Klaus is still sleeping with Genevieve and still painting. In fact, he’s painting her, though he won’t let her see the final piece yet. He wants it to be a token of their pact. She asks what she’s supposed to get out of agreeing to an alliance with him. Klaus isn’t confident that everyone will keep the peace treaty, so he wants a mini-agreement with the witches. He can offer them protection. He claims he just wants Genevieve’s allegiance in exchange, though he really wants a promise that she’ll do whatever he wants the next time he needs her help.
The resurrected Harvest Girls are doing some kind of ritual in the City of the Dead. Monique seems to get possessed and starts speaking Latin. She tells Davina and Abigail that the ancestors were speaking to her. They told her it’s time to finish the Reaping, which means resurrecting the final Harvest Girl, Cassie. To do so, Genevieve will have to die.
Elijah has taken on some home-improvement tasks to make the Compound more modern. Genevieve likes that idea, which makes Klaus warn Elijah that that means she wants something. In fact, she does – the witches used to hold a traditional feast day before Marcel banned magic in the Quarter. Genevieve wants to bring it back. In the Fête des Bénédictions, the Feast of the Blessings, members of the community bring gifts to the witches in exchange for blessings. The witches want to use it as a debut for the Harvest Girls.
Elijah objects, since the coven hurt the Mikaelsons. Genevieve says she and Klaus have made amends, then leaves to let the guys discuss the idea. Klaus is fine with the festival, especially since it’ll solidify the peace between the witches and the vampires. Elijah isn’t happy that he’s sleeping with a former enemy. Klaus should direct his energy toward Hayley. This is mostly because Elijah still doesn’t think Hayley’s safe in the bayou. Klaus disagrees and has no problem with her staying there. He’ll bring her back before she gives birth, though.
The bayou has become a popular place – packs have come from all over to see the baby (who hasn’t even been born yet). Oliver says they might think Hayley is some sort of werewolf messiah. Klaus calls him to ask for an update on a discussion they had. He told Oliver to find Cary, since Klaus needs him for the next step of some plan he’s cooked up. Also, when Elijah invites the werewolves to the Feast of the Blessings, they need to accept. Klaus wants Elijah to believe the peace treaty is working so he’ll stay out of Klaus’ way.
He goes to Rousseau’s and tells Cami he may have found a witch who can help Kieran. Cami guesses he’s talking about Genevieve and doesn’t think she’ll help since the resurrected witches hexed Kieran in the first place. Klaus says she’ll do what he wants and Cami should be grateful for his assistance. She turns him down, then changes her mind, willing to do whatever’s necessary to save Kieran.
Now that he’s not welcome in the Quarter, Marcel has moved into a loft across the river, in an area called Algiers. Thierry meets him there and tells him that Klaus is interested in Cami. He thinks that’s great because Marcel already has Cami in his pocket. But Marcel doesn’t want her in the middle of this stuff, especially since the witches are already watching her. He can’t have Klaus finding out that he and Cami slept together.
Marcel wants to know what Klaus is doing with the witches behind Elijah’s back. Thierry reminds him that he’s been exiled from the Quarter, so there’s no way for him to deploy any information he gets. Marcel says that Thierry doesn’t know the Mikaelsons like he does. They’re already half turned against each other. All their drama, envy, pride, and guilt are a powder keg: “All you have to do is light a match.” Thierry says they can’t get matches. They have nothing. But Marcel started with nothing and built everything he had. He can do it again.
Genevieve meets with the Harvest Girls in the Lycée and Monique tells her what the ancestors said. Genevieve is fine with sacrificing herself – it would be an honor – but it’s not quite time yet. Monique reminds her that delaying the completion of the Reaping means the coven doesn’t get to restore their full power yet. Genevieve isn’t ready to let the vampires get everything they want, and she wants to make sure the witches can hold their own against the Mikaelsons. The best way to do that is steal Esther’s grimoire.
Elijah tells the vampires that they’re expected to attend the Feast of the Blessings and give gifts to the witches. Diego objects, but Elijah reminds him that he signed the peace treaty. If he wants to retain his position of power, he’ll obey Elijah’s orders. Diego hates the idea of vampires bowing down to witches. Elijah likes to think of it as a show of strength by recognizing a “lesser faction.” He has this conversation with Francesca as well, and it goes a lot better. She thinks the tourists will love it. She confirms that she’s also supposed to attend the private party after the gift-giving. In return, she wants a future favor from Elijah.
Next Elijah goes to the bayou to ask Hayley, Jackson, and Oliver to set an example for the rest of the Quarter. Hayley doesn’t see any reason to do something nice for the witches, considering what they’ve done to her since she came to town. Jackson, however, sides with Oliver in thinking they need to demonstrate that everyone’s starting anew. He promises Elijah that they’ll send a representative with a gift. Hayley leaves but Elijah zooms to her and quietly says that that was too easy. She shouldn’t trust Jackson or any of the other wolves.
Oliver finds Cary and takes him to St. Anne’s for a little chat with Klaus. Klaus isn’t happy with Oliver’s rough treatment of Cary, but Oliver says their packs have been rivals for a long time. Klaus tells him that kind of attitude led to the werewolves’ problems in the first place. Marcel was able to get the better of them because he exploited the fact that they lack unity. To rebuild, the Crescents will have to work with other packs. Klaus asks Cary about the ring Elijah took from him. Specifically, he’s interested in the stone. Cary doesn’t know what it is, so Klaus tells him to find out.
Diego and Theirry meet in Marcel’s loft to debate whether or not to follow Elijah’s orders. Marcel wants Diego to join him and Thierry for a fight against the Mikaelsons. He thinks that if they’re loud enough, the Mikaelsons will leave. Oh, Marcel, honey. No. Diego acknowledges that Elijah isn’t fun to follow, but at least with him, Diego knows where he stands. Marcel tells him that Klaus is moving behind Elijah’s back, which means the Mikaelsons can’t be trusted.
Diego reminds Marcel that he picked up Klaus’ coin and pledged his loyalty. Now he’s a coward. Marcel attacks him and Thierry has to break up their fight. Marcel tells Diego that he aligned with Klaus to save his crew – Klaus would have killed them. It’s time to fight him, and Marcel wants Diego on his side. Diego repeats what Thierry said earlier about Marcel not having anything. They lost, and Diego’s on the side that won. If they want a war, they’ll be fighting Diego.
Hayley accidentally interrupts a conversation between Jackson and Oliver, who act like high schoolers by immediately going quiet. Oliver tells her to mind her own business, so Hayley reminds him (both verbally and physically) that she’s the head of the pack, which means everything they discuss is her business. Also, she’s nearing the end of her pregnancy and she’s hormonal, so Oliver needs to stay on her good side. Jackson doesn’t think they should keep secrets from her anyway, but Oliver says there’s a good reason to: Elijah. Jackson gets Hayley to ease up on Oliver, then tells her that they made an alliance with Klaus.
Klaus approaches Genevieve in the Lycée to get her to find a loophole and undo Kieran’s hex. She tells him it’s too late, and her coven doesn’t have the kind of magic that would help him. Esther did, though, so maybe she can take a look at her grimoire and see if there’s anything there? Klaus sees through her request, but Genevieve argues that Esther’s spells could help her solidify her place in her coven. He continues to refuse, not wanting her to have access to Esther’s knowledge.
Genevieve says Klaus will just have to tell Cami that Kieran’s doomed. Klaus is unhappy about that and warns Genevieve that she can’t manipulate him. She can use magic on him, though, so they’re kind of at a stalemate. Oh, and Genevieve won’t be doing Klaus any more favors.
The Feast of the Blessings begins with a parade though the Quarter, with the Harvest Girls being carried on thrones. Genevieve tells someone to take advantage of the Compound’s emptiness while the Mikaelsons are at the festivities. The Harvest Girls demonstrate their powers with magic that calls on the elements – Monique makes the earth shake, Abigail summons a heavy wind, and Davina sets off fireworks. It feels incomplete without Cassie there to do something with water.
Genevieve’s guy goes to the Compound to steal Esther’s grimoire, but Klaus knew someone would be coming and is waiting for him. Elijah approaches Davina, who doesn’t want to talk to the brother of the guy who killed Tim. Genevieve tells her to respect him, since he’s shown his support. Davina just walks away. Elijah says he didn’t agree to the feast for Genevieve – it’s a show of respect to honor the peace treaty. Hayley arrives alone as the werewolves’ representative. Elijah was expecting more wolves, but she reminds him that he just needed one, so he can take her or leave her. Oh, we know what choice he’ll make there.
