Klaus wants to have a relaxing morning at the Compound, but Elijah wants to discuss strategy. First he wants to know what happened to Mikael’s ashes, since they need them to defeat Dahlia. Klaus urges Elijah to have a seat and eat a beignet or something, since he compelled the best pastry in the city to make them breakfast. Rebekah comes in and immediately goes for the coffee, since she’s hungover from celebrating Mikael’s death the previous night. “It’s not every day you lose your father at the hands of your brother…again,” she notes. “Whoever said opportunity only knocks once?” Klaus replies, laughing.
Elijah isn’t amused. He doesn’t feel like this is a good time to pause their plans and rejoice in their father’s death. Klaus calls him a buzzkill. Elijah points out that by killing Mikael, Klaus alienated Freya, the only person who knows who to take down Dahlia. Klaus thinks she should see what the family is really like, since she wants so badly to be part of it. Rebekah sides with Elijah but Klaus doesn’t care. He knows the threat they’re facing and doesn’t need to be reminded.
Josephine arrives with the message Dahlia left with her the previous night: Time is running out to hand over Hope. Klaus says Dahlia can rot in Hell. Josephine notes that she was promised the Mikaelsons’ firstborns, so if they want to be mad at someone, they should be mad at Esther for making the deal in the first place. Josephine’s just there to help fulfill a bargain – the same bargain that allowed the siblings to be born.
Elijah gets suspicious and realizes this is actually Dahlia speaking through Josephine. Klaus blasts her for having the nerve to enter his home. Dahlia/Josephine says she’s there to get what’s hers. Blood starts seeping out from under the scarf she has around her neck, courtesy of Dahlia’s violin bow. Dahlia/Josephine warns that trying to cloak Hope won’t work: “Such spells will yield, as will you.” By nightfall the next day, Hope will be Dahlia’s. She hopes the hand-off will be civilized. That’s not Klaus’ intention, as he demonstrates by knocking her head off.
At St. James Infirmary, Hayley gets word of the deadline. Jackson still wants to run, but Hayley knows Dahlia will be able to track them through Hope’s magic. Their best option is staying put in the place where no magic can be detected. Jackson isn’t sure the spell on the bar can’t be broken. But all their options suck, really. Hayley hates that Hope is in this situation without asking for it.
She realizes that Hope’s too young to understand that she has magic, so if they took it away, she wouldn’t miss it. Maybe the solution is to stop her from using the thing that allows Dahlia to find her. Hayley has an idea but knows it’s dangerous. Aiden has been eavesdropping, and he volunteers to help. He feels bad for not helping Hayley, Hope, and Jackson leave town the night before.
Rebekah finds Freya in the City of the Dead, setting up a burial spot for Mikael. She’s the only Mikaelson sibling who’s upset that their father died. Rebekah says she only knew Mikael as a tyrant, so he surprised her by showing Freya affection. Freya doesn’t think Mikael’s treatment of Klaus is an excuse for Klaus to turn on her. Rebekah tries to convince her to work with him anyway. They want the same thing. Freya can’t believe that Rebekah’s defending Klaus, who’s treating her like the enemy. Freya has given her siblings every reason to trust her. Why does Rebekah trust Klaus over her? Freya gives her and Elijah a choice: Side with Freya or Klaus.
Instead of doing something like strategizing or mobilizing his wolf army, Klaus chooses to spend some time painting. Elijah reminds him that they really need Mikael’s ashes. Klaus doesn’t feel like sharing their location or any of his plans – Elijah could just run to Freya and tell her. Elijah warns that this is too dangerous for Klaus to take on alone. Klaus asks who he should trust. Freya, who has her own motives? Hayley, who’s loyal to Jackson now? Jackson, who thinks he’s “the king of the wolves”?
Elijah says Klaus can trust him, but Klaus isn’t sure. He hasn’t been the same since Esther opened the red door. Elijah normally wouldn’t be so intent on trusting Freya. He insists that they have no reason to think she’s lying to them. Klaus notes that that’s different from being trustworthy. Maybe she got Eva to take control of her body just so she could put her down and look like the hero. Elijah tells Klaus that if they can’t trust each other, they can’t work together. Klaus agrees.
Aiden is sneaking some anti-magic shackles out of the Compound when he encounters Klaus. Aiden tells him that Hope, Hayley, and Jackson are safe. Klaus doesn’t think he’s there just to give a status update, so Aiden says he came to get one of Hope’s stuffed animals. Klaus tells Aiden that his loyalty is refreshing, but if he finds out that he’s been trusting Aiden when he shouldn’t, Aiden’s toast.
