Elijah has just revealed to Davina that he’s revived, and he’s trying to ignore the sound of her heartbeat so they can have a conversation. She comments that he’s the Mikaelson everyone calls honorable. He notes that despite that, he followed Klaus to New Orleans to help him with a war. Davina doesn’t think Elijah looks well (he’s still gray from desiccation), but since he had a dagger in his chest just a few hours ago, he thinks he’s doing great.
He believes the two of them have the power to end the witch/vampire war before it starts. He’ll keep Klaus under control, and Davina just needs to be her true self, not a weapon Marcel or the witches can use. She asks why she should trust Elijah. He says he hasn’t fed on her yet, which is a good start. Davina tempts him by pricking her finger with a hair pin, then extends the pin to him so he can taste a drop of blood, which restores his color.
Klaus is at Rousseau’s, impatiently waiting for Sophie so he can take her to Mikaelson Mansion and yell at her. They had a deal, but Sophie didn’t protect Hayley from the witch attack. Sophie reminds him and Rebekah that she and Hayley are linked, so of course she wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt Hayley. The witches Agnes called in were from an extremist faction. Sabine told them about her vision about the baby. Sophie doesn’t think it’s anything to worry about, since Sabine has visions all the time, but she tells Klaus that supposedly the baby is going to bring about the end of all witches. “I grow fonder of this child by the second,” he replies.
Rebekah tells Sophie that she promised Elijah she would protect Hayley and the baby while he works out a truce with Davina. She asks how extreme these extreme witches are. Sophie would rather talk about Davina, who will most likely tell Elijah a lot about the witches. She admits that she wasn’t always on their side.
8 months ago: Sophie parties at Rousseau’s. She tells the Mikaelsons that she and Jane-Anne had a strict upbringing, and Jane-Anne and their parents were very devoted to magic. Sophie left New Orleans at 21 to travel and have fun, but she eventually came back to become a chef. Jane-Anne welcomes her home, then tells her the elders have called a vote, and they’re moving ahead with the Harvest.
Present: Sophie explains that every 300 years, her coven does a ritual to restore the bond to their ancestral magic. Sophie always thought it was a myth. Not everyone takes it seriously.
8 months ago: A bunch of teen girls are lined up so one the coven’s elders, Bastianna, can prick their palms with a knife. Sophie interrupts and tells everyone there that they’re ridiculous. She singles out a girl named Monique, who says her mom made her come. As Sophie leaves to have words with Monique’s mother, we see that Davina is at the end of the line of girls.
Present: Sophie says the Harvest involves four girls chosen for an honor. Even after seeing the girls lined up, she still thought she was dealing with a myth.
Marcel calls Klaus and tells him a bunch of dead witches were found in the bayou. It looks like they were killed by werewolves, but there was no full moon last night. Marcel’s going to meet an informant out there and wants Klaus to tag along (mostly since Marcel would need Klaus’ blood if he were bitten by a werewolf). As Klaus agrees, Marcel looks at a picture of a house and tells someone, “This is the one.”
Hayley joins the group at the Mikaelson Mansion as Sophie announces that she needs to gather and consecrate the witches’ remains before sundown. If she doesn’t, her coven will lose the link to their magic. Klaus doesn’t care, since those witches went after Hayley. He wants to make sure there’s nothing out there that incriminates her or leads back to her or “that” (AKA the baby). “You are all class,” Hayley says. Klaus tells Sophie to stay there and pause her story until he gets back.
Marcel goes to St. Anne’s, where Kieran is again cleaning because people keep making messes in his church. Marcel promises that he’s moving Davina somewhere else; too many people know where she is. Kieran knows why Marcel has her, and he’s not happy that she’s being used to keep the witches in the Quarter from using magic.
Upstairs, Davina sketches Elijah, who examines Tim’s broken violin. He hears Marcel coming and hides. Davina covers for him, telling Marcel not to open his coffin because she’s working on a spell. He tells her to pack up because she’s moving somewhere else. After he leaves, Elijah notes that Davina didn’t rat him out. She says they’re not done talking yet. Elijah comments that she seems close to Marcel. She calls him her family. He reminds her that Marcel likes harming her fellow witches, people she would most likely also consider family. Davina replies that they deserve it. They’re all liars.
8 months ago: Bastianna chooses four girls for the Harvest – Monique, Davina, a girl named Cassie, and a girl whose name I think is Abigail, though I’m pretty sure no one ever says her name.
