Klaus and Elijah are having a nice, quiet day at Mikaelson Mansion, listening to classical music and reading in the living room. Klaus is reading “A Poison Tree” by William Blake. This would be a totally normal scene if it weren’t for the dead woman on their coffee table. Rebekah comes in and asks if this is really what they’re going to do now that they’ve finally reunited as a family – “vampire book club.” Elijah explains that the dead woman is a peace offering from Klaus. It didn’t work, though; Elijah wants to see Klaus demonstrate that he’s growing, not try to buy forgiveness with a corpse.
Klaus voices over the poem as Marcel goes to a hotel in the Quarter. Cami visits her brother’s tomb and finds “MURDERER” spray-painted over his headstone. Kieran continues cleaning up St. Anne’s as some people arrive to speak with him. Both Klaus and Elijah glance up at Hayley as she walks through the living room, Klaus in a “there goes the mother of my child” way and Elijah in a “there goes a beautiful woman I want to spend more time with” way.
Elijah follows her to the kitchen, where Hayley asks him and Rebekah to put milk on the shopping list. Rebekah says they need bleach, too, since she’s about to use the rest of theirs cleaning up Klaus’ “peace offering.” Elijah tells Hayley that he hopes Klaus and Rebekah were kind to her while he was gone. She tells him all the adventures she had during that time. He finds a carton of milk she didn’t see and makes her a bowl of cereal (probably so she doesn’t eat the cake she was considering having for breakfast).
Hayley complains about the witches and how her life is still linked to Sophie’s. Elijah agrees that that’s something they need to take care of. Rebekah’s on board, since unlinking Hayley means they can leave town. “Who do we have to kill?” she asks. “Probably no one,” Elijah replies. “All right, potentially everyone.”
Sabine hangs out in the kitchen at Rousseau’s while Sophie cooks. Sophie’s on the outs with the other witches since she doesn’t believe Sabine’s vision about Klaus and Hayley’s baby bringing them destruction. Some hooded figures enter and knock Sabine out. One of them blows some kind of dust in Sophie’s face.
Rebekah thinks Klaus is reading “A Poison Tree” because he’s anxious about how the apple from his tree will turn out. Klaus quips that with Elijah back, everyone’s problems will now disappear. Elijah tells his siblings that he made a deal with Davina that included a few spells from Esther’s grimoire. He’s going to start with an unlinking spell. It’s time to separate themselves from Sophie. Elijah enlists Klaus to help him get a few minutes alone with Davina. Rebekah gets to babysit Hayley. “How did I get elected supernanny?” Rebekah asks. Klaus just wants to know when Elijah started issuing orders.
Josh tries to chat with Marcel at the Pit, but Marcel isn’t familiar with that thing where humans are sometimes nice to each other just for the heck of it, and he thinks Josh is kissing up so he can get a daylight ring. Then Marcel realizes that Josh must know where Klaus is living, since Josh has driven him home a few times. Josh gives a vague affirmation. Marcel thought Klaus was staying at the hotel he visited earlier, but he’s not. Marcel is familiar with Shakespeare because Klaus used his plays to teach Marcel to read. He never understood the phrase “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” until he became a king and realized he doesn’t always know who he can trust. Josh says there has to be on person he can.
Elijah goes to St. Anne’s to give Davina the unlinking spell. Downstairs, Cami goes to confession just so she can have a conversation with Kieran, whom she thinks has been avoiding her. She wants to talk about Sean. Elijah gives Davina a sanguinem knot, something witches use for representational magic (it just looks like a rope). If she can use her magic to undo the knot, she’ll have learned control. It’s one of Esther’s more advanced spells and requires more power than Davina might think. Once she’s successful, Elijah will bring her another spell.
Cami tells Kieran about the graffiti on Sean’s headstone. She doesn’t understand how she was able to sleep so well all week. She’s more upset about Marcel blowing her off than she is about the graffiti. Kieran thinks she’s healing. Cami’s distressed that all the pain she’s felt since Sean’s death is suddenly gone. She feels like she needs it back – she’s empty now. She needs someone to blame, and now it feels like whoever that should be is getting away with what they did. Kieran tells her that it’s okay to turn off her pain. Sean is responsible for what he did. Cami asks if he really believes that, and he says he does. Klaus watches from the balcony as she leaves the church without responding to her uncle.
The people who ambushed Sophie and Sabine were sent by Agnes, and they’re now tying Sophie up in a crypt in the City of the Dead. Agnes notes that since she’s the last elder in their coven, she has to protect their power. The baby is a threat to that power, so it’s time to get rid of the baby before she can get rid of the witches. That means hurting Sophie to hurt Hayley. Agnes sticks something in Sophie’s neck, and at the mansion, Hayley feels the effects.