Aiden meets up with Josh and Davina, hoping Davina can transfer the magic from the shackles to something smaller that Hope can wear to keep Dahlia from tracking her. He reveals that Jackson and Hayley are going to attempt another escape. Davina likes that idea, saying that if Kol had asked her to run away with him before he was hexed, she would have agreed. She’s wary about Klaus finding out what Aiden’s up to, but Aiden says he’ll worry about that. Davina takes off the gold chain she and Kol transformed together to use it for her spell.
At St. James Infirmary, Hayley notices some greenery that’s suddenly growing and spreading outside. Dahlias bloom from it, giving Hayley a hint that Dahlia knows where Hope is. She tries to make a call but Dahlia has magically jammed phone signals in the area. Hayley sends a werewolf bodyguard to get help, but as soon as he steps outside, Dahlia breaks his neck. She whistles her favorite tune loud enough for Hayley to hear.
Over at Marcel’s, Rebekah complains to him that she has to choose between the brother she’s known for 1,000 years and the sister she’s always wanted. All Klaus is doing is painting, like Nero fiddling while Rome burns. Marcel reminds her that Klaus is at his best when he has an enemy lurking. He definitely has a plan. Rebekah worries that that plan won’t go anywhere before Dahlia’s deadline. She wishes she could ship Klaus off somewhere until this is all over. Marcel is basically just hearing her out, knowing that there’s nothing they can do – there’s no way to put Klaus down. Rebekah knows, and she wishes they could focus on Dahlia without worrying about Klaus’ next move.
Elijah goes to the bell tower to give Freya a knife to bury with Mikael. It was the knife Klaus stole from Mikael so he could carve little wooden figures for Elijah and Rebekah. Klaus, like Freya, had a rough childhood, but he found peace in art, and still does. Freya thinks Elijah’s trying to get her to feel sympathy for their brother because he knows about the ultimatum she gave Rebekah. Elijah says he doesn’t accept ultimatums and won’t choose between his siblings. Freya refuses to work with Klaus, so Elijah should resign himself to being on the losing team.
Elijah reminds her that she came to her siblings desperate for freedom, looking for strength that can only come from family. He’s sure that he and Klaus can defeat Dahlia, and he’d like Freya to work with them. She knows they’ll just end up Dahlia’s slaves. Elijah gives her her own choice to make: Stay and work with her siblings, or leave and be alone forever. Freya asks for his word that Klaus won’t be their undoing.
Klaus goes back to painting, and when Cami turns up, he guesses that Elijah sent her over to try to reason with him. She claims she just wants to take him for a walk and briefly get his mind off of who he can’t trust and who he’s going to kill next. Klaus turns her down but she presses him to talk to her.
At St. James Infirmary, Dahlia gets her first in-person glimpse of Hope. She realizes she shouldn’t go in, since the no-magic-allowed spell will put her at Hayley’s mercy. She warns that the spell protecting Hayley and Hope is getting weaker. I’m not sure it matters, since Hayley is fierce enough to protect Hope all on her own. Dahlia says this isn’t anything personal against Hayley – this is about a deal she and Esther made. Hayley notes that Dahlia has a choice not to take an innocent child from her parents. Dahlia says she always keeps her word, and she expects others to do the same. Hope is hers. The only question is whether Hayley will try to keep her from Dahlia, knowing Dahlia will kill her.
Hayley, of course, isn’t going to just give Hope up. Dahlia guesses that Freya has told all sorts of horrible lies about her to make Hayley think Hope wouldn’t be safe with her. Things will be better for Hope, since she’s too young to remember her family, like Freya did. She won’t want Hayley. It’ll be like Hayley never existed. Hayley dares Dahlia to come in and fight her. Hope starts crying and Dahlia comments that Hayley should make their last hours together nicer. Nightfall the next day will be here before they know it.
Klaus and Cami end up in an outdoor café, where she urges him to have compassion for Freya. After all, they were both raised by horrible people. But Klaus argues that that means Freya is less trustworthy – we’re shaped by the people who raise us. Klaus is like Mikael, and Freya is probably like Dahlia. Cami notes that this is the first time Klaus has mentioned Mikael in their 20-minute conversation. Klaus says he doesn’t want to “dwell on the deceased.” He killed the guy twice. He just wishes Mikael had stayed dead the first time.
Cami thinks Klaus must have at least a little sadness over losing the man who raised him. Klaus allows that they worked together for once and made a good team. It finally looked like they could be allies, but then Klaus killed him. Cami thinks it’s because Mikael said he loved Freya. “Or maybe it’s just what I do – kill my enemies, sometimes my friends,” Klaus replies. “This may come as a surprise to you, Camille, but I’m not a terribly good person.”
