trying to thwart an attack on her daughter Hope by Roman who was Hope’s friend. Hayley tried her best to convince Roman that Hope was his friend and not just a werewolf and a vampire.
Cami
“What brings you to the Big Easy?” - “You have to end it so you can be the light for your little girl.”
Cami was a bartender at the New Orleans bar The Rousseau and her first scene has her serving Elijah a drink and engaging him in small talk. Calling New Orleans the "Big Easy" was a nice nod to her being local.
Cami’s last words on the show were to Klaus, where she urged him to end the cycle of abuse that the Mikaelson patriarch Mikael had started and to be there for his daughter Hope.
Marcel
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” - “I do.”
Marcel was introduced as the mercurial vampire leader of New Orleans’ supernatural community. It was quickly revealed that vampires, werewolves, and witches were all under his dominance and his reign of terror had made him quite unpopular. In his first scene, he confronts Sophie the witch for her rebellious behavior in the middle of the French Quarter as Elijah watched him from afar.
Marcel’s last words on the show were to Rebekah when he agreed to marry her as she proposed to him and revealed she had received about the cure that she could take.
Hope
“Can I go play in the garden?” - “How do we do this?"
As a child, Hope is sent away to live with Rebekah as the Mikaelsons wanted to protect her from Klaus’ enemies. Hope was a toddler for the first three seasons of the show, and a seven-year-old Hope was brought in during the fourth season when Haley introduces her to Klaus, Elijah, Freya, Kol, and Rebekah.
Hope asks Haley if she could go and paint in the garden, and Klaus later joins her as it is revealed they both enjoy painting. Hope’s last speaking scene on the show was also with her father, who was preparing for his death and was bidding farewell to his daughter. “How do we do this?” a teary-eyed Hope asked alluding to Klaus’ next steps pertaining to his sacrifice.
Davina
“The witches know better than to use magic.” - “This spell will lead us right to it.”
Davina’s arc starts and ends as a supremely powerful witch, but when the show starts she’s only 15 and her powers were being harbored by Marcel to oppress the witches of the French Quarter. But Davina finds her footing as a witch soon enough, and when the show ends, she is completely in sync with her powers.
Her last speaking role was in season 5 when she was casting a spell to locate an antidote that could be present in one of Esther’s grimoires and could help Hope.
Kol
“This sucks, no trades today.” - “He is a tremendous ass.”
Kol’s first lines on the show were spoken by Caleb since his mother Esther had resurrected him in Caleb’s body. Kol pursued Davina in season 2 and they first meet at an old record store where Davina was interested in an old Icelandic folk album and Caleb/Kol initiates a conversation with her when one day they both find the store closed.
His last lines on the show were dedicated to ranting about his older brother Klaus, as he poked fun at his impending death to lighten the mood, as he was hugged by Klaus who was standing behind him.
Freya
“These paintings can move.” - “Really?”
Freya was the firstborn of Mikael and Esther but she was cursed by her aunt Dahlia to hibernate every 100 years. When Freya is introduced in the second season of the show, she had just completed a century-long hibernation cycle at the Dowager Fauline Cottage, which was an asylum for witches who were thought to be insane.
Freya’s first lines were about the moving images on a TV which was realistic since this was the first time she had seen a television. Freya’s last lines were actually a surprising reaction to Vincent’s decision as he agreed to be the biological father of her and Keelin’s child.