Present: Davina tells Elijah that their participation was supposed to give their coven strength. They were told they would save their community, but really, the witches just wanted more power. Davina left before they could get it. Now the witches are running out of time. There’s supposed to be a Reaping after the Harvest, but the Harvest wasn’t completed. That means all the witches in the Quarter are going to lose their power. Elijah asks what completing the ritual entails. “I have to die,” Davina replies.
Hayley finds Sophie in the City of the Dead and asks to come on her trip to the bayou. Sophie might need protection. When Sophie says no, Hayley tells her that Jane-Anne said Marcel ran all the werewolves out of the Quarter and into the bayou. Last night, a wolf apparently saved her life. Hayley wants to meet that wolf. Rebekah arrives and tells both women they’re idiots – Klaus and Marcel are going to the bayou, too. Hayley tells her to distract them while she and Sophie investigate.
The women get to the bayou before the guys, who are at a bar. Rebekah calls Klaus, tells him what they’re up to, and asks him to stall Marcel. The informant, Tomas, hasn’t met up with Marcel yet, so he and Klaus have time to talk. Klaus asks why Elijah hasn’t been returned yet – does Davina just want to hang out with him? Marcel asks why he’s so curious about Davina. Klaus thinks Marcel would be curious, too, if Klaus had a teenage witch on retainer. Marcel replies that Klaus will never get Davina.
Klaus asks how they met. Marcel tells him it was eight months ago, before the magic ban. The witches and vampires weren’t as much at odds as they are now.
8 months ago: This is an understatement, because less than a year ago, Marcel and Sophie were hooking up. She complains to him about the Harvest and he offers to help, but she doesn’t want him to cause more trouble with the witches. That’s why they’re keeping their relationship a secret.
Present: Klaus teases that Marcel’s a hypocrite for disapproving of vampire/witch relationships when he had one with Sophie. Klaus asks what Sophie did, since she didn’t want Marcel’s help. Marcel replies that she went to her priest.
8 months ago: Sophie meets with Kieran, Jane-Anne, Agnes, and Bastianna at St. Anne’s. Bastianna doesn’t want Sophie to get involved in something she never cared about before. There are more vampires in the Quarter now, so the witches need more power. Jane-Anne chastises Sophie for not understanding the Harvest because she doesn’t believe in it. Jane-Anne is willing to put everything on the line for it. Being chosen to participate is an honor. Sophie insists that it’s a myth.
Kieran is the only one who sides with Sophie – the Harvest is both wrong and illegal. Jane-Anne doesn’t think he gets a vote, considering he lets vampires run around in New Orleans. Kieran says the vampire and human factions have an arrangement. As long as the locals are protected, the humans look the other way. The witches’ plans go too far. Bastianna argues that they’re taking what they need. Kieran reminds her that he’s the only ally the witches have. They don’t want to have to deal with Marcel without Kieran, which is what will happen if they go through with the Harvest.
Sean comes in and Kieran wraps up the meeting. Agnes says they’ll discuss it with the elders. She takes Sean’s hand and tells him to continue studying and looking up to Kieran, who’s a great role model. He’s also Sean’s uncle. As Agnes leaves, she whispers something that makes Sophie take notice.
Present: Marcel tells Klaus that the witches were so furious with Kieran for not siding with them that they put a hex on Sean. They wanted him to have a breakdown to distract Kieran while they kept planning the Harvest. Klaus confirms that Sean killed his classmates and himself because of the witches. Marcel is clueless about the fact that Sean was Cami’s brother.
Elijah fixes Tim’s violin as Davina tells him more about the Harvest. She and the other girls were supposed to be put in a state of limbo, then awakened at the Reaping. She didn’t get to the limbo part, though. The witches want her back so they can finish the Harvest before they lose their magic. Davina knows she just needs to wait it out until it’s too late for them to finish the Harvest. Then she’ll be free of magic – she’ll be normal. Elijah asks if that’s what she really wants. “I just don’t want to be what I am,” she says. She can’t control her power sometimes, and she hurts people.
Elijah asks about her friends. Davina names Tim, who doesn’t know anything about magic. Monique is her best friend, and she’s lucky because someone fought for her. Her aunt is the only one who spoke out against the Harvest. That aunt is Sophie – Monique is Jane-Anne’s daughter.