Elijah finds Sabine at Rousseau’s and she tells him Agnes and some minions took Sophie. Klaus arrives and mocks Elijah for losing track of Sophie on his first day of calling the shots. Sabine doesn’t want to tell the Mikaelsons where Sophie is, since they’ll kill Agnes, and the coven needs her. Elijah reveals that he knows about the Harvest ritual. Klaus tells Sabine that he only has two priorities right now: 1) Unlink Sophie and Hayley, and 2) get Elijah to forgive him for daggering him and handing him over to Marcel. Elijah clarifies for Sabine that Klaus doesn’t care about her coven or their magic.
It may count as irony that the only person Marcel thinks he can trust is the person he recently imprisoned in a brick wall for 100 years. He visits Thierry for a talk about Klaus. Back at Mikaelson Mansion, Rebekah makes sure Hayley is well fed (Elijah would be happy that she gives Hayley a healthy snack, an apple grown on the property) and asks her not to die while Rebekah’s babysitting, because her brothers will bug her about it. Hayley comments that when she first met Rebekah, she thought Rebekah was a b&%#$. Now she knows Rebekah is, but she kind of likes it.
Rebekah reveals that she doesn’t plan to stay in New Orleans. Now that Klaus and Elijah are about to make up, like the always do, they’ll wind up getting in trouble, and Rebekah will have to clean up after them. She wants to go back to whatever life she planned to build away from them. Hayley suddenly starts feeling sick and Rebekah realizes she has a fever.
The cause is whatever Agnes stuck in Sophie’s neck. Elijah and Klaus have found Sophie and freed her, but thanks to Agnes’ Needle of Sorrows, a dark object, the temperature of her blood is rising. Sophie knows Agnes’ intention is to also raise Hayley’s temperature and cause her to miscarry. Elijah asks how long they have to fix this. Sophie says it’ll work by high tide that night. She’s certain about the needle’s effectiveness because she saw Agnes use it on Sean.
Klaus asks where he can find Agnes, but Sophie says she has a ton of possible hiding places. Elijah thinks their top priority should still be unlinking Sophie and Hayley. Sophie knows that will take away her leverage over the Mikaelsons. Elijah tells her the deal is already void.
Marcel breaks Thierry out of the wall for a little break and a drink. He regrets not listening to Thierry before when he warned that Klaus couldn’t be trusted. If Thierry goes over the events of the night Marcel put him in the Garden, Marcel might let him out. Thierry tells him that Max went after Katie; Klaus may have compelled him. Thierry also finds it suspicious that Max found supposed stolen goods in Jardin Gris after just a quick look, when the place is completely disorganized. He thinks Max wasn’t the only person in the crew who was compelled.
Some high-ranking officials meet with Kieran at St. Anne’s under the guise of a 12-step group meeting. The mayor has some issues with the excuses they give the locals when something like Davina’s magical attack on Klaus happens. Kieran promises to handle that. Klaus crashes the meeting and IDs the group as the human faction, who basically just keep quiet about everything supernatural that goes on in New Orleans. Klaus himself created the faction decades ago. His humans were pirates and corrupt politicians, and…actually, so are these humans.
Kieran says no vampires are allowed at their meetings, especially Originals. Klaus replies he just needs their resources to find Agnes. Kieran doesn’t see a reason to help, so Klaus tells him Agnes hexed Sean. He’s not in the mood to be patient, but Kieran isn’t scared of him, and he requests time for the humans to discuss whether or not to help a vampire. Klaus admires Kieran’s courage and gives the faction an hour. As soon as he leaves, Kieran orders the faction to find Agnes.
Davina works on untying the knot while Rebekah puts Hayley to bed, though she won’t admit to having any sympathy for Hayley. Rebekah thinks the baby’s going to heal her. Elijah arrives with Sophie, who thinks she can slow down Hayley’s fever. Rebekah will have to shift from babysitting to errand runner and get some herbs. She goes to Jardin Gris, where Marcel catches her looking for Sophie’s ingredients. He tries to flirt a little, but her mind is on Hayley and the baby.
Kieran gets Agnes’ location from the police chief and is on his way over when Klaus returns before his hour is up. He guesses that Kieran wants to kill Agnes, but he needs something from her first, so he asks Kieran to bring her to the church. In exchange, Klaus will protect Cami.
Kieran complies and even gives Klaus the Needle of Sorrows. Agnes can’t believe the two of them teamed up. Kieran says that after what Agnes did to Sean, he’d work with the devil if it meant Agnes would suffer. Agnes warns that the witch community will turn on Kieran if he hurts her. Klaus tells her to undo the hex on the needle or he’ll show her things “worse than death.” Agnes says she can’t just turn off a dark object. The curse has already taken root in Sophie, and she’s linked to the baby, so it’s only a matter of time before what’s been put in motion comes to its conclusion.
Sophie mixes her ingredients while Elijah puts Hayley in the pool to cool her down. Sophie tells Elijah to hold Hayley so her heart rate will slow and her blood pressure will go down. Elijah thinks Davina will come through by untying the knot and breaking the link. Davina’s working on it, but that doesn’t help Hayley calm down. Elijah holds her in the water and tries to help her relax. At exactly 9:00, Hayley cries out in pain, but it doesn’t last long. Davina has untied the knot, and Sophie and Hayley are no longer linked. Good job, little witch!
