After Klaus (Joseph Morgan) had to either kill, appear to kill and alienate more than just a few of his closest friends and family in order to take down Dahlia (Claudia Black) in the Season 2 finale of THE ORIGINALS, the Mikaelsons seemed more fractured and at odds than ever. There was only one thing keeping them together: Baby Hope. But when the life of a child is at stake, everyone will rally and put aside their differences to fight off any enemy. So while Klaus’ brutal and ruthless actions may be understandable from the Season 2 finale, will his actions be forgivable? That is the question that Season 3 will seek to answer.



In an exclusive interview, executive producer Michael Narducci talked about the new challenges, foes and fragile relationships for the Mikaelsons and all those around them in Season 3 of THE ORIGINALS:



I briefly chatted with Nat Buzolic and he is ready and willing to return as Kol whenever he appears again on THE ORIGINALS. I then asked him if he is willing to arm-wrestle Daniel Sharman for the role and he just laughed. What are the chances of Nat appearing as Kol this next season?

MICHAEL: Rest in peace, Daniel Sharman — Kol did die. So we kind of said that Kol’s spirit was consecrated and is now a part of that New Orleans ancestral pool of witch spirits, and Rebekah in one of her two bodies is out there trying to find a way to take that spirt and bring him back. We know that it is possible — Davina (Danielle Campbell) has done it twice. She brought back Mikael (Sebastian Roche) and then thinking she was going to bring back Kol, she accidentally brought back Esther. So I think there is a world where we might be able to see Kol’s spirit be brought back and I think it might be likely that it will be in the form of his original body as Nat Buzolic. This is down the line — a bit of a ways. More importantly, I think we are going to see Kol Mikaelson in flashbacks. I am very excited about that. Nathaniel is one of my favorite actors. I love what he does with the role and I am very excited to see him return to the show.



So there is the potential we could see both actors portraying the same character, particularly with the flashbacks.

MICHAEL: I would be very excited to see both of those guys play Kol. It’s the same way I’m really excited to see both Claire Holt and Maisie Richardson-Sellers perform as Rebekah. I think they are two great actors who have an amazing talent to bring that character to life. So the more, the merrier, I say.



Would you dare pull that particular trick again by having two different actors portray the same character on the show?

MICHAEL: That’s an interesting question. My gut was to say no, but then you never know what is going to happen. Finn was last seen kind of absorbed into Freya’s (Riley Voelkel) amulet. So what will happen if Freya decides she needs to talk to her brother? Will she see the ghost of Finn, played by Casper Zafer, or will she see Finn put into the body of Vincent, and Yusuf Gatewood would get to play Finn again? Anything can happen and we love to play with those ideas.



Yusuf seemed to think that Finn was gone from Vincent’s body, permanently.

MICHAEL: Yeah, he would like to think that. He’s going to be mostly Vincent. And that’s how we are going to start the season, he as Vincent. But we will see what happens.



What is kind of the thrust of the season? I know that you’re introducing the offspring of The Originals, the first generation, if you will, which are bigger and badder vampires.

MICHAEL: I think the thrust is Season 2 was all about the return of the parent’s generation — Dahlia, Esther, Mikael, Ansel — and this is the season that is all about the very people that were sired and made immortal are coming back. They know they are connected to the Mikaelsons via the sire-line and if the Mikaelsons die, they die — and they don’t want to die. So what will their attitude be? Will they come back to protect the Mikaelsons and join forces with them? Will they come back to be friends, allies or maybe romantic interests? Or will they come back to cause a little bit of trouble and have their own agenda? That is kind of what we are unpacking as the season goes further.



Sounds like you are stirring up a bit of a witch’s brew in New Orleans.

MICHAEL: Yeah, yeah. That’s a good way to think about it.



What is up with the crazy witches with Davina kind of in charge now?

MICHAEL: Those witches are dangerous and they are powerful and they are pissed off. I think Davina finds herself as president of a very dangerous collection of people, and how this relatively young witch take charge of these people who do not necessarily listen and they don’t necessarily have the best of intentions. They are kind of out for justice and a little bit of revenge, and Davina is going to have to find a way to quell those mutinous revenge-driven witches.



Why does Davina want to quell them? She doesn’t like Klaus that much.

MICHAEL: Well, she’s taken a look around and can see that if they go to war the vampires a lot of innocent people are going to die and there is a relative peace. Klaus hasn’t made any moves. It has been six months since the end of last season. Maybe there is a way for them to coexist — at least that is what she is going to wonder about as the season begins. I talked to Danielle Campbell about the difficulties and how Davina is going to find herself challenged the way any leader is challenged when she is in charge of an organization that is a little bit dangerous and more than a little bit deadly.



Then what is up with Elijah (Daniel Gillies)? He is a wild card at this point. He is not on the best of terms with his brother and he could do anything.

