Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Originals: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Daytime TV at night.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 2, 2016

The vampire mythos has, seemingly for as long as it's been so deeply saturated in popular culture and particularly in recent years, operated with a gothic romantic aura about it, telling tales of creatures steeped in old time tradition and living out uniquely lengthy and fantastical existences...with a dark side. Since Twilight, however, the vampire world has lost its figurative fangs. It's now populated by cleaned skin Clearasil commercial teen and young adult models moping about, and occasionally fighting, in dark, brooding environments, and usually with one or more humans caught in the crossfire. Indeed, Stephenie Meyer changed the world, and now it's impossible to shuffle through what's left of bookstores or flip through television without coming across countless permutations of the same theme. The Originals brings together -- yawn -- the usual assortment of vampires, werewolves, witches, humans, and even a baby named Hope (really?), this time congregated in The Big Easy. The show doesn't really live up to its name, but boy, does Creator Julie Plec's program really know its stuff and pander to its audience. It's got romance, mystery, violence, sex, and no shortage of insanely beautiful people milling about. Season two continues the saga with plenty of vitality and more than its share of surprises to keep the blogs churning, the forums active, and the Facebook chatter alive. And that's the goal, it seems, of much of modern entertainment: keep the fan base buzzing and cram in as many commercials as possible. At least the latter isn't an issue with the Blu-ray release.

Official Synopsis: As season two opens, Werewolves rule New Orleans' French Quarter for the first time in centuries, leaving the vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson plotting his revenge and vowing to take down anyone who poses a threat to baby Hope. As long-buried family secrets are revealed and the Mikaelson matriarch returns to make her demands known, it's clear that a treacherous, bloody battle is in store. Join devious mastermind Klaus, noble-but-tormented Elijah and fierce mother-wolf Hayley - now a hybrid herself - as they seek unusual truces, build vast armies and attempt retribution to reclaim power over the Quarter - and make it safe for a beautiful baby girl.

The Originals -- despite its action, deeply seeded and sprawling interspecies and interfamily intrigue, and bloody violence -- rarely escapes the feeling that it's simply a darker, modern Soap Opera. But the series isn't just about pretty faces and fangs. While it's all rather cliché, largely because these types of stories are so deeply saturated into the mythos, it does do well enough to flesh out its own world and characters, to dig deeply into the hearts and minds of the individual characters and, more broadly, the politics of their existence together as family and distinct from their rivals. There's an honest sense of love and hate and everything in between as character relationships are explored to rather deep effect, though rarely does the show make the payoff anything more than trite, somehow, some way, rehashed explorations of violence and rifts between friends and foes alike. It moves forward briskly and with tremendous confidence in itself, but rarely does it truly stand on its own power, often, albeit subtly, bowing to other tales and stories from alternate vampiric worlds, and elsewhere, for its dramatic comings and goings.

Season two is very dark. It begins with plenty of tension, uncertainty, and interconnecting energy that's maintained along the larger arc and smaller individual story developments that are explored throughout the season. There are undoubtedly some high-point developments, though they're often scuttled by the typical lowlight and lightweight shenanigans masquerading as highbrow drama. Season two maintains the status quo even through the guise of advancing the story. When it comes right down to it, it's still more about pretty faces and manufactured drama and less about high end creativity. Fortunately, those pretty faces are also fairly good actors, and they convey enough of the necessary intimacy and raw emotion alike to carry the show at least through, if not just a little bit beyond, its cruder points. It's polished entertainment, but very simplistic in its core and fit for mass consumption. It leaves little to the imagination, even, and especially, when the pseudo-intensity is on full display. It'll please fans but not win over any converts. That's the job of season one, anyway.

Season two is comprised of the following episodes. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging. Some spoilers follow.

Disc One:

• Rebirth: After months of being holed up inside his compound, Klaus enlists the help of Elijah and Marcel in plotting his revenge against the Guerrera werewolves.
• Alive and Kicking: With tensions high between Elijah and Hayley, Klaus encourages Hayley to reconnect with her pack. Mikael (Sebastian Roché) grows impatient under Davina's control.
• Every Mother's Son: With the help of a new witch named Lenore (Sonja Sohn), Klaus, Elijah and Hayley attempt to stay one step ahead of Esther (Natalie Dreyfuss), but things take an unexpected turn.
• Live and Let Die: Davina takes Mikael into hiding in the woods, but Cami accidentally reveals their location to Klaus, and then tags along as he decides to pay a visit.
• Red Door: Elijah is forced to relive a time when he loved a young woman named Tatia (Nina Dobrev), the original dopplegänger, while Klaus faces Mikael in a violent confrontation.
• Wheel Inside the Wheel: Now in a new body, Esther (Sonja Sohn) reveals dark secrets from Klaus' past in an attempt to make him an offer he can't refuse. Hayley reconnects with Jackson (Nathan Pasrons).
• Chasing the Devil's Tail: Klaus heads to the bayou in search of an antidote for Elijah. Kaleb (Daniel Sharman) brings Davina to a place he frequented in 1914.
• The Brothers That Care Forgot: Rebekah (Claire Holt) realizes Esther has located her and goes on the run. Klaus sets a plan in motion to turn his brothers against their mother.