The festivities move to some building, where Genevieve catches Monique watching Davina. Monique doesn’t think Davina has proven herself worthy of the attendees’ praise. Genevieve says she’s a Harvest Girl, which is enough. Monique disagrees, since honoring their gift from the ancestors requires sacrifice. Genevieve says Davina needs a lesson.
She invites the guests to offer their gifts to the Harvest Girls and receive their blessings. The custom is to accept every gift and not deny any blessing. Hayley goes first, but when she tries to give her gift to Davina, someone directs her to Monique instead. Davina ends up without any gifts.
Cami arrives and asks Genevieve if she’ll be receiving anything. She wants to give Genevieve a gift to honor the peace Elijah has built. Genevieve guesses that in exchange, she wants a blessing for Kieran. Cami points out that Genevieve’s original life was cut short, and she doesn’t want the same for Kieran. She gives Genevieve a jeweled comb from her era. Genevieve genuinely likes it, saying she used to have one just like it. She agrees to try to help Kieran.
Realizing she’s been mean-girled, Davina decides to leave, but Josh arrives just then, wanting to be there for her big day. Klaus approaches and tells Josh that they have unfinished business. Davina tries to get rid of him, but Klaus knows she doesn’t have the power she used to. He drags them back to the party and announces that Davina has been overlooked. He offers her a gift, which she declines.
Klaus understands, since they don’t have a great history. In fact, many of the guests have been wronged by the inter-faction fighting. Josh conspired to kill him, and Klaus has the right to take him out right now. But instead, Klaus will keep the peace and pardon him. He tells Josh he doesn’t need to fear him anymore. Josh’s face: “Okay, but…I’m still gonna.” Klaus offers the gift to Davina again, and this time she accepts it. He smirks at Genevieve, who’s watching unhappily. The gift is really two gifts: a daylight ring for Josh and the spell that will create more.
Klaus lets Hayley know that he’s aware that she got Jackson and Oliver to tell her about their alliance. He hopes she’s not going to do anything to ruin their plans. Hayley asks if he’s really going to go behind Elijah’s back. He doesn’t know why she cares, since the werewolves are going to benefit. She just doesn’t want to be in the middle of one of Klaus’ schemes. He calls her little wolf and praises her for being a queen.
Some drummers enter and announce that they have a message from Marcel. They cut their wrists to rile up the vampires’ appetites. Elijah tells the vampires to control themselves and remember the agreement. The lights go out and the vampires attack their fellow party guests. Elijah’s top priority is making sure Hayley’s okay, and Genevieve sends the Harvest Girls to safety. When the lights come back up, a bunch of people are dead. Hayley immediately calls out for Elijah, who runs to her. Klaus watches, clear on his place in this situation. As others run for safety, Hayley and Elijah see Marcel’s real message written on the wall in blood: “There will be no peace.”
Thierry goes back to Marcel’s loft to tell him that everything went as planned. He had arranged in advance for Josh to get Davina out safely. Marcel says that was a warning shot, and now they’re going to double down. Elijah probably anticipated that because he shows up looking for a confrontation. He’s displeased that Marcel returned to the French Quarter after being banished.
Marcel notes that if Elijah kills him, Marcel can’t tell him what Klaus has in the works with Genevieve. Elijah doesn’t see that as enough of a reason to let him live. Marcel continues that Klaus has also secretly been meeting with the werewolves. Elijah could kill Marcel, but Klaus might turn on him. Elijah grabs both Marcel and Thierry’s hearts, then pulls out Thierry’s to punish Marcel for his “violation.” Elijah tells him that whether he lives or dies is dependent on what Elijah wants.
Klaus has a gift for Genevieve, who’s upset that the vampires ruined the party. He tells her he had nothing to do with that. He gave Davina something to make up for killing Tim, and now he wants to give Genevieve a peace offering. He picked it out earlier, with a hand from a friend of hers. Make that two hands – he cut off the hands of the minion she sent to steal the grimoire. She should have known he wouldn’t leave it unprotected.
