The Originals is back for its series-ending season 5, and there’s already so much to be excited about. After a seven-year time jump, viewers got to see tribrid Hope Mikaelson as a teenager. Freya, Vincent, Hayley and Josh have been keeping New Orleans in check while Rebekah, Kol, Klaus and Elijah have attempted to keep their distance. The premiere, titled “Where I Left My Heart” is apropos since Klaus is still devastated over losing touchstone Elijah (Klaus also, literally, ripped someone’s heart out and took a bite), Marcel couldn’t forget the Crescent City and Hope and Klaus’ estrangement weighed heavily on both father and daughter. There’s somewhere else Klaus left his heart years ago — with Caroline Forbes-Salvatore (formerly Caroline Forbes.) Fans have been waiting for the Klaroline reunion, and it finally happened. And while we were excited to see them together again, the promise of romance just wasn’t there.
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Love at First Bite
Fans of The Vampire Diaries have been rooting for Klaus and Caroline since he left the drawing he did of her with a horse on her bed during season 3. Klaus, who took great pleasure in terrorizing those nearest and dearest to the perky blonde, has always had a soft spot for Caroline. Klaus was so smitten with Caroline, she was often used to distract Klaus while her friends carried out some plan to take him down. And though Caroline was in love with Tyler Lockwood (still head scratching over that one) — whose mother Klaus killed — she was drawn to Klaus (ladies do love those bad boys.)
Being the object of Klaus’ affection doesn’t guarantee safety from the Original because Klaus always tends to hurt the ones he loves. Like the time he impaled Caroline with a lamp and then bit her (typically fatal.) His many promises to not hurt her were contradicted whenever he felt rejected — typical Klaus. Caroline was able to see underneath all Klaus’ tough-guy talk and realize he had severe daddy issues. This was long before Cami got into his head and began to expose Klaus’ seemingly endless emotional vulnerabilities.
And while the two were on-again, off-again pals, depending on who Klaus was torturing at the time, if ever Caroline needed something, Klaus would come through. In the season 4 finale of The Vampire Diaries, Klaus told Caroline something that has given shippers hope through the years, “He’s [Tyler] your first love. I intend to be your last. However long it takes.” That’s a luxury afforded only to immortals.
Fans have had to endure a long wait. The Original family got their own spin-off, moved to New Orleans, and Klaus became temporarily obsessed with a Caroline-clone love interest, Cami (now deceased.) Caroline stayed behind in Mystic Falls, fell in love with Stefan and got married. Then Stefan went and died to save MF.
The Vampire Diaries finale held the whisper of a promise of more Klaroline — a sizable donation to Alaric and Caroline’s school from one Klaus Mikaelson along with a sweet note, and a voice-over of Alaric hinting that this signified “the beginning of another story.”
Caroline Forbes-Salvatore Will See You Now
With Klaus’ daughter attending the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted, it seemed inevitable that Klaus and Caroline would be drawn together, but that pesky Hollow deterred our young-ish lovers once again, and Klaus went off into the world to massacre all of his enemies and became a dead-beat dad (talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.) So, how do you solve a problem like “Mad Klaus?” You send him to see the sexy headmistress, or her to him in if he’s on a murdering spree in France.
This twosome hasn’t shared screen time since season 5 of The Vampire Diaries, during which they finally had scandalous sex, and it was like coming home again when Klaus greeted Caroline with his signature, “Hello, Luv,” along with that roguish grin.
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Surprisingly, despite catching Klaus in the middle of a mini-massacre, Caroline was less judge-y than usual. This may be because she’d heard the rumors of Klaus going off the rails and was prepared for the worst, or because Stefan worked for the Devil and wagging a finger at Klaus would be hypocritical. She may have let Klaus off the hook for the pile of corpses, but in typical Caroline fashion, she didn’t cut him any slack when it came to being an absentee father. Caroline’s always been brutally honest with Klaus because she knows there’s not such a terrible guy deep, deep, deep down. She’s said herself the fact that he’s capable of love means he’s not a lost cause. This was reinforced when Caroline told doubtful-dad Klaus that he’s someone worth knowing.
Their usual verbal sparring and flirtation was conspicuously absent, but the situation wasn’t exactly conducive. They do have a deeper shared bond these days though — parenthood.
Friends with Possible Benefits
Candice King, who plays Caroline, is credited with appearing on four episodes during the 13-episode season, so there’s more Klaroline, ahead although the timing for the duo still isn’t quite right. Caroline’s raising her twin daughters with Alaric, and she’s committed to running her school. Caroline also has roots in Mystic Falls — she was Miss Mystic Falls. It’s where she grew up, it’s where she became a vampire, it’s where she feels closest to her mother, it’s where she married Stefan — who, by the way, she swore to love forever — and it’s where he died. Caroline has never been tempted by Klaus’ extravagant offers to show her the world.
Klaus’ has some serious evil to fight, a temperamental teenaged daughter to deal with and tons of family dysfunction to sort out — all things he’s likely to accomplish with Caroline by his side… as a friend.
Caroline and Klaus literally have an eternity to be together, and like Alaric said, this may just be the beginning of their story, or it could even be the middle, but it’s definitely not the end.
Are Caroline and Klaus meant to be, or has that ship sailed? Are they better off as friends? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
The Originals airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW. Want more news? Visit our Originals page on Facebook.
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
