Klaus and Elijah go looking for Kol in Cadiz, Spain, in 1702. Mikael’s on their trail but Kol thinks they have some time to continue killing people. Klaus tells him that Mikael killed his favorite horse and put his head on a pike in the town square. Kol still isn’t concerned – Mikael has always hated Klaus the most, so if Klaus runs, Mikael will go after him and Kol can keep chilling in Spain.
Elijah tells Kol that they need to stay together, and Rebekah and Finn are already on board a ship to leave the country. (Well, Finn didn’t really have a choice, since he’s in a box.) Kol says that Rebekah always does what Klaus tells her because she’s afraid of him. Kol isn’t like her. Klaus and Elijah won’t give Kol a choice in the matter, though, and Klaus forces him to come with the rest of the family by pulling out a dagger. Kol vows to one day get the upper hand and repay Klaus for every time he’s done this. Klaus isn’t worried since today isn’t that day.
In the present, Kol (in the body of a guy named Kaleb) enjoys the fact that since he’s no longer a vampire, he can use magic. He amuses himself in the Quarter by making a woman’s dress fly up and stealing an apple, then distracting the vendor by spilling the rest of his fruit. He spots Davina down the street and watches her.
At the Compound, Elijah comes across a bit of a crime scene – there’s a dead woman lying by the fountain, and footprints leading into the house turn from wolf paws to human feet. Hayley’s taking a bath, and there’s another dead body in the bathroom with her. She tells Elijah that Klaus took her to the Cauldron and they killed a couple of witches. She stands up in the tub so he can get a good look of her naked, but he remains a gentleman and just hands her a towel. She tells him she didn’t do anything worse than what Klaus does on a normal basis. Elijah just expected more from her. Hayley says that her werewolf temper and her new hybrid characteristics make quite the combination.
Elijah confronts Klaus for taking Hayley on a literal witch hunt. Klaus says he wanted to get some witches to find the indestructible stake for him. When they didn’t, he let Hayley kill them. Elijah’s worried that she’s going to keep spiraling, but Klaus thinks Elijah holds her to standards that are too high. Vampirism exaggerates people’s true nature. Hayley’s a wolf, so her nature is wild. She knows she can’t live up to the person Elijah wants her to be, and he’s just hurting her by judging her.
Elijah reminds Klaus that he wanted Klaus to help Hayley, not enable her. Klaus insists that he’s helping – Hayley’s embracing who she is now. She’ll be fine if Elijah will hold his criticism. Elijah thinks she deserves better than “fine.” He tells Klaus to take her to the bayou so her pack can get through to her. They’ll remind her of her humanity and give her some dignity.
Marcel has decided to turn Gia and make her part of his new crew. He’s still not sold on some other prospects. Elijah arrives as he tells a group that being a vampire isn’t for everyone. It brings out the worst in some people.
1821: Elijah has been giving a young Marcel piano lessons, and though Marcel wants to play as well as Elijah some day, he’s struggling. Klaus finds them together and is jealous that they’ve bonded over something. Elijah sends Marcel to read more of Hamlet, then blasts Klaus for getting drunk in the middle of the day. Klaus complains that Rebekah’s still pouting over Emil’s death. Now Elijah’s taking up a bunch of Marcel’s time with schoolwork, so Klaus has no one to “share a bit of roguery” with. To remedy that, he’s undaggered Kol.
The problem is that Kol’s idea of fun is killing people, and he’s already committed a bloodbath at the Compound. He’s still mad that Klaus kept him daggered for 120 years, but letting him go on a killing spree is a good start to making amends. Klaus is thrilled – Elijah and Marcel have each other to hang out with, and now Klaus has Kol as a partner in crime.
Present: Marcel notices Elijah, who acknowledges that Marcel is putting together a new crew. Marcel tells him that after Klaus got the ball rolling with the moonlight rings, which the wolves are getting from Esther, he had to build a new team. Elijah is “the last true vampire left.” Marcel thinks he’s there to team up, but Elijah presents him with an offer: Find the indestructible stake and Elijah will let Marcel keep assembling a crew. Marcel doesn’t know where the stake is, but Elijah points out that Davina could find it. Elijah himself can’t go to her because, well, she hates him. Marcel doesn’t want him going anywhere near her anyway. Elijah’s like, “Sounds like you just agreed to do what I wanted!”
