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[[folder: Klaus Mikaelson]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TropeKlaus_1980.jpg]]

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/JosephMorgan, Matt Davis, Michael Trevino

->''"I will build an army so big, no one will ever touch me. My survival will haunt you through eternity. You will never destroy me!"''
\\

Klaus is a 1,000+ year old hybrid, who is half vampire and half werewolf. Originally, Klaus, like all of the other Original vampires, was born a human until Esther and Mikael bestowed the curse of vampirism/immortality onto him and the rest of his siblings. Lord Niklaus (known pretty much universally as Klaus) is the main antagonist of the series from Season Two onward. He's responsible for numerous character deaths and his manipulations stretch back all the way to Season One, before he made an onscreen appearance or was even mentioned. He is the half brother to all of the other Original vampires: Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, and Finn. Klaus and his siblings share the same mother, Esther, who is the Original witch. Klaus' step father Mikael, is not Klaus' biological father; Klaus' real father is a werewolf. Mikael and Klaus never got along because of this and Mikael saw Klaus as a illegitimate child because of his wife Esther's affair with Klaus' biological father. In comparison to his elder half brother Elijah, who is described to be noble, compassionate, honourable and has regard for human life, Klaus is the opposite. Klaus is sociopathic, jealous, reckless, impulsive, selfish and manipulative. Klaus is seen to be the closest to Rebekah. Klaus has been shown to have a soft spot for Stefan, whom he befriended and considered a brother back in the 1920's when Stefan was a Ripper, and Caroline, who seems to bring out a much softer side of Klaus that was seen when he was a human.
----

%%* AffablyEvil: To Caroline.
%%* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Elijah.
%%* ArcVillain: Klaus was this for all of season two. He was known as the BigBad threatening all of Mystic Falls.
* AxCrazy: Klaus is psychologically unstable and rather dangerous. He is capable of extreme violence and murderous rage, especially if he is crossed.
%%* BadassBoast: Basically all of the time. When is Klaus not boasting?
%%* BadBoss: Klaus often threatened to kill Stefan if he didn't always obey or do as he says. An example of this is when Stefan refused to bite Elena, Klaus compelled Stefan to turn off his humanity.
%%* CulturedBadass: Klaus seems to enjoy the finer and expensive things in life. Not to mention that Klaus loves art (he even draws himself!).
%%* BeastAndBeauty: Klaus and Caroline with Klaus as the Beast and Caroline as the Beauty.
%%* BelligerentSexualTension: With [[spoiler: Hayley]] and, of course, Caroline, especially in [[spoiler: 4x18]].
%%* BettyAndVeronica: Klaus is the Veronica to Tyler's Betty for Caroline's Archie.
%%* BigBad: He is this for Season Two. This continues on through Season Three as well, though he winds up [[BigBadEnsemble sharing the role]] with [[spoiler: [[KnightTemplarParent his mother, Esther]]]].
%%* BigNo: In 4x17, when [[spoiler: Caroline kills a coven of witches to save Bonnie]]. Whether he does this because it will [[spoiler: trigger Silas' [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt plan]]]] or because [[spoiler: he's worried about Caroline losing her innocence]] is left ambiguous.
%%* BlackSheep: Of his family
* BreakoutVillain: Klaus is a popular, established villain in his own right. He was originally intended to only be a villain for season two, but was seen to be popular with the viewers. Therefore, the writers have decided to not kill him off.
%%* BreakTheHaughty: When he encounters Silas, first, he gets his ass handed to him, and then Silas [[spoiler: stabs him in the back with Rebekah's white oak stake, breaking it off in the process. In the next episode, Klaus is in excruciating pain, using a pair of pliers to ''tear his back open'' in a futile attempt to get the stake out before the splinter can reach his heart. Then Caroline arrives, Klaus begs her to help...only to find out that it's Silas ''again,'' who promises to fill Klaus' days with nothing but torment until he gets him the vampirism cure. And when the real Caroline shows up, Klaus is curled into a foetal position on the floor, completely fucking ''terrified'', still in pain and begs Caroline - whom he thinks is still Klaus - to leave him alone.]] Not even ''Mikael'' could reduce Klaus to a snivelling, pleading wreck.
%%* CainAndAbel: Klaus is the Cain to Elijah's Abel, similar to that of the Salvatore brothers which feature Damon being the Cain to Stefan's Abel.
* TheCasanova: Klaus likes to charm women, manipulate them, use them and than dump them.....or kill them.
* TheChessmaster: Rescue the werewolf and vampire and kill the witch that he needs to perform his ritual? Doesn't matter, he's got a back-up of each of them.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Klaus will never hesitate to backstab anyone, literally. Klaus has stabbed and daggered his entire family.
%%* TheCorrupter: Klaus reverted Stefan back to the dark side of himself or his darker alter ego, the Ripper.
* CorruptTheCutie: In the season two finale Klaus forces Stefan to become a blood addicted Ripper in order to save Damon.
%%* CrazyPrepared
%%* CurbStompBattle: Usually the case when a character tries to go up against him without any serious back. [[spoiler: He receive his first onscreen defeat when he meets Silas.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Klaus may be the bad guy, but he's still got his share of witty comebacks, lines and phrases.
* {{Determinator}}: Klaus NEVER gives up when he has a goal, agenda or plan that he wishes to achieve.
%%* DisproportionateRetribution: His punishment towards Katherine for running away from him, and anyone who displeases him in the slightest.
* TheDreaded: The very mention of his name is enough to paralyze even the toughest vampires with fear. And that's before he even appears on screen.
%%* DudeWheresMyRespect: Towards his hybrids, Tyler in particular, and sometimes with Stefan. Also, he does NOT appreciate someone turning their back on him whilst he's talking with them, as Caroline found out.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Even though Klaus is a villain, he has been shown to be capable of love and affection. Klaus displays this with Caroline, Stefan, Rebekah and even Elijah at times. [[spoiler: Caroline straight-up tells him that she knows he's in love with her, and he doesn't deny it.]] And though they had their differences, to put it mildly, [[spoiler: Klaus is completely devastated (and ''furious'') when he discovers that his little brother Kol has been killed.]]
* EvilBrit: Klaus has a British accent due to Joseph Morgan being from Britain.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He'll politely smile while making you stab yourself over and over again for his amusement.
* {{Foil}}: To Elijah. Klaus is the immoral brother and Elijah is the moral brother. This mirrors the brother dynamic between the Salvatore brothers (with Klaus and Elijah paralleling Damon and Stefan respectively).
%%* GrandTheftMe: Does this to Alaric, which is how we first meet him.
%%* HeartbrokenBadass: Klaus has had some heartbreak along the way.
%%* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Stefan (back in the 1920's)
* HybridPower: Klaus is the most powerful being on the planet. He is a hybrid after all (vampire/werewolf). Because of this, he's extra strong and badass.
