Post — Aaron Ngo

Hello all,

If you're reading this post, you must know why I'm writing this. I'm here to say goodbye to The Originals and the infamous Mikaelson Family before the series finale tonight.

Today hasn't been the easiest day. Besides the obvious of the show ending, I had to deal with other things that caused my head to explode and tears to spill. It took everything I had to write this post, but I owned it to this show to give it the goodbye it deserves.

This show started as a backdoor pilot in 2013 on the The Vampire Diaries and has become an instant hit on The CW network.

It centered around the great Klaus Mikaelson and his quest for Redemption alongside his brother Elijah and sister Rebekah. Over the course of the series, the Mikaelsons, particularly Elijah and Klaus, have dealt with horrendous threats for the things they've done in the past. This also affected Hayley Marshall, a werewolf and Klaus' one-night stand, and their miracle daughter, Hope.

We experienced three seasons (2-4) of the Mikaelsons as antagonists on The Vampire Diaries and then five beautiful seasons of them doing their own thing. I don't even know where to begin on how these horrible vampires have changed my life, and how their vow "Always and Forever" will continue to live deep inside my heart and through my love for my own family.

The vow was both wonderful and a curse for Klaus and his family. They have stood by each other through everything, have broken the vow hundreds of times, and have done terrible deeds to get away from each other or to protect each other. But in the end, the vow is always renewed and the family stands stronger than ever.

Mostly kept together by the heart of the family, Elijah Mikaelson.

He is a true family-man and Klaus' right-hand older brother. I had my doubts about two of them keeping the show together after Rebekah's (Claire Holt) departure, but those doubts quickly dissipated by the end of the first season. The brother bond was strong enough to keep the show a float but in a different sense compared to the Stefan-Damon dynamic from TVD.

When I started watching this show, I never understood how Elijah and Rebekah could put up with Klaus' antics for a thousand years, but as I grew older and got closer to my family, particularly a certain cousin of mine, I learned how no matter the circumstances, the bond of family is something one should cherish "Always and Forever".

Through the building of this friendship/bond with this cousin and then by exploring my bonds with my siblings in addition to my other cousins, I learned how important this vow truly is and how it applies to this particular group of ours.

And just like Elijah Mikaelson, I am set on becoming an uncle in a few short months to a beautiful baby girl. I'm going to have a niece ("niche"). The lessons I learned from this show and the intense commitment Elijah had toward the child are stuff I will carry with me when I take on this important role.

When I first heard the news about my baby niece coming, my heart fluttered, my stomach churned, but a smile emerged at the prospect of becoming an uncle. A image formed of a long hallway in my mind's eye.

Then at the end of it, I found her in my arms. She was small, light, and crying. The mother was incredibly happy, watching us with so much love. The next thing I knew, my mind went into something called "Elijah Mikaelson" mode for the new child. Family is always worth celebrating, no matter what the circumstances.

Enough about me, let's get back to the show.

Unlike TVD, this show was always a family show and not one to indulge the love stories especially when it involved a Mikaelson. In fact, most of the love stories on this show have met vicious ends and few are making it to the end of the series. I don't think I will ever forgive this show for killing off Cami, but that's a whole other thing.

I want to share my top 10 favorite scenes from the series in no particular order. The ones that held the most significant meaning for me or were just really good scenes that stood out to me:

Klaus vs Marcel's Army
Elijah and Freya sacrifice Davina
Klaus kills Mikael (second time)
Elijah gets his memories back
Cami's Death
Freya and Keelin's first kiss
Hayley's (first) Death
Elijah loses his memories
Finn's Death (second time)
Klaus handing baby Hope over to Rebekah

1. I enjoyed the fight scene. There's nothing else to it really. Klaus fighting a dozen vampires and close to slaughtering all of them. It was crazy, entertaining, and bloody. I watch it all the time, arguably the best fight scene of the entire series.

2. This was a hard one to watch. Freya and Elijah did what they did to save their family and it cost them was Davina's soul. This triggered a series of events that lead Marcel to betray the family and to become an Upgraded Original Vampire hellbent on killing them all. Plus Kol still holds a grudge, and Elijah holds guilt for this act even to this day.

3. The first time Klaus killed Mikael was nothing compared to the second time. Klaus got the closure he needed this time around and even asked his father why he picked on him the most, even before the truth came out about his real father. When Mikael couldn't give an answer and tried to say goodbye to Freya, Klaus plunged the white oak right into his heart, leaving Freya heartbroken over losing her father.

4. Elijah getting his memories back was a raw scene. Seeing him broken over all the guilt coming back and his role in Hayley's death was unbearable to watch. He screamed out, he pained, and he could barely stand. Even Kol shed a tear for his fallen brother, despite the animosity between the two of them over what he did to Davina.

5. Cami's death is unforgivable. I will always hate the writers for deciding to kill her off. She was a wonderful character who helped push Klaus' humanity and a fierce woman that loved New Orleans. Then she reappeared in season four as an illusion, and it hurt how much Klaus missed her... we all miss her even to this day.

6. The Freya-Keelin romance was off to a rough start when they kidnapped Keelin for her werewolf venom. Freya's crazy obsession with protecting her family caused her to do inhumane things to Keelin like keeping her captive in a barn and chasing her down when she managed to escape. Eventually, Freya let her go, but they continued working together, and this lead to their first kiss when faced with the possibility of separating. It was quite beautiful.

7. Not the death she suffered in season five, but the first one at the end of season one in transition to becoming a hybrid. When Hayley gave birth to Hope and got to hold her for the first time, it was such a great moment despite the danger, so it was hard to stomach when that witch slit her throat. Klaus screamed for her and mourned her when Elijah eventually arrived to find her dead as well. It was a emotional scene as the two brothers loomed over her corpse, especially Elijah who had fallen in love with her.

8. When Elijah asked Vincent and Marcel to erase his memories, it was incredibly moving how far he'd go to protect his family. He knew his weakness was family and had the perfect solution to ensuring he'd never attempt to reunite with them in any way. The memory montage of Elijah's memories as Marcel gradually erased them was sad, seeing a thousand years of love getting ripped away.

9. This one made the list because it popped up right away in my head. Finn's first death was almost forgettable back in TVD when Matt Donovan killed him, but the second one was packed with an emotional beat that caused us to feel for him. His family had finally forgiven him and allowed him inside their vow of "Always and Forever"... even Klaus promised vengeance on his behalf. I cried the first time around.

10. Klaus and Rebekah's meeting at the end of season one was strong. They found closure with their choices and renewed a sense of trust when Klaus needed someone to protect his daughter from Esther and the other werewolves in New Orleans. The love they have for each other remained and the reveal of her name (Hope) was also done spectacularly well... I wished Rebekah returned full time after that.

Those are my top ten. I tried to avoid season five scenes for the time being because I wanted to watch the series finale first to finalize this list. I am more than certain that at least one scene from the series finale will charge its way into my list.

Sound off in the comments and discuss how we're preparing for the end of "Always and Forever"... Please let Klaus live... Elijah can die if he wants.

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