The Originals Review: High Water and a Devil’s Daughter (Season 4 Episode 7)

If there’s one thing you can depend on The Originals to cover over and over again, it’s family.

It’s the heart of the show, however cheesy it sounds, and appears to the characters on this show in surprising ways every episode.

On The Originals Season 4 Episode 7, “High Water and a Devil’s Daughter,” we see Freya finally understanding the concept of found family with Keelin, and Hope bringing to the forefront feelings in each and every single member of this weird, deadly, and wonderful family.

First off, Freya, a.k.a. newbie, to feelings of love and family from someone who isn’t blood.

The relationship blossoming between Freya and Keelin is unlike any romance we’ve seen on The Originals. And I’m not talking about the fact that they’re both women.

In a short amount of time, seven episodes, we’ve seen them go through stages and drama that took Hayley and Elijah seasons to work through. Yet, their relationship doesn’t feel rushed or jammed down our throats as a means to fill in some sort of quota.

Freya and Keelin are real, complex, loving, scary, overwhelming, and a whole bucket load of other emotions.

And as a woman who wouldn’t be averse to falling in love with another woman, I like the fact that The Originals is telling stories of women falling in love — something we desperately need to see more of on our TVs.

We can’t discount the fact that their declaration and kiss is a little trope like. Middle of the street, late night, feelings spilling out after a declaration of “I can’t be with you because you’re my weakness, etc” has ‘The CW trope’ written all over it.

The fact that it had a little trope-like flavor makes me like it even more. This isn’t some sort of alien relationship or something strange. They’re two women, who happen to have feelings for each other, will be treated equally in this crazy, over the top, show about vampires, witches, and werewolves living in New Orleans.

Child actors are often hard to like. They don’t have enough experience, are part of some random plot twist to make things complicated, and don’t mesh well with the rest of the cast. This isn’t the case with Klaus and Hayley’s daughter.

I actually like Hope Mikaelson.

She’s precocious, realistic for her age, and not a nuisance. What a surprise! More importantly, at least for this episode, she brings out surprising things in people.

Hope brings out a fun and playful side of Klaus that I’ve only seen a handful of people capable of. She brings out an instinct in Hayley to make forever memories as a way of remembering these moments. And she brings out the fierce protectiveness in Elijah.

That last one is turning into a hot mess but it’ll be addressed a little further down in this review.

The interaction between Hope and Marcel, another member of their family despite his protests, is unexpected but one of the best scenes of the episode. It speaks of the bond this family shares despite arguments, despite time, and despite dropping each other in an underground cell for ages.

They might be monsters, always have been, always will be, but they will always hold family in the highest regard. It instills faith in me and any other viewer that this family will survive the unthinkable and somehow find a way to keep marching on.

Marcel will find his way back to Klaus and the rest of the Mikaelsons. Elijah will survive the spiral he’s started on and Hayley will defeat the evil that lurks in the shadows and that is connected to her family.

There’s no one else I’d bet on to survive besides the Mikaelsons.

What did you think of this episode of The Originals? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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

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