%%* IAmNotMyFather: Becoming Mikael is Klaus' worse nightmare.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Doesn't appear until the end of season 2, but is so iconic that he gets his own spin-off in ''Series/TheOriginals''.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Seemingly a large part of his desire to create [[spoiler: his own race]]. In ''The Hybrid'' he bitterly refers to [[spoiler: Stefan]] as his only companion. Of course, any sympathy this might evoke rather vanishes when one remembers that the reason ''why'' he's so alone is he murdered his entire family.
* {{Immortality}}: Klaus is an Original vampire/hybrid. He is capable of living forever without physically aging. Although he physically looks like someone in their 20's, he is actually over 1,000 years old. He cannot die under normal circumstances.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Klaus is the epitome of selfish and everything is all about him; his pain, his power and his agenda.
%%* JokerImmunity: Has developed this because of his statuses as BreakoutVillain, EnsembleDarkhorse and CreatorsPet.
%%* KickTheMoralityPet: He [[spoiler: bit Caroline]] whilst grieving and in great emotional pain for [[spoiler: his brother's death]]. Also, in 4x17 [[spoiler: after Caroline has been particularly nasty in her umpteenth rejection of him, he refuses to console her later when she is distressed over her murder of twelve witches]].
%%* KnightOfCerebus
%%* LackOfEmpathy: To a great extent.
* LoveEpiphany: In 4x13, [[spoiler: when Caroline tells him that she knows he's in love with her. His reaction suggests that he either didn't know the depths of his feelings for her, or he's been denying it until that moment when he's forced to confront his emotions]].
%%* ManipulativeBastard: Klaus is always manipulating somebody in order to achieve his goal or agenda.
%%* MindRape: Does this to Stefan. [[spoiler:Also, subjected to this for the first time in his ''existence'' thanks to Silas. It leaves him utterly broken and scared out of his mind]].
* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: He's a werewolf ''and'' a vampire.
%%* NobleMaleRoguishMale: The Roguish to Elijah's Noble.
%%* ObviouslyEvil: Klaus fit this trope in season two. That was until we were given more insight into his character in season three.
%%* OhCrap: It's very subtle, but Klaus has this expression on his face when [[spoiler: Silas sneaks up on him...]]
%%* PetTheDog: His moments with Caroline, probably the only person in Mystic Falls he has been kind to.
%%* PermaStubble: Justified because he's probably never shaved and his hair doesn't grow.
* PlotArmor: Despite virtually everyone in the cast constantly trying to kill him, and coming ridiculously close to being KilledOffForReal several times, the writers won't let him die. [[spoiler: That is, until "Before Sunset", when he is ''finally'' put into a death-like torpor via the same spell that bound Mikael.]] [[spoiler: But in the next episode he's back up again, though in a new body]]
%%* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Klaus was born in the 10th century. He is also immortal.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gets one from Damon, of all people, when he asks why Elena can forgive him for all the bad things he's done. Damon's words, more or less? "I do bad things when it's necessary. You do bad things for no reason at all." Keep in mind that the reason Klaus initiates the conversation is so he can find a way to apologize to Caroline for [[spoiler: killing Tyler's mother, mainly out of spite/anger that Tyler had tried to lead the other hybrids against him.]], and he actually looks affected by Damon's words for a brief moment.
* RedOniBlueOni: Klaus is the Red to Elijah's Blue. Klaus is much more passionate while Elijah is much more stoic.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Klaus' reaction when he sees that [[spoiler: Elena and Jeremy have killed his little brother Kol?]] ''To burn the house to the ground.'' [[spoiler: Good thing Bonnie got there just in time to stop him.]]
* ShipperOnDeck: Klaus seems to have a habit of making his favoritism for Stefan and Elena's relationship rather obvious and known.
--> "Crazy or not, that kind of love never dies." - Klaus to Damon about Stefan and Elena's relationship in 3x11
--> "Now this is fascinating. The only thing stronger than your craving for blood is your love for this one girl." - Klaus to Stefan and Elena in 3x05
--> "And that's what makes you [Stefan] her [Elena] better option." - Klaus to Stefan in 3x21
--> "Personally, I think she's [Elena] wasting her time with Damon." - Klaus to Stefan in 3x21
--> "That's love." - Klaus to Damon about Stefan/Elena in 4x12
--> "Personally, I don't see a fairytale ending for you. All I see is Stefan and Elena." Klaus to Damon in 4x12
%%* TrueCompanions: With Stefan back in the 1920's when Stefan was the Ripper.
%%* SmugSmiler
%%* SmugSnake
* TheSociopath: Despite all his claims to not wanting to be alone, he gleefully murders his own family members without regret or remorse. The only times he ever seems upset is when things go wrong for him on a personal level.
%%* TheStrategist: Everything that Klaus does is strategic.
* TheUnfavorite: His father, Mikael, hated him and had a preference for Elijah over him. The dynamic between Klaus and Elijah mirrors that of Damon and Stefan, with Klaus as Damon and Elijah as Stefan. Like Damon, Klaus was also the un-favourite son and like Stefan, Elijah was the favourite son.
* TheUnfettered: Klaus doesn't care about morals and he is very ruthless; he will do anything and everything to achieve his desired goal or agenda, even if innocent people end up in danger or get killed. It also completely un-fazes him when someone gets killed.
* UnseenNoMore: He's mentioned frequently since the early episodes of season 2 as the BigBad who's threatening Mystic Falls, but only appears in the last four episodes of the season. He becomes a regular in season 3 and 4.
%%* TheWorfEffect: See CurbStompBattle above.
%%* VillainousBreakdown:
%%** Had a small one in "The Hybrid" when [[spoiler: he failed to make new hybrids for his army]], then another in "Bring Out the Dead" when [[spoiler: his siblings threatened to leave him forever alone and unloved]], [[RuleOfThree then again]] in "Do Not Go Gentle" when [[spoiler: he ranted at Esther's corpse that she would ''never'' destroy him]].
%%** In "A View to Kill" he absolutely lost it watching [[spoiler: Kol get killed by Elena and Jeremy]] with nothing he could do and then right after received a KickTheSonOfABitch from Bonnie trapping him in a sort of invisible force field with a spell lasting 3-4 days.
%%** In "American Gothic", [[spoiler: thanks to Silas' MindRape]].
%%* VillainousCrush: For Caroline of course.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Klaus seems sentimental about the brotherhood that he shared with Stefan back in the 1920's and believes that he and Stefan can be powerful together as TrueCompanions.
%%* WickedCultured
%%* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Caroline seems to think so. Stefan also agrees, but it doesn't stop him from trying to backstab him everytime he has the chance. The fact that he was constantly belittled by his father and cursed and shunned by his mother does bring up an interesting case.
%%* WouldHitAGirl
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Rebekah Mikaelson]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TropeRebekah_6670.jpg]]

