Emily Watches Too Much Television

I have been so excited to write this recap since "Wheel Inside the Wheel" aired, because OH MY GOD, ESTHER FLASHBACKS! I'm pretty sure the flashbacks to 972 AD are officially the oldest memories of the characters that we've ever seen, and it actually gave us a ton of insight into why Esther and Mikael are the way they are. I'm even starting to sympathize with Esther (although only a tiny bit), but still not so much Mikael, because even losing your beloved daughter doesn't justify being an abusive dick with a burning desire to kill his children in the most brutal ways possible. Also, we know the identity of the Mikaelsons' oldest sibling, Freya! But I need some input from the rest of you readers out there-- are Freya and Finn twins? Because I could have sworn they were twins (with Freya being the oldest, obviously, just like how Liv is the oldest between her and Luke in The Vampire Diaries ), but now that I've gone back to look, there isn't really ...

Alright kids, since I am so behind that I will literally be drowning in unfinished recaps until the end of my days,  to the point where my descendants will probably end up having to finish for me at this rate, I'm going to have to speed things along a bit. So, this recap is gonna be a sort of fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants deal where it will (hopefully) be shorter and less detailed than usual, and probably a handful at least of the TVD recaps are probably going to be this way. Then again, since I can turn anything into a novel without really trying, who knows what's going to happen? Let's just get to it, yeah? Previously, on The Vampire Diaries :   Damon died in the explosion to sacrifice the rest of the Travelers and was unable to come back from the Other Side in the resurrection spell, so he and Bonnie got sucked into a prison dimension, leaving all of their loved ones behind. Elena was so distraught by their loss (and Damon's especially, since she's never had to ...

I know pretty much every introduction to my recaps of The Originals  ultimately turns into me talking about how amazing this season is going and how impressed by all the characters I am, but SERIOUSLY, THIS SEASON IS SO AMAZING AND THE CHARACTERS ARE SO GREAT. In "Red Door," we got to see Elijah's interactions with his mother, and got a LOT of insight into how he became known for being noble, impeccably dressed, and nearly always in control. And, the best part about all of these insights is that we 1) got flashbacks to the late 10th century/early 11th century Mystic Falls, which is always great-- the costuming is perfect and OG Esther is always delightful, and 2) WE FINALLY GET TO MEET TATIA. We first heard about Tatia in Season 3 of The Vampire Diaries, when Klaus mentioned her to Stefan and Damon to remark on "the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger." Tatia was a great love of both Klaus and Elijah, not unlike Stefan and Damon's love triangles with both ...

So hey, there's tons of progress in this episode, right? I mean, we get a crazy corn maze festival for most of our main characters (and if you have not experienced a corn maze, you need to make it out to the midwestern USA, because it can actually be really fun if it's not super hot or rainy), and learn a little more about Kai. Plus, we got a little scare with Tyler nearly triggering his werewolf curse that resulted in a surprising show of care and loyalty from Liv, which I was NOT expecting. Also, we get some hilarious Caroline/Ivy moments, a brilliant call-out on Alaric's part to Stefan, and best of all, DAMON IS BACK IN THE REAL WORLD, YAYYYY. There were some bad parts, such as what Kai did to Bonnie (and anyone who hurts Bonnie instantly gets put on my shitlist, tbh), Stefan's general attitude toward Ivy and Caroline, and ESPECIALLY the fact that BONNIE IS STILL IN THE PRISON DIMENSION AND NOT IN THE LIVING WORLD WHERE SHE DESERVES TO BE. Even months later, I am s...

In what is yet another amazing episode in a streak of fabulous episodes of The Originals , we get even more development of the plot, including some more insight into Esther's plans and what they entail, Elijah getting more involved in the rebuilding of the vampire community with Marcel, more werewolf mythology, and an update on what Davina and Mikael have been up to since they fled New Orleans. Since I'm still ridiculously behind on recaps, way more so than I wanted to be by the end of my winter vacations, I'm just gonna stop wasting time and jump right in! Let's talk about "Live And Let Die!" Previously, on The Originals :  New Orleans was the Mikaelson children's home once, and they want it back. Even though Klaus has managed to kill both of his parents over the many centuries he's been alive, both Esther and Mikael still found ways to crawl their way back from the Other Side/ancestral witch limbo to torment their children once again. Esther hopped...

Aside from being a 1994 classic by Soundgarden, "Black Hole Sun" was also a very entertaining and interesting episode of The Vampire Diaries , full of flashbacks to the Salvatore brothers in 1994, which finally explains what led to the final estrangement between Stefan and Damon that lasted until we met them for the first time in the pilot in 2009. Also notable in the episode was some interesting backstory regarding our newest bad guy, Malachai, known as Kai. Kai in particular is giving me all kinds of issues, because he's super entertaining and wildly attractive, not to mention the fact that his actor, Chris Wood, is doing EXCELLENT WORK to portray him, but he's clearly a sociopath and is no doubt going to be bad news for our Mystic Falls Gang, so I'm so torn! Also, Bonnie and Damon's relationship continues to be awesome, as well as Stefan and Elena's, as the two have finally gotten over each other for good and moved past their toxic, codependent romanti...

Continuing on the streak of amazing episodes of The Originals in this fabulous second season, this particular episode features an awkward family dinner (which are the best kind, let's be real), some awesome chemistry between Elijah and our newest baby vamp, and an introduction to a new witch Lenore, who lives and works across the river in Marcel's new neighborhood, and who, for reasons that will become obvious as I get into this recap, we will probably be seeing for quite a while. Considering this is the third episode out of EIGHT that have aired as of my writing this introduction, I'm just going to cut the chit-chat and just dig in, because I have a LOT of words to write. So, vamanos, babies, because "Every Mother's Son" is fantastic! Previously, on The Originals :  New Orleans used to be the Mikaelsons' home, and Klaus wanted to get back control over it like he had from the 1700s to 1919. Unfortunately, all his scheming and power-grubbing resulted i...