Dahlia mixes something up for a spell as she voices over that we define ourselves by our families. Elijah and Rebekah look in on Klaus, who’s lying immobilized in a coffin for the first time in his life. Hayley and Jackson go with some wolves to the bayou to give Aiden a proper funeral. Josh is home alone, where he finds a note from Aiden asking him to call when he gets there. Dahlia blah blahs about family some more, saying that despite being close to our relatives, we’re forced apart. We make promises but can’t keep them.
Davina does a spell with the paragon diamond while Freya hides in the bell tower. Dahlia says that children turn their backs on the people who raised them. Family bonds aren’t made voluntarily, and some see them as a burden.
Dahlia’s spell allows her to bring Klaus into her head and show him a village in Norway a long time ago. She wants to make a deal with him. She shows him a memory from her adolescence of Vikings attacking the village and slaughtering everyone they see. Esther and Dahlia hide from them and vow to remain together “always and forever.” They hum Dahlia’s favorite tune together. A Viking tries to kidnap Esther but Dahlia stops him with magic. Both sisters are dragged away.
Klaus isn’t moved by this memory, even though Dahlia tells him that she and Esther were the only survivors in their village. He guesses that she thinks the “always and forever” promise is a connection point for aunt and nephew. Dahlia says she wants to be his ally.
Elijah goes to the bell tower to tell Freya that Hayley and Hope have left the Quarter to escape Dahlia. Freya tells him that won’t protect them; they need to come back. They need Hope around if they want to defeat Dahlia. Freya plans to use the three elements Davina bound to the knife – Viking ashes, soil from Norway, and Freya’s blood – to make Dahlia mortal, but she’ll have to be lured to a specific spot for that to work. Elijah guesses that she wants to use Hope as bait.
He finds it pretty coincidental that she’s presenting this idea after Klaus has been taken out of the equation. Freya says Klaus can’t be reasoned with. Elijah objects to her plan, but Freya insists that it’s the only way to save Hope from growing up like she did. Elijah notes that Freya will also be saved, so she shouldn’t pretend not to have selfish motives. Freya vows to find Hope herself if Elijah doesn’t get Hayley to bring her back to the Quarter.
Marcel takes a protesting Rebekah to St. James Infirmary so she won’t get caught in any witch crossfire. He wants Elijah to be able to focus on Dahlia without worrying about Rebekah. He reminds her that she’s linked to eight young witches, including Davina, so anything that happens to Rebekah also happens to them. Rebekah laments being treated like she’s fragile, but she also doesn’t have a way to undo the linking. That’s why Marcel has had Vincent brought to the bar. Rebekah’s eager to get unlinked but Vincent says it’ll take some time and she’ll have to help. He announces that after he does this, he’s done using magic.
Elijah finds Cami at Rousseau’s and tells her that he used the gold dagger on Klaus. She informs him that Klaus didn’t kill Aiden; he just let people think he did so they’ll be afraid of him. Elijah has a little “well, crap” reaction, but he justifies his decision by saying that the werewolves would have revolted if Klaus hadn’t been punished. Cami argues that he can’t sideline Klaus while Hope is in danger. Elijah replies that her feelings for Klaus are affecting her judgment. He knows about those feelings from their time together in the hideout; he got in her head as much as she got in his. Cami asks how long he plans to keep Klaus daggered. Elijah says it’s just until Hope is safe. I would throw in an extra year or two, just for fun.
As Jackson is finishing up preparing Aiden’s grave for his burial, Hayley tells him that Elijah called to report that Freya’s looking for them. She notes that the grave is in the area where the pack buries traitors instead of giving them traditional funerals. Aiden doesn’t deserve that. Jackson agrees but they don’t have time for a funeral; they need to get on the move. Hayley says that if they’re going to ask the wolves to risk their lives for Hope, they need to show that the wolves mean something to them. They can take Aiden with them when they leave and give him a real Crescent funeral.
Rebekah looks for music to listen to while Vincent works on the unlinking spell. He doesn’t appreciate her complaining that the former jazz club doesn’t have any jazz records. Okay, but it’s a fair point. Elijah and Cami arrive with a bunch of dark objects and the news that Freya wants to use Hope to lure Dahlia into a trap. Elijah plans to use the dark objects to create a decoy Hope. Vincent won’t help, since he already said the unlinking spell is the last magic he’ll ever do. Elijah chokes him in response, until Cami’s like, “You know he’s not the only witch who will do stuff for you, right?”
Marcel finds Josh packing up to leave town. Josh is at a loss for what to do – he can’t go to his family, since they suck, and he can’t get revenge, since Klaus will just kill him. He thinks it’s best for him just to leave New Orleans. He asks if Marcel is there to send him on a job, but Marcel says he’s only there for support. Josh laments that he spent Aiden’s last day saying goodbye to everyone but him.