In the bayou, Rebekah asks for more information on the Harvest. Sophie reminds her that Klaus wanted her to wait to continue the story. Rebekah’s like, “He also didn’t want us to come out here, but hey, look where we are!” Hayley takes them to the spot where the witches were killed. She sees paw prints on the ground and slash marks on a tree. A guy comes across the women, recognizes Rebekah as an Original, and vamp runs away.
Rebekah calls Klaus to admit that they were spotted, possibly by Tomas. Klaus says he’ll handle things before Tomas can say anything to Marcel, but he’ll need a distraction. Rebekah agrees to serve that role. Klaus returns to Marcel, who agrees to keep talking about the Harvest but warns that the story is about to get serious.
Davina also continues, telling Elijah that her mother convinced her that participating in the Harvest was an honor. The girls were stupid to believe that.
8 months ago: The coven gathers in the City of the Dead for the Harvest ritual. Bastianna starts by calling the four elements together. Davina tells Elijah that the girls were well-prepared weeks in advance. They were told the magic in the knife Bastianna used to cut their palms would put them to sleep. They would be resurrected at the Reaping, united and more powerful. They just needed to give a little blood for a sacrifice.
As Abigail begins the last step of the ritual, Sophie rushes in and yells for Bastianna to stop. A man restrains her and the ritual continues, with the girls not suspecting there’s anything to worry about. But instead of pricking Abigail’s palm again, Bastianna slits her throat.
Present: Elijah confirms that everyone present at the ritual except the four girls knew what was going to happen.
8 months ago: Davina cries as Cassie is killed next. She begins shrieking as Monique is called forward. The coven ignores Davina like they ignored Sophie – even Davina’s mother doesn’t do anything to save her.
Present: Davina tells Elijah that Monique screamed for help, but no one gave it. He notes that someone or something must have intervened, since Davina is still alive.
8 months ago: Sophie yells for Monique to run before she can be killed. Suddenly some of Marcel’s vampires arrive and begin killing witches. Marcel is with them.
Present: Marcel tells Klaus that Sophie told Kieran everything. Kieran left town just before the Harvest, which was right after what happened to Sean, but before he went, he told Marcel what the witches were up to. Marcel didn’t want the witches to get more power, and he doesn’t like seeing kids get hurt, so he tried to stop the Harvest. Unfortunately, he was too late.
8 months ago: A vampire bites Bastianna and she drops her knife. Agnes picks it up and slits Monique’s throat. Terrified and heartbroken, Davina tries to fight off the man holding her for her sacrifice. Marcel rushes over to kill him.
Present: He tells Klaus that he admired Davina’s refusal to be sacrificed. Klaus can see why he would connect with her on that.
8 months ago: Sophie cradles Monique’s body as Davina’s hand glows with light.
Present: Davina explains that as each girl died, she released her magic to the next. Davina wound up with all of it. It was supposed to be released into the earth to appease their ancestors, but since the ritual wasn’t completed, it stayed with Davina. She now has the power of four witches. She doesn’t trust the coven’s insistence that the dead girls will be resurrected once the Harvest is complete. She let Marcel save her.
Klaus says Marcel owes Davina as much as she owes him. She’s the reason the witches can’t use magic without being detected. Marcel notes that she’s also under his protection so the witches can’t finish the Harvest. It’s win-win, really.
Rebekah arrives and clocks in as a distraction so Klaus can duck out. Marcel asks if Rebekah’s there to give Klaus a ride home or to make sure he doesn’t tell Klaus any of their secrets. Both say the other doesn’t want to end up on their wrong side. Klaus intercepts Tomas outside the bar and asks what he knows about the dead witches. Tomas mentions that there’s a werewolf involved, so Klaus kills him.
Elijah has fixed the violin and tells Davina she can give it back to its owner. She gets emotional thinking about how she might never see Tim again. The room starts to shake and the shutters on a window fly open. Elijah realizes that her power is too much for her to control. She needs to study and practice so she can hone it. He has Esther’s old grimoires and offers to let her use them if she lets him go. If Davina leaves with Marcel, though, she’ll never see Elijah again and he won’t be able to help her. Davina warns that if he’s manipulating her, he’ll suffer the same fate as her coven. He promises he’s not manipulating her, just offering a deal.
Back at the bar, Klaus and Rebekah realize that Marcel has slipped away. Klaus thinks that just like they were stalling him, he was stalling them. It seems that way, since Marcel believes this is the perfect time to move Davina to her new home. He decides to leave Elijah behind and hope he’ll consider it a peace offering. But as Davina and Marcel are leaving the church, she says something’s wrong. The building shakes and Davina says there’s something dangerous outside. She wants him to take her back to the attic. She collapses, so he feels he has no choice but to take her back to her room. Upstairs, Elijah overhears and smiles.
