It only gets better after the pilot but I'd say give it a couple episodes. Don't base it only on the pilot. The characters are all strongly made (and not even talking about the Original family) and I really like how different it is than TVD.

My crush is Elijah and I love the chemistry with a specific character, too. Totally out of nowhere in a way but just so awesome.

Anyway, not gonna spoil ya ;) :p