The Originals Review: A Spirit Here That Won’t Be Broken (Season 4 Episode 11)
It’s a good sign when an episode leaves you reeling and with so many thoughts and feelings that you’re not sure if you’ll ever be able to stop writing.
That’s how I feel after The Originals Season 4 Episode 9, “A Spirit here That Won’t Be Broken.”
This episode is ultimately about being true to yourself and facing the reality of your decisions. It’s about being honest about your fears, your hopes, and the pain you harbour inside and acting on them. There’s no more time to hide away.
The time is now.
Hayley faces the reality that Elijah might not be the dreamboat she always thought him to be. And before anyone jumps up to bad mouth Hayley, her decision is justified.
She’s facing the fact that she fell in love with Elijah during a very tumultuous part of her life and it scares her. He makes her feel safe and because of that she’s ignored so much about him or never even bothered to learn it.
Hayley is at a crossroads in her relationship with Elijah and the rest of the Mikaelsons. Hell, even herself.
They are monsters, every single one of them. And she has to come to a decision about whether she wants to keep Hope in this life and if she’s willing to live with the fact that she and Elijah have dark parts of themselves that need to be explored, forgotten, or forgiven.
Like she’s made decisions before, she must make a decision now.
Niklaus faces the reality that he has never truly given his brother a chance to be happy or to live the life he’s wanted. That’s why he let him go. For Kol, for Davina, and for Cami. For all the people he’s never given a chance to.
His decision to let his anger go and give others a chance is him facing that he’s a changed man. He’s no longer the angry brute from season one who daggered his siblings when they were uncooperative.
Kol was unruly, put their family at risk, and Klaus forgave him. I don’t think he let him go with promises to hunt him down, Tyler Lockwood style. This is his brother and he loves him. Really wish they would’ve given us that scene between the brothers though.
More brotherly moments between Klaus/Kol are desperately needed.
On the Freya side of things, she faces the reality that her relationship with Keelin can lead to disaster. She’s strong when The Hollow torments her with Keelin’s face. But there were visible cracks in her composure.
You could see it clear as day on Freya’s face. She thinks about Keelin dying more often than not and it’s eating away at her. The fact that Klaus showed concern and asked her if everything is ok should be another alarm bell that something is wrong.
What comes next is Freya choosing fear over love and quiet possibly falling into the superhero trope where they push everyone away for their own safety. It always backfires and will leave Freya, the viewers, and shippers a crying mess.
Crossing fingers that she doesn’t die and become a casualty of the Mikaelson curse where lovers of this family always die.
I can go on and on about the decisions and realities these people faced (looking at you Rebekah/Marcel and Kol/Davina) but you get the picture and we’d be here all day.
The characters on The Originals continue to strive forward, trying to better themselves and protect those around them with every breath they take. They face harsh truths, struggle, fumble, and keep going no matter what.
And in an odd way they’re oddly inspiring.
It’s hard facing yourself or the reality of your decisions. It’s back breaking work. But if you continue pushing through it there’s reward, happiness, and a better understanding of who you are now in comparison to who you were seasons or years ago.
There’s no more time to hide away.
The time is now.
Additional Notes:
- Despite the fact that Davina didn’t get out there to kick butt like I wanted and that she didn’t have her reunion with Marcel, I’m glad she got out of New Orleans with someone who loves her and that will be a great companion to her. Davina Claire has come a long way and as much as I’m going to miss her, I’m glad she’s out there in the world with Kol. Everything comes back in The Originals. Who’s to say they both won’t be back in town somewhere down the line?
- I guess we can assume that the circle Rebekah and Marcel were stuck in cut off cell reception?
- The return of Jackson was cruel and unusual punishment for Hayley and for myself. Realistically he’s the one any girl would go for.
- That Rebekah and Marcel kiss is the start of a whole lot of trouble, and I can’t wait!
- It’s also cheating. Just to clarify.
- I’m loving Hope Mikaelson. At every turn the actress surprises me with her honest and eye-catching acting. Proud of you Summer Fontana.
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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Lyra Hale
Lyra is a TV and movie enthusiast. It all started on a dark night when she turned on Fox and fell in love with the X-Files. It was all history after that as she got lost in Doctor Who, The Marvel Verse and most recently everything DC. Her love for Doctor Who lead her to study abroad, where she fell into live-tweeting and the lovely explosion of fandom life that Tumblr is. Her main love for the summer (with a mega re-watch happening) is Arrow. When she isn’t sharing her love for TV and movies she’s writing fan-fiction, taking care of her family, and puttering around her kitchen.