‘The Originals’: Why Didn’t Klaus and Caroline Ever Work Out?
Supernatural drama TV shows have been popular with audiences for decades, with shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed becoming mainstays in the genre. One incredibly popular series is The Originals, a show that ran for five seasons before going off the air. To this day, fans still hold out hope for a reunion or series revival, but even if it doesn’t seem likely that the show will come back, showrunners have been opening up in recent years about the story trajectory of The Originals, discussing the intriguing “what-ifs” for certain characters.
When did ‘The Originals’ debut on television?
The Originals first premiered on television in 2013, on The CW. The series was originally conceived as a spinoff to the hugely popular series The Vampire Diaries. Set in New Orleans, The Originals follows a vampire-werewolf hybrid named Klaus Mikaelson, as well as his siblings, Elijah and Rebecca. As the siblings return to New Orleans, the site of much family drama and history, they must not only grapple with their own feelings but the sordid politics of the French Quarter as well.
Each season of The Originals followed a very specific storyline, and the later seasons jumped way ahead in the timeline. Still, fans were definitely on board for the experience, and couldn’t get enough of the characters and atmosphere. In April 2018, the fifth season of The Originals began airing — and in spite of the relentless demands of fans, it has not returned since, although it did launch a spinoff show, Legacies.
Klaus and Caroline had an on-again-off-again relationship
Klaus Mikaelson was the lead character of The Originals, a creature who is often referred to as the King of the French Quarter and the Original Hybrid, a half-Original Vampire and half-werewolf. A family man at heart, Klaus goes through a lot of trials and tribulations over the course of the series and is often distracted by his feelings — especially his feelings for the vampire Caroline Forbes. Caroline is a feisty force of nature that did things her own way, and made no apologies for it.
The two had an antagonistic relationship for a while, after their initial meeting, but many fans could sense the simmering tension between them. After a dramatic storyline that involved Klaus saving Caroline’s life by giving her his blood, it was evident that they had a connection. Still, by the end of The Originals, viewers learned that Klaus died, effectively putting an end to any possibility of a real long-term romance between them.
The creator of ‘The Originals’ opened up about Klaus and Caroline
Not long after the series finale of The Originals aired, show creator Julie Plec opened up to TV Line about the relationship between Klaus and Caroline. “I think they could have ended up together. They could have had a moment together, or a series of long moments together. As a fan, I didn’t want to dishonor Stefan by having Klaus become Caroline’s one true love,” Plec stated. Stefan was Caroline’s husband, who died shortly after they were married.
“I certainly love the idea that, in time, you can learn to love someone new even after you’ve lost someone. Caroline’s got her own stuff to deal with; she’s got daughters who need her and a school she’s running. She’s got her own life. She’ll be OK. Klaus impacted her in really profound ways, but I think she’s going to be OK.” Clearly, it wasn’t just fans of The Originals that saw hope for Klaus and Caroline, but the forces behind the scenes as well.
