Always and forever indeed. With the final season of The Originals premiering in April, it’s about time fans got a glimpse of the Mikaelsons. The first trailer for the series’ last 13 episodes is here, thanks to TVLine.
As indicated by the 30-second video, much has changed for the original vampire family since viewers last saw them. Hope (now played by Danielle Rose Russell) is a teenager, and it seems like her time at the Salvatore Boarding School has taught her how to harness her powers to her full ability. Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) is dating a new man and sporting significantly shorter hair. Elijah (Daniel Gillies) is clueless about his vampire nature following Marcel’s (Charles Michael Davis) compulsion, preferring to tickle the ivories and burn in the sun.
Most important, the Mikaelsons can be seen reuniting after season 4 big bad The Hollow forced them to separate for Hope’s safety. “We have to save each other,” Hope tells Elijah, Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic), Freya (Riley Voelkel), Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Marcel. “Always and forever,” Klaus (Joseph Morgan) memorably adds.
There are quite a few things missing from the trailer. Familiar faces, including Danielle Campbell’s Davina Claire and Leah Pipes’ Camille O’Connell, are set to return for The CW show’s final season, but there’s no sign of them in the snippet. Caroline Forbes (Candice King) — who Klaus had a thing for on The Vampire Diaries — is also on tap to appear in multiple episodes, though she doesn’t show up in the video either.
For those hoping for updates on their favorite couples, no such luck. The series’ beloved ships — including Hayley and Elijah, Davina and Kol, and Klaus and Caroline — are noticeably absent as well.
The Originals premieres on The CW Friday, April 20, at 9 p.m. ET.