Leah Pipes is ready to sink her teeth into what she believes will be the best season yet of The CW’s The Originals. Pipes and her The Originals co-stars participated in a Q&A with fans during the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con, and they also sat down for roundtable interviews to further discuss the third season of the popular series.
During our interview, Pipes praised the show’s writers and writer/executive producer Michael Narducci for the growth in her character over the previous two seasons and, in particular, how Cami will be evolving in season three.
“It’s really cool. I love the writers so much, and so anything they do I’m a huge fan of. But this season especially, I just feel like I get to shine in a way that, you know, you can’t shine when you’re in mourning, so Cami was in mourning last season but now she’s found her strength again in a really big way and it’s cool,” explained Pipes. “She’s really finding her place in New Orleans and in the world.”
Pipes says this season is heading an exciting direction. “The first three episodes I’m so excited about and I just feel like this is… You know, Cami, the first season she went through a lot of traumatic stuff. She lost her family, she lost everyone, and she told Marcel, ‘Once my uncle dies, I’m going to be alone.’ And then in season two she attaches herself to the Mikaelson family in a big way because of the loss of her own family. Obviously, she wants to see this family stay intact. And now I think season three she realizes very much, ‘Okay, the healing process is a healing process. I need to move on. I need to set boundaries from the Mikaelson family, from especially Klaus.’ And within those boundaries she sort of finds her own place in New Orleans,” explained Pipes.
The third season of The Originals will find new villains who, according to Pipes, will wind up making Klaus look like the good guy. “It’s these mysterious vampires and Cami gets involved, of course, because Cami always manages to get involved,” said Pipes, laughing. “She has gotten her degree and she’s been pulled into some weird things that have been happening around the Quarter. She kind of becomes like a forensic psychologist.”
But although she’s found her way, Pipes believes Cami will continue to try to get Klaus to see the error of his ways. “I was just talking to Michael [Narducci] who’s our brilliant executive producer and he said, ‘I think Cami goes to bed at night trying to figure out how she can help save Klaus. By helping to save Klaus, she actually saves the lives of so many people he would go after.’ I think he sees in her a darkness. She saw her twin brother – a mirror of her – slip into that darkness and so for her she’s just wondering when she’s going to slip into that darkness because she feels like it’s in her.
I think he sees that darkness in her, even if she doesn’t quite understand it herself,” said Pipes. “But I think we’re going to potentially see that darkness from her this season, and we’re going to see Cami and Klaus’ relationship develop in the complicated relationship that it is. I don’t know if…she’s admitted feelings but it’s not a cut-and-dry ‘this is a romance’ story. It’s much more complicated and nuanced than that, which I personally prefer.”
Asked about the darkness within Cami, Pipes said, “I think there’s some things that will bring out a darkness in her. And honestly, I don’t know this; it was just mentioned. The writers are so funny. They’re like, ‘We might see a dark side.’ I’m like, ‘Really? That’s so exciting.’ And then maybe it never happens and I’m totally wrong,” said Pipes, laughing. “But I do think she has a dark side. I do. The reason she’s so drawn to Klaus is because she herself has a dark side and she sees herself in him. I think she sees herself in the scary parts that she doesn’t like about him. She sees the scary parts of herself that she doesn’t like about herself potentially. So it’s a whole new side of Cami this season.”
More on The Originals season 3: Phoebe Tonkin Interview / Daniel Gillies Interview / Danielle Campbell Interview
Watch the full interview with Leah Pipes on The Originals season three:
