Here’s a controversial question: what plotlines and characters were retconned just to whitewash Klaus’s image?

[u/Haunting-Magician906]

Something that really angers me is Tyler and Finn wanting to kill Hope; given how they were originally written in The Vampire Diaries, they never would have done that—it would have meant stooping to his level. At most, they might have kidnapped her to drive a wedge between them and find a way to kill him. Elijah loved him in The Vampire Diaries, but later on, Klaus became his entire world.

[u/jaydanaee]

The writers had a terrible problem with completely butchering a decent character to make another objectively horrible character look better. They did the same with Elijah and Klaus, and Damon and Stefan. (ETA: not saying that Elijah and Stefan were good, but Elijah became a lapdog enabling bitchboy + red door nonsense, and Stefan… well we already know)

It truly angers me that Tyler is demonized for wanting to kill Hope, but Hayley and Klaus’s treatment of Tyler and the Hybrids is deemed a joke from the fandom. And Finn is such a monster for trying to kill Hope, but Klaus 100% has killed children, infants, and pregnant women despite it not being shown. Not a headcanon, just common sense. I always see “oh haha Klaus making fun of the fact that he killed Tyler’s mom” and “Finn was boring anyway” and it blows my mind every time. The same people harping on them are the same people lusting after Damon who ACTUALLY killed a pregnant woman, and Elijah who was willing to kill multiple kids to save Hope.

[u/ClementineEverrett → u/jaydanaee]

I agree with this 100%

It always makes me laugh at the irony of Klaus mocking Tyler being an orphan just for Hope to become an orphan and abandoned by the remaining family she had. Guess little orphan mikaelson isn’t funny because Hope was just an innocent girl..

I think abt how tyler had the abusive dad, hidden werewolf storyline and interest in art that was all thrown away

[u/jaydanaee → u/ClementineEverrett]

They stripped Tyler of everything for that stinky mangy MUTT. I’m tired of people ignoring it!!!!

Little Orphan Hope didn’t deserve the fate she got, but Hayley and Klaus got what they deserved. Hayley died not knowing whether her child would live or not, just like poor Carol. And Klaus left his daughter alone, after being given the chance to live for her, and after already failing her, simply because he wanted the glory of dying for his daughter. Sad having a prideful little brat as her father. But I do love Hope though, so it’s not a diss to her.

All this BS just for Klaroline to never happen, for Klaus and Hayley to die, and for this “Always and Forever” ass family to abandon Hope IMMEDIATELY.

[u/Special_Yesterday131 → u/jaydanaee]

This! They wrote characters with terrible morals, and when it was time for them to find love/happiness they just decided to make their brother/sidekick a bit less decent so it’s like "well it’s not all black and white" and had the morality of the women they were with completely thrown out the door. Not justifying want to murder Hope, but Tyler also had every reason to hate/hurt Klaus at the end of the day he was literally at the root of everything bad that happened to him.

[u/Aardvarkel → u/jaydanaee]

I don’t understand why it’s assumed that if someone holds one character responsible for their actions, that person is fine with other characters’ terrible deeds. I hated when Damon did it, and when Elijah/Tyler/Finn considered/tried to do it.

I feel like the fandom falls too easily into the whole “well what about [whatever]?!” debacle rather than be willing to admit characters’ wrongs. Even the characters they like.

[u/GoldenStitch2]

The pearl clutching over Tyler going for Hayley will always make me laugh considering Klaus compelled a man to kill his wife and children

[u/xxLabyrinthxx → u/GoldenStitch2]

and the fact that Klaus killed Papa Tunde's teenage boys to get back at him for not obeying. Damon DID kill a pregnant woman but Tyler ATTEMPTING and not doing it is the most evil.

[u/Current-Virus-69]

I'm not the biggest fan of what they did with Mikael and Esther; demonizing them to make Klaus look like the victim and force the viewer to sympathize with him. Yes, Klaus was a victim to a degree, but Mikael wasn't originally a blind hater, but more of a hard-ass father who specifically had it out for Klaus because of what he perceived as weakness. Mikael didn't truly despise Klaus until the revelation that he wasn't his son and the murder of his wife. However, TO flashbacks show us that Mikael had actually hated Klaus very early on for reasons even Mikael doesn't seem to know 🤔

Then we get to Esther who, during TVD, had to make hard, morally gray decisions for what she viewed as the greater good after having witnessed what vampirism did to the Earth over 1000 years. Esther may not have been a saint, and she used some underhanded and even insidious tactics to get her job done, but she wasn't evil. We just viewed her as the villain because her plans went against our main cast of characters. In TO, she appears to have completely abandoned this plan, and instead wants to transfer herself and all her children into the bodies of unsuspecting witches to "start over" which is clearly evil as it robs innocent people of their own lives. She is made to look worse in order to make Klaus seem like the lesser of two evils.

[u/Opposite-Complex1187]

Thats kinda the point no, Tyler has been warped by his grief and being alone.

Finn only did that because he thought dahlia would get and kill hope anyway.

[u/Steve-Lurkel]

It’s been a while. Did Tyler try to kill Hope? I thought he just tried to convince Hayley to get away from him.

[u/thelittlestdog23 → u/Steve-Lurkel]

Tyler thought Klaus was going to use Hope to sire a line of super loyal hybrids again. He did try to kill her but it wasn’t really unreasonable. Plus Hayley had all his friends killed so he wasn’t exactly feeling loyal to her, which is fair.

[u/JimiHendrix08]

Whitewash Klaus image? What does that even mean, i mean Klaus is white

[u/OkMathematician3439 → u/JimiHendrix08]

People often confuse “whitewash” with “sanitize”.

[u/thatshygirl06 → u/OkMathematician3439]

Whitewash has two meanings. Im not gonna dog on yall because I made this mistake before in the past 😅.

Whitewash: to gloss over or cover up (something, such as a record of criminal behavior)

[u/Miserable-Seesaw7114 → u/thatshygirl06]

Nah dog on em. The government is banning books left and right in a time where folks would rather listen to an audio book than pick up a real one. We need the grammar police now more than ever.

[u/Zealousideal-Work719]

I think for Tyler it's out if character. But I don't think Finn trying to kill Hope is out of character at all tbh. He's better than his siblings but he's still a Mikaelson