Dahlia takes Klaus to the hovel, I guess you’d call it, where she spent years as the Vikings’ captive. She did the dark magic they demanded so they wouldn’t hurt Esther. Klaus asks if she’s aiming for his sympathy. She won’t get it, since no matter what happened to her, it doesn’t justify her plans for Hope. Dahlia says she and Klaus have suffered in the same ways.
She makes him watch a memory of her telling Esther that she’s found a way to free them. But Esther doesn’t seem too upset about being in captivity, thanks to her new relationship with Mikael. She tells her sister that doesn’t want to practice magic anymore. She and Mikael are going to get married and start a family. Dahlia reminds Esther that they’re family. Esther promises that they’ll always be close, but she wants children. Dahlia begs her to stay, inviting her to hum their song together. Esther says she doesn’t remember it, then leaves.
In the Claire tomb, Davina looks through the catalog Cami has compiled of all of her family’s dark objects. She teases Cami for it when she should really be complimenting her for making things easier to find. Rebekah doubts the objects will be helpful for their specific situation, though. She finds something Davina’s been working on involving dead birds. Davina says it’s for a spell to resurrect Kol.
That gives Rebekah an idea: When Kol was looking for a way to survive Finn’s curse, he tried representational magic. He wanted to transfer the curse into a clay doll, a kind of golem. Davina confirms that if they can replicate Hope’s power source and put it in the doll, they can fool Dahlia.
The werewolves head into the woods, carrying Aiden’s body with them. Jackson tells Hayley that he spent a lot of time in the woods as a kid. He was always mad because the wolves had been exiled. Hayley notes that all kids with the werewolf gene have anger issues. Hers actually improved after she triggered her curse. Jackson says he got worse, and being a Crescent didn’t help, since he could only be in his human form during the full moon. Then his alpha was killed, so he stepped up to protect the pack. That’s what calmed him down.
Dahlia wants to comfort her younger self but Klaus still isn’t moved by her backstory. Waah, Esther ditched her for one of their captors! She abandoned Dahlia like Klaus’ siblings abandoned him! Dahlia and Klaus are both unjustly framed as the villains of their stories! He tells her that if she really wants to propose a deal, she can find his body and undagger him. She says she’s not finished yet. She needs to show Klaus what will happen to Hope and how he can help save her.
Dahlia takes Klaus to the place in the woods where she raised Freya. She claims that she didn’t enslave Freya – she protected her from people who would have abused their magic. She also saved Freya from herself. They watch as Freya does a spell using a flower she shouldn’t have traveled to find. She complains that Dahlia keeps her isolated. Dahlia says she’s just protecting her from people who would hate her because they don’t understand who she is. As Freya grows angrier over her situation, the wind kicks up and birds start dropping out of the sky. Dahlia helps Freya calm down and control her magic by humming with her.
Klaus notes that Freya lost control of her power. Dahlia says that the firstborn witches in their bloodline are the most powerful. This will happen to Hope, too, and she’ll suffer worse than Freya because she also has vampire traits and a werewolf temperament. Hope needs training – training only Dahlia can provide – or she’ll lose control, too. She’ll lash out at her loved ones, destroy the city, and unleash her power on the world. Dahlia insists that Klaus needs her.
Marcel goes to the Compound, where Elijah tells him that Klaus didn’t kill Aiden. Elijah guesses that Freya, Dahlia, or another witch did it to turn everyone against Klaus. Marcel asks if Elijah is going to undagger Klaus, then. Elijah says no; he doesn’t want to “unleash that Shakespearean rage” until Hope is safe. Marcel notes that whoever killed Aiden got them to remove Klaus from the battle. Now Elijah needs to think like him.
Cami and Vincent run into each other in the City of the Dead, and he gives her the spell Rebekah needs to unlink herself from the other witches. Cami wishes he would just do it – he has a gift and should use it. Vincent denies that magic is a gift: “It’s a loaded assault rifle with a hair trigger,” and he’s laying down his weapon. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks, including the covens.
Cami doesn’t understand that. Vincent explains that Josephine was their regent, the witch the ancestors speak through. Now that she’s dead, the covens want Vincent to take her place. Cami gets his desire to stop using magic; she lost Sean and Kieran to witches who used it for evil. But Davina is trying to use her magic to help people. It helps her to believe in something bigger than herself. In the right hands, magic can be good. Vincent says his aren’t the right hands. Cami asks if he can just help them with the golem. He tells her they need a heartbeat, then starts working out the details.
Marcel calls Hayley, who’s stepped away from the pack to feed Hope in a safehouse. It’s unclear whether she believes his report that Klaus didn’t kill Aiden. She tells him that the pack is struggling with the loss. Marcel admires her for caring for her people, but they’re facing a war. She can’t be both their friend and their queen. The wolves would die for her – will she let them? If so, she has to live with that.
Elijah goes to the bell tower, where Freya has just found Hayley with a locator spell and is ready to go get her and Hope. Elijah tells her to go to the Compound instead. She can use the ashes Klaus put in his paint to begin the spell that will make Dahlia mortal. Elijah will bring Hope to her.