Rebekah watches with interest as Elijah and Hayley share a meaningful look. Sophie worries that Klaus will kill Agnes as soon as he learns the link is broken. She knows Elijah doesn’t owe her anything, but she begs him to stop his brother. Agnes is the coven’s only access to the power they need to survive. Elijah calls Klaus to tell him to hold off on doing anything to Agnes until he gets there. He promises Sophie that he won’t let Klaus kill her. As he leaves, Hayley tells Sophie that she knows she was just a pawn to help the coven, but if Sophie uses her again, Hayley will kill her.
Rebekah tries to talk to Elijah as he’s getting ready to go to St. Anne’s. He says they’ll have to chat later, but she says she’ll be gone when he comes back. She wanted to try to convince him to leave town with her, but she gets that he won’t as long as Klaus is there. Elijah asks her to stay, too, but Rebekah doesn’t want to be in the middle of the Mikaelson/Marcel struggle. She wants to be free. Elijah tells her to go, then – she’s free.
Marcel doesn’t seem surprised at all when Rebekah shows up at the Compound. She tells him she’s leaving town, but he doesn’t care. He offers her a drink for the road. She thinks he’s going to try to get her drunk so he can convince her to stay. Marcel asks if she had another reason for coming. Rebekah tells him she wanted to say goodbye. He invites her to say it, but she decides to walk away again. He pulls her back and kisses her. She shoves him off, but all their sexual tension finally boils over and they end up making out and starting to strip.
Elijah arrives at St. Anne’s and says he promised not to let Klaus kill Agnes. He offers Klaus his forgiveness, so Klaus backs off. But you know how there’s always a loophole? Elijah didn’t promise that he wouldn’t kill Agnes. He’s not letting her get away with hurting his family. Klaus is very pleased with this twist.
Post-sex, Rebekah notes that Marcel kept her bedroom exactly the same as it was 100 years ago. He says he always kind of thought she would come back. He fishes for the location where the Mikaelsons are living, but Rebekah doesn’t take the bait. She offers Marcel an apple, knowing he used to love them. He says they remind him of when he was a child and wasn’t allowed to eat them on the plantation.
Rebekah invites him to leave town with her and build a home together. Marcel doesn’t want to live his crew or his hometown. She reminds him that she used to consider New Orleans her home, but she left. Marcel corrects that she ran. His empire needs him: “A man does not run from his home.” Rebekah notes that she’s seen more in history than he has, and she’s learned from fallen kings that an empire is nothing without someone to share it. If Marcel wants New Orleans, he can have it, but he can’t have her, too.
Josh goes to Mikaelson Mansion and warns Hayley that Marcel knows Klaus lied about where he’s been living. Hayley doesn’t want to get involved here, but she says she’ll tell Klaus to call Josh. Marcel spies on them from the yard, having figured out where the Mikaelsons were from the apple grown on the plantation where he grew up. He introduces himself to Hayley.
Klaus goes to Rousseau’s and reminds Cami that he promised to find out what happened to Sean. He tells her Sean was hexed to commit the murders and kill himself. Also, the witch responsible has already been handled. Cami slaps him, upset that he’s made her an accessory to a murder she didn’t ask for. Klaus doesn’t see the big deal, especially since Cami knows the truth and no longer has to believe that Sean was responsible for the massacre. Cami knows Klaus had something to do with her abnormal feelings, and she vows to undo whatever he did to her.
On his way home, Klaus runs into Marcel, who says Klaus can be with Cami if he wants. This is a bad time for Marcel to get into a relationship. He went by Klaus’ place to see him but must have just missed him. Klaus says he moved on from the hotel weeks ago. Marcel replies that he meant Klaus’ other place.
As Elijah returns home and looks for Hayley, Marcel comments that Klaus picked an interesting place to turn into his home. He pretends to be offended that Klaus hasn’t invited him over. Klaus says he and Elijah will host a dinner party, and Marcel can bring Davina. It’ll be repayment for how hospitable Marcel was to Elijah. Elijah calls Rebekah, who’s on her way out of town, and tells her Hayley’s gone. Klaus arrives just then and tells Elijah that Marcel was at the mansion.
Etc.: Rebekah is on the verge of becoming one of those moms who complains that no one ever helps her keep the house clean.
The name Needle of Sorrows really hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it?
The pool scene is where I first started wanting Elijah and Hayley to get together. I’m sure I’m not alone in that.
I guarantee that Rebekah was on her way back to Mystic Falls to see Matt. She’s incapable of being alone. And that’s not even an insult. She spent centuries tagging along with her brothers, doing whatever they told her. She doesn’t know how to be alone or make decisions for herself. She thinks she can just start a new life in a town she’s never been to, where she doesn’t know anyone, but she would be miserable.
An Eternity of Misery 