977 A.D.: Dahlia has just taken Freya from Mikael and Esther. She hums a tune while she makes Freya dinner, ordering her to eat so she’ll be strong enough to learn how to use the power from their bloodline. It will keep them warm and healthy. They’ll not only defeat their enemies, but they’ll stay young and beautiful. Dahlia promises that they’ll be the strongest witches in the world. Freya’s more interested in going back to her mother, but Dahlia says Esther didn’t want her. Dahlia is now Freya’s only family, “and there is no greater strength than family.”
Present: Freya gets an invitation to a family brunch with her siblings. Mikealsons, brunching? If you say so. Over in Algiers, Rebekah wakes up to the sounds of a mob forming outside Marcel’s building. It’s led by Josephine, who tells him he’s “harboring a renegade witch.” They know about Eva’s attack the previous night. Marcel tells the group that Eva is gone and Rebekah is in her body, but Josephine thinks he’s coming up with a convenient alibi. She orders the mob to seize Rebekah.
Elijah steps in and reminds Josephine that they made an agreement – Eva/Rebekah’s freedom in exchange for Vincent. He promises to ensure that whoever actually attacked the teens is brought to justice. Josephine gives him until tomorrow; after that, she’s not responsible for whatever the Treme witches do to get revenge.
Elijah gets to the Compound in time for brunch, which Hayley and Jackson won’t be attending. Klaus sent them to the bayou to look after the werewolves as they test out their new hybrid traits. Elijah tells him that Rebekah’s situation has changed and they might need help from Freya, so whatever Klaus was planning, he should hold off. Klaus claims he just wants to talk to their long-lost sister. After all, Elijah told Klaus to hear her out. Besides, Freya might have information that could protect Hope.
Marcel visits Vincent, having locked him up somewhere and fed him lobelia flower so he can’t practice magic. Marcel wants answers, but Vincent warns that the other Treme witches will come get him sooner or later. Marcel reveals that they’ve been looking for him for nine months. Vincent doesn’t remember being possessed by Finn, so he’s in for some interesting stories about what that guy got up to while wearing his body. For now, Marcel wants to talk about Eva. Vincent doesn’t.
Rebekah goes to the Claire tomb to ask Davina to help her figure out some weird dreams she’s had. Davina reminds her that they were going to work together to bring Kol back. Rebekah notes that she can’t do anything magic-related if Eva regains control of her body, which is what she thinks is happening. Davina gives her Kol’s spell books, which might contain something helpful.
Freya admires a decoration at the Compound, guessing that it’s from when the Mikaelsons lived in Copenhagen in the 1500s. Elijah would like to get on with the business at hand instead of discussing the décor. Klaus tells Freya straight out that he invited her over in hopes that she’d reveal some of Dahlia’s secrets. Freya says Dahlia is the most powerful witch she’s ever seen, but she wants even more power. Like Freya, Dahlia can only live for a year every century. She wants to free herself of that curse and gain true immortality. That’s why she wants Hope – she plans to take Hope’s power.
Elijah notes that Dahlia will kill anyone who stands in her way, but Freya’s willing to try to stop her. Freya says she doesn’t have a choice. Dahlia won’t let her be free. Freya knows her only option is to align with her siblings and kill Dahlia. But before they make any arrangements, she wants her brothers to know her story.
977: Dahlia uses Freya to make a new kind of connective magic. It increases both of their power and bonds them to each other. Dahlia hums her favorite little tune once she’s successful. Now she can do whatever she wants, including massacre a whole encampment by just lifting her hand.
Present: Freya tells her brothers that Dahlia’s power has only strengthened over the past 1,000 years, and she’ll use it all to get through anyone who stands between her and Hope.
Rebekah calls Elijah to check in and he tells her to come to the family gathering. When she hangs up, she’s hit with some kind of spell. In the bayou, the werewolves spar with each other, but things get tense when Aiden addresses Jackson’s leadership. Now that the wolves are all basically hybrids, Jackson will have to work harder to remain the strongest and keep his alpha status. Hayley tells the guys to knock it off: “This macho stuff is cute and all but don’t make me come out there and kick both your a%$@#.”
Jackson tells Aiden to go ahead and speak up if he has a problem with Jackson’s leadership. Aiden notes that his taking orders from Klaus doesn’t look good. It makes Jackson look vulnerable, which is an opening for the wolves to challenge him for alpha status. Jackson asks if Aiden is on their side. Aiden says he’s just looking out for Jackson.
Back at the Compound, Klaus isn’t intimidated by the threat Freya says Dahlia poses. Elijah asks for their aunt’s weaknesses. Freya lists paranoia, an obsession with power, and the desire for what she’s been denied, such as love. Elijah’s like, “Hmmm, sounds familiar. Does that sound familiar, Klaus?” Freya says that Dahlia was victimized by stronger people as a child and vowed to never be weak again. She wanted the firstborn of Esther’s bloodline so she could form her own coven to draw power from. Esther ruined her plans by turning her children into vampires. Dahlia wanted Freya to have a child, but Freya refused to give her a child to be raised the same way she was. She decided to never fall in love or have her own children. Dahlia just fought harder to control her.
