Esther[edit]

Esther was the matriarch of the Original Family. She is portrayed by Alice Evans.
She was not a vampire, but was a powerful witch. She was the apprentice of one of the world's most
powerful witches, Ayanna, during her first years in America. Esther was responsible for turning her family
into vampires. She did so by summoning life from the sun and immortality from a white oak tree, then
making them drink the blood of Tatia Petrova, one of Amara's doppelgngers, before having Mikael kill
them.
She was referred to as "The Original Witch",
[4]
though she was not the first witch in the world. This was a
reference to the fact that she was the witch who was a part of the Original Family.
Esther was murdered by Klaus in the 10th century, because she used her powers, and those of some
other fellow witches, to suppress his werewolf abilities and bind them to the moonstone through the use
of a curse, and for making him the target of Mikael's hatred through her affair. Esther comes back to life
during season 3 of the show, when she was awakened by Bonnie and Abby Bennett. Esther tries to kill all
of her vampire children, whom she now believes to be abominations after seeing the violence that they
embody. She obtains the help of her son Finn, who becomes willing to be sacrificed in order to end the
pain that his siblings bring to the world. Esther also seeks the help of Bonnie Bennett and her mother
Abby (descendants of the powerful ancient witch Ayanna) by channeling them and their blood line, in
order to gain more power to perform the spell that will kill her children. However, Esther's son Elijah finds
out about the plan, and teams up with his siblings to force the Salvatore brothers to prevent his mother
from killing the family by kidnapping Elena and threatening to kill her if the Salvatores do not stop Esther's
endeavors. Damon ends up turning Bonnie's mother into a vampire, which ends her witch abilities and
thus destroys the spell. Esther then flees from Mystic Falls to avoid her family.
In the season three episode, "Heart of Darkness", Esther returns to Mystic Falls. She tells Rebekah that
she was dying, and wanted to see her daughter one last time; however, she had ulterior motives for
returning. She grabs Rebekah's hands, and performs a spell in order to switch bodies with Rebekah,
using her as a cover for safety. Esther was desperate to stay safe from Klaus and her other Original
Vampire children who want her dead after learning of her plans to kill them all and ending the vampire
race. After she returns to her own body, she was killed by Alaric's normal self, but not before she
successfully performs the ritual on his dark side, and her body was put back into its coffin by Klaus.
Elijah Mikaelson[edit]
Elijah is the oldest son of the Original Family. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Daniel Gillies.
Elijah first appears in episode eight of season two, entitled "Rose". Elijah is brought into the Vampire
Diaries circle by two vampires named Rose and Trevor. They make a deal to be allowed immunity from
Elijah and the Originals, if they hand over Elena Gilbert, the new Petrova doppelgnger. It is later
revealed that Rose and Trevor were the vampires who failed to keep Katerina Petrova (Katherine Pierce)
alive for Klaus to sacrifice in the ritual required to release his werewolf abilities. They were subsequently
hunted by Klaus and Elijah for centuries. Elijah was in love with Katerina in 1492 and tried to save her
from Klaus; however, she did not trust Elijah and chose to flee, which broke his heart. Therefore, he
chose to punish her by compelling her to stay in a tomb.
[citation needed]

Elena is rescued by the Salvatore brothers not long after Elijah kills Trevor, who had betrayed Elijah in the
past by helping Katerina escape. The Salvatores attack Elijah and succeed in staking him; however, he
comes back to life at the end of the episode. Elijah then works with a witch to locate Elena. The witch is
able to locate her, so he goes to Mystic Falls to confront her, where he ends up saving her from a group
of vampires who also wanted to take Elena. It is revealed that those vampires wanted to hand her over to
Klaus. When Elijah discovers this, he makes peace with Elena and her friends, because he wants to use
Elena as bait to draw out Klaus and kill him. He thus makes a deal with Elena that if she helps him kill
Klaus, he will leave her friends alone. However, he intends for Elena to be successfully sacrificed as once
Klaus breaks the curse and starts transforming, he will be left vulnerable enough to be killed. During a
series of events, Elijah is "killed" when Elena stabs him with the dagger that can paralyze a Original as
long as the dagger is in them.
