Midseason report card: Did Joseph Morgan, ‘The Originals’ start off strong?

When we first heard about “The Originals” becoming a spin-off show, we were  admittedly nervousness about this. It is not often that you can structure an entire show around a villain, and then figure out a way in which to still make the show compelling and sympathetic to viewers. Even with a show like “Breaking Bad,” the show got you hooked early on Walter White being a good guy trying to do right by his family. Klaus started off an evil character, and has since shown a few more layers.

But what we came to discover over the course of the first season so far for The CW’s highest-rated new show is that sometimes, it’s good to be bad. Klaus is absolutely a thrill to watch in this larger role, and we’ll go so far as to say for now that “The Originals” is actually a much better show than “The Vampire Diaries.”

The shining stars – The biggest one is clearly Joseph Morgan, who delivers with just about every scene he films as this complicated, intelligent, and vindictive man who would not know happiness if it smacked him across the face. But also, how about Charles Michael Davis? We didn’t know him going into this show, but Marcel has become an interesting rival and a foil to him. He’s the guy that no matter how hard Klaus tries, he can never emulate. He just doesn’t have that level of charisma in him to be a leader; instead, he’s a dictator.

The other thing that works here is that you really cannot tell that this show is filmed anywhere other than New Orleans. The sense of setting is great, and it’s layered, dark, moody, and almost as ancient as ancient can be in North America.

What needs work – We still don’t feel like Rebekah and Elijah are being utilized enough, and the witch storylines to us are simply not that interesting just yet. But, you have to remember that it takes a little while for some of these people to find their way. The other two Originals, for example, were mostly around on “The Vampire Diaries” to support others or to be a sounding board. This is different. Also, the character of Cami did start slow in her development, even if she may be our second-favorite new character now behind only Marcel.

Overall – A great start to the series so far, and something that The CW should celebrate. It’s not perfect yet by any means, but both the ratings and the reviews suggests that this is the sort of show Klaus fans were hoping for, and despite making him into a “leading man,” the evil in him is still being given its due. Grade: B.

Do you think that “The Originals” got off ot a good start, or did it stumble out of the gate in your eyes? Share what you think below, and click here if you want to check out some more entries in our Midseason Report Card series.

Photo: The CW