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This might be a good explanation for why Klaus so pointlessly sacrificed both Elijah and himself.
I think another thing that plays into it is Klaus's promise to Hayley that he would do ANYTHING to save their daughter, and now that there's a chance for him to fulfill it, he takes it. They could have killed Hollow through so many other ways, but no, this is the one Klaus settled on cause it was his only way out of his own misery and to see through his vow to avenge Hayley.
( Reminds me of how in Castlevania we find out that Dracula's whole destroy the world campaign is just a grandscale suicide act after the killing of his beloved wife.)
But of course it goes without saying that if it actually came to sacrificing himself for Hope he would gladly do it, especially if it's a way to keep both his daughter and the mother of his child safe.
All in all, though, as I have said so many times before to him, Hope and Hayley are a static pair. Both of them or not at all, it's non-negotiable to him. (An example is when he exiles Hayley and binds her in her wolf form, we see mainly Freya or even Elijah care for Hope, and while Klaus is present, he isn't as involved)
What's for sure is that he loves Hope and Hayley the most and to extreme lengths, which are at times overwhelming.
Klaus was stuck in a torturous loop of self loathing and self destruction
He had lost everything he had, was completely estranged from the only people he actually felt safe with, people that made him feel less lonely (his biggest fear)
Hayley's death sent him over the edge and he felt responsible for what happened, he had admitted to staying away from her for the simple fact he felt like he was failing her and hope, and fear he'll only hurt them more and he only realized staying away did more harm than good far too late
Had it been about hope he would've either 1) not have killed Elijah because that was pointless, he left hope an orphan and Elijah was the only perfect person to look after her and Klaus was more than okay with killing him proving he no longer really meant shit to him after his indirect role in killing Hayley (he was ready to die for him every other day in the previous seasons)
And 2) since he gave no fucks about Elijah he could've let him die alone and stay with his daughter who he admitted clearly needed him
Instead he hit two birds with one stone, he gave Elijah what he thought he deserved and he died to simply get out of the responsibility of actually caring for his daughter, he knew he had nothing to offer her especially without Hayley there to help him so he thought the only thing he might give her is his death
Till his very last breath he was running away from facing his fear of turning into Mikael and failing as a father
And Hayley who was the biggest part of parenthood to him was lost so he had ultimately nothing to stay for
what are your favorite klayley parallels?
That's such a hard question. I love them all since they emphasize the growth of this extremely intimate and unbreakable bind between Klaus and Hayley than once solidified has never wavered. It's like a prophecy that says:
Yes, Klaus Mikaelson the Great Evil is the smartest, scariest, strongest creature on the face of earth with millenia worth of paranoia, trust issues, anger and grief and none can put a name to what atrocity he would commit next but trust him to do everything under the sun and otherwise to keep Hayley safe. Come hell or highwater. Trust him to have this firm belief that his confidant, his best friend, the woman he loves the most would never turn her back on him, nor lose faith in him.
But since you asked, here's a few I absolutely love:
More than you know (It’s practically a love confession when said with I trust you and I miss you)
Hayley consistently believing in Klaus and not giving up on him
Klaus repeatedly emphasising that all the good in hope came from Hayley(merciful unlike me)
Both of them wanting the other dead and yet going to every length imaginable to protect each other
Queen's don't run parallel (It shows how deeply Klaus impacts her)
These are only the first ones that come to mind, I love them all just as well. Thanks for asking, it's a lovely question.
I think Klaus regressing back to his original nature had a lot to do with the number of situations that kept getting out of hand for him in season 5. And those purist freaks literally mutilated Hayley and binded her wolf side. Klaus is the only one who can understand the excruciating pain that comes with it. It's justified that all he wanted was mass slaughter at that point. The amount of blood of Hayley's he had to see smeared in places(the coffin, the house) must have made him go insane with rage. (At that point, I was literally all in for a full-on massacre cause Hayley was nothing if not just and kind towards all factions)
As for Camilie and Caroline, yes, he had some amount of concern for them, but they had no sway over Klaus's actions or nature at all. Nowhere near Hayley did. Yup, the people who say that are both stupid and blind.
If you think Camille or worse, Caroline contributed to Klaus's character development you're stupid because he kinda had none