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/ClaireHolt

->''"If you come after my brother, I will rip you apart."''
\\

An Original vampire, Rebekah is the only daughter of the Original family. She had a romance with Stefan in the 1920s. Klaus staked her when she chose Stefan over him. She was unstaked by Klaus in an effort to find out why his hybrids were failing. Her cruel nature masks her emotional insecurity.
----

* ActionFashionista: Rebekah can kick ass. And normally she's doing it in rather expensive and chic clothing.
%% * AlphaBitch: In contrast to Caroline, who is a LovableAlphaBitch.
%% * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Caroline.
%% * AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Elijah, Klaus, Kol, and Finn.
%% * [[AntiVillain Anti-Villainess]]: Rebekah is [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]]. See WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.
%% * BettyAndVeronica: The Veronica to Elena's Betty for Stefan's Archie.
%% * BreakTheCutie: Her past qualifies.
%% * CallingTheOldManOut: Rebekah to Mikael.
* CanonForeigner: Rebekah as a character doesn't exist in the novel series.
%% * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: A common victim of this, it makes the fact that she's so bitchy understandable because she probably has problems trusting anyone.
* ClingyJealousGirl: When it comes to Stefan. In 3x05, Rebekah admits that she's jealous when she realizes that Stefan still loves Elena. She gets ultra infuriated when she sees a picture of Stefan and Elena on a phone with Elena wearing her necklace.
%% * DarkActionGirl
%% * DeadpanSnarker: Not as much as her brothers but she certainly has her witty moments.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** While she's shaken by Kol attempting to stab her with the white oak stake, Rebekah tells Klaus to go to hell when he suggests that she needs to learn how to dagger her siblings.
** When she hears about [[spoiler: Jeremy's death]], she actually feels sorry for [[spoiler: Elena. "I'm not going to miss him, but he was Elena's only family. Even I'm not that heartless."]]
* EvilCounterpart: She seemed like she was an evil version of Caroline at first but she's really just scarred from everyone in her life turning on her.
* TheFashionista: Rebekah is shown to be quite trendy and fashionable. She seems to have an affinity with clothes.
* FakeGuestStar: In season 3, she is in 17 out of 22 episodes. She also appears in most season 4 episodes, despite being, theoretically, still a recurring character.
* FemmeFatale: She's beautiful, free-spirited and good at manipulating people.
%% * FriendsWithBenefits: With Stefan. Rebekah says that she has no feelings or attachment to Stefan.
%% * GirlyBruiser
* GirlyGirl: Rebekah is really feminine and enjoys all the girly things including fashion.
%% * GrandTheftMe: By Esther her own mother. She gets better.
%% * HeartbrokenBadass: For being let down by her brother Klaus and her lover Stefan.
* HiddenDepths: Despite her aggressive nature, she has shown to be emotionally fragile. She very much wants to be like a normal teenager, and longs to have the normal teenage life she missed out on. Before being turned into a vampire, she used to be a sweet and normal girl, as seen in the flashbacks.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Introduced in season 3, but becomes iconic along with her two brothers, to the point they get a spin-off about their family.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: She actually does have a good reason for [[spoiler: causing the accident that kills Elena as it would also kill Alaric and save the vampire race]]
%% * IHateYouVampireDad: He's also her actual father, Mikael, who was a vampire vampire-hunter.
%% * TheKirk: In promotional material, with Klaus as TheMcCoy and Elijah as TheSpock.
%% * LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: The dark to Caroline's light.
%% * MsFanservice: Rebekah is very physically attractive and fashionable.
%% MsFanservice requires more than being attractive -- revealing outfits, bare skin etc.
%%
* PowersViaPossession: Her mother being a Witch while possessing Rebekah still got access to her witch powers AND vampires abilities.
* Really700YearsOld: Rebekah looks like a teenager and she doesn't age physically, but she is really 1,000 years old and was born during the 10th century.
%% * RememberTheNewGuy: She was with Klaus and Elijah when Katherine was human, despite not being shown.
%% * RichBitch: The Originals come from a wealthy background.
%% * {{Sociopathic Hero}}ine
* TheUndead: Rebekah is an Original vampire. She is capable of living forever and cannot physically age. Even though she looks like a teenager, she is technically over 1,000 years old.
* WhatTheHellHero: In "Into the Wild", she finally calls out Stefan (and the rest of the cast, to an extent) about how he blames her (or they all) for Elena's death, when all she was doing was protecting her family from Alaric - in other words, she didn't do anything all that different from what everyone else has done in the name of their own families. And she also reminds Stefan that Elena had a hand to play in [[spoiler: the deaths of her two brothers Finn and Kol,]] so her hatred of Elena is more than justified at this point.
%% * WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds
%% * {{Yandere}}: For Stefan. Rebekah has said that she still loves Stefan and has mentioned that she managed to wait for him. Ironically, Katherine has said the same thing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Elijah Mikaelson]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TropeElijah_476.jpg]]

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/DanielGillies

->''"Young vampires — so arrogant. How dare you come in here and challenge me?"''
\\

An Original vampire, Elijah is the most sophisticated member of his family. He alternately works for Klaus and against him throughout the series. He was once in love with Katherine and tried to save her from his brother but she betrayed him. He has developed a fondness for Elena as well.
----

* AffablyEvil: He's an intelligent, charming man who strongly believes in honor and loyalty but he has a dark, dangerous side and he'll kill whenever it suits his needs.
%%* AloofBigBrother: To Klaus, Finn, Kol, and Rebekah.
%%* AntiVillain: Type I, with shades of Type III.
* AscendedExtra: All the Original vampires become increasingly more important in the story, but Elijah is a particularly extreme example. Julie Plec admits that Daniel Gillies' performance and the pull of Elijah's character inspired the writers to make the Originals un-killable to keep him around. And he was originally just a "foot soldier" before being made into Klaus's brother.
%%* CainAndAbel: Elijah is the Abel to Klaus' Cain.
%%* CanonForeigner: He does not appear in the books.
%%* [[spoiler: TheBusCameBack: In 4x18.]]
* TheChessmaster: Elijah is very strategic and logical by nature.
%%* CulturedBadass
* TheDandy: Elijah is always sharply and neatly dressed and never likes to look improper.
* DeadpanSnarker: Elijah has a dry sense of humor and a quick wit. Even when he is being serious, he can be funny.
%%* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even though Elijah has done immoral things, he is still considered to be rather honorable, noble and moral by nature. Elijah was extremely noble during his human life.
%%* TheFettered: Elijah is known to be a very moral, honorable person by nature.
* {{Foil}}: To Klaus. Klaus is the immoral brother and Elijah is the moral brother.
%%* FriendlyEnemy: He develops a friendship and a sort of understanding with Elena.
* HeelRealization: After threatening Elena, he comes to agree with his mother's view of him as an abomination.
%%* HonorBeforeReason: Elijah is a highly noble, honorable person. Elijah seems to value the concept of honor, and expects it from anyone else who gives him their word. [[spoiler: It's the reason he begins to doubt his relationship with Katherine in 4x18, because she didn't tell him that she killed Jeremy in trying to get the cure.]]
%%* IGaveMyWord
* IconicSequelCharacter: Introduced in season 2, but becomes a very recognizable character along with his siblings, to the point they get a spin-off about their family.
* {{Immortality}}: Elijah is an Original vampire. He is capable of living forever without physically aging. Although he is in his late [=20s=], he is technically over 1,000 years old. He cannot die under normal circumstances.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Elijah comes off as cold and uncaring but he's actually rather moral and honorable by nature.
* ManipulativeBastard: He doesn't even need to use compulsion to get people to do what he wants.
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: He definitely tries to adhere to this. Notably the only vampire not seen feeding on a human at any point.
* NobleDemon: He is reluctant to kill anyone and has a strong sense of nobility and morals, but he commits some immoral and morally questionable acts in order to preserve and protect the one thing he values the most: his family. However, despite his claim to nobility, he has ruthless killed many people for little reason, Trevor who was only asking for forgiveness was mercilessly decapitated and Slater, just for talking to Damon and Rose was compel by Elijah to kill himself.
%%* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Elijah is the Noble Male to Klaus' Roguish Male.
%%* PutOnABus: So far for season four. Kol says that he's so disgusted by the rest of his siblings that he won't even show his face.
%%* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Elijah is an Original vampire who is really 1,000 years old and was born during the 10th century.
%% And how old does he look?
%%
* RedOniBlueOni: Elijah is the Blue to Klaus' Red. Klaus is impulsive while Elijah is more logical.
%% * RewardedAsATraitorDeserves
* SiblingRivalry: Elijah has had an ongoing rivalry with his brother Klaus for centuries. Elijah has even gone as far as to attempt killing Klaus in order to stop him from breaking his hybrid curse and killing people in the process.
* SiblingYinYang: Elijah is the opposite of Klaus in terms of personality, outlook, values and beliefs. While Elijah is more moral, noble and upstanding, Klaus is more impulsive, immoral and reckless.
%%* SixthRangerTraitor: At first he tries to help Elena and her friends kill Klaus, but ends up saving him instead in the Season 2 finale episode, because Klaus promises to take Elijah to their family if Elijah spares him. Of course, Klaus reneged and stabbed Elijah with the ash dagge.
%%** Later again in season 3 after Elena tells him that she agreed to help Esther kill Klaus, (and that it would also kill the other Originals) he traps Elena underground with a very angry Rebekah controlling her; meanwhile he tells Stefan and Damon that they have until the end of the night to stop the spell by killing the witches who is with his mother, Abby and Bonnie.
* SharpDressedMan: Elijah never fails to look dapper, neatly dressed and well-put together in his finest suits.
%%* TheSpock: Both to Rebekah's [[TheKirk Kirk]] and Klaus' [[TheMcCoy McCoy]] in promotional material and to Kol's [[TheMcCoy McCoy]] and Klaus' [[TheKirk Kirk]] in 3x15.
%%* SugarAndIcePersonality: Elijah is Type I.
* SuperStrength: Even by vampire standards, he's extremely strong and can rip other vampires' heads off with little effort. Justified because he is not a normal vampire but an original.
%%* TallDarkAndHandsome: Elijah is the epitome of being classically handsome and dapper.
* TranquilFury: Even when Elijah gets angry or enraged, he is calm and stoic.
* UndyingLoyalty: To his entire family of course. There is nothing that he wouldn't do for them. Elijah always puts his family above everything.
* VillainBall: Sometimes family comes first to him, even if it means sparing/helping his murderous siblings.
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: Elijah tries to do the right thing by being loyal to his family but some of his methods can be rather extreme. In most instances, Elijah's heart is in the right place.
%%* WickedCultured: All the Originals can qualify, but mostly Elijah being the most sophisticated member of the family.
%%* WorthyOpponent
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mikael]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mikael_9017.jpg]]

