The Originals Review: Behind the Black Horizon (Season 3 Episode 17)

The Originals “Behind the Black Horizon” ends the life of a Mikaelson we barely knew and reveals the true evil lurking nearby. For an episode that looks lacklustre in its synopsis and trailer, it delivers on strengthening our love for the Mikaelsons. The journey ahead of them will not be easily. Only as a family will they survive it all.

Let’s talk about it!

Do you remember that pesky prophecy that everyone’s been waiting for? The one that’s driven the Mikaelson’s up the wall for weeks on end? The one that started everything this season off? Oh yeah, it’s been Lucien all along. He manages to trick everyone into thinking that he isn’t the enemy to watch out for. Lucien does this by keeping the Mikaelson’s in a constant state of confusion on his loyalties and purpose in New Orleans. They easily bypass any evil scheming he’s up to because the progeny has been preparing for decades.

Lucien uses their confusion to blind them and becomes something stronger than all of them. In the long run his hate has driven him to extraordinary lengths. No one has ever pulled together so much planning and resources to become better than the Mikaelsons. He’s literally the personified saying ‘slow and steady, wins the race.’ Biting Finn was but only the first step in what’s to come. With Aurora by his side, he will destroy all that the Mikaelson’s hold dear by completing the prophecy he began.

Finn is justified in his anger against his siblings. For the first time, in “Behind the Black Horizon,” they peel back his layers of anger and spite, to reveal the vulnerability inside. Finn was scared in that coffin. As the years passed by he became angrier at the siblings who put him away as if he were a burden and not family. Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol let their own selfish need to explore a vampire life, to distract them from the crime they’d committed to their own flesh.

The eldest son of the Mikaelson family gives up because he’s tired. No longer does he want to fight in a body he loathes, a world he doesn’t understand, and a family who doesn’t want him. Despite their heartfelt words, Freya is the one that is truly broken. Her words speak of a life they shall never have together because time, circumstance, and his family, ended up failing him.

“When you were born you gave me a gift. You were my first friend. Today you gifted me my life, and my brothers united even if for a moment. I love you. Always and forever, brother. Till forever ends.”

Klaus jumps back into the fray because of Freya’s love for Finn. No one hurts or breaks his older sister’s heart and gets away with it. His return is also due to Hayley’s belief in him. Her words give him the strength to confront the dangers of his past that continue to haunt his family. What’s to come next with Lucien isn’t so much about revenge, as it is about working together as one for a safe and sustainable future.

Hope will come home one day. But that will only happen when Lucien is dead and the siblings unite, without protest or selfish desires catching them at every turn. Family is all that matters. Always and forever. Till forever ends.

 

Quotes From Finn Mikaelson Eulogy:

• Elijah: “You fought against what time and circumstance made you. You’re free now Finn.”
• Kol: “I loathed you for centuries. Even now it remains unabated. But I know torment brother. So I hope you somehow find peace in the abyss.”
• Freya: “When you were born you gave me a gift. You were my first friend. Today you gifted me my life, and my brothers united even if for a moment. I love you. Always and forever, brother. Till forever ends.”
• Klaus: “Just know that you will be avenged.”

Music From the Episode:

• Coming Home by Leon Bridges. Plays when Klaus reveals that Freya has been kidnapped.
• If God Don’t Follow Me (feat. Danielle Parente) by Adam Road. Plays when Vincent completes spell for Lucien and Klayley (Klaus & Hayley) head into Kingmaker office.
• Benediction by Luke Sital-Singh. Plays during death and eulogy of Finn Mikaelson.
• Adore by Savages. Plays during final scenes of episode.

 

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The Originals airs Fridays at 9/8c on The CW.

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