Sometime in the 900s: Dahlia does the spell that will make her and a teenage Freya sleep for a century, then awake with more power. Freya refuses to be cursed, but Dahlia forces her to participate, saying Freya will eventually thank her.
Present: Freya has had to live one year at a time every 100 years for the past 1,000 years. She hates it. Klaus asks why she didn’t just kill herself. Freya says she thought about it, but the spell made her immortal and incapable of being harmed. In other words, Freya’s an Original without the vampire parts.
Marcel has brought Cami to his loft to talk to Vincent, though she’s shaken at the thought of seeing him again. Vincent is smart enough to know that Marcel is taking a run at good cop because bad cop didn’t work. He refuses to break. Cami offers to tell him about Finn and all the stuff Vincent has missed over the past few months And yes, she’d like some information in exchange.
Rebekah wakes up hours after her magic attack when Elijah calls her. She’s in some sort of abandoned warehouse district she doesn’t recognize. In the bayou, Hayley spars with Jackson, who is surprisingly not hurt by what Aiden said about the wolves possibly wanting to replace him. He acknowledges that the pack is changing. He wants them to know that he’ll put them first. Hayley encourages him to turn on his charms and remind them why they wanted him to lead in the first place.
Jackson mentions that they have another problem: Klaus. He treats the pack like his own personal army. Hayley promises that she can handle him. She reminds Jackson that now that they’re married and have a united pack, they don’t have to face their challenges alone.
Rebekah makes her way to the Compound and tells Klaus and Elijah that Eva is messing with her. She’s willing to let Freya solve the problem, but Klaus objects to trusting someone they barely know. Rebekah reminds him that Freya’s their sister. Plus, she freed Rebekah from the DFC. Klaus is sure that was to gain Rebekah’s trust so she could lure the siblings into a false sense of security. They can’t be sure Freya’s story about Dahlia is true. Elijah sides with Rebekah – it’s this or let Rebekah suffer. He’s willing to give Freya the benefit of the doubt.
Vincent tells Cami that he doesn’t know anything about Finn. What did he do to end up with so many enemies? She gives him a rundown, then tells him that Finn violated him. She’s there to listen if he wants to talk about how it makes him feel. Vincent isn’t sure how to feel – should he feel bad for the people Finn hurt or guilty over Kol’s death? He asks if he hurt Cami. She tells him firmly that he himself didn’t do anything. All he can do now is move on.
Freya is happy to help Rebekah with her little Eva problem. She can put Rebekah to sleep and suppress Eva’s essence. Klaus thinks Rebekah’s ridiculous for believing that Freya can help her. Maybe Freya can write down the spells she’s going to use so the Mikaelsons can have a third party look them over. Freya doubts that another witch would understand the spells or have the power to do them. Klaus notes how convenient it is that Freya is their only hope. She isn’t surprised that he’s skeptical, but if the siblings are going to face Dahlia, he needs to trust her. He should at least give her the chance to prove herself.
Freya continues that her siblings might see her as an outsider but she’s dreamed of them for 1,000 years. She sang to Elijah when Esther was pregnant with him. He tells her that Esther didn’t talk about her much, but when she did, it was about how happy Freya was to have another sibling. Freya says she wanted her family more than anything. If nothing else, they have one thing in common: They were ruined by the people who raised them. Nothing can replace what was taken from them, but they can make something better. The siblings just need to trust Freya. Instead, Klaus snaps her neck so they can talk without her.
Elijah and Rebekah protest, but Klaus thinks they should save their outrage for someone they’ve known longer than five minutes. Besides, if Freya’s really immortal, she’ll revive. If not, “good riddance.” Elijah sarcastically remarks that Freya’s sure to be happy to help them if she wakes up. Klaus criticizes his brother and sister for falling for her sob story – they’re way too eager to “mend what’s broken.” She’s doing exactly what Klaus would do. He wants to know what’s in this for Freya.
Rebekah suggests that they check in with Marcel to see if he’s had more success with Finn. If anything, Marcel will have put in a better effort. As she leaves to call him, Klaus tells Elijah that they can’t align themselves with someone they don’t trust. Elijah knows that, but he wants Klaus to make the decision not to trust Freya out of reason rather than fear.
Cami continues good-copping Vincent, asking if he’s always lived in New Orleans. He’s been a lifelong Treme resident, seeing it through all sorts of ups and downs. After some troubles that were even worse than the vampire problems in the city, he left his coven. Finn must have seen him as “easy prey.” Fully convinced that Cami is a good person and wants to help, Vincent tells her to bring Marcel back in. There’s something he needs to know about Eva.
Freya revives in the bell tower, where Klaus took her since she’s not worthy of staying at the Compound. He thinks she’s hiding something, and her secrecy is keeping Elijah and Rebekah naïve about her intentions. Klaus would like to know why she’s trying to worm her way into the family. She gets one last chance to tell the full truth.
