The Originals: Each Main Character’s Most Iconic Scene

The Originals lasted for five seasons on The CW. A spin-off of beloved series, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals followed the Mikaelson family, the first vampires in existence, as they settle in the supernatural hotbed of New Orleans. The Mikaelsons, however, find themselves embroiled against the various factions of supernatural beings in the city—all vying for control—while making their own grab for power.

During the course of The Originals, there have been highs and lows for the Mikaelson family and their story. Some of these issues come from their own difficult personalities, but the Mikaelsons are a family rife with dramatic tension. While there are plenty of iconic scenes in The Originals, there are some that are forever associated with one character.

7 Klaus Saves Hope

Klaus (Joseph Morgan) was an extremely effective anti-hero. Klaus’ pride and temper led him down some dark paths, especially if he felt like he was in the right. This left Klaus with a lot of moral greyness and blood on his hands in a very literal sense of the phrase. Still, the shift from an antagonistic anti-hero to a protagonist takes place when he realizes that he’s going to be a father.

At that moment, Klaus changes, or, well, his worldview changes in a way that means his character has been irrevocably changed by impending fatherhood. This follows him for the rest of his series as he tries to be the best father possible to his daughter, Hope. This culminated in Klaus’s decision to protect his daughter by taking the Hollow into himself, which would eventually lead to his death.

6 Elijah Protects His Family

Elijah Mikaelson (Daniel Gillies) is the moral center of the Mikaelson family. His vampiric nature only served to heighten that trait when he and his siblings were transformed. Elijah prides himself on never going back on his given word, except if the person giving him their word lied to him first. More importantly, no one hurts Elijah’s family.

Nothing quite embodies this for Elijah as in season 1, episode 6 of The Originals, “Fruit of the Poisoned Tree” where Elijah kills witches who lied to him and went back on their word. It just serves to highlight the character’s relentless dedication to his family and the terror that can happen when he’s pushed too far.

5 Rebekah Spares Marcel

Rebekah (Claire Holt) has had a wild ride on The Originals. At one point, her soul possessed the body of a witch named Eva (Maisie Richardson-Sellars) and she vowed to stay in the body until she could resurrect her brother, Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic). Klaus, however, compels Rebekah’s love and his enemy, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), to kill Eva in order for Rebekah’s soul to be returned to her body.

Rather than put Marcel through the pain of killing her in a sense, Rebekah voluntarily stabs herself in the throat, which returns her soul to her body and saves Marcel that pain.

4 Freya Chooses Keelin

The eldest of the Mikaelson siblings, Freya (Riley Voelkel) is a thousand-year-old extremely powerful witch. Even though she is, relatively, new to these family dynamics with her other siblings, she does end up putting her family first. Unfortunately, this comes at the price of putting her girlfriend, Keelin (Christina Moses), second.

In the fifth season, however, Freya proposes to Keelin, saying that she will put her first because, after all, Keelin is her family too. By choosing Keelin, Freya cements finding her place within the world after being lost for so many years.

3 Marcel Gets Upgraded

A former adopted member of the Mikaelson family, Marcel rules the New Orleans supernatural community at the start of The Originals. As Klaus wants the power for himself, however, he and Marcel are often at odds with each other throughout the series. This all changes in season 3 when Marcel becomes the more powerful Upgraded Original Vampire, spelling a downfall of the Mikaelson family.

In a very iconic scene, Marcel ends up putting Klaus on trial for his crimes with the other victims of the mercurial hybrid around them.

2 Hayley Attacks Klaus

Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin) was the definition of a Mama Wolf, especially in regards to her tribrid daughter, Hope. While raising a supernatural child who is a prime target for everyone with an ax to grind is definitely stressful, Hayley handles it well and gives her daughter a strong foundation that will follow her.

In addition, however, Hayley was the only person not afraid to call Klaus out when he was being too much. The best encapsulation of this is in season 3 when Klaus tries to separate Hayley from Hope, leading her to attack him in one of the greatest scenes of the series.

1 Davina Cuts The Sire Bond

Davina (Danielle Campbell) was a powerful witch and surrogate daughter to Marcel with a strong dislike of the Mikaelson family, particularly Klaus. No one really does as much damage to Klaus as Davina did in one of her best moments in the series. Davina ends up breaking the Sire Bond that Klaus has with the people he sired, which allows them all to be able to attack him.

Considering how sadistic Klaus could be and the lives that he ruined for those he sired? It was a game-changer of a moment in The Originals.