Genevieve admits that she dreamed about getting to know Klaus a century ago. Now she’s glad they never dealt with each other back then. Yeah, she was a fool to fall for him and fear him, but now he should be afraid of her. Klaus says he’ll miss sleeping with her. Genevieve tells him that she gave Cami hope that she could save Kieran, but there’s nothing she can do. Klaus threatens to kill Genevieve if Kieran dies. Genevieve reminds him that she’s a potential ally, and killing her for Cami would be stupid – especially since she’s sleeping with Marcel.
When Hayley returns to the bayou, she tells Jackson that she’s not so against his plan anymore. Innocent people died tonight, and the weak will always be at the mercy of the powerful. He tells her it’s about survival of the fittest, and the wolves need to protect themselves and each other. Hayley says they should accept Klaus’ help while he’s offering it. From now on, Jackson needs to tell her everything. And no matter what, they can’t trust Klaus.
Elijah still has Thierry’s blood on his hands when he gets back to the Compound. Klaus thinks he killed someone to avenge “the little wolf” and is itching to kill someone else. Elijah says that insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome. He must be insane to keep trying to get Klaus salvation. Klaus asks what he did this time. Elijah says he’s admired Klaus’ schemes in the past, but they’re on the verge of a new era with the baby, and here Klaus is going behind his back again.
Klaus says he didn’t conspire with the wolves – they’re his family. Elijah reminds him that he’s family, too. Klaus wants to help his people, and his actions will in turn help Hayley and the baby, something he figured Elijah would be happy about. Elijah thinks his allegiance to the baby is being called into question. Klaus believes his allegiance really lies in Hayley. He saw them at the party and knows how eager Elijah would be to hurt anyone who hurts her.
Elijah says he’s ignored all his impulses to turn his friendship with Hayley into something else out of respect for Klaus, who doesn’t feel the same way about her. Elijah has forgiven and stood by his brother over and over, always working toward his redemption. “No more. If I want something, I’ll take it,” Elijah says. Nothing will stand in his way. Okay, buddy! Call me when you and Hayley have done anything other than look at each other meaningfully.
Klaus ends the night back at Rousseau’s, drinking and moping. He tells Cami he made a mistake – he insulted Genevieve, and now he’s lost Cami the chance to heal Kieran. He wanted to let Cami know because “secrets are a poison. They need to be spat out.” You know, like her secret about sleeping with Marcel. Cami thinks that’s what Klaus wanted, considering he compelled her to go out with Marcel. She thinks he’s mad that he didn’t get to control them. He tells her to give Marcel a message: If Klaus sees him again, Marcel’s dead.
Elijah spies on Hayley in the bayou as she spends time with her pack. Eve tells him he doesn’t need to keep coming out and checking on her. She’ll tell him if something’s wrong. Eve’s impressed with Hayley’s leadership abilities, which she says surprised everyone. Elijah, however, isn’t surprised. He looks on as Hayley puts Jackson’s hand to her stomach to feel the baby kicking. They’re getting closer, and Elijah gets that she might not have the same feelings for him as he does for her. He asks Eve not to tell Hayley that he was there.
Marcel and Josh have a small funeral for Thierry, and Marcel promises that he won’t let Thierry’s death be in vain. He’ll take back the city even if it requires burning it down. Some other vampires, including Diego, arrive to honor their fallen friend and join up with Marcel. They all agree not to back down.
Monique confronts Genevieve in the City of the Dead, upset because her attempt to get Esther’s grimoire delayed their plans and left them at a disadvantage when the vampires attacked. It’s time for Genevieve to die. But when Monique prepares to stab her, she gets another message from the ancestors. Genevieve gets to live. The ancestors want a different offering: the baby.
Etc.: Marguerite MacIntyre (Liz) co-wrote this episode.
Drink every time Daniel Gillies (Elijah) overpronounces the H in a word that begins with WH.
I really enjoy Alpha Hayley, especially when she lets Oliver know that she won’t be taking any of his crap.
The set used for the Festival of the Blessings was also used for the masquerade ball in “Monster’s Ball” and the Bitter Ball in “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
An Eternity of Misery 