When Klaus comes to town, Elena un-daggers Elijah, and he then reveals to her his family's history and
the fact that Klaus killed the rest of his siblings. Elijah thus at first tries to help Elena and her friends kill
Klaus, but ends up saving him instead in the season two finale episode, because Klaus promises to take
Elijah to their family if Elijah spares him. In season three, however, it is revealed that Klaus double-
crossed Elijah once again, and daggered him.
In season three, Stefan, Elena, Bonnie and Damon work together to un-dagger all of Klaus's family,
because they believe that one or all of them can help kill Klaus. Elijah is thus released once more and
frees his siblings and they proceed to seek their revenge on Klaus. However, before they can make their
move, Esther reappears and convinces the siblings to be a family again, which later turns out to be a front
for her true motives. After Elijah foils his mother's plans to kill him and his siblings, he leaves Mystic Falls
a tortured soul, ashamed of his own barbaric actions and those of his family's.
He is shown to be one of the most sophisticated and peaceful of the Original siblings, alongside Finn. He
is normally kind, caring and selfless. He is the most compromising regarding Elena and her friends. Elijah
and Elena develop a sort of understanding during the series, and Elena comes to be fond of Elijah's
company. She thus feels especially betrayed when Elijah threatens to allow Rebekah to kill Elena if the
Salvatore brothers are not able to stop Esther from killing the Original Family. However, in the 18th
episode of season 3, Elena professes that she hopes that her vampire friends are descended from
Elijah's bloodline, so that he can be spared.
Elijah returns to town in the season three finale episode, "The Departed", in order to make a deal with
Elena and her friends. Elijah proposes that he be allowed to take Klaus's desiccated body with him and
his siblings and leave town, and in exchange, he would make sure that Klaus would not be resurrected
within Elena's lifetime or even that of her children. However, Klaus is staked, and Elijah and Rebekah
believe him to be dead, even though Klaus actually switched bodies with Tyler Lockwood and lives on;
thus, even though his body burns to ashes, none of his bloodline are affected.
[5]
The same episode
confirms that Klaus was the one who created the bloodlines of Rose, Katherine, the Salvatores, Caroline,
Tyler and Abby Bennett and Elena .
[5]

Finn Mikaelson[edit]
Finn was the second oldest son of the Original Family. He is portrayed by Casper Zafer.
Unlike most of his siblings, he is seemingly morally sound. He wishes to put an end to the evil and pain
that his siblings have created. Thus, Finn agrees with his mother's viewpoint that he and all of his siblings
are abominations. His mother regrets creating them all and wants to kill them. Finn tries to help her do
this by offering to be a sacrifice and letting his mother kill him.
[1]
This would in turn result in the deaths of
all of his siblings, as they are all linked through a spell Esther has performed.
Finn was responsible for turning the 900-year-old vampire, Sage, with whom he is in love.
[6]
Sage and
Finn reunite shortly before his death.
He is killed in the season 3 episode "The Murder of One", when Stefan, Elena and Matt kill him, thinking
that it will kill all of the Originals due to their "linked" status.
[7]
However, Klaus manages to force Bonnie
into unlinking the siblings moments before Finn is killed. It is revealed through Finn's death that when an
Original dies, all vampires of his or her bloodline die as well.
[7]

Niklaus Mikaelson[edit]
Klaus is one of the most dangerous characters on The Vampire Diaries. He is shown to be sadistic and
sociopathic. He is portrayed by Joseph Morgan.
After the Original couple moved to the Americas, Klaus's mother had an affair with a member of the
neighbouring werewolf tribe. Niklaus was born as a result. The mother's infidelity was later revealed.