She tells him it goes back to a man named Mathias, whom she knew for a year in the 1400s. She fell in love with him, and Dahlia supported the relationship because she wanted them to have a baby. But breaking her vow not to love ended up ruining Freya’s life. She tried to steal the thing that Dahlia wanted most – Freya’s son.
Sometime in the 1400s: Dahlia curses Mathias for trying to free Freya and their unborn child from her. In response, Freya poisons herself. “I gave you everything. You dare to take what is mine?” Dahlia spits out when she catches her. But as we now know, and as Freya learned that day, she’s immortal, so the poison doesn’t affect her. Unfortunately, it does affect the baby, which Freya loses. Dahlia’s the only one there to comfort her. She says she’ll forgive Freya eventually, but Freya has to remember that there’s no escape from Dahlia – even in death.
Present: Klaus actually looks sympathetic as Freya says that Dahlia turned her into a monster. Freya wants to destroy her for that. Klaus won’t admit whether he believes the story; he doesn’t think it matters, since it’s just Freya’s attempt to bond with him over a tale of a child in danger. He won’t let her manipulate him. Freya reminds him that no matter what he believes, Dahlia is coming for them. She’s going to take Hope and turn her into a slave. Hope will never know her parents because Dahlia will kill them.
Klaus says that if he’s going to team up with Freya, it’ll be on his terms. If she ever tries to control him again, she’ll spend eternity regretting it. She tells him she already has Elijah and Rebekah’s trust, and she’s not going anywhere. Klaus should reconsider his alliances.
Elijah and Rebekah go to Marcel’s loft, and Vincent’s reaction to seeing Rebekah makes it very clear that he knows Eva. He asks for a minute just to look at her, since he didn’t think he would ever see her again, what with her being sent to a witch institute that no one’s ever supposed to be able to leave. At Elijah’s prompting, Vincent reveals that Eva is his wife. “Well, that is bloody fantastic, isn’t it?” Rebekah replies.
Hayley wants to talk to Klaus when she gets home, but she really needs to learn to read the room because he’s not in a great mood. She wants Klaus to give Jackson space to run the pack the way he wants. Jackson’s the alpha, and he shouldn’t be taking orders from Klaus. Klaus laughs at the idea of giving Jackson full control of the pack. Hayley orders him to show Jackson respect, since he’s on Team Mikaelson and is fighting for Hope. Klaus notes that he’s heard that a lot recently, and he doesn’t trust everyone who says it. The only person he trusts when it comes to Hope’s safety is himself.
He starts to storm off, then stops so he can say this isn’t a democracy. He gets to decide how to protect Hope from Dahlia. Jackson or any other wolves who don’t follow Klaus’ orders will answer to him. He expects Hayley to remind her husband of that so if he missteps, she’ll only have herself to blame.
Vincent meets up with Cami at Rousseau’s, having finally been released from Marcel’s custody. He tells her that if Eva does resurface, he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. He advises Cami to stay away from everything supernatural. She says she’s heard that before, but she’s learned since moving to New Orleans that it’s better to have allies.
Marcel takes Rebekah home, assuring her that things will be okay. She’s worried that either Eva will take control or she’ll be sent back to the DFC. Marcel promises not to let that happen. Rebekah admits that she feels vulnerable and scared for the first time in centuries. He tells her they’ll all vulnerable, but she’s not weak. Klaus is the smartest person Marcel’s ever met and Elijah’s the stuffiest, but Rebekah’s the strongest, even in a mortal body. He leaves to get her a drink, and Rebekah is hit by a vision of Eva carving something into one of her victims’ foreheads. When Marcel comes back, she asks him to stay and keep an eye on her.
In the abandoned warehouse district where Rebekah woke up earlier, a bunch of unconscious teens and children are lying in a warehouse. At some point during the day, one more joined them: Davina.
Klaus visits Elijah in his new home in Algiers and says he believes Freya now. She seems like the type who fights to survive no matter who gets hurt. He’s happy to use her to get what he wants, but she doesn’t get to call the shots. Elijah assures him that they’ll be as cautious with Freya as they are with everyone they team up with. Klaus warns that if Freya betrays them, there will be consequences. Elijah says he’ll be the first to enact them.
Klaus asks what happens if he’s too late – what if Hope gets hurt? He knows Elijah will feel unendurable guilt for the rest of eternity. Elijah promises that nothing will happen to Hope. But they need to use everything available to them to protect her. Dahlia is definitely coming; the only question is when. Probably pretty soon, considering her humming is wafting through the window of Hope’s nursery. A music box magically turns on and plays the same tune.
Etc.: It’s about this time in the series when I start wondering who’s watching Hope whenever the people who would normally do it are on screen and she’s not. Maybe Mary?
Isn’t it convenient that Freya’s single year alive in the 2000s happened to coincide with Rebekah’s captivity at the DFC?
Hayley, if Jackson already looks bad for taking orders from Klaus, he won’t look any better if you address the situation with Klaus for him. Whatever, Hayley should be the alpha anyway.
LOL at Klaus basically saying, “I don’t trust Freya’s diagnosis and treatment recommendation; I want a second opinion.”
An Eternity of Misery 