New Orleans in The Originals was never just about the vampires. Honestly, if you strip away the Mikaelson drama, the heart of the show’s first few seasons was a sixteen-year-old girl hiding in a church attic. Davina Claire wasn't just another side character; she was the literal power source for an entire city.
People often forget how terrifying she actually was when she first hit the screen. She was this tiny, soft-spoken girl who could melt an Original’s brain with a flick of her wrist. But the show did something really interesting with her. Instead of making her a simple villain or a hero, they made her a victim of a system that treated young women like batteries.
The Harvest Ritual Mess
The whole "Harvest Girl" thing is kinda dark when you actually think about it. The French Quarter coven basically told four teenage girls they’d take a little nap and wake up with upgraded powers. Total lie. They were meant to be sacrificed—throat-slit style—to appease the Ancestors.
Davina only survived because Marcel Gerard crashed the party.
Because the ritual was interrupted, Davina ended up absorbing the magic meant for all four girls. It made her a walking nuclear reactor of magical energy. She couldn't even cough without windows shattering. Marcel didn't just save her to be nice, though he did truly love her like a daughter; he used her as a secret weapon to control the witches. It’s a complicated dynamic that most fans still argue about. Was he protecting her, or was he just another person using her for what she could do?
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Why She Hated Klaus So Much (And Why She Was Right)
You’ve probably seen the edits of Davina versus Klaus Mikaelson. Fans love to pick sides, but realistically? Davina’s hatred was 100% justified. Klaus didn't see a girl; he saw a nuisance that interfered with his takeover of the city.
- He poisoned her first crush, Tim.
- He threatened Marcel constantly.
- He viewed her magic as a tool for his own gain.
The moment she used her power to make Klaus suffer—actually making him double over in pain—was a huge turning point. It showed that the "big bad" Original hybrid wasn't untouchable. Davina represented the first real threat to the Mikaelson ego in New Orleans. Even when she eventually married into the family (we’ll get to the Kol of it all in a second), she never really stopped calling them out on their nonsense.
The Kol Mikaelson Romance: A Messy Redemption
If you’re looking for a "ship" that defined the series, Kol and Davina (Kennett) is it. It started in season 2 with Kol in Kaleb Westphall’s body. Most people thought it was a trick. I mean, it was a trick at first. Kol was supposed to manipulate her for his mother, Esther.
But then they actually fell in love.
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It changed the trajectory of both characters. Davina found someone who actually understood what it was like to be a "black sheep" with too much power, and Kol found a reason to stop being a complete psychopath. Their relationship was tragic, though. Between Kol accidentally killing her while cursed by the Ancestors and Davina spending years trying to bring him back, it wasn't exactly a fairytale.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Power
There’s this ongoing debate in the fandom: Is Davina stronger than Bonnie Bennett? Honestly, it’s like comparing apples to hand grenades. Davina’s power in Season 1 wasn't "hers"—it was borrowed Harvest energy. When she lost that, she had to rely on traditional magic and her own grit. But then she became Regent of the Nine Covens. That gave her access to the power of every dead witch in New Orleans.
She eventually unlinked the sirelines, which is one of the most massive magical feats in the entire Vampire Diaries universe. She basically told the most powerful vampires in history that their lives were no longer tied to the Originals. That’s boss energy.
Davina’s Legacy and the Legacies Cameo
By the time The Originals ended, Davina finally got what she wanted: a life away from the French Quarter. She and Kol left New Orleans to travel. While she didn't physically appear in the final season of Legacies, we know from Kol's dialogue that they are still happily married.
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She went from a scared kid in an attic to a woman who broke the rules of the supernatural world to keep the people she loved safe.
What to do next if you're a Davina fan:
- Watch Season 3, Episode 14 ("A Streetcar Named Desire"): This is arguably her best episode, where she finally breaks the sireline.
- Track the "Sisters" Arc: Re-watch the episodes where she joins the Strix’s coven of witches. It shows a much darker, more calculated side of her magic that often gets overlooked.
- Compare her to Hope Mikaelson: Think about how Davina's struggle with "borrowed" power mirrors Hope’s struggle with her innate tribrid nature. It’s a cool parallel that the writers didn't lean into enough.
Davina Claire proved that you don't need a thousand years of history to stand up to the people who think they own the world. She was the moral compass—and the magical muscle—that New Orleans didn't know it needed.