Elijah voices over that over the course of his life, he’s learned that we’re bound to our blood relatives forever. We may not choose our family, but that bond can be a strength. However, it can also be a regret. That’s haunted him for as long as he can remember.
300 years ago, two men are standing at the edge of the Mississippi River, looking out at a boat that appeared out of nowhere. One of them calls it a miracle ship. They go out with some other men to investigate but don’t find any people. That means they’re allowed to take whatever they want. They find two coffins, one of which contains Kol’s daggered body. Someone zooms around the cabin, then yanks a guy up to the upper deck.
Rebekah appears and asks Elijah if she can eat one of the men. He compels the man to believe that the ship arrived without a crew and take the Mikaelsons’ belongings to the shore. Rebekah introduces herself and Elijah, then tells him Kol and Finn are in the coffins. Klaus is also present, but Rebekah doesn’t really want to talk about him.
Elijah asks the man where they are. He says they’re in the French colony of Louisiana, off the shore of New Orleans. Elijah apologizes for all the work the man will have to do to get all the Mikaelsons’ belongings off the ship. Or maybe he’s apologizing for all the dead bodies on the ship, and all the blood the man is going to have to avoid while fulfilling his duties.
In the present, Elijah has just arrived in New Orleans to find Klaus. He goes to Rousseau’s first and chats with Cami. He tells her he’s there to find his brother, who may have gotten himself into a complicated situation. He describes Klaus as “defiant, ill-mannered, and a little temperamental.” Brief flashbacks show how much he’s downplaying Klaus’ behavior. I think the people he’s killed would object to the word “temperamental.” Elijah continues that he and Klaus have different fathers, and Klaus resents it. He never felt like he belonged in the family. He causes trouble, and Cami guesses that Elijah tends to clean up after him.
She asks what trouble Klaus has gotten into this time. Elijah says Klaus believes people in New Orleans are conspiring against him. Cami pegs him as narcissistic and paranoid, then explains that she has a graduate degree in psychology. Elijah asks if she knows where he can find Jane-Anne. Cami doesn’t, but she knows someone who might.
That someone is Sabine Laurent, a tour guide currently talking to a group about the supernatural elements in New Orleans. She takes them to a voodoo shop called Jardin Gris, then busts Elijah for following her. She knows who he is from her fellow witches, and she already knows Klaus is in town. Elijah asks her about Jane-Anne, and Sabine reveals that she’s dead.
She takes Elijah to Sophie, who’s with Jane-Anne’s body, still in the street were Marcel killed her. They’re in an area of the city where only witches go. Sabine tells Elijah that Jane-Anne’s spirit won’t be able to rest until Sophie inters her in the City of the Dead. Elijah hopes Klaus wasn’t involved in Jane-Anne’s death. Sabine explains that she died because she was caught doing magic. Marcel and his vampires are on their way back to the street, and Sabine warns Elijah that Marcel has changed since the Mikaelsons left New Orleans 100 years ago. She warns him to stay hidden – they can’t let Marcel find out that a witch brought the Mikaelsons back to town.
Elijah zooms up to a balcony while Marcel tells Sophie to leave her sister’s body in the street. He wants to send a message that the witches shouldn’t try to rebel against his anti-magic rules again. He asks why Klaus might have come back to town looking for Jane-Anne. Sophie says she doesn’t know, since witches and vampires like to avoid each other. Marcel tells her to go back to Rousseau’s and think hard about why Klaus came to town. He’ll hold on to Jane-Anne’s body until she comes up with a reason. Sophie’s distressed, since any delay means more time Jane-Anne’s not to be at peace.
Elijah calls Rebekah to let her know that Marcel is alive. He can’t find Klaus, and New Orleans is basically a war zone now. Marcel is running wild and ruling with an iron fist. Rebekah doesn’t want to listen to anything Elijah has to say about Klaus, even when Elijah reminds her of their “always and forever” promise. He thinks it’s significant that Rebekah spent centuries complaining about Klaus, but when Mikael came looking for them in New Orleans, she stuck with her brother. Rebekah notes that three years later, Klaus daggered her because she wanted to be independent.
Elijah is very interested in why the witches lured Klaus to New Orleans. Whatever’s going on between Marcel and the witches must be big, since they were willing to risk bringing in an Original. He goes back to Rousseau’s, and we revisit the scene where he saved Sophie behind the bar. Then we get to see what happened between that scene and when Elijah found Klaus.