MICHAEL: He could do anything he wants. I think Daniel is such a great performer. Elijah is an equal to Klaus when it comes to being the most dangerous, the most deadly being on our show. I think that the thing that separates them is Elijah does have a code. He does have a nobility and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) asked him to stay close by to make sure that Baby Hope was protected and safe — and he honored that request. So for six months, he has had to coexist with the brother he hates and who he is so angry at. But he is making sure that the child is safe. He is also connecting to his sister Freya, who is also helping to take care of Hope. They have this very strange family and Elijah considers himself the patriarch of that family. It is kind of his impossible task to take care of those individuals and it is a tormented, very difficult job. But he is trying to do right by his blood and I respect the character for that.



Where does Cami (Leah Pipes) fit into this kind of familial environment at the moment?

MICHAEL: She sees herself as the person who has to try to step in and be someone who Klaus can vent to and be someone Klaus can get feedback from. Cami knows that she has Klaus’ ear and that is a place that not a lot of people have ever had. She wants to keep him on the path of being a protective force in his child’s life and not going out and causing trouble and murdering more innocent people. Cami tells him: “You can choose to be a better person. It is up to you.” I think that is a very interesting role for her to be in.



So Cami is a Klaus-whisperer.

MICHAEL: (Laughs) She is definitely a Klaus-therapist. She is someone he goes to get some perspective on his wretched, angry, evil life.



Klaus is such an insightful being. He would know if he were being manipulated or handled. Why does he tolerate that?

MICHAEL: I think because there is something about her that he is interested in and attracted to. He sees someone in her who has suffered loss and who has made sacrifices on behalf of family, and he has done something similar on behalf of his own family. He thinks she is intelligent and he knows that she looks at him without judgment. She looks at him with the cold-eye of analysis that a therapist brings and that is what he is looking for. If his brother hates him and his sister Freya judges him and Rebekah has left town, Cami is someone who will say, “I don’t believe in evil. I believe in damaged psyches who are struggling to find a more whole and centered way of looking at the world, and I am going to try my best to help you find that.” So Klaus values that.



What is stopping Klaus from embarking on a relationship with Cami? He seems inclined to at times.

MICHAEL: I think he is inclined to. But I don’t think Cami thinks he is ready to be in that place where he would be a valued romantic partner. Instead, right now, she is interested in setting some boundaries and to help him get to the next best place that he needs to be to be a good father and make up for some of the sins of his past. In Cami’s worldview, it would be amazing if Klaus could come to a place where he realizes that he was wrong to do what he did to Hayley and maybe take steps to helping Hayley.



I don’t know if you can ever reconcile what he did to Hayley.

MICHAEL: Of course you and I know it is very hard for us to imagine for him wanting to do that.



Is Hayley is going to be able to forgive him at this point? What he is almost unforgivable.

MICHAEL: It’s interesting. I don’t think Hayley feels that way. I think Elijah feels that way. Imagine you are Klaus for a second: he believes he saved Hayley’s life. He believes he did the right thing. What is interesting about him is he will never allow himself to perceive that what he did was wrong. That’s who he is.



Given the six month time jump, where is Klaus at with Baby Hope? Is he a good father? Is he an absentee father?

MICHAEL: He is very present. Hope is of an age that when you are a baby that you are so dependent on your parents that it is just unconditional love. I think that is a very interesting thing for Klaus to get and it is a very interesting thing for Klaus to give. As Hope gets older — and children grow a mind of their own — she might get angry at her father. She might have the capacity to judge her father’s actions. Right now, Klaus knows he knows he needs to take care of his daughter because she does not have her mother and I think part of him fears that if Hayley were to come back, she might potentially try to take Hope away from him again. So he kind of likes things the way they are — Hayley is off in the bayou and he has access to his daughter unfiltered.



So who is the mother in Hope’s life at this point?

MICHAEL: That’s Freya. Freya is a part of the family. Klaus knew, even at the end of Season 2 as Dahlia warned that unless Hope has a witch in her life, she will grow to not be able to control her power. And so, he made a calculated decision: “I’m going to get rid of Dahlia, but I’m going to have to welcome Freya into the family.” So Klaus and Freya have a very interesting relationship at the start of the season. He begrudgingly and rather comically accepts her into the fold because he knows she has a job to take care of his daughter.



I’m a bit worried for Hope — having Klaus as her father and Freya has her mother.

MICHAEL: Klaus would die to protect his daughter, and I think Freya — even though everyone is suspicious of her — her motives may be a bit different than what everybody suspects.



To find out just who has forgiven Klaus and who has vowed to not forget or forgive him for his sins, be sure to tune in for all new episodes of THE ORIGINALS when it returns for Season 3 on Thursday, October 8th at 9:00 p.m. on the CW.



Also, if you haven’t had a chance to check out our video interviews with the cast and producers of THE ORIGINALS from San Diego Comic-Con, here is where you can view those as well. Great scoop on Season 3!



LINK: http://seat42f.com/the-originals-comic-con-interviews-joseph-morgan-daniel-gillies-phoebe-tonkin-leah-pipes-danielle-campbell-and-michael-narducci.html