Due to the Mikaelson family’s nature of being a very complex group of people, and Elijah’s reputation as the noble brother, it would be easy to pin the worst sibling on someone like Finn, who repeatedly tries to kill his family, or Kol, who has a history of betrayal. Klaus could also be a reasonably easy option as far as morals go, given his lack of nearly all of them. While Rebekah has also been known to cross some lines over a thousand years, and Freya is not perfect either, perhaps Elijah may be one of the biggest problems in the family, as he is also perhaps the least likely to earn the title. While Finn’s actions were wrong, he also spent over nine-hundred years in a coffin. Although Finn was a danger to himself and others, no one seemed to be in a rush to free him, so it is not entirely surprising that Finn was not exactly willing to stand by his siblings.
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Elijah, however, claimed that family was of the utmost importance. That is if it is a sibling of value to him anyway. Although Elijah is willing to put down Klaus when he believes Klaus tossed their siblings into the ocean, Elijah is quick to save Klaus after learning the truth. However, at other times, Elijah barely shows a hint of emotion for someone who is not Klaus or Rebekah. Elijah helps Klaus dagger Kol and seems upset when Klaus wakes Kol up from being daggered during flashbacks. Elijah has placed his entire focus on Klaus’ redemption and evading Mikael, which has allowed him to inadvertently become one of the worst.
He Set the Course For Klaus to Consider Himself Unworthy of Love
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For centuries, Klaus considered himself a monster unworthy of love. It would not matter what Klaus did; his past and identity as a Hybrid would be enough to deem him separate and not enough. But, of course, this was not always the case. Although Klaus did consider himself a monster for what he had done, at one point, an early romance with Aurora showed that was not the case. Aurora loved Klaus, giving Klaus hope that he could be more than the evil Mikael had claimed him to be. But Elijah ruined that. When Elijah discovers compulsion for the first time, he does not use it to let Aurora let Klaus go lightly. Instead, he encourages Aurora to use the most harmful method of using Klaus’ fears against him, making them seem like reality.
Elijah had compelled Aurora to tell Klaus that she views him as the monster he fears becoming. Her speech broke his heart and sent Klaus on a much darker path because he genuinely believed her words. Although everything Klaus does next is entirely his own decision, Elijah could have changed his wording to make Aurora’s rejection less painful. Or, later on, Elijah could have tried to be more empathetic toward Klaus and allowed him to try to see himself differently. Elijah could have even come clean and revealed the truth about his involvement in Aurora’s rejection of Klaus at any point over the centuries. As it stood, Elijah’s compulsion was meant to keep him and his siblings safe from Mikael. Still, he allowed Klaus to continue thinking badly of himself because of Aurora’s comments, even though Elijah knew they were false.
Hypocritical About Family Values
No one hurts Elijah’s family and lives. Except, well, that is not true in the least. Elijah delivers that line early on in The Originals as a way to protect Klaus. But, at that point in time, Elena Gilbert, Jeremy Gilbert, and Matt Donovan had all been responsible for the deaths of Elijah’s other brothers, Finn and Kol. So, why did Elena, Jeremy, and Matt get to live if Elijah believed in protecting his family? Was it plot armor in The Vampire Diaries because Elena, Jeremy, and Matt were central characters? Even if Elijah did not kill the Mystic Falls gang for killing two of his brothers, he never seems to act out against them for it, either. Instead, they all remain perfectly intact for killing two Originals.
If Rebekah’s life is at stake, Elijah cares more often, and if it is Klaus, Elijah will step in. Elijah made his entire life about finding redemption for Klaus. But why didn’t he care about doing something similar for Kol, who had appeared to lose his way too? In The Vampire Diaries, Elijah appears disgusted by how long Kol and Finn have been in boxes, with Kol roughly a century and Finn over nine hundred. However, due to flashbacks in The Originals, the continuity of Elijah’s annoyance toward this is self-righteous at best. Elijah was well aware of how long it had been since Kol had been daggered, considering Elijah had helped put him there. As for Finn, even if he was considered a danger, Elijah was still well aware of how long it had been and had done nothing to argue in the eldest brother’s favor.
Chose to Forget Everything
Elijah believes his decision to remove his memories and emotional attachments to the last thousand years is a grand sacrifice. Knowing he can never be close to his siblings again due to keeping the Hollow inside of him, Elijah would rather forget everything than risk being unable to come to his family’s rescue, mainly believing that if Klaus were to go down the deep end that Elijah would not have it in him not to help. However, Elijah’s decision only causes adverse side effects. While Elijah gets to spend years with an unburdened existence, his choice also ensures that not only will he forget Hope, but that Hope will once again lose a member of her family by not having a relationship with her uncle. Elijah would rather forget his entire family than only speak with them over the phone or through video chat.
The Mikaelson siblings had been apart before, although previously through voluntary choice. Still, Elijah’s decision to separate himself from everyone also plays a role in Hayley’s death when Elijah is on the opponent’s side. When Elijah chooses to die beside Klaus, as he no longer sees a reason to live with Klaus dead, he is once again leaving his family behind when they could have needed him.
