'The Originals' season 4 spoilers, plot news: Baby Hope, Hayley to save the Mikaelsons; Marcel not the big bad

The last season finale of "The Originals" saw all the Mikaelsons, except Klaus, seemingly dead and Hayley preserving them. More than ever, fans are avidly awaiting the next season run, so they can find out what is next in store for Elijah, Kol, Freya and Rebekah. It has already been reported that Hayley will be their savior, although how she would do it was not explained.

Now it has come out that it is Hayley's daughter with Klaus, Baby Hope, who will be helping her out, once she has grown enough to use her powers. When the show comes back for season 4, Baby Hope will still be too young to use her powers. She will need to grow up really fast for the story to get to that saving part. Speculation has it that it is for this opportunity that a time jump will occur in the upcoming season 4 of "The Originals."

Executive producer Michael Narducci has confirmed this time jump, saying, "We are going to have a little bit of a time jump in between when the story ends at the end of the finale and when we pick up in Season 4. That experience in the time jump will be similar to what the audience is feeling. To me, in a way, it actually makes sense."

On another thread in the story, Marcel triumphed over the Mikaelsons finally wrenching their power from them, trapping Klaus and dealing with their clan none-too-gently. His deed may have earned him the title of villain, but his character was apparently meant to be that of a protagonist. This means that while he is some sort of bad guy, he is not quite the big bad that may wreak havoc next season.

"The Originals" season 4 is to air in January 2017 with no definite date as yet. This variation in the premiere schedule is intended to take advantage of the winter hiatus.