Klaus is painted to be the big bad wolf in most of TVD, and granted he does some truly terrible things however he is such an interesting character. I think that is a big part of why they were able to create The Originals spin off, because all three of the Original siblings have so much depth of character. So let me explain why I love Klaus so dearly as a character.

Klaus is so compelling to the point where he is a villain that you can’t totally hate, he is so deeply flawed but we understand him so clearly. Klaus may be 1000 years old, but at heart he is still that little boy who’s father hated him and mother turned her back on him. Klaus longed for the love of his family and felt he would never have it or deserve it. This led to a multitude of trust issues which, you guessed it, are heightened as a vampire.

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Klaus’s father hated him for being his illegitimate son, forcing him to spend him life with a piece of who he is (the werewolf side) being kept from him, his mother constantly tricks him when she comes back and doesn’t protect him. He is hated for being born. I know many people can understand and empathize with being forced to hide a piece of yourself because your family or society does not accept it.

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Consistently, through the show, we see Klaus make growth and then feel betrayed or hurt but you can’t say he is heartless. Klaus does care for his family and siblings. He cares for Rebekah and Elijah and even Stefan. Also, it is so clear to see Klaus opens up around Caroline, almost only around Caroline but still. He shows her himself, though his paintings, stories, gestures. Which is why it hits so much harder each time she betrays him and causes him to lash out and revert back to being terrible and un-trusting, as he feels he doesn’t deserve the love of others so he will ensure they fear him. Even in ‘The Originals’ we see this go further with Klaus caring for Cami and his past relationship with Marcelle. He looked at Marcelle like a son, he cared for him, loved him, raised him and tried to give him a better life and family than he himself had, until he felt betrayed by Marcelle.

For instance, although Klaus constantly lashes out at his siblings and daggers them, he is not one to actually kill them. He values his family so greatly he trades anything he needs for them.

Also, we can see when Klaus does finally get to be fully entirely himself, all he really wants is to belong. He wants to make himself hybrids so he won’t be alone. Klaus is driven by his past trauma and trust issues, having your own parents try to kill you must really affect your emotional growth and I can get that. Klaus doesn’t want to be alone.

Klaus does terrible things but I find him so interesting to watch because he is so complex, more complex than Damon or Stefan or most any of the other characters. I also have to give Joseph credit for making me believe him and feel for Klaus through his acting.

We see so many moments of redemption such as, always coming when Caroline needs him but he also constantly falls off his redemption, which is honestly really human.

For me, the hallmark of a good TV villain is all of these things, depth of character, understanding why they are doing things, showing they aren’t inherently evil, humanizing them. Klaus ticks all these boxes for me and more.

Also, I have to say I’m a die hard Klauroline (Klaus + Caroline) stan.

I can’t explain it honestly. Although, I will say, watching Klaus meet Hope for the first time gave me so many emotions. All Klaus ever wanted was a family, people like him, Hope really was that. She was a ‘hybrid’ like him, she was his daughter, his family. And standing next to him was the woman who gave everything for the baby, her mother, Haley and the two members of Klaus’s family who loved him through it all. Klaus had his family standing right there.

So, what do you think? Did you love Klaus like me? Or was the murder too much for you? In any case, I believe Klaus was an incredibly well-written villain for this show and that this continued with other villains like Kai. All I want is character depth and growth and I feel like that’s what Klaus give me.

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