The Originals Series Finale Review: When the Saints Go Marching In (Season 5 Episode 13)

On The Originals Season 5 Episode 13, “When the Saints Go Marching In,” the Mikaelsons gather together to say goodbye to Klaus on the series finale.

“When the Saints Go Marching In” is a fitting but flawed tribute to the first family of vampires, and it almost makes up for an overall disappointing season.

The most prolific relationship in Klaus’s life is not his daughter. The show has always been about the bond between the Mikaelson siblings (prior to using the final season to set up storylines for the upcoming Legacies), particularly Rebekah, Elijah, and Klaus.

On The Originals Season 1 Episode 1, “Always and Forever,” Elijah narrates:

Over the course of my long life, I have come to believe we are bound forever to those with whom we share blood, and while we may not choose our family, that bond can be our greatest strength or our deepest regret.

Showrunner Julie Plec does love to bring back blasts from the past. She takes the idea of someone’s life flashing before their eyes literally. Mikael doesn’t rank high on our list of characters we want to encounter again.

It’s difficult to see Mikael — as abusive and nasty as ever — still has a hold over his “son,” even as a figment of Klaus’s imagination. It demonstrates how much childhood dictates who we become.

After making the ultimate sacrifice to save his daughter, Klaus has lingering doubts about his redemption. Cami returns — also as a hallucination — to remind Klaus that he doesn’t have to listen to that nagging inner voice saying, “You’re not good enough.”

Caroline arrives in New Orleans in the actual flesh, and while fans may be disappointed Klaroline never gained any real traction, there is a mutual affection between them. She is one of the few people outside of his family who doesn’t view Klaus as a villain.

Klaus’s great love is his family. There has never been room for anyone else.

The bendable but unbreakable Mikaelson bond is the driving force behind every storyline on The Originals. They struggle with a number of recognizable clichés and tropes seen in family dramas both on the big and small screens.

Is Klaus daggering a brother who betrays him any different from Michael Corleone taking out Fredo in The Godfather? What about the sibling rivalry found in Shakespeare’s King Lear?

The Mikaelsons’ demons happen to be more than metaphorical — they often manifest as actual living, breathing adversaries for the family to overcome.

At times, Klaus may be the anchor who weighs his family down, but he’s also the magnetic force that draws them back together. It is Rebekah and Elijah’s devotion to Klaus that is the origin of “Always and Forever.”

This does raise the question as to why it takes Klaus so long to tell Beks about the cure. Maybe he just found out himself. The cure storyline has been one rife with inconsistencies, but at least Beks gets to become human (thanks to either Damon or Elena).

It’s fitting that the most emotional moments of “When the Saints Go Marching In” occur between Elijah and Klaus. While it is tragic that Elijah feels he’ll have nothing left to live for once Klaus is gone, Klaus’s redemption is Elijah’s greatest accomplishment.

After 1,000 years on Earth, Klaus and Elijah view approach death from very different perspectives. Elijah views it as the ultimate act of free will. Klaus fears the unknown, just like many of us mere mortals. What if there is no peace, just darkness? What comes next?

Leaving Klaus’s and Elijah’s fates up in the air instead of showing us their final destination is best simply because there couldn’t possibly be an outcome that satisfies everyone.

Happy endings aren’t guaranteed for any of the major characters — implied but not promised. All we know is that this is not the end of the Mikaelsons. Always and forever, baby!

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

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