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/SebastianRoche

->''"Get Klaus back to Mystic Falls, and I will gladly drive a stake through his heart. Fail... I`ll drive it through yours."''
\\

----
* AbusiveParents: Mikael is abusive to Klaus. To be fair, Klaus was very impulsive and never took their situation (living with werewolves) seriously which got his brother Henrick mauled to death by werewolves. However, his treatment of him, even before that, was WAY more than just being a WellDoneSonGuy parent. He almost killed the boy once, completely overreacting to a joke made by Klaus to Elijah, and that's before he knew [[spoiler: he wasn't his son]].
%% * ArchnemesisDad: to Klaus.
%% * ChekhovsGunman: He first appears as Chief of the Chicago Police looking for Klaus and Rebekah in the 20s.
* TheDreaded: Klaus, a werewolf-vampire hybrid who can't be killed and treats everyone around him like an insect...is absolutely terrified of him.
%% * DroppedABridgeOnHim
* FoodChainOfEvil: He only feeds on other vampires but he is not evil, in fact he says he chooses to feed on vampires so he does not have to feed on humans.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: He is killed by the very weapon that he intended to kill Klaus with.
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Regrets making his wife create vampires and so hunts them but it is Klaus who is his target.
%% * KilledOffForReal
* SealedEvilInACan: More like sealed vengeance in a can as he wants revenge for what klaus did, Mikael is not evil but gruff, humorless and does not take nonsense as Damon was quick to learn.
* TheUndead: Mikael is a vampire. He is capable of living forever without physically ageing. He is a living dead person.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: In 3x09, [[spoiler:Klaus killed Mikael when he white-oak daggered him, with Mikael bursting into flames afterwards.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Esther]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Esther_4755.jpg]]

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/AliceEvans & Creator/ClaireHolt

->''"I love my family, Elena. But they are an abomination."''
\\

----
* BigBad: Share this role with Klaus in season 3 but unlike Klaus, her intentions are for the good of mankind by killing the originals. She is the big bad by virtue of opposing vampires and because the consequence of killing the murderous originals means wiping out their bloodlines.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: In season 3, she pretends to be nice and forgiving to her family, until they find out she is really out to kill them all, though she does indeed care about them but they have crossed the line too many times with their murderous lifestyle and so she attempts to kill them.
%% * BodySnatcher: Of her own daughter no less.
%% * DarkActionGirl
%% * HotWitch: Known as the Original Witch.
* KilledOffForReal: She's killed off for good by a transitioning Alaric when she tries to kill Jeremy and Matt. Although she's on a show full of vampires and other supernatural creatures, she's not coming back.
* KnightTemplarParent: Wanted so badly to protect her children that she [[spoiler: turned them into vampires, a plan which required killing them. She's an extremely overprotective and vengeful parent.]]
%% * MamaBear: See above.
%% * OffingTheOffspring
%% * TheStoic
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Has come to believe that [[spoiler: she made a mistake turning her children into "monsters" and unleashing vampires upon the world. Hatches a plan to kill them all, for the greater good.]] She is not wrong though, as out of her children, four became murderous monsters, only Finn kept his morality as he was ashamed of what he was.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kol Mikaelson]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/KolMikaelson_8181.jpg]]

->'''Portrayed by''': Nathaniel Buzolic

->''"Again with the dagger threats, don't you have any other tricks?"''
\\

----
%% * AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Klaus, Elijah, and Finn.
* AxCrazy: Heavily implied with his aggressive, menacing and somewhat unstable personality.
* CurbStompBattle:
** Takes out an entire bar of newbie vampires without breaking a sweat.
** Inverted, despite being a powerful original, he has been defeated by Damon twice, first by by having his neck snapped and secondly by being staked.
** In season four, [[spoiler: Elena manages to give enough of a fight, long enough for Jeremy to put him down for good.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: He's sarcastic.
-->''"That's lovely! We're stuck out here while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb! How pathetic you are, Finn!"''
* {{Determinator}}: Will do anything to prevent the raising of Silas. Even if it means stabbing his little sister with a white oak stake to do it.
* EvilIsPetty: Kol enjoys breaking rules, is extremely rude, spiteful, and treats everyone with snark and contempt including his siblings like Rebekah and Klaus.
* ExactWords: Klaus warns him to explicitly stay away from Jeremy Gilbert. He never said anything about forbidding [[spoiler: compelling Damon to hunt and kill him....]]
%% * FauxAffablyEvil
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Is killed by Jeremy, using the same white oak stake that he was going to use on Rebekah in an earlier episode.]]
* {{Immortality}}: Kol is able to live for eternity without ever physically ageing or growing old.
%% * KilledOffForReal
%% * TheMcCoy: In 3x15, with Klaus as TheKirk and Elijah as TheSpock.
* OnlySaneMan: Seeing as he's the only one who doesn't want to find the cure therefore raising [[BigBad Silas]] and ushering in the end of the world, he definitely qualifies.
%% * ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Plus kept in a coffin for 100 of those years
%% * SmallNameBigEgo
* SmugSnake: He's smug, condescending and overconfident.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Finn Mikaelson]]
[[quoteright:178:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/FinnVD_6516.jpg]]