Disc Two:

• The Map of Moments: Rebekah invites Klaus and Hayley to meet her, reuniting them with baby Hope. Kaleb opens up to Davina about his siblings...and a certain spell he created in 1914.
• Gonna Set Your Flag On Fire: Hayley and Jackson gather the vampires and werewolves together for a truce, but unbeknownst to them, Vincent has set a trap.
• Brotherhood of the Damned: Vincent creates a powerful spell that traps Klaus and Elijah. Hayley learns that she and Jackson must participate in extreme pre-wedding rituals.
• Sanctuary: Hayley is surprised when Jackson shares a secret. Davina enlists Kaleb and Aiden's (Colin Woodell) help to rescue Josh (Steven Krueger) and Marcel.
• The Devil is Damned: Kaleb is forced to make a difficult life-or-death decision, and Elijah finds himself in the fight of his life after an unexpected visitor comes to the safe house.
• I Love You, Goodbye: With the final preparations for her union to Jackson underway, Hayley questions if the ritual will work. Cami makes a startling revelation involving baby Hope.
• They All Asked For You: A confrontation with Freya (Riley Voelkel) has Elijah and Klaus questioning whether they can trust their long-lost sister. Klaus clashes with Hayley and Jackson.
• Save My Soul: Klaus invites Freya to the compound to gain some insight into her past with Dahlia (Claudia Black). Rebekah (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) has strange visions.

Disc Three:

• Exquisite Corpse: Klaus is forced to put aside his mistrust of Freya to save Rebekah's life. Josephine (Meg Foster) makes a startling revelation about Hayley's future.
• Night Has a Thousand Eyes: Desperate to Vanquish Dahlia, Klaus soon finds himself face-to-face with another deadly threat: Mikael. Hayley is conflicted over a risky proposition.
• When the Levee Breaks: Dahlia gives Klaus and Hayley a deadline to turn over baby Hope, while Freya gives Rebekah and Elijah an ultimatum.
• City Beneath the City: Following a tense standoff between Elijah and Jackson, Hayley must make a difficult decision. Vincent approaches Davina with an offer that leaves her intrigued.
• Fire with Fire: Hayley and Jackson try to escape through the flooded bayou, as Marcel finds himself hunted by a dangerous new threat. Davina debates a life-altering decision.
• Ashes to Ashes: With time running out and their risky plan in place, the Mikaelson siblings prepare for the fight of their lives against Dahlia.

The Originals: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Originals: The Complete Second Season makes for another top-end TV-on-Blu-ray presentation from Warner Brothers. The studio's 1080p transfer is fantastic. The digital source material does show a tendency to become saturated in noise in lower light scenes, but the image is otherwise healthy and vibrant. Detail is crisp and firm, effortlessly revealing and sharp throughout the season. Faces are particularly great, with every bit of stubble, pore, line, and imperfection clearly visible. Attire is likewise stout, but perhaps most attractive is the New Orleans (Georgia) setting where building façades, and brickwork in particular, are tangibly rough and realistic in presentation. Colors are fantastic. Bright daytime exteriors reveal superbly punchy and healthy shades on clothes, natural vegetation, and storefronts. Even lower-light interiors mange to present very well, if not a little warmly. Black levels hold up very well with natural depth and no predisposition of crush. Flesh tones appear natural, influenced only by surrounding lighting conditions. No banding or other unwanted artifacts are apparent in more than extremely scant quantities.

The Originals: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Originals: The Complete Second Season bites into Blu-ray with a prolific DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Warner Brothers' presentation never wants for either width or depth. Music is very deeply spaced and transparently so; speakers seem to melt away, giving way to a flood of expertly defined notes with top-notch clarity throughout the range and with prodigious, but balanced and enjoyable, LFE in support. Stretch to the backs is also apparent, and the presentation as such is seamless. Action scenes follow the same route. Aggressiveness is a strength, and the track's ability to saturate the stage, immerse the listener, and bring incredible power and detail alike is most impressive. The low end is particularly well worked throughout the season's run. Smaller atmospherics are also nicely filling, rotating in position and volume as needed. Dialogue is well presented, too, with natural center placement, perfect prioritization, and lifelike detail.

The Originals: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Originals: The Complete Second Season contains deleted scenes on all three discs and a few additional extras on disc three. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Disc One: Scenes from "Rebirth" (1:32). Disc Two: Scenes from "The Map of Moments" (0:23), "I Love You, Goodbye" (2:51), and "Save My Soul" (3:33). Disc Three: Scenes from "Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (1:24), "City Beneath the Sea" (2:02), and "Ashes to Ashes" (1:23).
• The Originals: Always and Forever (1080p, 13:00): Cast and crew offer a closer look at some of the key developments around the Mikaelson family, key themes in the series, individual character details, and more. Plenty of clips from the show are included.
• The Awakening Web Series (1080p): A collection of short webisodes centered in the Originals world. Included are Change Everything (2:10), Trickster (2:08), Slaughter (1:54), and Locked In (2:09). Also included on this tab is Behind the Scenes (5:02), a tidy little look into making the webisodes.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 4:31): Funny moments from the set.
• Come Visit Georgia PSA (1080p, 2:41): Georgia steps in for New Orleans and is the "true" official home of the show. There could be no better advertising for state tourism!
• The Originals Comic-Con Panel 2014 (1080i, 29:56.): Buzzfeed's Jarett Wieselman moderates a discussion with cast and crew. Participants include Executive Producer Michael Narducci, Leah Pipes, Daniel Gillies, Phoebe Tonkin, Joseph Morgan, Charles Michael Davis, Danielle Campbell, and Julie Plec.

The Originals: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Originals is probably better titled The Copycats, or, more apropos, The Copyvamps. There's hardly any originality in The Originals. Sure, the names and faces and intimate character and story details are its own, but this is just another Vampire show filled with models scuttling about as they try to sort out their oh-so-complicated existences, and to stay alive in the meantime. Fans can expect an action packed season full of surprising character and world twists and turns. Newcomers should go back to, and start with, season one. Anyone who despises Twilight and the like should obviously just, for their own well-being, pretend this doesn't exist. Fans of such things: welcome aboard! The Originals: The Complete Second Season does deliver superb video and audio along with a decent allotment of bonus content. A must-own for fans.