8 months ago: Marcel takes Davina to the attic for the first time, expecting to only keep her there until he can safely get her out of town. He offers to get her anything she wants, but she only asks for art supplies. Well, that and vengeance, but that’s going to be hard to find in a store downtown.
Present: Davina confirms that Elijah will keep his promise about Esther’s grimoires. He says that despite his family’s dysfunction, they’re important to him, and he’s sorry Davina’s family failed her. Davina notes that Elijah won’t give up on Klaus even after Klaus handed him over to Marcel. “I’ve given up on giving up,” Elijah tells her. He’ll fight for his family until he dies. Davina agrees to do the same with the witches.
Downstairs, Kieran complains that Marcel hasn’t gotten Davina out of town. He came to Marcel in the first place because he didn’t want to fail Davina like they failed the other three girls. He thinks Marcel changed his plans when he found out how powerful Davina is. Marcel says he ran the town fine while Kieran was gone; he doesn’t need Kieran coming back now and getting in the middle of Marcel’s business. Marcel is still in charge. Kieran says that only goes for the vampires – Kieran’s in charge of the humans, and Marcel doesn’t want him as an enemy. He tells Marcel to stay away from his niece, then has to clarify that he means Cami, since Marcel had no clue.
Sophie and Hayley wrap things up in the bayou. Hayley can’t believe the witches were willing to kill and die over a vision that Sophie doesn’t think is true. Sophie says that Sabine is “the witch equivalent of a drama queen.” Hayley asks about the Harvest, and Sophie says it was working. Before it was interrupted, it was real. Hayley asks how Sophie can be so sure that Sabine’s vision isn’t real, too.
Klaus confronts Marcel at the Compound, calling him pathetic for arranging a field trip to distract him – that’s something Klaus taught him. Marcel says Klaus also taught him to protect what’s his. He won’t let Klaus take Davina from him. Klaus notes that the strong always take from the weak. Marcel taunts Klaus for running away from New Orleans 100 years ago, which isn’t exactly something a strong person would do. Klaus attacks him and says Marcel’s been playing king with children for too long. He shouldn’t mistake Klaus for a minion. He can take Davina whenever he wants. As Marcel is about to strike back, Elijah beats him to it. He wants to be the one to teach Klaus a lesson.
At the Mikaelson Mansion, Rebekah tells Hayley she’s grounded from the bayou. Hayley feels a connection to the wolves there. Maybe she just can’t let go of the possibility of finding her family, but it keeps her going. Rebekah tells her family is a pain, and she’s here for Hayley.
Klaus and Elijah arrive, and Rebekah is very happy to see one of them. Hayley’s also happy, but she’s more subtle about it. He follows her out to the porch, where she slaps him and warns him not to make promises he can’t keep. Then she welcomes him home.
Elijah tells Klaus, Rebekah, and Hayley that the things that brought them to New Orleans were all lies. Sophie made up the reason for the witch/vampire war – it’s not over territory, it’s over Davina.
8 months ago: Jane-Anne is upset that Sophie stopped the ritual Jane-Anne believed in, and Monique won’t be able to be resurrected. Sophie asks how to fix things, but they can’t without Davina. Sophie vows to find a way to get Monique back, even if she has to kill Davina herself.
Present: Elijah continues that Hayley’s arrival in New Orleans gave Sophie and Jane-Anne hope that they could bring Monique back. Jane-Anne even sacrificed herself so Sophie could use Hayley to get Klaus to town and use Klaus to find Davina. Rather than power, the war is about family. Sophie will fight to the death for Monique, which makes her more dangerous than anyone.
In the City of the Dead, Sophie kneels by Jane-Anne’s tomb, as if she’s recommitting to their cause.
Etc.: Marguerite MacIntyre (Liz) co-wrote this episode.
Person who dreamed up the Harvest, what is wrong with you?
The whole Sophie/Marcel thing feels like something the writers intended to go back to at some point but never did.
I like how Davina’s story unfolds. It’s unclear for four episodes why she’s with Marcel and whether she’s really okay with the arrangement. Then we finally learn that he sees himself as her protector and she sees herself as safe with him.
Marcel says he has a rule about people not abusing kids. He doesn’t explain it (not that he needs to), but I imagine it’s because of what he went through as an enslaved child.
An Eternity of Misery 