The Originals was the first spinoff of The Vampire Diaries, but the first vampires played a major role on that show before they took center stage on their own series. When the Mikaelson siblings were introduced on The Vampire Diaries, they were a menacing presence, and for years one of the major goals of Elena, Stefan, Damon, and the rest was to bring an end to the Originals, especially Klaus. Although Elijah occasionally attempted to work with them, more often Klaus and his siblings threatened and terrorized the people of Mystic Falls.
Nonetheless, the story of the Originals — siblings who had been turned by their mother over one thousand years ago — caught on with fans. Despite all the awful things they did, viewers wanted more. The fans’ passion for these characters resulted in the Originals moving to New Orleans to start their own series, leading Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah to evolve from antagonists to the stars of the show. Their adventures remained as compelling as ever as fans watched them fight with, support, and sacrifice for one another.
At the center of The Originals was the idea that the Mikaelson siblings had sworn to be there for each other "always and forever." However, after living for a millennium, that story was necessarily intricate and complex. Over three seasons on The Vampire Diaries and five seasons of The Originals, there were many small details and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it facts people overlooked about the first vampires. Below, we shed some light on things you might have missed about the Originals and their inner circle.
Updated on September 10th, 2022 by Fawzia Khan: The story of the Originals and the entire TVD Universe has recently come to a seemingly final end with the cancellation of Legacies. Hope's arc was brought to a satisfying finish line with a sweet message by her father, Klaus, who gave her much-needed advice on how to handle her immortality and everything that comes with it. It brought the Mikaelson siblings back into focus, and the many facts about them that have stayed hidden or less obvious for fans to decipher at first glance.
The Siblings Settled In New Orleans Suddenly
The Original vampires first made an appearance in Mystic Falls, so many fans might think that their venture into New Orleans for The Originals was a completely fresh start. While Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah did move to New Orleans to start afresh, they were actually moving back to a place that they used to call home once upon a time.
They had first hit the shores of New Orleans in 1702, where they settled after years of running from Mikael. Klaus built the city and played an integral part in forming its culture and infrastructure, which Marcel inherited and carried on. They had a history with New Orleans, which was why they moved back to familiar surroundings after their stint at Mystic Falls.
There Were Only 6 Mikaelson Siblings
When the Originals were first mentioned in the second season of The Vampire Diaries, they were introduced slowly. First viewers met Elijah, then Klaus. In season 3, Rebekah came to Mystic Falls. That trio constituted the most prominent Originals, but they weren’t the only ones. Brothers Kol and Finn were also introduced on The Vampire Diaries. And fans got a brief glimpse at doomed youngest brother, Henrik, too. There was a seventh Mikaelson sibling as well. The family’s firstborn daughter, Freya, who supposedly passed away from the plague but, in fact, lived and was finally introduced to her family during season 2 of The Originals.
While Klaus was the Mikaelson that was shown to have the biggest hold on the lives of the others, he was actually their half-sibling, a product of their mother’s infidelity. He was also the middle sibling — Freya, Finn, and Elijah were older than him, while Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik were younger.
All The Mikaelson Children Were Vampires
Of the seven Mikaelson children, only five became vampires: Finn, Elijah, Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah. It was the untimely passing of the youngest sibling, Henrik, at the hands of a werewolf that motivated the Mikaelson parents to turn their children into vampires. Their intention was to protect their children, although they got much more than they bargained for.
The spell that made the Mikaelsons vampires didn’t include Freya, who unbeknownst to everyone but mother Esther and oldest son Finn, was given to her aunt Dahlia as a child. Through Dahlia’s teaching, Freya became a powerful witch. In addition, because Klaus was the result of his mother’s affair with a werewolf, he held the potential to become that creature as well. When he had his first meal as a vampire, Klaus triggered his werewolf side and became the first vampire/werewolf hybrid and the best anti-hero of the show.
The Originals Were The Oldest Supernatural Beings
Much was made of the Originals' advanced age. They had existed for over a thousand years as a result of their vampirism and were considered the most powerful creatures on earth. Yet, the Original vampires weren’t the oldest supernatural beings in the world. That dubious honor went to Silas and Amara. Silas was a powerful witch, but he wasn’t nearly as powerful as his fiancé Qetsiyah who he tricked into making an immortality elixir for the pair to drink on the night of their wedding.
