The Originals Viewing Party on Site
The CW show The Originals (a spin-off of Vampire Diaries) said good bye with its series finale on 8/1/18.
The show follows the family of the Mikaelsons, the original vampires. It starts with Klaus Mikaelson, a vampire and werewolf, who impregnates a werewolf. The two give birth to a girl named Hope. This mystical baby starts the family off on a journey to protect her.
Much of Vampire Diaries and The Originals is filmed in Covington, GA. You can see many of the landmarks of Mystic Falls, a fictional city in the show.
The city put on a viewing party for the final episode. They brought in several of the actors including Riley Voelkel (Freya), Paul Wesley (Stephen), Charles Michael Davis (Marcel), and many more. The actors were doing autographs and photos before the show.
The event was supposed to include a New Orleans funeral, episodes of the Vampire Diaries and more. However, the torrential downpour greatly impacted the event. Fans were stuck outside for hours with tornado sirens going off, some of the actors that were supposed to come couldn’t due to flight cancellations, and the New Orleans funeral was cancelled.
However, this didn't halt the fans love of the show. Many fans had driven hundreds of miles to be there, and waited in line for hours in the pouring rain without any shelter just for an autograph. Even those that didn’t pay for autographs still had to spend all day getting poured on.
“You really know a show has loyal fans when their willing to sit through all of that just to see the cast,” Jackie Fink, a fan of show and cosplayer, said.
The rain cleared up, about an hour before the start of the episode. They were able to do a short Q & A with the actors. Show creator Julie Plec was the moderator for the Q&A and mentioned that Freya had been there, almost since the beginning of the show. Riley Voelkel's response was: “Excuse me, I am the OG original. The very first one,” The character Freya was the oldest sibling. The cast seemed to have a great time together.
The event also featured a mask contest and some people were there in full costumes. The prizes for the mask contest included props from the show and signed items. The cast members were the judges. Everyone walked by them and they were very interactive with fans. This was especially great because the cast members were not on a stage nor hard to see.
“I think it was a little chaotic and not super well planned. Also they had no plans for rain so things keep getting canceled,” Fink said.
When the it was time for the final episode they had some technical difficulties with the screen which was positioned in front of the clock tower (a famous landmark in The Vampire Diaries). But Nathan Parsons, who played Jackson on the show, entertained fans with his guitar. Apart from acting he also is a musician. Eventually they were able to show the final episode. Most fans were pretty disappointed with the ending.
For those that couldn’t make it to the final episode Covington is still the epitome of Vampire Diaries fandom. You can eat at the Mystic Grill, which is a great sit-down restaurant, take pictures in front of the clock tower and see the Mystic Falls welcome sign. They even have Caroline Forbes, Tyler Lockwood, and Elaina Gilbert’s homes which are visible from the street. They are really across the road from each other like in the show.
Mystic Falls Tours is a business in the area that will take you to see many of the sites from the shows. They even have several stores selling Vampire Diaries, Originals and now Legacies (new spin off airing in October) merchandise.
It feels like you would see Damon Salvatore walking down the street any moment. The town is just down the road from Atlanta and there's a lot to see. Vampire Diaries and The Originals continues to live on in our hearts, in Covington and in the new spin off Legacies. I am so excited to see how the story continues.