Elsewhere in the Quarter, Josh is babbling about something when Aiden interrupts to announce that he loves him. Josh thinks this is a hint that Aiden is going to do something big. Aiden says he doesn’t want to be Klaus’ minion anymore. He’s going to tell Jackson everything. If Jackson doesn’t kill him, he wants to run away with Josh and start a new life somewhere else. He can’t go alone – he’s a pack guy and Josh is his pack. Josh is reluctant to leave New Orleans, since it’s the first place where he’s felt like himself, but if it’s leave or lose Aiden, Josh will go. As they split up to tie up loose ends, Josh says he loves Aiden, too.
Marcel goes to the Claire tomb to visit Davina, who’s been spending a lot of time there since Kol’s death. He guesses she’s working on bringing him back. Davina notes that Marcel hasn’t asked how she felt about losing him. That made it worse – he wasn’t there for her when she needed him the most. Marcel’s like, “Okay, I’m sorry, but also, I need your help because Klaus is up to Klaus stuff, as usual.” He knows Kol and Davina were working on a weapon that could put Klaus down. If it’s ready, they need it in case they have to take Klaus out of the fight. Davina says she gets to decide if the dagger is used.
Elijah finds Klaus in the Quarter and ignores his complaints about Elijah sending Cami to “therapize” him. Elijah needs to know if Klaus is going to work with his siblings or not. Klaus won’t if Freya’s involved. He points out that she led Finn to the Mikaelsons’ hideout, where he could have killed Hope. Elijah reminds Klaus that he was going to kill Klaus after he broke his hybrid curse, but Klaus forgave him. They need to bring Freya into the fold.
Klaus says that Elijah is only looking one move ahead while Klaus is looking at the big picture. Freya made a mistake when she complained that the Mikaelsons only had one weapon to use against Dahlia. Klaus is sure they can defeat Dahlia without Freya’s help. Elijah asks how, but Klaus won’t tell him unless he forsakes Freya. Elijah notes that Hope is his family, too, and Klaus is going to put her in danger with this stubbornness. Elijah will do whatever it takes to protect her. Klaus says he will, too. Elijah still needs to choose between him and Freya.
Aiden meets up with Jackson in the Quarter and gives him the gold chain Dahlia spelled to keep Hope from using magic. He admits that he was the reason Jackson, Hayley, and Hope didn’t make their escape the night before. He stopped the plan on purpose because of Klaus. Even though Aiden says Klaus would have killed him if he hadn’t halted the escape, Jackson punches him. He asks what Klaus said that got to Aiden’s ego. Aiden says that Klaus told him he’d make a good alpha, but Aiden knows a good alpha would never turn on his pack.
Jackson forgives him, since he risked his life to help Hope and Hayley behind Klaus’ back today. Aiden has decided he doesn’t deserve to be part of the pack. He and Josh are leaving. Jackson’s fine with Aiden taking some time away, but he doesn’t want to lose him forever. Aiden tells him to take care of himself and watch his back with Klaus. Dahlia watches from across the street as the two hug and say goodbye.
Elijah goes to St. James Infirmary, annoyed that Hayley and Hope were left defenseless when Dahlia showed up. Klaus shows up and demands that they come back to the Compound. Hayley points out that Dahlia was able to get in by posing as Josephine just this morning. However, they’re not safe at St. James Infirmary, either, so Hope, Hayley, and Jackson are heading to the bayou. Klaus, of course, doesn’t approve of that plan, and Hayley, of course, doesn’t care what he thinks. He tries to stop her from leaving but she spits out that she’s not his prisoner.
Elijah calls for peace, noting that Klaus and Hayley are just playing into Dahlia’s hands. Klaus complains that he’s been coming up with “a new path” while they’ve been trying to align with Freya and plotting to run away. He knows how to kill Dahlia.
Aiden is leaving a flower shop with a present for Josh when he hears Dahlia whistling. His flowers immediately die. Dahlia approaches him and forces him to follow her into an alley. She tells him it’ll be over quickly. “You are what is known as a tipping point,” she says, “to set Mikaelson against Mikaelson.” She magically gouges two marks in his neck. Though Aiden’s just one person, “it only takes one match to burn down acres of forest.” He’s kindling in her plan to divide and conquer. She scratches more marks on his face, as if he’s been attacked by something with claws.
Aiden tearfully asks why she’s doing this to him. She brings him to his knees by grabbing at his heart and says she has to make it look convincing. His heart flies out of his chest and into her hand. She drops it next to his body and leaves him in the alley.
Davina walks Josh to the spot where he’s going to meet up with Aiden. He feels bad about leaving so soon after she lost Kol, but she says at least one of them should get a happy ending. Sadly, it won’t be Josh, at least not right now. They find Aiden’s body, and though Josh’s first instinct is to give him blood, it’s too late to save him.