Silas betrayed Qetsiyah and took the elixir with the woman he truly loved: her handmaiden, Amara. This made Silas and Amara the first immortals and doppelgängers 1000 years before the Originals were born. Qetsiyah took her revenge on the couple by sealing Silas in a tomb and making Amara the anchor to The Other Side, a holding area for deceased supernatural creatures. As the anchor, Amara felt every supernatural being cross to the Other Side. The pair lived their separate plights for over 2000 years before they were finally set free.
Klaus Was Always A Hybrid
When viewers first met Klaus, he had been pursuing his goal of becoming a true vampire/werewolf hybrid for years. After he became a vampire and triggered his werewolf side, his father was horrified to learn that Klaus wasn’t really his son. His mother placed a curse on Klaus to repress the werewolf in him. Hurt and damaged by the rejection of his parents and the secret his mother kept of his true origins, Klaus became determined to break the curse, and then to create a race of vampire/werewolf hybrids like him so he wouldn’t be the only one of his kind.
Klaus required some very specific ingredients to break the spell, which delayed his success for centuries. It wasn’t until he found Elena, the doppelgängers he required, that he was finally able to become the true hybrid he’d always dreamed of being.
Marcel Was Rebekah's First Love
The Original sister was weak for love, and Rebekah jumped into all her relationships with two feet and all her heart. Marcel Gerard was her soulmate, but he was not her first love. Among her known romances, the earliest was in the 12th century, with Alexander. Like many of her choices, Alexander was a contentious partner to have because he was part of the Brotherhood of the Five, whose sole mission was to annihilate vampires from the face of the planet.
Predictably, this relationship ended in tragedy because of the nature of the partners involved. Rebekah then found her happily ever after with Marcel, but even their story took centuries to reach fruition.
Elijah Had Always Been His Brother's Keeper
Elijah was obsessively loyal to his siblings, and especially his brother, Klaus. While his relationship with Klaus was codependent and unhealthy, Elijah nonetheless always reunited with him, hoping to push and prod Klaus towards redemption.
Yet, through the centuries there were several points at which Elijah got so frustrated with Klaus that he all but gave up on his brother. When he was first introduced on The Vampire Diaries, wise Elijah enlisted Elena’s help to take out Klaus. Elijah was furious at him for putting an end the rest of their family — that is, until Klaus informed him that their siblings weren’t actually gone. He also threatened to leave Klaus permanently and became estranged from him after Klaus dispatched his lovers. At these times, Elijah seemed determined to let go of his allegiance towards his brother. In the end, though, the pair always reconciled, and Elijah resumed his role as Klaus' moral compass.
Klaus Was The Most Powerful Original Vampire
The strength and abilities that Klaus was granted by nature and through magic were truly limitless, and he enjoyed the title of most powerful for a long time. However, Marcel snatched that throne from Klaus when he became an Upgraded Original vampire with Lucien Castle's potion.
This made his bite a lot more lethal, his reflexes faster, and his nature much deadlier than Klaus. In fact, Marcel became stronger than all the Original vampire siblings, and a force to be reckoned with, even in front of Klaus.
Esther Was The Most Powerful Witch
The Originals’ mother Esther was a powerful witch. She did the spell that made her family into vampires and repressed Klaus’ werewolf side. She also figured out multiple ways to return to the land of the living in order to correct the mistake she felt she made when she turned her children into monsters. Despite the substantial amount of magical power Esther wielded, her sister, Dahlia was an even more impressive witch.
Dahlia’s magical skills were exceptional. She figured out how to enhance her magic by linking it with others, and she also conceived of a way to be somewhat immortal by going into a magically-induced sleep for 100 years while only waking up — and aging — for a single year. This enabled her to live for centuries and eventually meet, and magically challenge her nieces and nephews in the present day.
Klaus Was Undead
Unlike his siblings who were pure vampires, Klaus’ hybrid status granted him certain powers that they didn’t share. One of the most important of these was also one of the most biologically human — the ability to procreate. While vampires were unable to conceive children, werewolves could. Even though Klaus was often dominated by his vampire nature, his werewolf side eliminated infertility that was traditionally part of the vampire condition. It’s a loophole that enabled him and Hayley to have a child together.
