| “ | Clearly you've heard the man's version of the story; the one where I'm a back-stabbing lunatic who ruined everything for Silas, a raging bitch witch whose obsession with vengeance created a whole new dimension of suffering in the afterlife. | ” |
The Afterlife is a metaphysical concept and the collective term used for the multiple planes of existence which are reachable through physical death, in which one exists in an incorporeal state.
While "finding peace" is presumed to lead to the naturally existing, final spiritual realm for souls, there have been other spiritual realms which were unnaturally created through witchcraft or by other means. These other dimensions include Hell or "Oblivion", the Other Side, and the Ancestral Plane, all of which can either trap or prevent souls from moving on to the natural aspects of the afterlife.
The Other Side[]
Origins[]
Two thousand years ago in Ancient Greece, the powerful witch Qetsiyah created the Immortality Spell for her lover, Silas. However, when she discovered that Silas was in fact in love with her handmaiden Amara, an enraged Qetsiyah created the supernatural purgatory known as the Other Side using the newly immortal Amara as the binding object for the spell. The Other Side was meant to keep Silas from finding peace with Amara, but it also trapped other deceased supernatural beings.
Disintegration[]
Shortly after Bonnie Bennett was made the Anchor by Qetsiyah, the Travelers used this as an opportunity to resurrect their leader, Markos. The doppelgänger blood used in their spell reacted negatively to the magic keeping the Other Side intact, slowly unraveling it as a result. Consequently, the Other Side's inhabitants were being transported to their original afterlife destinations. The Other Side itself eventually collapsed completely, freeing the supernatural creatures from its purgatory and allowing their souls to enter the original aspects of the afterlife once more.
Concepts of Heaven and Hell[]
The original spiritual realms of the afterlife have been somewhat of a vague matter, being only mentioned through brief conversations about death. It is implied that the concepts of Heaven and Hell do exist in some form, known as "finding peace" or being "sucked into oblivion." Jenna Sommers, Sheila Bennett, and Lexi Branson are among those confirmed to have found peace, whereas Katherine Pierce, Vicki Donovan, Silas, and others have been forcibly sucked into oblivion.
Limbo[]
Limbo is a desolate purgatory-like plane of existence, seemingly just out of reach of Peace. By all appearances, it reflects the natural world devoid of the living. Spirits of the recently deceased typically appear on this plane of existence momentarily before moving on to their intended afterlife. Depending on the situation, Peace can be granted to the spirit, depicted as a bright white, blinding light. Spirits can move on from Limbo by walking into the light and crossing over into Peace. Other spirits, however, can be denied Peace, and their spirit is forced to linger within Limbo, seemingly never able to move on.
Trivia[]
- According to Qetsiyah, she created the Other Side to ensure that, should Silas take the cure and die as a witch, he would end up on the Other Side with her for eternity. It seemed that before this time, supernatural creatures and non-supernatural creatures would have ended up in the same place upon death, though it's possible that there are multiple dimensions where one's spirit could end up.
- According to Vincent, the Ancestral Plane was created so New Orleans witches could linger on to be given a safe place to land after their hard life comes to an end.
- As long as a soul has yet to enter "peace" or "oblivion", there is a possibility for them to be resurrected.
- In The Originals: The Rise, Hugo Rey's soul is summoned but it's unknown if his soul was summoned from the Other Side or elsewhere because he died as an untriggered werewolf.
- Because Tyler Lockwood died as an untriggered werewolf in Home and went to The Other Side before being resurrected in the same episode, it is highly likely that Hugo Reys came from the Other Side.
- According to Julie Plec, the rest of the Other Side might have been sucked into the afterlife.[1]