Klaus and Elijah in TO

I honestly prefer Elijah and Klaus’s relationship in The Vampire Diaries over The Originals. Sure, The Originals offers a "better" portrayal of their dynamic only because it has more screen time to expand on their relationship. But I really dislike how Elijah’s character shifted between the two shows. In The Vampire Diaries, Elijah was the dangerous yet calm Original vampire. What I loved most was his dynamic with Klaus—he stood up to him, teamed up against him when necessary, and still tried to show him love. Elijah didn’t blindly side with Klaus; he was even willing to put the rest of the family above him, like when he nearly killed Klaus during his hybrid transformation. In The Originals, other than when Elijah daggers Klaus, he basically turns into Klaus’s bitch—blindly defending him, consistently choosing him over everyone else, including their family. He essentially enables Klaus’s horrible behavior towards their loved ones instead of openly condemning it like he did in TVD. Season 1 Elijah in The Originals still had some of that depth, but as the show goes on, he loses some of that complexity. But later on, it’s like Elijah’s entire identity becomes tied to Klaus. Instead of being his equal, he’s reduced to someone who exists to clean up Klaus’s messes and justify his actions. . It just felt like such a downgrade compared to the dynamic they had in TVD. It’s funny because he’s constantly preaching about family while ignoring how Klaus destroys it. It’s like Elijah stopped being his own character and just became “Klaus’s fixer.” No growth, no real conflict—just endless devotion to someone who didn’t deserve it 90% the time.