One of The Originals’ best characters deserved so much better than the ending she got in the fantasy TV show. Released in 2013, The Vampire Diaries spinoff centers around the Original family as they embark on a new journey in New Orleans. Running for five seasons, the CW fantasy series introduced several new characters to the Vampire Diaries universe, and many of them became fan favorites.

While some of the characters in The Originals got a fitting ending to their story, others didn’t. Particularly, Klaus and Elijah dying in the TV show’s season finale, despite their death being heroic, didn’t go down well with everyone. The cast of The Originals did an incredible job of bringing the supernatural story to life, but as the show went on, a few of the characters and their storylines in the series began to change, and not necessarily in a good way.

Hayley Marshall Was One Of The Originals’ Best Characters

Hayley And Klaus Had One Of The Best Relationships In The Originals

Although there are several great characters in The Originals, Hayley Marshall stood out because of how unique her storyline was. As the mother of the first tribrid, Hayley was immensely protective of her child and family, and her love-hate relationship with Klaus provided some of the funniest moments in the series. But despite the violence and betrayal surrounding her, Hayley always wanted to do what was best for everyone and tried not to hurt innocent people. In a way, Hayley humanized the Mikaelsons because of how empathetic she was and how she wasn’t afraid of Klaus.

Hayley was also one of the few characters who went through enormous growth in The Originals. She started out as a mere werewolf before transitioning into the leader of her pack, and then later, a hybrid. Granted, she went through several changes where she lost herself and did a lot of morally ambiguous things along the way, but she stayed true to who she was, which is a compassionate woman who cared deeply about her family and community.

The Originals Didn’t Really Know What To Do With Hayley After Season 2

Hayley’s Storyline Took A Weird Turn

In The Originals seasons 1 and 2, Hayley was a force to be reckoned with and earned the respect of the other characters in the series. But in the later seasons, she began to seem like an afterthought. While initially she was the moral sounding board for the Mikaelsons, she started becoming a lot like them by engaging in senseless violent acts. As the TV show went on, Hayley began to appear less and less until the series concluded.

One of the most interesting things about Hayley’s storyline is that she brought Elijah back to life. However, it took forever for them to get together, and even when they did, their relationship didn’t last. After Jackson died and Elijah had his memory wiped, Hayley didn’t particularly fit in with the direction The Originals was taking.

Hayley Marshall Deserved A Much Better Ending Than What She Got

Hayley Shouldn’t Have Been Killed Off

The fifth and final season of The Originals included several heartbreaking deaths, including that of Hayley. Like Klaus and Elijah, Hayley died a martyr’s death. However, there’s a stark difference between how their stories ended. In The Originals season 5, episode 1, Hayley is kidnapped by an unknown assailant. It’s later revealed that Hope was behind the kidnapping, which she thought would bring her father back. But it instead ended up backfiring because Hayley was forcibly taken by Greta, who wanted her to bind her werewolf side.

The reason Hayley’s death left such a lasting impression is that Elijah hesitated to save her. If he didn’t, then she would have been alive. The Vampire Diaries universe is known for its dramatic and emotional deaths, but Hayley deserved better, especially because her daughter played a hand in what happened to her. It seemed pointless and cruel for her story to end that way because she didn’t get to be with Elijah, despite being his love interest for the majority of The Originals, and that she didn’t get to see Hope, whom she had sacrificed everything for, grow up.

The Originals

5/10

Release Date

2013 – 2018-00-00

Showrunner

Julie Plec

Directors

Julie Plec

Writers

Julie Plec