->'''Portrayed by''': Caspar Zafer

->''"I will be ready to die."''
\\

----
%% * AloofBigBrother: He has quite a cold and quiet demeanor.
* AntiVillain: The only reason he can be considered an enemy is because he is a member of The Originals and TheDragon to Esther. The man only had Sage’s transformation on his hand as far as his only "evil moment" goes, and only he considers it this as he's TheFettered. In terms of personality he's positively polite to both Elena and Bonnie along with her mother
* DeathSeeker: Right up until finding Sage again it's all but stated by himself that he wants to die, as he has an extremely strong IAmAMonster mentality
%% * TheDragon: To his mother Esther, when he agrees to help her to kill his siblings, even though he was well aware that he would die as well.
%% * EternalLove: With Sage. Ironically one of the more touching ones in the series, if not the most touching
%% * TheFettered: Hands down the most moral member of his family
* TheGenericGuy: Of the originals, there's Klaus the romantic murderous one, Elijah the NobleDemon, Rebekah the AlphaBitch with deep emotional issues, Kol the AxCrazy one and... Finn. Subverted later when he turns out to be not so generic. He is the 'IAmAMonster' one, hating being a vampire.
* IAmAMonster: According to Elijah, Finn has always hated being a vampire.
* ILoveYouVampireSon: To Sage, her lover 900 years ago. She was turned by Finn so they could be together forever.
* {{Immortality}}: Finn is capable of living for eternity without physically ageing.
* KilledOffForReal: In "The Murder Of One", Matt stakes Finn in the heart, not knowing that Bonnie broke the binding spell before they succeeded, making Finn's death useless to kill Klaus.
* MommasBoy: He's the only one of his family who knows Esther's true agenda. According to Kol, Finn was always Esther's favorite son.
%% * OnlySaneMan: Elijah may like to think he is the sane one but the true moral Original is Finn. Elijah is just simply more popular
%% * ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: And has been kept in a coffin for over 900 years.
%% What is his apparent age? How odl was he when he became immortal?
%%
* SoHappyTogether: With Sage. It can’t be a coincidence that Finn’s dies the episode he’s the happiest and finally shrugging off his DeathSeeker mentality.
%% * TheStoic: See AloofBigBrother.
* TokenGoodTeammate: The rest of his family likes killing... even Elijah, who likes to think of himself as a NobleDemon. Finn is the only one of them who hates being an abomination.
%% * TooHappyToLive
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Finn doesn't. He's immortal and hates it. He's ready to sacrifice himself to help Esther (using his blood to link him together with his siblings) to kill all the family.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Henrik Mikaelson]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henrikpng.png]]
->'''Portrayed by:''' Devon Allowitz

----
%% * PosthumousCharacter
* TheVoiceless: He never speaks.
[[/folder]]

%% * PowerTrio: See TheMcCoy above.

->'''Portrayed by:''' Daniel Gillies

%%* EvilBrit: Klaus has a British accent due to Joseph Morgan being from Britain.

->'''Portrayed by:''' Joseph Morgan, Matt Davis, Michael Trevino

->'''Portrayed by:''' Sebastian Roché

->'''Portrayed by:''' Alice Evans & Claire Holt

* YourCheatingHeart: She had an affair with an unnamed werewolf, whom she had a child with: Niklaus.

%%* MonsterSobStory: Although he's the villain, the flashbacks of his human life have managed to give some viewers a more sympathetic point of view for Klaus.

%%* {{Kuudere}}: Elijah is Type I.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TropeKlaus_1980.jpg

->'''Portrayed by:''' Joseph Morgan, Matt Davis, [[spoiler: Michael Trevino]]

* AffablyEvil: To Caroline.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Elijah.
* ArcVillain: Klaus was this for all of season two. He was known as the BigBad threatening all of Mystic Falls.
* AxCrazy: Klaus is the epitome of psychologically unstable, and he is rather dangerous. Klaus is capable of extreme violence and murderous rage, especially if he is crossed.
* BadassBoast: Basically all of the time. When is Klaus not boasting?
* BadBoss: Klaus often threatened to kill Stefan if he didn't always obey or do as he says. An example of this is when Stefan refused to bite Elena, Klaus compelled Stefan to turn off his humanity.
* CulturedBadass: Klaus seems to enjoy the finer and expensive things in life. Not to mention that Klaus loves art (he even draws himself!).
* BeastAndBeauty: Klaus and Caroline with Klaus as the Beast and Caroline as the Beauty.
* BelligerentSexualTension: With [[spoiler: Hayley]] and, of course, Caroline, especially in [[spoiler: 4x18]].
** Some fans may argue this is also the case with [[HoYay Stefan]].
* BerserkButton: Never defy him, screw with one of his plans, and if you try to kill him and fail, you'd better start to run as fast as you can. Most importantly, no one, '''no one''' but him is allowed to hurt his loved ones, unless he gives you his consensus. And if he does, ''follow the plan to the letter''.
* BettyAndVeronica: Klaus is the Veronica to Tyler's Betty for Caroline's Archie.
* BigBad: He is this for Season Two. This continues on through Season Three as well, though he winds up [[BigBadEnsemble sharing the role]] with [[spoiler: [[KnightTemplarParent his mother, Esther]]]].
* BigNo: In 4x17, when [[spoiler: Caroline kills a coven of witches to save Bonnie]]. Whether he does this because it will [[spoiler: trigger Silas' [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt plan]]]] or because [[spoiler: he's worried about Caroline losing her innocence]] is left ambiguous.
* BlackSheep: Of his family

* BreakTheHaughty: When he encounters Silas. First, he gets his ass handed to him, and then Silas [[spoiler: stabs him in the back with Rebekah's white oak stake, breaking it off in the process. In the next episode, Klaus is in excrutiating pain, using a pair of pliers to ''tear his back open'' in a futile attempt to get the stake out before the splinter can reach his heart. Then Caroline arrives, Klaus begs her to help...only to find out that it's Silas ''again,'' who promises to fill Klaus' days with nothing but torment until he gets him the vampirism cure. And when the real Caroline shows up, Klaus is curled into a foetal position on the floor, completely fucking ''terrified'', still in pain and begs Caroline - whom he thinks is still Klaus - to leave him alone.]] Not even ''Mikael'' could reduce Klaus to a snivelling, pleading wreck.
* CainAndAbel: Klaus is the Cain to Elijah's Abel, similar to that of the Salvatore brothers which feature Damon being the Cain to Stefan's Abel.

* TheCorrupter: Klaus did this to Stefan and reverted him back to the dark side of himself or his darker alter ego, the Ripper.
* CorruptTheCutie: Does this to Stefan in the season two finale, when Klaus forces Stefan to become a blood addicted Ripper in order to save Damon.
* CrazyPrepared
* CurbStompBattle: Usually the case when a character tries to go up against him without any serious back. [[spoiler: He receive his first onscreen defeat when he meets Silas.]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: His punishment towards Katherine for running away from him, and anyone who displeases him in the slightest.
* TheDreaded: The very mention of his name is enough to paralyze even the toughest vampires with fear. And thats before he even appears on screen.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Towards his hybrids, Tyler in particular, and sometimes with Stefan. Also, he does NOT appreciate someone turning their back on him whilst he's talking with them, as Caroline found out.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Even though Klaus is a villain, he has been shown to be capable of love and affection. Klaus displays this with Caroline, Stefan, Rebekah and even Elijah at times. [[spoiler: Caroline straight-up tells him that she knows he's in love with her, and he doesn't deny it.]]
** And though they had their differences, to put it mildly, [[spoiler: Klaus is completely devastated (and ''furious'') when he discovers that his little brother Kol has been killed.]]
* EvilBrit: Klaus has a British accent due to Joseph Morgan being from Britain.
* FakeAmerican: Klaus was born in what would become Mystic Falls in the 11th century
* FauxAffablyEvil: The only man who can politely smile while making You stab Yourself over and over again for his amusement.

* ForTheEvulz: Klaus will gleefully torture or kill anyone if it benefits his plans or even amuses him.
* FreudianTrio: Is part of four, actually. In promotional material, he's [[TheMcCoy the Id]] to [[TheSpock Elijah's]] Superego and [[TheKirk Rebekah's]] Ego. In 3x15, he's [[TheKirk the Ego]] to [[TheMcCoy Kol's]] Id and [[TheSpock Elijah's]] Superego. In 4x17, he's [[TheSpock the Superego]] to [[TheMcCoy Caroline's]] Id and [[TheKirk Stefan's]] Ego. In the LoveTriangle he's part of, he's [[TheSpock the Superego]] to [[TheMcCoy Tyler's]] Id and [[TheKirk Caroline's]] Ego.
* GrandTheftMe: Does this to Alaric, which is how we first meet him.
* HeartbrokenBadass: Klaus has had some heartbreak along the way.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Stefan (back in the 1920's)

* IAmNotMyFather: Becoming Mikael is Klaus' worse nightmare.