Unlike Klaus, whose undead status is open to interpretation, his daughter, Hope, was truly alive. Despite the fact that she was the world’s first and only tribrid — a combination of vampire, werewolf, and witch — she aged just like anyone else.
Rebekah Took The Cure Immediately
The cure for immortality was first put into play during The Vampire Diaries. Even then, Rebekah expressed a desire to take it. She had always wanted to be human, to get married, and have a family — opportunities she was denied because she became a vampire. However, when the cure was discovered it wasn’t Rebekah who was able to drink it. At the end of The Vampire Diaries, Damon took it in order to live a mortal life with Elena.
Then, in the series finale of The Originals, Klaus asked Caroline to procure the cure for Rebekah once Damon passed away. Therefore, Rebekah has to wait a few decades until Damon is ready to end his life, but when that happens, Rebekah will be given the gift of mortality as well.
The Only Magical Part Of The Mikaelsons Was The Vampirism
The Mikaelsons became vampires because of magic, but their very existence was the product of magic too. When Esther initially married Mikael she discovered that she was unable to have children. She badly wanted a family, though, so she asked Dahlia, her more powerful estranged sister, to cure her infertility.
Dahlia felt that she had been abandoned by Esther when she chose to marry Mikael instead of staying with her and was bitter and resentful towards her sister as a result. Nonetheless, she granted Esther’s request on the condition that she promised her first-born child and every subsequent first-born child in the Mikaelson family bloodline to her. Esther went on to have the large family she dreamed of.
Marcel Was Always True To Rebekah
Klaus adopted Marcel when he was a young child. Although Marcel was born to a slave, Klaus saw something in him and made him part of the Mikaelson family. Marcel loved Rebekah from an early age, even though Rebekah didn’t see him the same way. Once Marcel reached adulthood, however, Rebekah’s feelings changed towards him and they soon started a relationship.
Marcel always wanted to be a vampire like the rest of the Mikaelson family. So when Klaus daggered Rebekah in retaliation for her secret romance with Marcel, he gave Marcel a choice: become a vampire and leave Rebekah to sleep or un-dagger Rebekah and live out his life as a human with her. Although he loved Rebekah, Marcel decided to become a vampire, leaving Rebekah daggered in a coffin.
The Mikaelsons Were Born In The Old World
In the tenth century, Mikael and Esther decided to bring their young family to the New World after Esther told Mikael that their eldest, Freya, passed away from the plague. They settled with other Vikings in a land where they were told everyone was healthy. It was an area they soon discovered was populated by werewolves who they co-existed with peacefully for years. Centuries later the land became the town of Mystic Falls.
Of the Mikaelson children, only Freya and Finn were born in the Old World. Esther was pregnant with Elijah when the family made the trip to the New World. His birth was followed by those of Klaus, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik, all in Mystic Falls.
Klaus And Elijah's Sire Lines Passed With Them
One of the things that made the Originals special was their bond with their sire lines. Each and every vampire that was created by them or by someone connected to them was destined to perish should the Original perish. So, each vampire had a vested interest in making sure that their sire stayed alive.
When Klaus and Elijah decided to end their lives together at the end of The Originals many viewers were confused about what happened to their sire lines. However, their passings didn’t impact any other vampires. Klaus’ sire line was broken by the witch Davina in the series’ third season. In the fourth season, Elijah’s sire line was destroyed when the Hollow took him out in order to power her physical resurrection.
Elijah Was Unscrupulously Honorable
Of the many characters on The Originals, Elijah was the most well-liked among the characters who fought for good. Elijah came across as kind, moral, and fair-minded. Yet, as much as Elijah wanted to be honorable, he was just as brutal and unforgiving as his siblings. In fact, when Esther returned, she called out Elijah specifically for the havoc he'd wreaked over 1000 years.
Throughout his time on both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, Elijah had shown on more than one occasion that he was willing to do whatever it took to get what he wants, especially when it came to anyone threatening his family. Elijah’s ability to go from calm and reasonable to deadly and remorseless was disturbing, and repeatedly undercut his desire to be genuinely honorable.