When Esther turned the family into vampires, Klaus' blood-lust became particularly strong and he
transitioned into a hybrid after his first kill, due to his werewolf gene. However, Esther later bound his
werewolf powers to the moonstone, due to her believing that his hybrid status made him an
"abomination". In order to obtain his werewolf abilities, Klaus had to perform a ritual in which a werewolf,
a vampire and a Petrova doppelgnger had to be sacrificed. Klaus first hunted Katerina Petrova, later
known as Katherine Pierce, who was from the line of supernatural Petrova doppelgngers. In order to
avoid being sacrificed by Klaus and allowing him to gain infinite power, Katerina drinks the blood of a
vampire and then kills herself in order to transform into a vampire. She then becomes useless to Klaus
because his ritual requires a human doppelgnger. Katherine subsequently spends centuries on the run
from Klaus, who is enraged at her actions. As a result, Klaus kills her entire family.
Continuing his quest to release his werewolf abilities, Klaus compels Isobel Saltzman to locate the latest
Petrova doppelgnger, Elena Gilbert, her own daughter. Klaus is then able to perform the ritual. He
sacrifices Tyler Lockwood's werewolf friend, Jules, and turns Jenna Sommers into a vampire before killing
her. Finally, Klaus drains Elena of blood (though she lives thanks to a sacrifice made by her biological
father, John Gilbert) and thus completes the ritual, becoming a fully functional vampire-werewolf hybrid.
A major plot line of the show is Klaus' quest to create a hybrid army. Klaus can only sire other hybrids by
using the blood of the supernatural Petrova doppelgnger, Elena Gilbert. Thus, he is often a threat to
Elena and is a major kill target for the Salvatore brothers.
At one point, Klaus blackmails Stefan into helping him create more hybrids, by threatening to kill his
brother Damon. Klaus forces Stefan to return to his old, deadly ways, and returns Stefan to the
Salvatore's former sociopathic persona, known as "The Ripper".
[8]
When Klaus discovers that he needs
Elena's blood to create his hybrid army, he sends Stefan back to Mystic Falls to keep an eye on her, but
also forces Stefan to turn off his humanity (an ability that vampires have on the show). Tyler Lockwood
ends up becoming Klaus' first hybridized victim.
It is also revealed that Klaus murdered his own mother, because she suppressed his werewolf powers
through a curse, and because he blames her for making him the target of Mikael's hatred by her
conception of him through an affair. When his sister Rebekah learns of this, she initially disowns him.
However, when Elena's friends release Klaus' family from their coffins, Rebekah forgives him, though only
after their mother convinces them that she wants them to reunite as a family.
Klaus' humanity is shown very rarely. His affection for Caroline Forbes represents a more human side to
Klaus, such as when he invites her to his family's ball, sending her a gown to wear. Glimpses of his
humanity can also be seen in regard to his siblings, such as when he saves his little sister's life when Kol
was about to stab her with the white oak stake, in spite of the fact that he had previously disowned her
and the two were at odds, or when he became infuriated over his brother Kol's death. There are also
small instances when it's revealed how deeply he cares for his unborn child, and even the child's mother
Hayley.
In the season three episode, "Before Sunset", Klaus is temporarily "killed" by the Salvatores and Tyler
Lockwood.
[9]
He tries to kill Elena by draining her of all her blood in order to kill two birds with one stone:
(1) have a supply of her blood with which to create a hybrid army, (2) kill the vampire form of the vampire-
hating Alaric Saltzman, who desires to kill Klaus and all other vampires and whose life is tied to Elena's
by the witch Esther. Subsequently, Elena's friends neutralize Klaus in order to protect her. Instead of
staking him, which could potentially kill them all (see "Mythology" section), the Salavatore brothers use
Bonnie's magic and a dark spell to stop Klaus' heart, which "desiccates"
[9]
him and leaves him immobile
and starved of blood, and thus in a seemingly "dead" state. A similar spell was performed on Klaus'
father, Mikael, by Bonnie's mother, Abby Bennett.
[9]
In the season three finale episode "The Departed",
Klaus is staked in his coffin by the vampire form of Alaric Saltzman, and subsequently, his body burns to
ashes, (see "Mythology" section). However, Klaus lives on by switching bodies with Tyler Lockwood,
through a spell which Bonnie Bennett performs.
