Indeed, everyone in this episode IS alive and kicking.
The Originals succeeds in keeping audiences guessing in terms of allegiances and motivations, which consistently helps carry episodes forward in terms of pace and action. Even the Mikaelson family, having spent the past 1,000 years together (or, at the very least, being reminded of each other’s presence), aren’t allies – bar Elijah and Klaus, and Haley to some extent. Flashback scenes have given audiences slivers of insight into the family dynamic, but it’s been mostly examined through The Vampire Diaries, where any Originals storyline came secondary to the main TVD characters. This season is shaping up to finally give the Mikaelsons the space they need to play out a century of drama. “Alive & Kicking” shows us firsthand just how dysfunctional the Mikaelson family is, and how that dysfunction permeates their external relationships.
My last post discussed how Francesca and the Guerreras served as the scapegoat Klaus, Elijah, Haley, and Marcel needed to come together. “Alive and Kicking” continued exploring this concept, and by extension the guilt-purification-redemption cycle they are all doomed to face for an eternity. It comes as no surprise, then, this cycle will continue to play a major role in the episodes leading up to the impending showdown between the Mikaelsons. The seeds were sewn this episode, as it seemed scapegoating was the central theme.
Phoebe Tonkin continues to impress as Haley begins indulging the darker sides of vampirism, while Elijah worries she’s being led down a dangerous path by Klaus. It’s hard to determine if Klaus’ mentoring of Haley is out of genuine concern and interest, or is rather guided by his own egocentrism and his need for the wolves’ loyalty. I would presume it’s a bit of both but, either way, Klaus is definitely mentoring Haley into a better wardrobe because her jacket this episode is divine:
Fashion aside, though, in spite of Elijah’s concern, Haley struggles to get the wolves on her side because of her hybrid status. The wolves see her as an enemy, but it isn’t until Haley convinces them the witches are their common enemy they join her. This scene reinforces the idea scapegoating as a necessary element to sociality because it moves people to action; but this scene also serves as the jumping off point for examining the scapegoat’s complex relationship to its community and culture. Burke (1962) elaborates on this point by saying, “As an essence of motivation, the scapegoat is a concentration of power” (p. 407). This is essentially how we have seen scapegoating take place on The Originals: Francesca, Klaus, Haley, Elijah, Marcel, Mikael, and now Esther/Cassie have all been scapegoated by one another because each of these characters holds a centralized power the others see as problematic and/or wants. And it comes as no surprise each of these parties has an intimate connection to one another. Consider this quote from Burke:
“When the attacker chooses for himself the object of attack, it is usually his blood brother; the debunker is much closer to the debunked than others are; Ahab was pursued by the white whale he was pursuing; and Aristotle says that the physician should be sickly himself, to better understand the symptoms of his patients” (pp. 406-407).
Because the scapegoatee possesses a certain wickedness themselves, they seek someone with a similar substance on which to unload the burden of their own wickedness. Most of the scapegoating examples from Season 1 and Season 2’s “Rebirth” revolved around control of New Orleans. But with the arrival of the entire Mikaelson clan back on the scene, the process of guilt-purification-redemption takes an an entirely new potent force because of the inherent link this cycle has to parentage. For an example, consider the conversation between Esther/Cassie and Klaus this week, where there is no doubt each sees the other as a true representation of evil. Esther/Cassie refers to Klaus and his siblings as “abominations,” while Klaus refers to his mother as “the true monster” because (for starters) “she stole [their] innocence.”
When one successfully purifies themselves by transferring their own wickedness to another party via scapegoating, redemption and rebirth are possible. The scapegoat is described by Burke as a type of “bad parent” (p. 407) because “when such a transformation is conceived in terms of the familial or substantial, it amounts to a change in parentage” (p. 407). A change in parentage is Klaus’ ultimate redemption – not only has he suffered physical and mental abuse at the hands of his father for decades, but it was his mother responsible for his own monstrosity. But Esther/Cassie also sees Klaus as a type of bad parent – siring hundreds upon hundreds of vampires and hybrids, responsible for perpetuating the abominations she created a century ago.
There are other examples during the episode echoing this sentiment. Elijah’s flashbacks to the 1800s show him scapegoating Klaus for neglecting Tween Marcel and encouraging Kol’s brutality. Elijah also scapegoats Klaus for Haley’s newfound interest in bloodlust. Marcel scapegoats Klaus as a bad parent to the city of New Orleans when Mikael’s arrival in 1919 caused Klaus to flee amidst city-wide destruction. The Crescents scapegoat Haley for teaming up with Mikaelsons and killing some of their members in last week’s “Rebirth.” And with Hope Mikaelson as the newest addition to the family, we will undoubtedly continue to see this concept flourish.
Continuing to explore the Mikaelson dynamic was the bulk of the episode, however there were some other interesting developments and observations to be made.
Davina displayed a substantial amount of hubris this episode that was atypical for her character. The defiance and slighting she showed Marcel and Elijah when pressed about the white oak stake (which I initially typed as ’steak,’ which might be a good menu item if the Mikaelsons ever decide to open a restaurant) paired with openly taunting Mikael about her bracelet came across as excessively naive for a character who should know better. It will be interesting to see how the partnership between her and Mikael will play out when she inevitably rejoins Klaus and Elijah.
And speaking of uncertain partnerships, Kol opted not to tell Esther/Cassie Mikael is back in the picture. If there’s anybody Mikael hates more than Klaus, it’s Esther, and it would be wise for Klaus and Elijah to pit them against each other. As a side-note, though, does Kol possess some telekinesis not available to other vampires? There were a couple of scenes, like blowing up the skirt of the woman crossing the street, where it seemed like this was the case and, if so, was this power given to him by Esther/Cassie or just an extremely lucky side-effect of inhabiting someone else’s body?
And continuing to speak of uncertain partnerships, there isn’t going to be a complete family reunion without Rebekah, so I’m wondering when her character will return to the fold. Again, I’m hoping she’s given more of a role this season and has more motivation than simply finding love.
I Have Notes 