The Originals Wouldn't Actually Kill Off Klaus... Right?!

We've nearly reached the end of the road for the Mikaelson's, and The Originals' just delivered a serious gut-punch of a penultimate episode. Heading into the finale, there are so many balls up in the air, it's hard to figure out who we should be most worried about!

After realizing that none of Freya's (Riley Voelkel) research into Hope's (Danielle Rose Russell) condition were panning out, and that her first transition into a werewolf during the full moon would likely kill her in her weakened state, Klaus (Joseph Morgan) decided to return to the one person who's been consistently there for him all season: Caroline Forbes (Candice King). More specifically, Caroline's daughters at her school for magical and supernatural children, who possess the unique siphoner magic that can absorb spells and curses and reallocate it elsewhere. Naturally, Klaus was more than eager to get them to siphon the dark magic out of Hope and funnel it into himself. Caroline was... less than thrilled.

She made the good point that all that magic can't just sit around, festering inside an unbalanced, homicidal sociopath. Klaus had a plan for that too though. Knowing he'd never be able to control his darkest impulses under those circumstances, Klaus decided to take the only option left to him: Sacrifice his life for his daughter's. Once the magic was in him, he'd use the final white oak stake in existence to end his life, ensuring Hope's safety, but turing her into an orphan.

Watch The Originals Cast Give Touching Thank You to Fans

While he was coming up with this plan, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) was busy escorting Hope around town, giving us a great preview of what Legacies will look like when it premieres this fall. After only a short peak, it's not hard to tell that this is going to be a whole different show from The Vampire Diaries, with all the hallmarks of the original we know and love.

Unfortunately, Hope continued to get weaker as the day wore on, and eventually, her heart gave out long before the full moon even crested. In that stasis between life and death, we got a truly beautiful scene between Hope and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) in the afterlife. While Hayley's death may have been violent and traumatic, her soul did find peace, returning to a utopian version of the bayou outside New Orleans to rest with the spirits of all her lost loved ones. Her parents, Jackson (Nathan Parsons) and the rest of the fallen crescent wolves were there to keep her company, and Hope finally realized that though losing her mother was tragic, Hayley was finally at peace. A fact Hope told a bewildered Elijah when she returned to the land of the living.

His daughter's near brush with death only strengthened Klaus resolve to sacrifice himself, but Caroline still wasn't on board with his kamikaze plan. These two have never been able to find the right time and place for their romance, but the feelings between them are still obviously strong -- and we got several scenes full of meaningful looks, sexual tension, and almost-kisses to prove it. In a last minute crisis of conscience, Caroline decided to tell Elijah about Klaus' suicide plan, which naturally sent him on a tear.

The Originals Mega Buzz: Will Klaus and Caroline End Up Together?

As Hope's transformation began (and holy wow she's officially a tribrid now) and the Saltzman twins finished extracting the magic from her and transferring it to Klaus, Elijah showed up to stop his brother from ending his own life. Only time will tell if he was successful though since the cliffhanger we were left with saw Klaus plunging the white oak stake towards his chest as Elijah screamed for him to stop. REALLY?! Why you gotta do that to us The Originals?

As we head into the series finale, we know at least one major death is on the way, but would the show actually kill off it's main character when all is said and done?

The Originals airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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