The Vampire Diaries had a total of six Original vampires, namely, Mikael, Elijah, Niklaus, Finn, Kol, and Rebekah Mikaelson, who was the first vampire family to ever exist.
The Vampire Diaries might have centred around the Salvatore brothers and Elena Gilbert, but the Salvatore brothers were not part of the Original family.
‘The Originals’ was a term used to refer to the first vampire family which all other vampires in existence stem from.
The term was first used in the series by the character of Rose, when she revealed the existence of powerful and ancient vampires. Later, it was revealed that the Originals were the Mikaelson family.
They were the first vampires in history created by the Original witch, Esther, in order to protect her children, at the request of what would be the first vampire and her husband, Mikael.
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What was The Vampire Diaries?
The CW’s flagship series, The Vampire Diaries, was the television series adaptation of L.J Smith’s series of novels of the same name, which were first published in 1991.
Julie Plec is credited as the creator of the television series and was the showrunner between 2009 and 2017.
The shared premise of the series is, “The lives, loves, dangers and disasters in the town, Mystic Falls, Virginia. Creatures of unspeakable horror lurk beneath this town as a teenage girl is suddenly torn between two vampire brothers.”
Due to the success of the series, The CW expanded the universe of The Vampire Diaries with the premier of the two spin-off series, The Originals and Legacies.
Who are the Originals in The Vampire Diaries?
The Originals in The Vampire Diaries were slowly revealed throughout the eight-season series.
The first use of the term was by Rose during Elena’s abduction, when she was describing very powerful and ancient vampires, which she was looking to hand Elena over for her freedom.
Rose was specifically referring to the original vampire, Mikael. Mikael is considered the first vampire, as he was the one who convinced his wife, Esther, to conduct a spell which would give their children immortality.
His ambition was fuelled by the death of his youngest child, Henrik, who was killed by neighbouring werewolves.
Looking for a way to make his children more powerful and immortal, to prevent another death, he and his children Finn, Kol, Rebekah, Elijah and his step-son Niklaus, became the six original vampires from the series.
As a result, Esther is also subsequently considered the original witch. Each of the original vampires were introduced throughout the series.
The Originals that died on The Vampire Diaries
From the six Original vampires, three of the vampires died. The first one was the original vampire, Mikael.
Though he was later resurrected, Mikael would die again indefinitely at Klaus’ hand, as he looked to procure the Viking ash and always felt like Mikael loved his first child, Freya, more than he did him.
Finn Mikaelson, Mikael’s second-born after Freya, was killed by Lucien after he bit Finn and injected him with poison that is lethal to the Original vampires.
The last of the deceased Original vampires is Elijah, who was the third-born of the Mikaelson family.
Elijah was killed by Klaus, after they both decided to sacrifice each other by stabbing each other with the White Oak Stake in order to destroy The Hollow forever.
The Originals still undead on The Vampire Diaries
While most of the Original family died indefinitely during The Vampire Diaries eight-season run, there are members of the family that still remain undead.
The first is the fifth child of the Mikaelson family, Kol. Although he was killed by Jeremy Gilbert, he later returned as Kaleb and was subsequently hexed by his brother, Finn.
He was resurrected again by Davina and went on to join the Witches Ancestors in New Orleans.
Rebekah is the last of the undead Originals, however, she is daggered at her own request following being cursed with The Cursed Stake, meaning she would be resigned to infinite insanity if she pulled out the stake.
What other Originals are there?
The general consensus is that the term ‘the Originals’ is used to refer to the first generation of vampires, where all the other vampires stem from.
The term within The Vampire Diaries has been extended to include more originals, like how Esther is referred to as the Original witch, as she created the first original vampire family.
However, there is also the use of the terms ‘Enhanced’ and ‘Upgraded Original vampires’, which refers to vampires which were turned into vampires using the immortality spell, instead of the use of blood.
Final thoughts
The Vampire Diaries introduced the idea that all vampires stem from one family, and they were the original vampires, hence, they were referred to as the Originals.
The original is considered to be Mikael, who was the first vampire. His wife, Esther, an Original witch, conducted the immortality spell to turn him into a vampire and protect him from death at the hands of neighbouring werewolves.
However, it was Mikael’s idea to turn his entire family, namely, Kol, Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, and Rebekah, into vampires following the death of their youngest child Henrik.
His death was caused by an attack by the neighbouring werewolves. As such, the Mikaelson family is referred to as the Original family, and this highlights their superiority and ranking in their community.
