The Originals Review: The Kindness of Strangers (Season 5 Episode 8)

On The Originals Season 5 Episode 8, “The Kindness of Strangers,” the Mikaelson siblings reunite in the chambre de chasse while Hope battles the Hollow, bringing two storylines to anti-climactic and muddled conclusions.

There are so many problems and inconsistencies with The Originals Season 5 Episode 8, it’s hard to know where to begin.

Let’s start with events in the chambre de chasse.

All of the Mikaelsons are present and accounted for, including Freya. This is the big moment they’ve all been pining for (except Elijah and Kol).

Granted, the Mikaelson siblings have been separated for far longer — mainly because Klaus once preferred daggering them to interacting with them. But the impact of the occasion is undercut by Kol’s joviality, the hostility between Klaus and Elijah, and all the speculation about the “who, what, why, and when” of how this impromptu family reunion comes to pass.

Elijah still has amnesia, but it’s not because Marcel and Vincent failed to undo the compulsion or because representational magic made his mind go bye-bye. Elijah is repressing his memories. He can’t remember because he remembers how awful the things he can’t remember are?

This is why Marcel and Klaus are vampires and not psychiatrists.

Freya blames their predicament on Vincent (which is pretty crappy since they’re such close pals), but she has to distract Klaus and the others from figuring out Hope is responsible. Freya is suddenly fine with letting Hope go rogue, after spending most of the season coddling her niece so Hope’s powers won’t spiral out of control during her teenage tantrums.

Freya isn’t the only one who has a change of heart.

On The Originals Season 5 Episode 7, Klaus doesn’t want Elijah to regain his memories because Klaus knows Elijah will never forgive himself for Hayley’s death. Once they’re trapped together in the chambre de chasse, Klaus takes every opportunity to remind Elijah that the great love of his life is now a charcoal briquette.

Klaus and Elijah’s relationship has had its ups and downs, but Klaus’ mood swings are as nausea-inducing as a carnival ride.

Beneath all of Klaus’ seething rage is his utter disappointment that Elijah left him, even though that is exactly what Klaus begged his brother to do during The Originals Season 4 Finale.

Klaus is hardly in a position to lecture anyone about abandonment, given his track record as an absentee father. Klaus’ daddy issues are replaced by brother ones.

So if Klaus had a strong male role model in his life, he wouldn’t be a mess? Not even the world’s first vampires can escape TV tropes.

In the midst of all the mind games going on inside the chambre de chasse, there’s also the reminder of the unbreakable Mikaelson bond — only with the family separated for so long, their supposed devotion to each other doesn’t resonate like it used to.

Rebekah: We are capable of doing terrible things, but we are also capable of forgiveness.

While her family deals with their never-ending dry, British (even though they’re technically Scandinavian), dysfunctional theatrics, Hope frees them from the Hollow.

Over the course of almost two seasons, the Hollow evolves from a witch with a really bad attitude to an adversary so insidious, the demon becomes an obstacle insurmountable for the Mikaelsons. Now it’s gone, and inexplicably, Hope appears to be perfectly fine.

What happened to the Hollow being an unstoppable force of unending evil? 

Hope succeeds where both Vincent and Freya tried and failed — and we don’t get to see how it goes down? This is two years of foreplay followed by a cold shower.

We know Hope is en route to becoming the most powerful witch of all time. But with the exception of her latest massive mystical undertaking, Hope’s talents are limited to cloaking spells, moving people and objects with her mind, blowing up some stuff, and misplacing relatives.

Fans can see more impressive feats of magic on reruns of Bewitched.

The Originals Season 5 Episode 8 isn’t entirely a letdown.

Haylijah-ites have been waiting for what feels like always and forever for Elijah to get back to his old self. Sadly, happiness over his return is no doubt dampened by Hayley’s death. It’s official: the Hayley-Elijah ship has sunk. Fans can at least take solace in the fact that Elijah is back to wearing expensive suits.

It’s nice to see Rebekah again (and let’s face it, nobody cares about Kol, especially minus Davina). She finally gives Marcel some closure, and it’s sad to know there is probably not a happy ending in the cards for her.

Rebekah has come so far from her days on The Vampire Diaries, and one of the greatest failings of The Originals is her many prolonged absences over the course of the series.

Challenges still lie ahead for the Mikaelsons. And judging from the blue gleam in Hope’s eyes in the teaser for The Originals Season 5 Episode 9, the Hollow may have left its mark on her after all.

https://youtu.be/JCcsA9Ykwdk

Maybe father does know best. Hope is in way over her head. There’s an epic battle to come, and not just with those bigoted Nightwalkers.

It’s hard not to feel as if “The Kindness of Strangers” is the CliffNotes version of what should have been the penultimate episode of the season. The Mikaelsons and their legions of fans deserve better.

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

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

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