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The relationship between the Original Vampire Elijah Mikaelson and the Upgraded Original Vampire Marcel Gerard. Elijah and Marcel's relationship began in the 1800's after Elijah's brother Klaus adopted Marcel into their family when he was a child. The two were very close for a time, until Elijah purposely pushed Marcel away to improve the boy's relationship with Klaus. Since the Mikaelsons' return to New Orleans, Elijah and Marcel have worked both together as allies and against each other as enemies. Currently, the two maintain a prickly but tolerant working relationship while they rebuild their vampire community following their loss of control over the city.
History
Elijah and young Marcel.
Marcel and Elijah first met in 1820, when Elijah, Rebekah, and Klaus met Marcel at the funeral of the Governor's son, Emil, who was also Rebekah's former boyfriend and Marcel's half-brother. After Klaus witnessed Marcel being verbally and physically abused by the slave-master on the Governor's plantation, Klaus killed the slave-master and brought Marcel back to the Mikaelson compound to live with him and his siblings, giving him the name Marcellus. From there, Elijah began homeschooling Marcel in various subjects, such as teaching him to read and how to play the piano. During their lessons together, Elijah and Marcel began to grow very close, and Marcel idolized Elijah's ability to play the piano, admitting that he wanted to learn how to play like he did. Shortly afterward, Elijah began to worry that his relationship with Marcel was beginning to have a negative effect on Klaus and his general behavior when Klaus, feeling lonely as a result of the amount of time Marcel and Elijah were spending together, decided to undagger their wild brother Kol so the two could have some fun together.
However, Kol's return to their life resulted in several tense encounters between the brothers, which came to a head when Kol decided to test Elijah and Klaus' loyalty to him. He invited Marcel to watch some actors perform Hamlet in the courtyard, complete with the compelled actors killing each other with swords, and fed him his blood so that he could be turned into a vampire like the rest of the family. It was then that Klaus and Elijah realized Marcel wasn't safe with Kol around, so Elijah and Klaus daggered Kol once again to protect him. Elijah, afraid of the consequences Klaus' jealousy and subsequent extreme behavior as a result of Elijah's relationship with Marcel, decided to purposely treat Marcel cruelly and sacrifice the bond he had with the young boy in favor of the possibility of Klaus' redemption through caring for Marcel. This ultimately became one of many relationships Elijah felt obligated to sacrifice in the name of Klaus' happiness.
As Marcel grew up, Elijah and Marcel presumably maintained a chilly but mostly amiable relationship, as evidenced by their interactions after Marcel returned home from fighting in World War I in 1919. However, when Marcel and Rebekah succeeded in luring Mikael to New Orleans in hopes of chasing Klaus away and allowing them to finally be in a relationship, Mikael ravaged the town, killing many of the city's supernatural creatures and forcing Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah to flee their home in the French Quarter for nearly a century. Following their encounter with Mikael in 1919, it was presumed that Marcel had been killed by their father in the chaos, and according to Klaus, each of the Mikaelson siblings mourned him in their own ways; it wasn't until Klaus and Elijah returned to New Orleans in 2011 that they finally learned that Marcel was not only still alive, but had taken control of the supernatural community in their absence.
Throughout The Originals Series
Marcel and Elijah make a deal.
At the party at the Abattoir, Marcel inadvertently started a fight with Klaus when he said that New Orleans was his town, and when Klaus continued to taunt him, Marcel ranted that while Klaus made him the man he is today, it was his work that restored order in New Orleans after Klaus ran away like a coward. This angered Klaus so much that he bit Marcel's right-hand-man Thierry, which put Elijah's plans to protect Hayley Marshall-Kenner and the baby by joining forces with Sophie and the witches in danger.
To try to salvage his deal with the witches, Elijah tracked down Marcel, who was instructing his vampire minions to find Klaus and tell him where he was, as he knew how to deal with him. Elijah tried to use this opportunity to find out how Marcel controlled the witches, but Marcel refused to tell him. Elijah then managed to convince Marcel to release Jane-Anne's body to him, in exchange for Elijah sending Klaus to heal Thierry's hybrid bite, hoping that returning Jane-Anne's body to the witches would be a sign of good faith to buy him some time to convince Klaus to embrace the baby and Hayley into their family. When talking to Rebekah on the phone, Elijah appeared to be of the opinion that Marcel had become arrogant in the decades since they left New Orleans, and referred to how "confident" he had grown in their absence. Elijah was later daggered by Klaus and given to Marcel as a peace offering to try to regain his trust, in hopes that Elijah being taken out of the picture would reassure the vampires who were nervous about the Originals returning to town.
