From the beginning of the series, THE ORIGINALS was about a brewing conflict between the vampires and witches — and now the werewolves. But the one pivotal piece on the chess board turned out to be a young teen witch, who has been inadvertently bestowed with all the power of all the ancestor witches of New Orleans. All that power proved too much for one young witch, and subsequently lead to her death. But as fortune smiled upon her, Davina was resurrected and is yet again the most desirable piece in the supernatural war.
In an exclusive interview, star Danielle Campbell talked about Davina’s struggles and her motivations as she tries to fit into a world of witches, werewolves and vampires — each who would love to manipulate her and use her incredible power.
Davina is like this prize in the tug of war between Marcel and Klaus. Who does she see herself more aligned with at this particular point in time?
DANIELLE: Right now, Klaus has killed her first love and her best friend Josh is constantly on the run from Klaus, so at this point, I think it is pretty safe to say that Davina doesn’t trust Klaus. But at the same time, Marcel who she loves and who saved her, he also betrayed her. So in a way, she’s not on either side. She doesn’t want to be used anymore and she’s wants to take a stand and really protect the ones that she does care about in any way that she can by harnessing her power and learning how to control it.
Is Davina wanting to keep her distance from both Klaus and Marcel, or is she willing to have some kind of relationship with Marcel or even Klaus?
DANIELLE: You saw that Marcel told her that Davina needs to go with the witches ’cause those were the only people that could help her at this point. So I think she doesn’t trust Marcel, but at the same time, she does love him. So I think she’s definitely more on the side of Marcel than she would be of Klaus.
How does Davina even see Klaus? Does she look at him with pure hatred, thinking “I’m going to get you” or does she think, “he’s not even worth my time”?
DANIELLE: I think you hit. One of the things that is really special about Davina is death is not something that is super common for her. It is something that hits her hard. Klaus kills a different person every day, and it means nothing. Life is not important to him with people he doesn’t know or care about. But to Davina it’s a really big thing. It’s important. Her mom died. She’s lost Tim, who was the one person that made her feel human and anything relevant to that. So she cares for people. And now, more so, she wants to protect people that she loves. Like Josh, Cami, Marcel — in any way that she can. I think that is a further drive for her to harness her power and really focus on controlling it.
How does Elijah figure into her world? Does she even consider him, or is he totally in Klaus’ world and she won’t even deal with him?
DANIELLE: Right now, their paths don’t cross much more than the fact that he’s a vampire and she’s a witch. Right now, he’s still the brother of the one who killed her first love. So I think she’s a bit thrown off by him. But you’ll see more interaction as the season wraps up.
That was always one of the more curious relationships, not in a romantic way, but as Davina was coming into herself and her power she was kind of looking towards Elijah to kind of teach her a bit and that was interesting.
DANIELLE: (Laughs) I completely agree with that!
Now that Davina is coming into her own power and she’s in control more, why does she want to stay close to the vampires? Is it to keep tabs on them, or is she still drawn to them in some way?
DANIELLE: She’s not as much with the vampires as she is alone. She’s trying to find her place in the coven and trying to figure out how her power works. She’s trying to focus on that and her relationship with the vampires right now is really with just Josh. She’s best friends with Josh and that’s the extent of her relationship with the vampires at the moment.
Davina and Josh’s relationship has always been kind of funny. They are friends obviously, but they are kind of like the comedy amongst all this drama, which is interesting.
DANIELLE: I think that’s really exciting. ‘Cause there is so much drama, action and all these crazy things going on, Josh is definitely the comic relief and their relationship kind of helps balance everything. I think that it adds a great aspect to the show.
Josh is obviously one of Davina’s friends. Who else would she consider, maybe amongst the coven, to be her friend at this point?
DANIELLE: I don’t think she’s friends with anyone in the coven. Monique used to be her best friend, then turned on her. So in relevance to the coven, she doesn’t trust anybody and she wouldn’t side with the coven if it came down to that. I think she is there because she doesn’t have a choice. She needs to learn how to use her power and the people that can teach her are witches. So I think she’s only there for that reason. I think the only other person that she trusts is Cami. So I think it’s Josh and Cami. Those are the only people she really trusts right now.
What is driving Davina right now? Is she coming from a place of love, hatred or fear? What is propelling her in her life right now?
DANIELLE: I think what Davina really wants is to learn how to use her powers so she doesn’t have to see any more deaths of people that she loves and cares about. She really wants to learn how to control it ‘ cause I think she is holding herself responsible for Tim’s death and all the deaths that she has seen so far. That affected her a lot. She wants to protect Josh because he’s constantly hiding from Klaus. She wants to protect Cami because she amidst all the supernaturals. And she wants to protect Marcel in this war with Klaus and Eljiah and everyone. So she really just wants to be able to protect the people that she loves.
Davina has an interesting role. She’s like the center of this pivot wheel. Everyone kind of reacts to different things around her while she’s right smack in the middle of it. Is there any inclination of how she is going to use that particular vantage point?
DANIELLE: There’s so many different sides to the war that is brewing in New Orleans right now. There’s the side of Klaus. There’s the side of Elijah. There’s Marcel. There’s the wolves. And there’s the witches. Davina is smack dab in the middle and I don’t think she even wants this war. She just wants the people she cares about to be safe. So right now because she can’t just join a side without it affecting other people, she’s trying to stay out of it and is really trying to focus on learning how to control her powers.
What do you most admire about her at this point since she’s grown up so much during this first season?
DANIELLE: She has. What I definitely admire about her is that she’s so human. You see Klaus killing off people like it is no problem. But death affects her. You see how much she really cares and how much she puts her heart and trust into people. You have seen her go from this innocent girl to a powerful young woman in just one season. So I think she’s really strong. That’s what I really admire: her strength and her ability to adapt so quickly. I think that’s something that is really commendable and it’s something that is really fun to play as an actress.
What are Davina’s feelings towards Hayley? That always seems to be an unexplored area. What does she think about the upcoming hybrid baby?
DANIELLE: Like the rest of New Orleans, Davina is well aware that this is a miracle baby and that this is a baby that everyone is out for. I think Davina respects Hayley. Hayley was one person right from the beginning that was straight up with her and was just bluntly honest. Davina definitely respects that. So Davina doesn’t like or dislike Hayley, but she also doesn’t know her yet. In the next couple of episodes, you kind of see that play out a little bit.
Then what can you tease about this next upcoming episode “The Big Uneasy”?
DANIELLE: There’s a great festival that goes on for the witches and you get to see Davina start to have her power back. You see more of her and Monique, and their relationship that has kind of gone south. And you get to see how Davina doesn’t really fit in with the coven. 
To see if Davina remains successful in staying out of the pending war and not forced to align with one faction or another, be sure to tune in for all new episodes of THE ORIGINALS on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. on the CW.
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVaddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).