Sophie takes Elijah to the City of the Dead, which he can’t enter without an invitation because it’s sacred ground. She’s desperate enough to let him in. She tells him the witches want Klaus’ help to fight Marcel. They tried to stand up to him but weren’t having any luck until Jane-Anne met Hayley. Sophie announces that Hayley is pregnant with Klaus’ baby, then has some other witches bring Hayley out to him. Hayley has no idea who Elijah is.
Elijah asks for some time alone with Hayley. She tells him the witches grabbed her in the bayou and have done some tests on her. She doesn’t get how she can be pregnant since Klaus is a vampire. Elijah demonstrates an ability we haven’t seen before: He can transfer thoughts and memories into another person’s head so they can see what he’s thinking about. He uses this skill to show Hayley the origins of the Mikaelsons.
He basically gives her a recap of “Ordinary People,” then tacks on a bonus scene: the first time Klaus kills a human and triggers his werewolf side. Mikael calls him an abomination and a beast. Elijah tells Hayley that Klaus was the result of an affair Esther had with a werewolf. Mikael forced Esther to cast a spell to suppress Klaus’ werewolf side so he couldn’t have a connection with his true self. In flashback, Mikael forces Elijah to help chain up his brother for the spell, even as Klaus begs Elijah not to. “Your dad was a dick,” Hayley tells Elijah.
She officially introduces herself, since she knows all about the Mikaelsons but Elijah doesn’t know anything about her. She’s familiar with Klaus’ reputation as a psycho. Elijah says he can’t excuse his brother’s behavior, but Mikael hunted the siblings for centuries, and they were never able to stay in one place long enough to really be happy. After Klaus broke the spell so he could become a true hybrid, then killed Mikael, Elijah thought he would finally settle down. Nope! Klaus actually got angrier. Elijah thinks the baby might be a way to save Klaus from himself.
Sophie joins them and says the witches need Elijah’s help. Klaus is the key to getting Marcel and his vampires out of New Orleans. Marcel learned everything he knows about being a vampire from Klaus. He looks up to Klaus and trusts him. He won’t expect Klaus to betray him. Elijah warns that Klaus won’t want to take orders, but that’s why Sophie needs Elijah’s help. Marcel drove all the werewolves out of town decades ago – he won’t be happy to learn that Hayley’s carrying a hybrid baby. If Elijah convinces Klaus to help the witches, they’ll keep the baby’s existence quiet. “That sounds remarkably like blackmail,” Elijah comments. Sophie reminds him that she’s desperate.
This is when Elijah meets Klaus on the balcony and takes him to the City of the Dead to meet with Sophie. After Klaus hears the baby’s heartbeat and tells Elijah to kill the baby and Hayley, Hayley announces that she’s leaving. Elijah orders Sophie not to harm Hayley, then follows Klaus back to the French Quarter to try to convince him that the baby is the family’s second chance.
Back in the City of the Dead, Sophie meets with Sabine and Agnes, who don’t agree with her idea to get Klaus’ help. Agnes doesn’t think Sophie will be able to control him. Elijah returns and confirms that she won’t. He asks why Klaus shouldn’t just murder Sophie. Sophie pricks her finger, which causes Hayley to cry out in pain and start bleeding.
Sophie explains that when Jane-Anne did her spell to confirm Hayley’s pregnancy, she also linked Sophie to Hayley. Anything that happens to Sophie will also happen to Hayley. Klaus may not care about Hayley or the baby, but Sophie knows Elijah does. She’s willing to hurt Hayley to ensure that Elijah is on her side. Elijah objects to being threatened, but Sophie has nothing to lose. She gives him until midnight to get Klaus to agree to work with the witches.
Elijah spies on Klaus and Marcel as Klaus goes to the vampires’ party and has his confrontation with Marcel. Elijah calls Rebekah again and tells her that Klaus is willing to give up everything. He’s spiraling, and the last time he acted like this, it lasted for 200 years. Rebekah tells him to leave their brother to his tantrum and just come home. Elijah thinks that Klaus was close to giving in when he heard the baby’s heartbeat, but his temper sabotaged everything. The midnight deadline is approaching, but Elijah isn’t going to let anything happen to the baby.
He finds Marcel, who’s sending someone out to look for Klaus. Marcel claims to know how to deal with him. Elijah notes that he’s become a lot more confident over the last century. Marcel says Elijah and Klaus are the ones who’ve gotten cocky, just walking into New Orleans like they own the city. Elijah says they did own it once. The family was happy there, though they did have trouble with the witches in the French Quarter. He asks how Marcel is able to control them. Marcel won’t tell him, of course – that’s his business.