In Sinners and Saints, Elijah, having accidentally been undaggered by Davina, tried to persuade her to work with him against Marcel in exchange for Elijah sharing the spells in Esther's grimoire with her. That night, Elijah broke up a fight between Marcel and Klaus and insisted to Marcel that if anyone would be teaching Klaus a lesson, it would be himself.
In Bloodletting, Elijah and Marcel's interactions during Elijah and Klaus' attempt to find Hayley were frosty and antagonistic at best; Elijah made a rude comment about the class and intelligence of Marcel's vampire army while knowing full well that they could hear them, and Marcel replied that he preferred Elijah when he was daggered in his coffin.
In The Casket Girls, Elijah and Marcel formed a very uneasy alliance in order to find Davina and protect her from Klaus. The two ultimately ended up working together to get a witch to cast a protection spell on her, which allowed her to come back to life after Klaus compelled Timothy to poison her.
In Long Way Back From Hell, Elijah, after learning about Rebekah and Marcel's scheme in 1919 to bring Mikael to New Orleans, and upset about the fact that this revelation forced Rebekah to leave New Orleans, angrily banished Marcel from the Quarter, only allowing him to leave with his life out of respect for his only sister.
In The Battle of New Orleans, Elijah awakened after being attacked by the Guerrera werewolves and realized that Hayley was gone. He immediately tracked down Marcel, believing he had taken Hayley, since he had been the one who led the vampire attack against the compound. When he demanded to know where Hayley was, Cami jumped between the two of them and insisted that Marcel didn't have Hayley and reminded him that he could trust her. Marcel then informed Elijah that Klaus had attacked and bit him before being incapacitated by a witch's spell, which led Elijah to go to the church to look for her.
In Rebirth, Marcel aided Elijah, Klaus, and Hayley in their plan to take out the Guerrera werewolf pack members who had the moonlight rings made out of Klaus' blood.
In Alive and Kicking, Elijah visited Marcel across the river to find that he was rebuilding his vampire community. He and Elijah made a deal, where Marcel would help Elijah find the missing white oak stake in exchange for Elijah allowing their community to continue. Marcel helped him get in contact with Davina in hopes that she could use a locator spell to find the stake, but when Davina figured out that Klaus and Elijah were involved, she refused, which led Elijah to the realization that Davina had the stake the whole time. They both tried to track her down so that Marcel could talk Davina into giving it back, and ended up finding her at Rousseau's, having first been attacked by werewolves under Esther and Finn's control, and then again by Mikael when she lost the bracelet she needed to control him. Elijah and Marcel saved her, and, in turn, Davina used her bracelet to force him to stop fighting Elijah and leave, though she was still not happy with Elijah or Marcel and fled before they could track her down. That night, Marcel informed Elijah that it was time that he picked a side in the now-brewing tensions in the city's supernatural community. He also reminded him that while he may feel inclined to join Klaus, Hayley, and the werewolves, he will never be one of them, which is why it would be in his best interest to join the vampires. He then snapped Gia's neck, after she had accepted Marcel's offer to become a vampire and drank his blood, and Marcel told Elijah that she would need a mentor when she woke up, one he hoped would be Elijah.
During the episode, there were also many flashbacks to 1821 experienced by Elijah, to a time when he and Marcel had a much stronger relationship. When Marcel had first come to live with the Mikaelsons, Elijah had taken him under his wing and began schooling him in the typical education of the time period. He was in the middle of a piano lesson with Marcel when Klaus returned home, drunk and bored, and revealed that he had undaggered their brother Kol to give himself some company, citing the fact that Elijah and Marcel were spending so much time together as the reason he needed another companion. Klaus and Kol then went on several blood-drinking benders, at one point killing nearly sixty people in a boarding house in a nearby town, which didn't please Elijah. Elijah argued that since Klaus and Kol were doing nothing to keep Mikael from eventually finding them, Marcel was going to need to be sent off to a safer home, but Klaus refused to allow it, going so far as to say that he would sooner redagger Kol than allow Marcel to be sent away.
Kol, jealous of the attention and loyalty Marcel was receiving from his brothers, fed Marcel some of his blood before compelling some actors to perform Hamlet for them, complete with live killings via sword. Elijah and Klaus arrived just as Kol had killed one of the actors for getting the dialogue wrong, and they were so upset that Kol nearly killed and turned Marcel when he was still a child that they daggered Kol, both in punishment and to protect Marcel. It was then that Elijah realized that his relationship with Marcel was having a negative effect on Klaus, and decided that Klaus' bond with Marcel was more important to Klaus' future happiness. He then purposely treated Marcel rudely by telling him that he was bored of him, that the world did not revolve around him, and by telling Klaus that Marcel was his burden to bear right in front of him. Klaus felt so badly for the boy after Elijah's cruel behavior that he took him away to comfort Marcel himself, the exact reaction that Elijah was hoping would happen.