[5]
In "Bring It On" Klaus sleeps with Hayley Marshall and
provides her with information in regards to her family, because he noticed a crescent moon shaped
birthmark on her shoulder. In "The Originals" the backdoor pilot for the spinoff show, Klaus is told that
Hayley is carrying his child, by a group of witches which blackmail him in helping them or they will kill the
child and Hayley. Klaus decides he wants this child. So he vows to protect Hayley and their Unborn child,
whatever it takes.
In "500 Years of Solitude", Klaus returns to Mystic Falls when he hears that Katerina Petrova is on her
death bed. At first, he came back to gloat over her corpse, but when Caroline asks him not to, he obeys.
Later, he asks Caroline for her confession about her feelings for him, and the two have a one-night stand
in the forest, only after he promises to leave and never return. Caroline does not come back until late at
night.
Kol Mikaelson[edit]
Kol is the youngest surviving son of the Original Family, since the death of his younger brother Henrik and
the second youngest child still living, being older than Rebekah. He is portrayed by Australian
actor Nathaniel Buzolic
He tries to kill Matt Donovan for entertainment during the Originals' family ball, but is stopped by Damon
Salvatore.
[10]

In the season three episode, "Heart of Darkness", Kol appears in Denver, Colorado, where Elena and
Damon had sent Jeremy, to get him away from Mystic Falls and protect his life. He threatens to hurt
Jeremy, in order to prevent Elena and Damon from trying to find out the history of Damon's blood line, (if
they managed to do so, they might find out that Elena's friends are not descended from Kol, which would
allow them to kill himsee "Mythology" section). Damon drives a baseball bat through Kol's body in order
to debilitate him so that he, Elena, and Jeremy can escape. Kol later appears at the house of Mary Porter,
the vampire who sired Rose. Kol kills Mary, so that she is not able to tell Elena and Damon about the
history of her bloodline, which could lead them to find out which Original vampire Damon, Stefan,
Caroline and Abby Bennett are descended from; (Mary sired Rose, Katherine Pierce forced Rose to sire
her, and Katherine later sired Damon and Stefan; Damon sired Caroline, Abby and Elena).
In season four, Kol returns to aid Rebekah in finding the rumoured "cure" for vampirism. He tortures
Professor Shane, who supposedly knows how to get the cure. When Kol realizes that Shane plans to
release Silas, the first and most dangerous immortal being of all time, Kol stabs Shane through the torso
with a wooden object, killing him. However, Bonnie is able to save Shane's life through an "expression",
or dark magic spell.
Kol compels Damon to kill Jeremy so that they cannot find Silas, but Stefan locks Damon away so that he
cannot. Elena and Jeremy decide to try and kill Kol because he is trying to stop them from getting the
cure. Since Jeremy needs to kill vampires to complete the map to the cure, they conclude that if they kill
Kol, which also kills his whole line of vampires, the map will be complete.
Elena lures Kol into the house and waits for Jeremy to bring Bonnie, but he does not make it in time.
Elena and Jeremy are talking later when Kol appears, storms into the house and tries to cut off Jeremy's
hunting arm. Elena corners him and showers him in water mixed with vervain. Jeremy stabs Kol with the
white oak stake and he dies. Meanwhile Klaus is watching furiously in the doorway, unable to help his
brother because he has not been invited in. He vows to avenge his brother's death, swearing to kill
Jeremy, Elena and anyone else involved.
Kol returned in the season four episode "The Walking Dead", along with several deceased characters as
ghosts, longing for revenge against their killers and the residents of Mystic Falls. He clashes once more
Matt Donovan, wounding him by throwing a glass bottle at his shoulder and taunting his sister, angered at
her brief grieving period, before proceeding to attack Elena, grieving for her brother at his grave. His neck
is snapped by Stefan before he managed to kill Elena, however appears in the next episode,
"Graduation", threatening Bonnie into completely destroying the veil so he could return to life. Bonnie
plays along with his plan, however deceives him by luring him into a trap, so he can't cause any more
harm until the veil is returned.