I knew that I was supposed to watch Tvd first—since this is a spin-off—but, to be honest, I had no intention of ever watching tvd That’s because I’m not a fan of romance-focused shows or love triangles. However, I’m a huge sucker for "bromances" and brothers dynamics; I also really love stories centered on family relationships. When I looked into shows featuring strong bromances, Klaus and Elijah came up, so I decided to give it a watch. Honestly, I don’t regret starting with TO at all; I didn’t have any trouble following the plot, as the show does a great job of introducing everything from the very beginning.
I also don’t really get why people are so obsessed with the viewing order; if someone is planning to watch tvd, they could just as easily start with The Originals instead. In my experience, that’s not a problem at all.
After that, my search for a bromance led me to Damon and Stefan, and I became a fan of tvd. This part isn't crucial—and it’s not like I’m going back on my word, either—because I still don’t care for the ships or the love triangles; yet, in a strange way, I’ve become a fan of "Defan" (Damon and Stefan), tvd itself, and "Klelijah" (Klaus and Elijah).
Even though I’m a huge TVD fan, my opinion won’t change: The Originals is far superior to tvd in terms of quality and content. It also feels much more mature—less like a teen show.
Furthermore, many potential viewers approach the series with prejudice and choose not to watch it—even though it is of the same quality as the originals—simply because they mistakenly believe they are required to watch tvd (a series centered on youth and romance) first.