In Every Mother's Son, Elijah went to Marcel's apartment to ask for his help in finding a cooperative witch who was willing to do a soul-branding spell on Esther. Marcel, still wanting Elijah to take the newly-turned Gia under his wing, sent Gia with Elijah to go visit his friend Lenore, a witch who owned a convenience store across the river. Elijah resisted Marcel's attempts to convince him to mentor Gia at first, but after a disastrous dinner with his mother and eldest brother Finn - during which Finn told him that he had accomplished nothing in a thousand years but bloodshed and violence - ultimately decided that he wanted to help Gia learn how to embrace her new supernatural abilities. That night, Marcel revealed to Gia that his goal was to help strengthen their new vampire community by getting Elijah to appreciate it as well, in hopes that he would eventually come to see all of them as his family.
In Live and Let Die, Marcel and Elijah teamed up to teach the new vampires how to fight against werewolves after an attack at Marcel's apartment, knowing that another confrontation between the two communities was inevitable. They later worked together with Hayley, Aiden, Oliver, and Josh to help rescue the teenaged werewolves who were about to be forced to trigger their curses by Finn.
In City Beneath The Sea, Elijah stands in front of Klaus's desiccated body and coffin. Marcel walks up to Elijah and Elijah tells him he now knows Klaus didn't kill Aiden. Marcel asked him who did it. Marcel asks Elijah if he will undagger Klaus. Elijah said he doesn't want to "unleash that Shakespearean rage" And now that Klaus was out the way. Marcel told Elijah he needs to think like Klaus.
In Ashes to Ashes, they lay Gia's body to rest with two other bodies. Elijah takes Gia's violin and Marcel lights the bodies on fire.
In For the Next Millennium, after Marcel got a fighting cage at St. Anne's Church . Elijah has been going there to fight Marcel. He goes there to take his anger he has towards Klaus on Marcel.
In I'll See You in Hell or New Orleans, Marcel assists Elijah and Klaus while they question Lucien Castle about the serial killings happening around New Orleans. Marcel investigates this further to try and uncover if Lucien is responsible for the killings, even Josh assists him. However, Marcel is later sidetracked when a mysterious woman approaches Marcel in his loft. Aya Al-Rashid approaches Marcel with an "offer he can't refuse." Marcel attempts to fight her off, which ends sourly for him being Aya has centuries of fighting experience over Marcel. Elijah interrupts them before Aya leaves her card for Marcel to consider applying for the Strix. Marcel watches Elijah and Aya's reunion distastefully before Aya lets herself out of Marcel's loft. Elijah rebukes Marcel to be careful about who he trusts. Marcel then responds saying that Elijah should know who his friends are and that he is going to need them. Elijah sighs and then leaves Marcel alone in his loft to contemplate his offer to join the Strix.
In A Walk on the Wild Side, Elijah and Marcel, along with Hayley Marshall-Kenner, decide to attend the Strix's gala. Elijah and Marcel agree to let Marcel apply to the Strix in order to gather intelligence from the Strix's inner circle and its leader, Tristan de Martel. Marcel successfully becomes a member of the Strix's inner circle thanks to the help of Elijah and Hayley.
In The Axeman's Letter, after confronting Tristan about a possibility of a threat headed Elijah's way, Elijah goes to Marcel and asks him to keep tabs on Tristan to try and find out what exactly Tristan and the Strix are hiding. After having one of Marcel's men tail a member of the Strix, he comes to find out that Lucien and Tristan are working together. This doesn't sit well with Elijah when Marcel breaks the news to him.
In Beautiful Mistake, Elijah, Hayley and Marcel ally together to go to the Strix's party in order to get Marcel inside the Strix. This worked out when Marcel defeated Mohinder, a longtime member of the Strix, and became a member of Tristan de Martel's inner circle.
In The Other Girl in New Orleans, Marcel and Elijah stage a coup d'ètat and Marcel gains Tristan's trust by kidnapping him from Mikaelson imprisonment. Thanks to this fake uprising by Marcel, Tristan now trusts Marcel enough to induct him inside the Strix's inner circle. Marcel later checks up on Elijah and they both are smiling triumphantly at how their staged fight worked in favor of the Mikaelsons. Marcel now has access to all the Strix's inside secrets.
In Alone with Everybody, Marcel helps Elijah by locating and stealing back the white oak bullet from Sofya and her quest to bid away the white oak bullet. Elijah and Marcel are successful in obtaining the bullet. At the end of the episode, they share a drink at the Mikaelson Compound and discuss the events of the day. They both acknowledge that there are more threats ahead of them all.