Sometime later, Jackson carries Aiden’s body into St. James Infirmary, roaring Klaus’ name. He tells Hayley that Klaus used Aiden as a spy, then killed him after he told Jackson. Hayley’s hurt that Klaus would kill one of the wolves who swore to protect Hope. At first Klaus looks upset, but he pushes it down and plays along. He says anyone else who crosses him will suffer the same fate as Aiden. Maybe Aiden wouldn’t have betrayed his pack if he’d had a real alpha. Jackson hits him for that, and Hayley jumps in to take over when Klaus pushes him aside.
Elijah steps between his brother and the others, warning that they’ll die if they try to take on Klaus. Hayley shoves him and asks if he wants to kill her, too. Elijah says that anyone who comes at Klaus comes at him, too. He tells Klaus to do whatever it was he planned to do. Hope and Hayley are still safe at the bar and won’t be going anywhere.
Word spreads to Rebekah and Marcel, who wonder if the werewolves will still be willing to protect Hope after this. Rebekah complains that Klaus ruins everything he touches. Davina comes by, emotional over suffering another loss. At least this time Marcel is there to comfort her. She gives him the dagger she and Kol were working on. Like the rope, it’s gold now. She wants Marcel to use it to kill Klaus.
Jackson loops the gold rope around Hope’s wrist as she sleeps. Hayley chastises Elijah for defending Klaus even though he murdered someone. Elijah says he was protecting Hope. She asks what’ll happen next, since she doesn’t think Klaus will be able to save them. Elijah reminds her that both he and Klaus love Hope. Hayley argues that that’s a reason to let them leave, but he says he can’t protect them from Dahlia – or Klaus – in the bayou.
Hayley thinks that between Hope’s new bracelet and Jackson’s knowledge of the bayou, Dahlia won’t be able to find them. Marcel will help them get out of the Quarter. Elijah’s the only thing standing in their way. Elijah asks what she wants him to do. She says they can’t run from Dahlia and hide from Klaus at the same time. If Elijah really wants to protect Hope and Hayley, he can buy them some time.
Somehow Cami heard about Aiden, and she’s waiting for Klaus when he returns to the Compound so she can ask if he’s really the one responsible. Since he admitted it already, he wonders why she came. Is it morbid curiosity or does she need to add a puzzle piece to her analysis of him? “If I tell you who I am and you refuse to believe me, then I can hardly be blamed for your disappointment,” he says.
Cami says she wishes she did believe him. Maybe he’s right about everything, including Freya. But Freya’s not the one who just killed an innocent person. Klaus admits that he isn’t, either. He lied so Hayley would question the pack’s loyalty to Hope and decide not to run away with them. Cami points out that this could lead to the wolves failing to protect Hope. “Only I can save her!” Klaus insists. He needs the wolves to fear him.
Cami asks if she’s supposed to be afraid of him, too. He says it would be better for her if she were. She should believe that he’s the monster everyone says he is. Then one day he can find her and profess his innocence, and she’ll believe him, and they can spend some time together alone. That’s all he wants. “A better man would protect you with that lie,” he tells her. “But I’m not that man. And so I leave you with the burden of a truth that no one will believe.”
Elijah comes over later and has a revelation from studying Klaus’ painting and art supplies: He put Mikael’s ashes in the paint he’s been using. They’ve been hidden in plain sight. Klaus asks Elijah why he’s there and not guarding Hope and Hayley. Elijah announces that they left and Klaus won’t find them. Klaus is furious that Elijah helped them, and Elijah says that someone had to protect Hope.
They throw each other around a bit, and when Klaus gets the upper hand and reminds Elijah that he can’t beat a hybrid, Elijah proves him wrong. He shoves the gold dagger into Klaus’ chest, declaring, “For Hope.” Rebekah and Freya enter the room and watch Klaus desiccate. Just then, the bells of St. Louis Cathedral ring out Dahlia’s tune.
Etc.: Marguerite MacIntyre (Liz) wrote this episode.
It’s a little funny that Freya complains that her siblings won’t trust her when we know, from what she told Esther, that she’s going to try to manipulate them into turning on Klaus. “I wish you guys would trust me – even though I’m going to destroy your family and prove you never should have trusted me.”
I feel like Aiden was always cannon fodder. He was the most expendable of the recurring characters. Still sucks that they killed him off.
Klaus allegedly killing Aiden is a much better reason to use the gold dagger on him than the other motives, which included Klaus not telling them his plans and Klaus not wanting to work with Freya.
An Eternity of Misery 