When Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) first appears in season two of The Vampire Diaries, he comes off as an arrogant, cocky, and selfish "Original" vampire set on getting what he wants, no matter the collateral damage. But the more we got to see the various sides of Klaus, the more I fell in love with him. He may have started as the ultimate villain of the franchise, but over the course of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, the 1000-year-old hybrid evolves in so many ways. Klaus will always be the best character in the Vampire Diaries franchise, and he's more than enough reason to go back and revisit the show and its spinoff, if you haven't seen it in a while. But with so many iconic villains and heroes to obsess over, why is the big bad wolf such a fan favourite? Read on to find out.
Why Klaus From The Originals Is a Great Character
Why The Originals Is Worth Rewatching Just For the Great, Sexy Evil That Is Klaus Mikaelson
1. First of All, Joseph Morgan
Despite Klaus being a very cruel and ruthless character, many people have come to love him because of Morgan's brilliant acting. Morgan's ability to express emotions brought a welcome complexity to the character, making us feel and empathize for Klaus, despite all the evil things he had done. Without Morgan's raw acting talent, Klaus would just be another black-and-white villain. In fact, executive producer and writer Julie Plec admitted in an interview with TVLine that Klaus was intended to die in season three of The Vampire Diaries, but Morgan's performance is a big part of what changed their minds.
2. Klaus's Redemption Arc Is Beautiful
Klaus's redemption is ultimately what launches The Originals, and it's his love for his daughter, Hope, that is the key to his redemption. She's the light to his darkness. For over 1000 years, Klaus viewed love as a weakness. At first, he doesn't even care about his daughter. But then, she's born and everything changes. Hope shows Klaus the power of unconditional love. She loves him unconditionally and never judges him. And in return, he works to become a better person for her. That's why it's fitting that he finds freedom from immortality by sacrificing his own life to save her, perhaps giving him a real chance at happiness. Klaus's redemption coming in sacrifice for love and in believing he was loved gave the series full-circle symmetry.
3. His Allegiance to His Family
The Original family certainly is dysfunctional. Rebekah luring Mikael to New Orleans to kill Klaus? Not her finest moment. Kol body-jumping Rebekah's spirit into the body of an insane witch? Not cool. Elijah conspiring with Elena and her friends to kill Klaus? Yikes. Finn putting a deadly curse on Kol? Not very brotherly. Klaus daggering his siblings out of paranoia and short-temperament countless times? That's just plain cruel. The list goes on and on. But, despite the awful things they did to one another, family is everything to them. Their bond is their greatest strength. They stick together, always and forever.
And time after time, Klaus protects and saves his family — no matter the methods, which he makes no apologies or justification for. At one point, he even sacrifices himself for his siblings by putting his fear of being alone aside. For five years he was imprisoned, some of which he was stuck in a deep agony-filled slumber with Papa Tunde's Blade, in order to keep his family alive while Hayley found a way to cure his siblings.
4. The Guy Is Unstoppable
The only thing that could kill Klaus is the White Oak Stake. However, as seen on TVD, on the off chance that someone does successfully take down an Original vampire, the rest of their sire line died too. So killing Klaus would mean the demise of thousands of vampires. Of course, this is only true until Davina breaks Klaus's sire bond in season three of The Originals. His status as a hybrid makes him difficult to execute too. Being the Original hybrid, Klaus could kill any vampire with a single venomous bite. The Werewolf blood running through his veins also made him immune to silver based magic, meaning the Silver White Oak Ash Daggers couldn't be used on him. Lastly, the mere fact that he's over 1000 years old and drank human blood rather than animal blood made him incredibly strong since the level of strength in vampires depends on their age and diet.
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5. Klaus Is a Necessary Evil
At first glance, Klaus seems to be a villain — killing without a thought and pursuing his enemies relentlessly. But when we learn more about him and his past, we realise that he is nothing but a broken man desperate for companionship, loyalty, and love. Growing up, Mikael ruthlessly abused Klaus physically and emotionally for being foolish, impulsive, and weak. And once Klaus's true heritage is revealed when he activates his werewolf gene, his own mother shuns him after magically suppressing his werewolf side. His turn towards power and self-preservation was born out of his parents' torment and rejection of him.
Nobody is born evil. Klaus was made to be evil by the 1000 years of betrayal and abuse he suffered as well as the persistent loneliness and abandonment he experienced. His psychological scars are what ultimately transformed him into a merciless monster. Throughout the TVD franchise, we even get glimpses of goodness in him., but because of his belief that love is a weakness, he tries to hide how he feels out of fear that his enemies would use it against him. In the end, he's a misguided villain with a soft side prone to obsessions and insecurities.
6. Klaus Has Some of the Best Lines
Is there a character more eloquent, poetic, and villainous than Klaus? Nobody can make threatening someone sound so beautiful except Klaus. Throughout the TVD franchise, he has dozens of hilarious and memorable one-liners and conversations. Some notable examples include:
- "In the end we're left infinitely and utterly alone."
- "He's your first love. I intend to be your last."
- "Don't underestimate the allure of darkness. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it."
- "Actually, not to nit-pick but we evil villains usually use minions to pick up our dry cleaning, that sort of thing."
- "Sometimes the world turns good people into bad people."
- "Don't be fooled, love. I'm the Devil in disguise."
- "Young, old, dead, or alive, witches are a pain in the a**."
- "You look familiar. Have I threatened you before?"
- "I have to murder my ex."
- "We all must stand alone against our demons."