In Where Nothing Stays Buried, Marcel begs Elijah and Freya to help with the resurrection of Davina Claire. Elijah and Freya end up betraying Marcel and Kol by using Davina to get to Lucien Castle. This works out for the Mikaelson family, but this destroys Marcel and Elijah's friendship.
In Give 'Em Hell Kid, Marcel is fed up with the Mikaelsons destroying everything he loves. So he teams up with Vincent Griffith against the Mikaelsons and contributes to the destruction of the Ancestors' turf, crippling the Ancestral Spirits' power. Elijah later confronts him and kills him, which starts Marcel's transition into the Beast. This destroys Marcel and Elijah's broken friendship even more so.
In The Bloody Crown, Marcel decides to storm the Mikaelson Compound with Klaus' former sireline and bites Elijah, along with Kol, with his deadly bite as a new, Enhanced Vampire. Elijah later suffers and starts to die from his bite. Elijah is forced to undergo a temporary slumber, spelled by Freya, until Hayley finds a cure for the rest of the Mikaelson family.Quotes
Season One
- Marcel: (in a phone conversation with one of his vampires) "I know how to handle Klaus."
- Elijah: "Is that so? Please elaborate."
- Marcel: "Elijah Mikaelson."
- Elijah: "It's time we had a little chat."
- -- Always and Forever
Season Two
- Marcel: (Elijah meeting Marcel in an alley. Where Gia is playing her violin) "Let me guess Davina is nowhere to be found. She wasn't in the attic, wasn't near the lycée."
- Elijah: "I have people looking all over this city. She is gone. No doubt to protect Mikael while he recovers from the wounds he sustained."
- Marcel: "She's scared, what do you expect?"
- Elijah: "If I discover that you had even the slightest suspicion that she brought Father back."
- Marcel: "Yeah, What? You gonna threaten me? My people? I mean, get in line. The witches hate us, the wolves can kill us anytime they like. I can't even go into the quarter without risking my damn life, and I used to run the quarter. And now Mikael's back-- the vampire who hunts vampires. You really think that works in my favor? You want help finding Davina? I need to know where you stand. Now, Klaus is on team wolf. What are you?"
- Elijah: "I don't do teams".
- Marcel: "I'm sorry, but that's not an option. See, you're an Original. Every vampire that's ever been sired is an extension of you and your family. Now, you can walk away from that, and side with Klaus and the wolves, but you're not one of them, and you never will be. You want allies, right? Look around. This is ground zero for a new vampire community. Now, you may think you're better than us, but we're all you got".
- Elijah: "And why would I play benefactor to a collection of lost children?"
- Marcel: "That's right. You never were any good with children. But, like it or not, vampires exist because of you".
- (Marcel walks over to Gia)
- Marcel: "And these folks are gonna need your help".
- (Marcel snaps her neck in front of Elijah)
- Marcel: "Her name's Gia. I fed her my blood a few hours ago. When she wakes up, she's gonna need a mentor. I hope that you do better with her than you did with me".
Season Three
- Elijah: "I could have warned you."
- Marcel: "Look, I didn't tell you I was coming tonight because --"
- Elijah: "-- I wouldn't have allowed it."
- Marcel: "Yeah. There's that word: allowed. You know, I thought I'd earned the right to be considered an equal, but that's not the way it works in your family. So, it's time I consider my options. If nothing else, The Strix aren't interested in me as a sidekick."
Gallery
Trivia
- Though Marcel likes Klaus and Rebekah, he does not like Elijah, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.
- In Alive and Kicking, it was revealed that this was not always the case - in 1821, Elijah and Marcel were actually extremely closed, but Elijah sacrificed his close bond with the boy when he realized it would be better for both if Klaus was the one who was close to him instead.
- As of the second season, Marcel and Elijah appear to be slowly rebuilding their friendship.
- In The Casket Girls, Elijah and Marcel formed an uneasy alliance together to find Davina.
- Elijah exiled Marcel from the French Quarter after he learned of Marcel's role in Mikael finding them in New Orleans in 1919, and promised that if he ever saw him in the Quarter again, he would kill him.
- It appears that this punishment from Elijah has been lifted as of the second season. However, since Esther and Finn were ruling the town through control over the witches and the werewolves, Marcel, as a vampire, still risks death on sight by the aforementioned groups if he returns to the Quarter.
- Elijah was surprised to see Marcel in the Strix Gala.
- In The Other Girl in New Orleans, Marcel stabs Elijah with a stake to earn the faith of Tristan.
- But he didn't stake Elijah with the Cursed Stake as he was told as he didn't really want to harm Elijah.
- Elijah betrayed him by letting Freya Mikaelson use Davina Claire in a spell. He also killed Marcel not knowing that Marcel drank a serum.
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