** Klaus is Type V: TheUndead. He is a living dead person.
* InformedAttribute: Klaus will let you know that he's a hybrid, even though he has only transformed into a wolf once.

* JokerImmunity: Has developed this because of his statuses as BreakoutVillain, EnsembleDarkhorse and CreatorsPet.
* KickTheMoralityPet: He [[spoiler: bit Caroline]] whilst grieving and in great emotional pain for [[spoiler: his brother's death]]. Also, in 4x17 [[spoiler: after Caroline has been particularly nasty in her umpteenth rejection of him, he refuses to console her later when she is distressed over her murder of twelve witches]].
* KnightOfCerebus
* LackOfEmpathy: To a great extent.
* [[spoiler: LoveEpiphany]] : In 4x13, [[spoiler: when Caroline tells him that she knows he's in love with her. His reaction suggests that he either didn't know the depths of his feelings for her, or he's been denying it until that moment when he's forced to confront his emotions]].
* LoveInterest: Caroline is his. Whether she reciprocates is... [[ShipTease deba]][[FoeYay table]].
* ManipulativeBastard: Klaus is always manipulating somebody in order to achieve his goal or agenda.
* MindRape: Does this to Stefan. [[spoiler:Also, subjected to this for the first time in his ''existence'' thanks to Silas. It leaves him utterly broken and scared out of his mind]].
* MonsterSobStory: Although he's the villain, the flashbacks of his human life have managed to give some viewers a more sympathetic point of view for Klaus.
* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: He's a [[spoiler: werewolf ''and'' a vampire]].
* NobleMaleRoguishMale: The Roguish to Elijah's Noble.
* ObviouslyEvil: Klaus fit this trope in season two. That was until we were given more insight into his character in season three.
* OhCrap: It's very subtle, but Klaus has this expression on his face when [[spoiler: Silas sneaks up on him...]]
* PetTheDog: His moments with Caroline, probably the only person in Mystic Falls he has been kind to.
* PermaStubble: Justified because he's probably never shaved and his hair doesn't grow.
** Actually vampires in the series can grow hair and beards, recent flashbacks show Elijah with facial hair even though he was somewhat clean shaven when first turned.
* PlotArmor: Despite virtually everyone in the cast constantly trying to kill him, and coming ridiclously close to being KilledOffForReal several times, the writers won't let him die. [[spoiler: That is, until "Before Sunset", when he is ''finally'' put into a death-like torpor via the same spell that bound Mikael.]] [[spoiler: But in the next episode he's back up again, though in a new body]]
* PowerTrio: See FreudianTrio above.
* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really One Thousand Years Old]]: Klaus was born in the 10th century. He is also immortal.

* RedOniBlueOni: Klaus is definitely the Red to Elijah's Blue. Klaus is much more passionate while Elijah is much more stoic.

** And just how angry is Klaus? Angry enough that [[spoiler: he doesn't ''care'' anymore about finding the cure and making hybrids. Making his own species/army has been Klaus' main motivation throughout the series and for the thousand years he's spent as a vampire hybrid. And he's going to abandon this plan to exact vengeance on the people who killed his brother.]]
** Subverted as of late, after realizing that [[spoiler: avenging Kol and murdering Tyler as payback for his attempt at killing him]] will make Caroline lost to him forever.
* ShipperOnDeck: Klaus seems to have a habit of making his favouritism for Stefan and Elena's relationship rather obvious and known.

* TrueCompanions: With Stefan back in the 1920's when Stefan was the Ripper.
* SmugSmiler
* SmugSnake

* TheStrategist: Everything that Klaus does is strategic.
* TheUnfavourite: His father, Mikael, hated him and had a preference for Elijah over him. The dynamic between Klaus and Elijah mirrors that of Damon and Stefan, with Klaus as Damon and Elijah as Stefan. Like Damon, Klaus was also the un-favourite son and like Stefan, Elijah was the favourite son.
** Unlike Damon, however, Mikael's favoritism of Elijah was because [[spoiler: Klaus isn't his biological son.]] However, he treated him like scum even before discovering that.

* [[spoiler: TheWorfEffect]]: See CurbStompBattle above.
* VillainousBreakdown: Had a small one in "The Hybrid" when [[spoiler: he failed to make new hybrids for his army]], then another in "Bring Out the Dead" when [[spoiler: his siblings threatened to leave him forever alone and unloved]], [[RuleOfThree then again]] in "Do Not Go Gentle" when [[spoiler: he ranted at Esther's corpse that she would ''never'' destroy him]].
** In "A View to Kill" he absolutely lost it watching [[spoiler: Kol get killed by Elena and Jeremy]] with nothing he could do and then right after received a KickTheSonOfABitch from Bonnie trapping him in a sort of invisible force field with a spell lasting 3-4 days.
** In "American Gothic", [[spoiler: thanks to Silas' MindRape]].
* VillainousCrush: For Caroline of course.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Klaus sort of extends this to Stefan in season three. Klaus seems sentimental about the brotherhood that he shared with Stefan back in the 1920's and believes that he and Stefan can be powerful together as TrueCompanions.
** His offer to Caroline of showing her the world as soon as she ask him to, suspiciously sounds like this.
* [[WhenSheSmiles When He Smiles]]: He does grin and smirk sardonically, mischieviously or [[PsychoticSmirk psychotically]] quite a lot, but his genuine smiles, usually caused by [[LoveInterest Caroline]], but also by [[BigBrotherInstinct Rebekah]], [[BigBrotherWorship Elijah]] and even by [[OffingTheOffspring Eshter]] once (before he found out about her real intentions), are quite the sight.
* WickedCultured
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Caroline seems to think so. Stefan also agrees, but it doesn't stop him from trying to backstab him everytime he has the chance. The fact that he was constantly belittled by his father and cursed and shunned by his mother does bring up an interesting case.
* WouldHitAGirl
* WroteTheBook
---> '''Caroline''': "Why do you always have to prove you're the alpha male?"
---> '''Klaus''': "I don't have to prove anything, love, I AM the alpha male!"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TropeRebekah_6670.jpg

* AlphaBitch: In contrast to Caroline, who is a LovableAlphaBitch.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Caroline.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Elijah, Klaus, Kol, and Finn.
* [[AntiVillain Anti-Villainess]]
** Rebekah is [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]]. See WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.
* BerserkButton: Hurting or killing any of her family members. If one messes with her family, she will no doubt get revenge. An example of this was in 3x22, when Rebekah discovered that Klaus had been killed, she took out her anger and vengeance on Elena and Matt by killing Elena and driving their truck off of the bridge, causing Elena to drown (with Elena turning into a vampire).
** Also, betraying Rebekah in any way, shape or form is a huge NO-NO. If one betrays Rebekah, watch her wrath.
* BettyAndVeronica: The Veronica to Elena's Betty for Stefan's Archie.
* BreakTheCutie: Her past qualifies.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Rebekah to Mikael.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: A common victim of this, it makes the fact that she's so bitchy understandable because she probably has problems trusting anyone.

* DarkActionGirl
* DeadpanSnarker: Not as much as her brothers but she certainly has her witty moments.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While she's shaken by Kol attempting to stab her with the white oak stake, Rebekah tells Klaus to go to hell when he suggests that she needs to learn how to dagger her siblings.
** And when she hears about [[spoiler: Jeremy's death]], she actually feels sorry for [[spoiler: Elena. "I'm not going to miss him, but he was Elena's only family. Even I'm not that heartless."]]

