As a Mexican-American viewer, watching The Originals (2013-2018, The CW) felt like seeing parts of my own community’s story reflected in a supernatural world. On the surface, The Originals, a spin-off of the hit series The Vampire Diaries, is a fantasy drama about vampires, werewolves, and witches battling for control of New Orleans.
But beneath that, I saw something deeper—that Niklaus “Klaus” Mikaelson is practically a personification of mestizo hegemony. I realized talking about him can actually be a really useful tool for teaching community members about the history of mestizaje and its resulting complex power dynamics that influence us today.
The racial coding of vampires as European and werewolves as Indigenous is a recurring pattern in media, and it’s especially present in this show. The Original vampire family, known as the Mikaelsons, were born in Europe around 1000 years ago, specifically the region that is now Norway, but they eventually settled in the Americas. Vampirism in this show can be thought of as a metaphor for the cannibalistic need to consume that European settlers brought to the Americas, reflecting the extractive nature of colonial systems that consumed Indigenous labor, land, and resources. The werewolves in The Originals also live in reservation-like conditions outside of New Orleans after being displaced from the city, further reinforcing this racial coding.
As the first vampire-werewolf hybrid in The Vampire Diaries universe, Klaus Mikaelson (played by Joseph Morgan) embodies the complex power dynamics of being an ethnically mixed person in a society that frames hybridity as both a source of unique power and an isolating burden. His hybrid status grants him power beyond that of his full-blooded vampire siblings, and this power is often framed as both a blessing and a curse. Hybrid power and privilege come with a price, both in Klaus's world and ours.
The process of Indigenous persons becoming mestizo in Mexican society required them to culturally assimilate out of their Indigenous ethnic groups as they transitioned into the more privileged mestizo group. This shift wasn’t just about changing labels and culture—it was an exchange of power. People gained societal power, privilege, and upward mobility, but at the cost of leaving behind Indigenous ways of life and distancing themselves from their own communities. This shift also often came at the cost of internalizing shame for one’s own Indigenous roots that can last for generations within a family. Klaus’s self-hatred for his werewolf side mirrors this dynamic.
While Klaus’s hybrid power made him uniquely powerful, it also left him isolated. Many vampires despised him for being a hybrid, and despite his dominance, he lacked community. His rejection of his werewolf identity parallels the broader cost of assimilation under colonial power structures, where the pursuit of power and dominance often leads to loneliness and the severing of communal ties. This rejection of his werewolf side also extends to his treatment of other werewolves, including Hayley Marshall (played by Phoebe Tonkin), the mother of his child.
Klaus initially shows little regard for Hayley’s well-being, even when she was pregnant with his child. Additionally, there’s a moment in the show where Klaus allows an entire werewolf pack to be slaughtered in pursuit of his own agenda, a move that highlights how far he’s willing to go to protect his power. This behavior parallels the violence that mestizos in positions of political power often inflict on Indigenous communities in Latin America, despite sharing Indigenous roots. Just as Klaus distances himself from his werewolf side in favor of validation from other vampires, mestizo leaders often aligned with colonial power structures, harming Indigenous communities for the sake of maintaining dominance and control.
Klaus's relationship with his non-biological father, Mikael (played by Sebastian Roché), also offers a striking parallel to the way mestizos often relate to European “fatherlands” and their cultures under colonial power structures. Mikael begins to despise Klaus once he finds out he's not his biological son and that his biological father is a werewolf who his wife had an affair with. Mikael calls Klaus an "abomination" while trying to kill him throughout the show and despite this constant rejection, Klaus spends much of his life trying to restore his father’s approval. This dynamic reflects the broader experience of mestizos who internalize white supremacist values and seek validation from the colonial homeland—a source of power that will never fully accept them.
Much like Klaus, mestizos under colonial power structures are told to strive for European ideals of success and dominance, yet they’re constantly reminded they’ll never be seen as European enough. This creates a cycle of insecurity and overcompensation, where dominance and control become ways to prove self-worth. For Klaus, this manifests as an obsession with consolidating power and maintaining control over everyone in his orbit. His actions are driven by a desire to prove that he’s worthy, even to those who will never see him as such. This dynamic is also seen in the phenomenon where members of Latin American diaspora communities in the U.S. align themselves with political movements that uphold white supremacist ideals, hoping to be seen as part of the in-group (e.g. Latinos for Trump).
I also see the dynamic between Klaus and his older brother Elijah (played by Daniel Gillies) as representing how colonial powers often distinguish between so-called "civilized" and "savage" violence. Klaus embodies "savage" violence—unapologetically brutal, impulsive, and direct. He’s the kind of person who will rip out your throat just to prove a point. Elijah, on the other hand, represents "civilized" violence. He wears a suit, speaks with composure, and frames his violence as being done with honorable intentions, such as protecting his family. But despite his polished demeanor, Elijah is just as capable of brutality as Klaus.
While Klaus has undoubtedly killed far more people than Elijah, Elijah’s constant posturing as the "good brother" tasked with keeping his reckless sibling in check reflects the colonial contradiction of respectable violence. Elijah’s ability to cloak his brutality in righteousness can represent how colonial powers frame their own violence as "civilized" while casting the violence of others as "barbaric." This logic is deeply rooted in colonial myths of Indigenous "savagery," where ancient Indigenous civilizations are often remembered as violent sacrificers and cannibals, while European settlers who committed genocide on a much larger scale are rarely framed as "savage." The relationship between Klaus and Elijah reflects this same contradiction. Klaus did take more lives than his brother in his lifetime, but Elijah’s insistence on moral superiority and self-restraint mirrors the colonial logic that upholds "respectable" violence as justified.
The Originals offers a lens through which we can explore the lasting impacts of colonial legacies on Latin American communities and the complex nature of mestizo subjectivity. By portraying Klaus as a self-hating hybrid figure, the show can be utilized for helping us reflect on the internalized colonial logic that mestizo communities continue to grapple with today. Through Klaus’s relationships with werewolves, his father Mikael, and his brother Elijah, we can discuss how power, respectability, and the rejection of one's roots are intertwined with the broader colonial project. In this way, The Originals becomes a powerful site of reflection, showing how fantasy can help us discuss deeper truths about our world, our histories, and the lasting impacts of our choices.
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