He’s annoyed that Klaus came to Marcel’s town and immediately started looking down on it. Plus, he got mad and bit Thierry. Elijah apologizes on Klaus’ behalf, then says that Klaus’ blood will cure Thierry’s bite. So now Elijah has something to negotiate with. He promises Klaus’ blood for Thierry if Marcel will let Sophie have Jane-Anne’s body. When Marcel asks what Elijah cares about the witches, Elijah smirks that that’s his business.
It’s midnight, and Sophie plans to follow through on her threat. Agnes tells her Klaus doesn’t care about the baby. Elijah returns and says he does. He’s carrying Jane-Anne’s body, an offering to prove he’s going to help the witches. He promises to get Klaus to agree to Sophie’s terms, but he needs a little more time to talk to him. Agnes tries to say it’s too late, but Sabine shuts her down. Elijah asks the witches to act as if the deal has already been fulfilled – they need to protect Hayley and the baby.
He finds Klaus, who still has no intention of working with Sophie or accepting the baby as his family. Elijah attacks him and declares that Klaus will not walk away from this. He won’t let go, even if he has to spend eternity dealing with Klaus. Maybe he’ll beat Klaus the way Mikael used to, just to remind Klaus of his humanity and try to get him to care about anything. Klaus fights him off and says he’s pathetic. Elijah doesn’t think he’s as pathetic as Klaus, the coward who just worries about the things he fears.
Klaus asks why Elijah cares about him having a family. Elijah admits that he feels like he failed Klaus by not protecting him from Mikael. He promised “always and forever” and family above all. Klaus calls Elijah a “sentimental fool,” but Elijah notes that he’s survived this long.
As Elijah voices over more about family and power, Rebekah ignores a call from him. Sophie and the witches perform a ceremony to ensure Jane-Anne’s spirit finds peace. Elijah says family comes with the responsibility to love unconditionally, even when our bond is tested. That bond gives us strength, and we’re nothing without it. Klaus and Elijah talk on the bench and Klaus announces his desire to be king. Elijah thinks the baby will give him the unconditional love he’s always wanted. Klaus tells him he can let Sophie know they have a deal.
The next day, Klaus, Elijah, and Hayley begin moving into the plantation house that belonged to New Orleans’ governor in the 19th century (AKA Mikaelson Mansion). Elijah tells Hayley that she needs a good home because she’s currently the most important person in the family. He finally asks her how she feels about the baby. She tells him that she was abandoned when she was born (wrong!), and her adoptive parents kicked her out after she triggered her werewolf curse. She doesn’t know how to feel about becoming a mother because she never had a good one. He promises to protect her.
Klaus joins them and confirms that Marcel accepted his peace offering of his blood for Thierry. Now Klaus wants to make sure the witches can be trusted. Elijah thinks they can, since they let Hayley go, but it’s obvious that Marcel has something they need. There must be a reason they haven’t killed him.
Davina Claire is doing magic with a candle when Marcel comes to see her. She assures him that no witches in the French Quarter are using magic, since they know she can sense it. She asks about the Originals, worrying that they’ll hurt Marcel. He replies that with the amount of power Davina has, they don’t stand a chance against her.
Elijah tells Klaus that he wants them to work together to destroy Marcel’s crew from the inside. Klaus asks if Rebekah’s going to join them. When Elijah says no, Klaus says she must not agree with Elijah that he can be saved. Elijah thinks she’ll come around and remember the “always and forever” vow. But Klaus wants her to stay away, because he’s realized a weakness Marcel can exploit: Elijah. Klaus daggers him, telling him there is no power in love, and mercy and family make you weak. If Klaus is going to win this war, he’ll have to do it alone.
Keep in mind: Sophie has linked herself to Hayley.
Davina can sense when witches in New Orleans use magic.
Etc.: I plan to recap in the order the episodes of both series aired, so they might not alternate perfectly (for example, this and the next episode of The Originals both aired before the next episode of The Vampire Dairies).
Ugh, the voiceovers. I forgot about the voiceovers.
Elijah uses a British accent in the flashbacks, which feels weird after hearing his regular accent for so long.
Cami is basically April in season 1, in that there’s no reason for her to be here, and her absence wouldn’t bother anyone.
An Eternity of Misery 