In the attic of St. Anne’s, Mikael bugs Davina while she’s trying to work on breaking the sireline link so they can kill Klaus without killing Josh or Marcel. He claims to be able to help her, but Davina can’t trust him not to trick her into doing a spell that will release him from being under her control. Mikael mocks her for being as paranoid as Klaus. She gets a text from “Kaleb” inviting her to get coffee and leaves without another word. He’s actually downstairs, and he heads up to the attic as soon as she leaves the church.
Later, he tells Esther and Finn that Davina’s hiding something in the attic. She used a tricky spell to lock the door, so he couldn’t get in. Esther thinks she could be hiding a weapon, and she doesn’t want to make a move until they know more. She tells Kol to take Davina to dinner. Kol doesn’t think Davina will agree to that since he stood her up for their coffee date. Finn tells him to do what their mother says. Kol taunts his brother for being wholly devoted to Esther, but she hushes them both, saying they have enough conflict headed their way already.
A bunch of wolves come to the City of the Dead to get moonlight rings from Esther. Kol calls them freeloaders but she sees them as their friends. She has the witches working around the clock to make rings. When enough wolves have them, Esther, Kol, and Finn will pay Klaus and Elijah a visit with their new army and teach them “the unfortunate error of their vampire ways.”
Klaus takes Hayley to the bayou, which she thinks is deserted. He says the wolves are just hiding. She guesses they won’t want to welcome her back now that she’s a hybrid. Klaus disagrees – they’ll want the power she has now. They need to get to the bayou wolves before they align themselves with “Cassie.” Klaus tells Hayley to use her newly heightened hybrid senses to track her pack. She tries but gives up easily. He reminds her that she’s the pack’s queen and leader. She calls herself a mess, unable to keep her new urges under control. She can only think of how much she misses Hope.
Klaus says she’s not alone in that pain. Hayley’s skeptical that he thinks about their daughter at all, but he insists that he hasn’t stopped thinking about her. When he remembers the loss, he calms himself by thinking about what he’ll do to the people who want to hurt Hope. He points Hayley toward a discarded shirt and she uses the wearer’s scent to track him.
Marcel meets up with Elijah and tells him that Davina’s on her way to his place, so Elijah needs to keep his distance. Elijah refuses until he knows where the indestructible stake is. Marcel tells him to stay hidden and try not to kill anyone. Elijah gets distracted watching some people play chess on a sidewalk in Algiers.
1821: Klaus and Kol are also playing chess when Elijah confronts them for killing a bunch of people in a tenement. They’re not exactly taking measures to keep a low profile in New Orleans. Klaus didn’t realize Elijah had enough time outside of tutoring Marcel to keep tabs on his brothers. Elijah points out that Klaus brought Marcel into their home. He’s not safe there anymore, so Elijah wants to send him away. Klaus objects to Elijah punishing Marcel for Kol’s misbehavior. Kol isn’t happy about his brothers choosing an outsider over family, but Klaus says that Marcel is their family, too. He tells Elijah that Marcel isn’t going anywhere.
Present: Davina goes to Marcel’s loft and chats with him about her life. She tells him she was stood up and he jokingly/not-so-jokingly offers to kill “Kaleb.” He asks her to do a locator spell to find the indestructible stake, and she guesses that Klaus or Elijah put him up to this. She asks what she should do with the stake if she finds it. She’s not going to give it to one of the Mikaelsons. Elijah pops in and says he understands. But they both want to use it to protect people they care about, so they should team up. Davina refuses, telling Elijah that his family’s reign of terror is over. “From now on, you can know what it is to be afraid,” she says.
Marcel chastises Elijah for showing up, but Elijah says he needed to see for himself. Davina cares about Marcel, but she’s not worried that the person who has the indestructible stake could use it against him. She knows where it is – she’s had it all along.
Hayley finds her pack and learns that Jackson is MIA. She tells Klaus that Oliver will never listen to her. He reminds her that she’s still a Crescent wolf and sends her to talk to her people. She tells them they need a leader so they can stand up against their enemies. She’d like to be that leader. Oliver says she’s not one of them, and she’s not even a wolf anymore. Hayley threatens to use her new hybrid advantages to make him regret that. He taunts that the pack would rather follow a witch than her. As for him, he’d rather die than follow Hayley.
Klaus attacks him, trying to teach Hayley a lesson about what to do when you have a detractor. She reminds him that the pack is her family and makes him let Oliver go. Klaus thinks this is all the pack needs to see to be convinced that Hayley should be their leader. She’s powerful and fearless, as well as merciful. They should show her more respect. Klaus announces that he’s going to find “Cassie” and let her know what is and isn’t acceptable in his city.