* FakeBrit: Claire Holt is Australian.
** Also the originals are Eastern-European-via-Scandinavia, but Rebekah was born in the New World. She manages to be a fake Brit both in and out of universe, while also being a FakeAmerican
* FakeGuestStar: In season 3: she is in 17 out of the 22 episodes. She is also appearing in most season 4 episodes, despite being, theorically, still a recurring character.

* FriendsWithBenefits: With Stefan. Rebekah says that she has no feelings or attachment to Stefan. (''Although we all know that she's lying...'').
* GirlyBruiser

* GrandTheftMe: By Esther her own mother.She gets better.
* HeartbrokenBadass: For being let down by her brother Klaus and her lover Stefan.

* IHateYouVampireDad: He's also her actual father, Mikael, who was a vampire vampire-hunter.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: In 4x12, Rebekah admitted to Stefan that she wanted to be human again and live a normal life as a human.
* {{Immortality}}: Rebekah is an Original vampire. She is capable of living forever and cannot physically age. Even though she looks like a teenager, she is technically over 1,000 years old.
** Rebekah is Type V: TheUndead. She is a living dead person.
* JerkassFacade: Implied.
* TheKirk: In promotional material, with Klaus as TheMcCoy and Elijah as TheSpock.
* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: The dark to Caroline's light.
* MsFanservice: Rebekah is very physically attractive and fashionable.
* PowersViaPossession: Her mother being a Witch while possessing Rebekah still got access to her witch powers AND vampires abilites.
* PowerTrio: See TheKirk above.
* Really700YearsOld: Rebekah is really 1,000 years old and was born during the 10th century.
* RememberTheNewGuy: She was with Klaus and Elijah when Katherine was human, despite not being shown.
* RichBitch: The Originals come from a wealthy background.
* {{Sociopathic Hero}}ine
* WhatTheHellHero: In 'Into the Wild,' she finally calls out Stefan (and the rest of the cast, to an extent) about how he/they blames her for Elena's death, when all she was doing was protecting her family from Alaric - in other words, she didn't do anything all that different from what everyone else has done in the name of their own families. And she also reminds Stefan that Elena had a hand to play in [[spoiler: the deaths of her two brothers Finn and Kol,]] so her hatred of Elena is more than justified at this point.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: See HiddenDepths.
* {{Yandere}}: For Stefan. Rebekah has said that she still loves Stefan and has mentioned that she managed to wait for him. Ironically, Katherine has said the same thing.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TropeElijah_476.jpg

* AffablyEvil: He's an intelligent, charming man who strongly believes in honor and loyalty but he has a dark, dangerous side and he'd be able to kill whenever it suits his needs.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: In regards to Katherine. It seemed as though back during the time when Katherine was human, Elijah had genuine feelings for the doppelganger. However, Katherine was interested in Klaus and found him irresistibly charming, even though Klaus' intentions with Katherine were far from noble. [[spoiler: In 4x18, it's revealed that he and Katherine have been in an intimate relationship for much of season four, and he's still very much in love with her. Or at least, the girl she used to be before she became a vampire.]]
* AloofBigBrother: To Klaus, Finn, Kol, and Rebekah.
* AntiVillain: Type I, with shades of Type III.
* AscendedExtra: All the Originals vampires became increasingly more important in the story, but Elijah is a particularly extreme example. Julie Plec admits that Daniel Gillies performance and the pull of Elijah's character inspired the writers to make the Originals un-killable to keep him around. And he was originally just a "foot soldier" before being made into Klaus's brother.
* BadassBoast
--> '''Elijah to Damon in 2x14:''' *stabs Damon in the neck with a pencil and hands him a handkerchief* "I'm an Original. Show a little respect."
* BerserkButton: Don't harm or kill any one of Elijah's family. He will get revenge.
** As of [[spoiler: 4x18]] you'd better NOT touch [[spoiler: [[LoveInterest Katherine]]]]. He's willing to hurt [[spoiler: [[MoralityPet Ele]][[ShipTease na]]]] to protect [[spoiler: her]].
* CainAndAbel: Elijah is the Abel to Klaus' Cain.
* CanonForeigner: He does not appear in the books.
* [[spoiler: TheBusCameBack: In 4x18.]]

* CulturedBadass

* DeadpanSnarker: Elijah has a dry sense of humour and a quick wit. Even when he is being serious, he can be funny.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: See BadassBoast above.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even though Elijah has done immoral things, he is still considered to be rather honourable, noble and moral by nature. Elijah was extremely noble during his human life.
* FaceHeelTurn: Klaus promised to take him to his family's bodies if Elijah spared his life. Of course, Klaus reneged and stabbed Elijah with the ash dagger (which Elijah had previously been stabbed with by Alaric and Elena).
* FakeAmerican: Daniel Gillies was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand.
** Though Elijah's origin is not completely known. Only Klaus, Rebekah, Kol, and Henrik are confirmed to have been born in the New World
* TheFettered: Elijah is known to be a very moral, honourable person by nature.
* {{Foil}}: To Klaus. Klaus is the immoral brother and Elijah is the moral brother. See RedOniBlueOni and NobleMaleRoguishMale.
* FriendlyEnemy: He develops a friendship and a sort of understanding with Elena.
* HeelRealization / IAmAMonster: After threatening Elena, he comes to agree with his mother's view of him as an abomination.
* HonorBeforeReason: Elijah is a highly noble, honourable person. Elijah seems to value the concept of honour, and expects it from anyone else who gives him their word. [[spoiler: It's the reason he begins to doubt his relationship with Katherine in 4x18, because she didn't tell him that she killed Jeremy in trying to get the cure.]]
* IGaveMyWord
* {{Immortality}}: Elijah is an Original vampire. He is capable of living forever without physically aging. Although he is in his late 20's, he is technically over 1,000 years old. He cannot die under normal circumstances.
** Elijah is Type V: TheUndead. He is a living dead person.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Especially in the beginning. Elijah came off as cold and uncaring but he's actually rather moral and honourable by nature.
* {{Kuudere}}: Elijah is Type I.

* NobleDemon: He is reluctant to kill anyone and has a strong sense of nobility, honourability and morals, but he commits some immoral and morally questionable acts in order to preserve and protect the one thing he values the most: his family. However, despite his claim to nobility, he has ruthless killed many people for little reason, Trevor who was only asking for forgiveness was mercilessly decapitated and Slater, just for talking to Damon and Rose was compel by Elijah to kill himself.
* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Elijah is the Noble Male to Klaus' Roguish Male.
* OnlySaneMan: Likes to think he is but this honor goes to Finn, though Elijah would be next in line, especially compared to Klaus, Kol and Rebekah.
* PowerTrio: See TheSpock below.
* PutOnABus: So far for season four. Kol says that he's so disgusted by the rest of his siblings that he won't even show his face.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Elijah is an Original vampire who is really 1,000 years old and was born during the 10th century.

* SixthRangerTraitor: At first he tries to help Elena and her friends kill Klaus, but ends up saving him instead in the Season 2 finale episode, because Klaus promises to take Elijah to their family if Elijah spares him. Of course, Klaus reneged and stabbed Elijah with the ash dagge.
** Later again in season 3 after Elena tells him that she agreed to help Esther kill Klaus, (and that it would also kill the other Originals) he traps Elena underground with a very angry Rebekah controlling her; meanwhile he tells Stefan and Damon that they have until the end of the night to stop the spell by killing the witches who is with his mother, Abby and Bonnie.

* SophisticatedAsHell: Elijah is the epitome of chic and fashionable.
-->''"I'm a little behind the times but I believe the term you're looking for is 'OMG'."''
* TheSpock: Both to Rebekah's [[TheKirk Kirk]] and Klaus' [[TheMcCoy McCoy]] in promotional material and to Kol's [[TheMcCoy McCoy]] and Klaus' [[TheKirk Kirk]] in 3x15.
* TheStoic: Elijah is very calm, composed and collected, even when he gets angry.
** NotSoStoic: When Elijah discovers that his brother Klaus was killed in 3x22, his pain and shock broke through his stoic facade. It happens again when [[spoiler: Katherine asks him to reconsider their relationship and when Rebekah tells him that she wants to be cured of her vampirism.]]

