Complex characters are definitely the most interesting characters a show can have. Their complexity differentiates them from other characters in the show and challenges viewers to understand them more closely. 

If you’ve watched “The Originals” before, you’d know that none of the things in this show are 100% morally right in real life. 

It’s a fantasy universe, one in which vampires, witches, and werewolves exist. Those three, in different mythologies, have a reputation for violence and murder, but in this show, it almost seems like it’s normal.

The show mainly focuses on the Mikaelson family, and each of the Mikaelsons has a different defining quality or flaw. 

The oldest, Freya, does whatever it takes to save her family in situations of life and death. Finn hates that he’s a vampire so much that he spends most of the show projecting his hatred of who he has become. Elijah is known to be the noble one. He holds his promises dear to him, and like his older sister, does anything for the sake of his family’s survival. Niklaus is the infamous big, bad hybrid (werewolf-vampire) that everyone in the supernatural world is utterly terrified of. Kol is the psychotic maniac sibling, known to be a wild child who is only like that to get his family’s attention. And lastly, Rebekah is the sister who has always longed for love, something she never could have, all because of Niklaus not letting her have the freedom to find love.

Though these characters do horrendous things as the show progresses, it’s their backstory that makes viewers sympathize with them.

I adore that aspect in television. Giving characters a backstory establishes depth about one’s motives and the reasoning behind why they are the way they are. Not only that, but it makes the characters more understandable, and to some, even relatable. It’d be unrealistic if a villain was just a villain for no reason, because no one in this world is just bad for no reason, and that is what this show expresses best as well.

Each character in “The Originals” has a backstory, often traumatizing, which correlates to their personality in the present time in the show. Judging by what they had been through in their past, we as viewers can see how much their experiences affect them as we watch.

These characters take time to eventually understand as their stories unfold in the show. You may think of them one way in the beginning of the show, but as we see their pasts and watch them develop for better or worse, our opinions of them can change. Overall, it’s the complexity of these beloved characters that is the most interesting and powerful aspect of this series, and I hope that it makes you want to watch it as well.