Marcel and Elijah walk through Algiers, where Gia’s playing a violin for tourists. Marcel’s in a great mood now that he knows Davina has the stake, because there’s no way she’ll use it on him. Elijah should behave himself, though. Elijah worries that one of their enemies will steal the stake. Marcel promises he can get Davina to give it back. Elijah’s like, “And if that doesn’t work, I’ll make her do it.” Marcel asks if he’s ever thought about why the Mikaelsons have so many enemies. Yeah, it’s because of Klaus. Marcel thinks it’s because they make bad decisions. Okay, yeah, but also because of Klaus. Sometimes Marcel can’t believe he survived them.
1821: Kol wants Marcel to experience Shakespeare in living color rather than just on the page, so he’s rounded up some actors to perform Hamlet. They must be Method actors because when a character dies in a scene, the actor does, too. Kol also kills an actor for continually screwing up a line. Elijah intervenes, but Kol thinks this is a good way for Marcel to learn what it’s like to be a vampire, since he wants to eventually be one. In fact, they can make him one right now. Kol has already fed Marcel his blood, so they just have to kill him. Kol thinks that’s what Elijah wants anyway.
Elijah grabs Kol but Klaus makes him let go. Kol is appreciative that at least one of his brothers knows what family is. Klaus repeats that Marcel is their family. Then he redaggers Kol for another trip to his coffin.
Present: Elijah doesn’t care if Davina hates him – he’s getting the stake back from her.
Davina goes back to working on the sireline link while Mikael goes back to bugging her. She gets another text from “Kaleb,” who wants to make up for their failed coffee date by taking her to dinner. Meanwhile, Klaus goes to the City of the Dead, and Esther sends a bunch of werewolves out as a welcome party. He mocks them for letting a teenage girl control them. Esther emerges and tells Klaus that she’s been expecting him.
She takes him to a crypt for tea and expresses her condolences over Hope’s “death.” He doesn’t buy it since her coven wanted Hope dead. She talks about the chamomile in the tea, and he says those plants grew where he grew up. He changes the subject to the moonlight rings, which she says are an attempt to restore balance. The witches and werewolves were at peace before there were vampires. They were “a plague made flesh.” They don’t have any humanity, so they punish those who do. The rings just level the playing field. With the witches and werewolves united, nothing can defeat them. Klaus tells Esther that New Orleans is a dangerous place, full of enemies she can’t see. She’ll have to stay very vigilant. She tells him she’s already taking precautions.
Davina and Kol meet up at Rousseau’s and make small talk. He mentions that he’s a witch and knows she’s one, too. He admires her for turning on her coven. She goes outside to take a call from Marcel, and Finn pops in to tell Kol that he’s taking too long to find out what Davina’s hiding. Kol says he has to turn on the charm to woo her. Finn vows to do things his way if Kol can’t accomplish his goal. Kol asks if he’s going to bore Davina into spilling her secrets. Heh. Finn says that if you want to know if someone has a weapon, you provoke them into using it. Really, that’s only a good idea if the weapon can’t be used against you.
Elijah, who’s with Marcel, listens in as Davina tells Marcel that she doesn’t have the indestructible stake. Marcel warns that she’s not safe if she does have it. She’s not worried, and she hangs up and goes back to her date. But Esther’s wolves have arrived and are sending away all the customers so they can confront Davina. She’s able to neutralize one with her magic, but there are too many for her to take on alone. Kol tries to lend a hand but is no match for the wolves. One of them sends him flying across the room, behind the bar. Davina decides to deploy her secret weapon – she uses her bracelet to summon Mikael to help her. Kol is surprised to see his not-so-dead father.
While Mikael kills a bunch of wolves, one grabs Davina. Her bracelet comes off while she’s trying to defend herself. Mikael notices and grabs her, preparing to kill her. Elijah arrives just then and saves her. Like Kol, he’s surprised to see Mikael. They fight and Mikael pulls out the indestructible stake. Marcel comes in to zoom Davina to safety, but she says she needs her bracelet first. Marcel gets it for her and she puts it back on and stops Mikael from killing Elijah. Once the fighting is all over, Elijah finally notices Kol behind the bar. Kol pretends he was just an innocent bystander.
Back in the crypt, Klaus comments that he’s always hated chamomile tea, which his mother made. She saw her children as a curse on the Earth, but she was the real monster. She changed her children and stole their innocence. She condemned them to a life of blood lust. Then she acted like they were responsible for that. Esther wonders if this is going somewhere. She keeps calling him Niklaus, which he’s picked up on and doesn’t appreciate.
