The Originals
Marcel's secret weapon is Davina, a 16-year-old more powerful than the Original vampires. Bob Mahoney/The CW

Hooked on “The Vampire Diaries” spinoff, “The Originals”? If the witches in the premiere somehow didn’t cast a spell on you, episode 2 of the new CW drama certainly will.

“House of the Rising Son” continued to explore the characters and shed some light on their past … and it’s very bloody colorful to say the least.

Marcel makes it clear that he’s the king of New Orleans, showing Klaus that in his absence he’s built up an empire that allows vampires to do what they please within the French Quarter – including allowing the “occasional all you can eat buffet.”

And a flashback to 1820 reveals that vampires have always gotten their way in New Orleans. When Elijah, Rebekah and Klaus had lived in the city, the governor had given the Original vampires free reign. The Mikaelson siblings ruled the town, living in a gorgeous mansion and throwing extravagant parties where they could feed in the open.

But time hasn’t been fair to the Mikaelson’s and New Orleans is no longer their city to rule – it’s Marcel’s now.

Episode 2 welcomed Klaus and Elijah’s sister, Rebekah, into the picture. Elijah’s persistent phone calls might not have lured Rebekah to New Orleans in episode 1, but after he stopped answering her calls Rebekah came running.

Meeting Hayley for the first time, the pregnant werewolf tells the blonde Original that Elijah promised to protect her but then skipped town. Hayley’s reveal makes Rebekah quickly realizes that Klaus has done something terrible to her brother, and she warns the werewolf to find a way to leave New Orleans … or Klaus will make sure that she ends up in a box as soon as the baby is born.

Hell bent on finding Elijah, Rebekah enlists the help of Sophie. However, the witch refuses, explaining to Rebekah that Marcel will kill her if he discovers that she has been using magic.

On her own, the Original decides to do some spying on Marcel and Klaus in an attempt to find out what they’re up to. Meanwhile, Hayley takes Rebekah’s words to heart and hatches her own plan to escape Klaus– use wolfs bane to abort the baby. Unfortunately Hayley went to the wrong voodoo shop to get her wolfs bane because the girl she got the poison from is in cahoots with Marcel’s pack of vampires.

As soon as Hayley left the shop, the girl warned Marcel that a werewolf is in town … something that Marcel does not allow. Not willing to give Hayley a warning to leave, Marcel sends his vampires on a mission to collect her head.

With Elijah gone and Klaus not seeming to care, it appeared as if Hayley wasn’t going to make it to her first term. But the good news for her is that even without Elijah she has one Original vampire on her side – Rebekah.

“No way to treat a pregnant lady,” she says to Marcel’s vamps as she rips them apart. “I do hate bad manners.”

When Klaus learns what Rebekah has done he’s furious. And while Rebekah doesn’t think that her brother is doing anything to help Hayley or Elijah, Klaus proves that she’s wrong … because Klaus has been hatching a plan to dethrone Marcel all along.

It turns out that Klaus handed Elijah’s daggered body over to Marcel as a “peace offering” to gain his trust, but then began to plant some seeds in order to dismantle his empire:

-Klaus compelled a new vampire to be a part of Marcel’s group but report everything back to him.

-Realizing that Marcel has a soft spot for a human bartender named Cami, Klaus compelled the girl into going on a date with his protégé and keep tabs on where he goes.

With her newfound knowledge, Rebekah sets off to get her brother back, but not before saving Hayley one more time – this time from Klaus. The hybrid, who initially didn’t care about his baby, was furious to discover that Hayley tried to get rid of it. But as Hayley later explained to him, she didn’t realize how much she wanted it until she was forced to fight for it.

Rebekah, Klaus and Hayley seem to be on good terms (for now) but Elijah is still an issue. Rebekah confronts Marcel over getting her brother back, and when he doesn’t willingly hand him over she resorts to threatening Cami. With her life at stake Marcel agrees to take Rebekah to Elijah, but he has a trick up his sleeve – Davina.

Marcel brings Rebekah to the attic where he is holding Davina, a girl around 16-years-old who has an immense amount of power. Although he shows Elijah’s daggered body to Rebekah, Marcel makes Davina throw her out a window with the swift movement of her hand.

“What was once yours, what was once your brothers is now mine,” Marcel warns Rebekah when she awakens, not allowing her to take her brother with her.

Rebekah heads back to tell Klaus of the special weapon Marcel has, warning him that Davina is “bigger and more powerful than an Original.”

Meanwhile, Marcel has his own conversation with Davina … telling her that the Originals don’t belong in New Orleans and that he wants her to figure out a way to kill them.

So, what happened in the past to lead Marcel and the Original vampires to where they are today?

Marcel, like Klaus, was a bastard son. A flashback revealed that the hybrid met Marcel when he was just a young boy. Klaus raised and loved him like he was his own son, but their relationship became strained when Marcel grew older and fell in love with Rebekah.

The hybrid never believed that anyone was good enough for his sister, going as far as to sabotage any relationship she has ever had. Catching human Marcel and Rebekah about to kiss one day he threatened to kill him and not turn him into a vampire. But as the years progressed Marcel couldn’t stop his attraction toward Rebekah. When Klaus saw the two embracing he decided to put a stop to it – and daggered Rebekah.

Klaus eventually removed Rebekah’s dagger … 52 years later … and revealed to his sister that Marcel wasn’t who she thought he was. Her brother explained that he gave Marcel a choice when he first daggered her – Marcel could either un-dagger Rebekah himself and live out the rest of his life with her as a human … or he could leave Rebekah daggered and Klaus would turn him into a vampire. Marcel chose to leave Rebekah and turn into a vampire.

The Mikaelson’s lived with Marcel as one big happy family until the Mikaelson patriarch, Mikael, drove his children out of New Orleans. It was then that the fall out with Marcel began.

Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah believed Marcel to be dead, but it turned out that Marcel was alive … and thriving. Instead of searching for his family, Marcel took everything that was theirs and made it his.

“I want it all back,” Klaus revealed to Hayley. “And if I have to push him out to get it that’s exactly what ill do.”

What did you think of episode 2 of “The Originals”? Let us now your thoughts on “House of the Rising Son” below.