Originals Episode 13 Preview: The Witches Declare War

As always, there are some spoilers for this week’s The Originals episode, below.

Following the death of Davina and the introduction of a brand new power source for the witches, The Originals cast spent the last episode in a forced truce, taking on a powerful warlock named Papa Tunde who had returned from the grave. As it turns out, the character came back specifically to wreak some havoc on the vampire population and to use the vamps’ power to put together some serious sacrificial magic. It looks like the Mikkelsen family unity will need to continue forth in the coming episodes. As Klaus notes in the preview for “Crescent City,” “This isn’t the witches attacking vampires. They’re declaring war on us.”

One of the ways the witches want to take control is by rending apart that Mikkelsen family unity I only just spoke about. Celeste has proven to be a powerful manipulator thus far, getting Papa Tunde and many of the New Orleans witches to do her dirty work for her. However, she looks as if she is barking up the wrong tree in next week’s preview, attempting to coax Elijah into opposing his brother. If there is anything we know about Elijah, it’s that he is willing to sacrifice his personal gain, not to mention personal happiness, for his family. If Celeste really wants to entice an Original to go against the New Orleans vampire clan, she’d have much better luck with Rebekah (although I daresay she’s a little miffed about getting her power sucked from her body this past week).

I seriously have no idea if Celeste has any actual skill in witchcraft beyond getting other people to lay the groundwork for her big plans. Assumedly, she’s waiting for the right moment to strike, but since she’s shaping up to be the big baddie this season, I expect it to be a few more episodes before she pulls out her really ugly side. Or maybe not. It probably depends on how Klaus and Marcel decide to act against the witches and whether or not the writers have some more villains in store.

We’ve already discussed most of the big moments from the preview, but there is an interesting few seconds when we see an individual who has been buried alive. That person is thrashing around and it’s hard to tell who it is, but the female victim is either wearing a nightgown or a period costume, leading me to believe we may get a slew of brand new flashbacks next week. I’m not really stoked about seeing someone trapped in a box, but I do dig all of the period costumes the show is able to get away with thanks to flashbacks. There’s also a few clips of the very pregnant werewolf Hayley escaping what looks to be a house fire. If the witches are indeed waging a war, the vampires don’t seem to be faring particularly well, and now we’ll have to wait and see if there are any betrayals from within.

The CW’s popular new supernatural drama, The Originals airs on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET. Late last year, the network picked the freshman drama up for a full first season, and with a little luck and some pixie dust, it should be back for Season 2.