* TallDarkAndHandsome: Elijah is the epitome of being classically handsome and dapper.
* TranquilFury: Even when Elijah gets angry or enraged, he is so calm and stoic.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Elijah tries to do the right thing by being loyal to his family but some of his methods can be rather extreme. In most instances, Elijah's heart is in the right place.
* WickedCultured: All the Originals can qualify, but mostly Elijah being the most sophisticated member of the family.
* WorthyOpponent

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mikael_9017.jpg

* AbusiveParents: Mikael is this to Klaus but to be fair, Klaus was very impulsive and never took their situation (living with werewolves) seriously which got his brother Henrick mauled to death by werewolves.
** However, his treatment of him, even before that, was WAY more than just being a WellDoneSonGuy parent. He almost killed the boy once, completely overreacting to a joke made by Klaus to Elijah, and that's before he knew [[spoiler: he wasn't his son]].
* ArchnemesisDad: to Klaus.
* ChekhovsGunman: He first appears as Chief of the Chicago Police looking for Klaus and Rebekah in the 20s.

* {{Immortality}}: Mikael is a vampire. He is capable of living forever without physically aging.
** Mikael is Type V: TheUndead. He is a living dead person.
* KilledOffForReal

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Esther_4755.jpg
->'''Portrayed by:''' Alice Evans & [[spoiler: Claire Holt]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: When in season 3 she pretends to be nice and forgiving to her family, until they find out she is really out to kill them all, though she does indeed care about them but they have crossed the line too many times with their murderous lifestyle and so she attempts to kill them.
* BodySnatcher: Of her own daughter no less.
* DarkActionGirl
* HotWitch: Known as the Original Witch.
* KilledOffForReal: She's killed by a transitioning Alaric when she tried to kill Jeremy and Matt.
* KnightTemplarParent: Wanted so badly to protect her children that she [[spoiler: turned them into vampires, a plan which required killing them.]]
* MamaBear: See above.
* [[spoiler: OffingTheOffspring]]
* TheStoic

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/KolMikaelson_8181.jpg

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Klaus, Elijah, and Finn.
* AxCrazy: Heavily implied, with his aggressive, menacing and somewhat unstable personality.

** Surprisingly inverted, despite being a powerful original, he has been defeated by Damon twice, first by by having his neck snapped and secondly by being staked.

* DeadpanSnarker

* FakeAmerican: Like Rebekah and Klaus he was born in the New World but is played by an Australian Nathaniel Buzolic
* FauxAffablyEvil

* {{Immortality}}: Kol is able to live for eternity without ever physically aging or growing old.
** He's Type V.
** He's also Type X.
* [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal]]
* TheMcCoy: In 3x15, with Klaus as TheKirk and Elijah as TheSpock.

* PowerTrio: See TheMcCoy above.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Plus kept in a coffin for 100 of those years
* SmallNameBigEgo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/FinnVD_6516.jpg

* AloofBigBrother: He has quite a cold and quiet demeanor.
* AntiVillain: So much that he arguably falls under AntiHero. The only reason he could be considered an enemy was because he was a member of The Originals and TheDragon to Esther. The man only had Sage’s transformation on his hand as far as his only “evil moment” goes, and only he considers it this as he's TheFettered. In terms of personality he was positively polite to both Elena and Bonnie along with her mother
* DeathSeeker: Right up until finding Sage again it was all but stated by himself that he was this, as he as an extremely strong IAmAMonster mentality
* TheDragon: To his mother Esther, when he agrees to help her to kill his siblings, even though he was well aware that he would die as well.
* EternalLove: With Sage. Ironically one of the more touching ones in the series, if not the most touching
* TheFettered: Hands down the most moral member of his family
* TheGenericGuy: Of the originals, there's Klaus the romantic murderous one, Elijah the NobleDemon, Rebekah the AlphaBitch with deep emotional issues, Kol the AxCrazy one and...Finn.
** Subverted actually as he is not so generic, he is the IAmAMonster one.
* IAmAMonster: According to Elijah, he has always hated being a vampire.

* {{Immortality}}: Finn is capable of living for eternity without physically aging.
** He's Type V.
** He's also Type X.
* KilledOffForReal: In "The Murder Of One" Matt stakes Finn in the heart, not knowing that Bonnie broke the binding spell before they succeeded, making Finn's death useless to kill Klaus.
* LightningBruiser : When he stabs Klaus in the hand just after waking up he moves so fast than his brother has can only look on in horror
* MommasBoy: Is the only one of his family who knows Esther's true agenda. According to Kol, Finn was always Esther's favorite son.
* OnlySaneMan: Elijah may like to think he is the sane one but the true moral Original is Finn. Elijah is just simply more popular
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: And has been kept in a coffin for over 900 years
* SoHappyTogether and TooHappyToLive: With Sage. It can’t be a coincidence that Finn’s dies the episode he’s the happiest and finally shrugging off his DeathSeeker mentality
* TheStoic: See AloofBigBrother.
* TokenGoodTeammate: The rest of his family liked killing..even Elijah who likes to think of himself as a NobleDemon.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever?: Finn doesn't. He was ready to sacrifice himself to help Esther (using his blood to link him together with his siblings) to kill all the family.

-> Portrayed by Devon Allowitz

* PosthumousCharacter

* {{Badass}}: Klaus is the most powerful being on the planet. He is a hybrid after all (vampire/werewolf). Because of this, he's extra strong and badass.
** BadassBoast: Basically all of the time. When is Klaus not boasting?
** CulturedBadass: Klaus seems to enjoy the finer and expensive things in life. Not to mention that Klaus loves art (he even draws himself!).
** HeartbrokenBadass: Klaus has had some heartbreak along the way.

* {{Badass}}
** HeartbrokenBadass: For being let down by her brother Klaus and her lover Stefan.

* '''{{Badass}}''': And ''how''. He's second only to Klaus on the vampire totem pole, ''vastly'' above and beyond the likes of Stefan and Damon.

* {{Badass}}: Mikael is powerful and he's badass. He's a vampire hunter after all.

* {{Badass}}: She is the one who turned her family into vampires by using a ritual that involved the sun and the White Oak Tree. She was also the one who placed the Hybrid Curse on Niklaus.

* {{Badass}}: Takes out an entire bar of newbie vampires without breaking a sweat.
* CurbStompBattle: Surprisingly inverted, despite being a powerful original, he has been defeated by Damon twice, first by by having his neck snapped and secondly by being staked.
** And in season four, [[spoiler: Elena manages to give enough of a fight, long enough for Jeremy to put him down for good.]]

* {{Badass}}: Stabs Klaus in the hand before he can even react.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Blondish.

* BlondesAreEvil: She's aggressive, cruel, spiteful and vindictive.

* BlondesAreEvil

->'''Portrayed by:''' ClaireHolt

* HotMom: She's quite an attractive woman.

* BadassLonghair: In his first appearance.

** BadassBoast

** BadassLonghair: During the 11th century.
** CulturedBadass

** BadassLonghair: Back in the 11th century.

** BadassAbnormal

** BadassAbnormal

** BadassAbnormal

** BadassAbnormal: Hes tough, capable, strong and...he's also a vampire.

** BadassAbnormal

** BadassAbnormal

** BadassAbnormal
** BadassLonghair: In his first appearance.

* ShipperOnDeck: Klaus seems to have a habit of making his favouritism for Stelena rather obvious and known.