He knows that the New Orleans witches were under Esther’s influence. He asks if Esther speaks to “Cassie” now. She says Esther doesn’t have to because “Cassie” already knows what she would say. She would send Klaus to his room for being rude. Klaus is ready to attack her but he stops himself even before some wolf minions come in. He threatens to kill them but Esther says they’re part of a pack he’ll lead someday.
Klaus and Elijah meet up at the Compound and Klaus announces that he’s pretty sure “Cassie” is really Esther. Elijah has something to say, but Klaus doesn’t think it could be more important than their mother’s return. Uh, how about Mikael also being back? And how about him having the indestructible stake? If Davina releases him, they’re screwed. “Which of our parents do we kill first?” Klaus asks.
Hayley brings some werewolves over to stay at the Compound. Klaus isn’t happy about that, but if it’s that or they team with Esther, he can’t really argue. Also, he told Hayley to be a leader, and here she is, being a leader. Elijah watches as Klaus says he must have rubbed off on Hayley after all.
1821: Elijah tells Kol’s body that he’s finally seen a positive change in Klaus. He acted for someone else’s benefit. Marcel may hold the key to Klaus’ soul. Kol will just be a distraction, so he’ll be staying in his coffin. That’s a sacrifice Elijah will have to make to preserve the bond between Klaus and Marcel. That’s not the only sacrifice, though – he acts cold to Marcel, then tells Klaus that Marcel is his responsibility since Klaus took him in. Elijah’s giving up his own bond with Marcel so he’ll spend more time with Klaus and continue to be a positive influence on him.
Present: Hayley tells Klaus that Oliver agreed to be a spy and tell them what Esther’s up to. Klaus admires her leadership skills. Elijah tells Hayley that he’s not thrilled to have wolves all over the Compound, but he supports her desire to be with those of her kind.
At the Lycée, which Esther has taken over, Kol attacks Vincent for sending wolves after Davina and almost getting him killed in the process. Esther says she gave the order and knew the danger. It had to look convincing. Kol’s mad that he has a cut on his forehead and no longer has the super-fast-healing perk that comes with being a vampire. He’s going to scar! Esther points out that Davina will feel indebted to him and blame herself for the attack. That’s what Esther intended.
Kol doesn’t appreciate how his mother’s been treating him, and he no longer wants the life she planned for him. Esther magically gives him some pain and tells him he’s there by her grace and will stay there by her grace. Yeesh, looks like Mikael’s not the only abusive Mikaelson parent. She tells Kol that Finn went to the attic during the attack. It was empty, so they’re not sure how Davina was able to take down all the wolves. She must have had the weapon with her. Kol lies that he doesn’t know what it is, since he was knocked out and didn’t see anything.
Elijah meets back up with Marcel, who’s watching Gia play her violin. Marcel guesses that Davina has gone into hiding. Elijah warns that Marcel will pay if it turns out he knew that she’d brought Mikael back. Marcel tells him to take a number. He already has plenty of enemies and he can’t even go into the Quarter. Why would he want Mikael in the mix?
If Elijah wants Marcel’s help to find Davina, Marcel needs to know where Elijah stands. Klaus is Team Wolf – where does Elijah’s loyalty lie? “I don’t do teams,” Elijah says. But Marcel tells him he has to this time. All the vampires in the world are in the Mikaelsons’ sirelines. Elijah can ditch them and join the wolves, but he’s not a wolf. If he wants allies, he needs to see what Marcel sees in potential new vampires. Elijah may think he’s better than them but they’re all he has.
Elijah asks why he would “play benefactor to a collection of lost children.” Marcel comments that Elijah was never good with kids. But vampires exist because of the Mikaelsons, and they’ll need Elijah’s help. Marcel goes to Gia, who nods to confirm that she’s ready. He breaks her neck and tells Elijah he fed her his blood a few hours ago. When she wakes up in transition, he wants Elijah to mentor her. Hopefully he’ll do a better job of it with her than he did with Marcel.
Etc.: Hayley’s demeanor at this point is like Elena’s when her humanity was off. Neither minds their love interests seeing them fully naked.
You know Kol must have been really horrible if Klaus thought he was out of control.
It’s funny seeing Esther being played by a 27-year-old, ordering around her sons while they’re being played by a 28-year-old and a 32-year-old.
I’m impressed with the show for casting people to play the new versions of Esther and Kol who are actually more fun to watch than the original versions.
I can’t believe Hayley’s naïve enough to think that she can trust Oliver to spy on Esther for her.
An Eternity of Misery 