Dahlia continues trying to convince Klaus that Hope needs her guidance. Klaus thinks he could find another witch to teach her, but Dahlia notes that Elijah and Rebekah could keep him daggered for years. Klaus slams her for trying to steal his family after being unable to form one of her own. “Family only ever brought me pain,” she tells him. She wants power, and she’s owed Hope’s. Without it, she’ll have to go back to sleep for 100 years.
Freya turned on Dahlia because Dahlia didn’t show her love. But Dahlia will allow Klaus to remain Hope’s father. She’ll channel Hope’s power while teaching her how to use magic. Klaus would have two powerful witches by his side. She tries to get at his ego, noting that he could be daggered for so long that Hope grows up calling Jackson “Daddy.”
Elijah goes to the bayou, where the wolves are ready to attack him. Jackson refuses to let him get to Hope. Elijah reminds Jackson that he didn’t stand up too well against Klaus, so he shouldn’t want to fight Elijah, either. Jackson notes that the difference between Elijah and Klaus is that Elijah can’t kill him. (Also, Jackson has hybrid traits now, so the fight might be a little fairer than when Klaus was just beating the crap out of him.) Jackson thinks Elijah’s waiting for him to die so he can take his place with Hayley. If Elijah kills him, Hayley will never forgive him.
Hayley joins the group and Elijah tells her that Rebekah and Davina have a plan to lure Dahlia with a decoy. They just need some of Hope’s blood. Jackson gives Hayley a look that says she shouldn’t do this, but she trusts Elijah and agrees to give him what he wants. Elijah promises that she can bring Hope home as soon as it’s safe, and she can be where she belongs, with her family. (Sounds like Jackson isn’t included in that.)
Dahlia offers Klaus some time to think over her offer. He knows there has to be a catch, so he wants to hear that first. The catch is big: Hayley has to die. Dahlia knows she would never let Dahlia do what she wants with Hope. Klaus is reluctant to approve the murder of his daughter’s mother, which will make Hope turn on him. Dahlia says it’s the right choice for her. She blows something in Klaus’ face that makes him revive in his coffin. He pulls the gold dagger out of his chest.
The pack pauses by the water and gets ready for Aiden’s funeral. Hayley knows from initials carved in the walls of a cabin there that Jackson, Aiden, and Oliver hung out there as kids. Jackson says they were like brothers and always looked out for each other. The pack chose him as their alpha, and Elijah wants Hope and Hayley to return to the Compound when this is all over. Jackson can’t be the alpha while living under Klaus’ roof. He loves Hayley and Hope, and he’ll honor their vows, but he needs to know who Hayley’s family is. If she chooses to move back into the Compound, he can’t go with her.
He joins the rest of the pack for Aiden’s Viking funeral, leaving Hayley to consider her choices. But she doesn’t need time to think – she wants the family she’s building with Jackson and the pack. Josh arrives just then, having found out about the funeral from Hayley. Though the wolves don’t want a vampire at the funeral for a member of their pack, Jackson tells them to let him stay.
Freya goes to the Compound to start her spell. She tells Elijah that when Dahlia steps inside, she’ll become mortal. Elijah wants Freya’s promise that Hope won’t be harmed if they use her power to lure Dahlia there. Freya says Dahlia won’t get close enough to hurt Hope. She’ll never be able to hurt any child again. Elijah injects her with Hope’s blood and says, “You are now the bait.” Like Vincent said, they needed a beating heart.
Freya worries that Dahlia will see through the ploy, but Elijah trusts Rebekah, who promised this will work. (Yeah, but does he trust Vincent, the person who told her this would work?) Freya says she’s not Elijah’s enemy. “We shall see,” he replies.
Back in the Claire tomb, where Rebekah should look for jazz music for St. James Infirmary, Vincent admires Davina for attempting a bold spell. He asks if she’s sure she can handle a resurrection on her own. She says she didn’t ask him for help and he replies that he needs hers. He doesn’t want to be regent, and he’d like to present the covens with an alternative. They want someone who has faith and will use magic to help people. He thinks Davina would be perfect. She reminds him that she walked away from her coven, but Vincent tries to entice her back by reminding her of all the power she’ll have access to – all sorts of different magics. One of them is necromancy, which Davina will need to bring back Kol.
Josh kisses Aiden goodbye and laments how long eternity will be without him. He and Jackson push Aiden’s body out into the water for his Viking funeral. Later, Hayley leaves Elijah a message saying goodbye. She and Hope can’t be part of the Mikaelson family anymore. Hope’s family keeps trying to destroy her, and Hayley won’t let that be her story. Family is supposed to love you. Even if Dahlia’s firstborn curse gets handled, Hope will still be Klaus’ daughter and inherit all his enemies and his anger. “I don’t want Hope to be a Mikaelson,” Hayley says. She doesn’t deserve the pain that comes with the name. Elijah and Rebekah listen to the message together, and she says Hayley’s right. Outside the room, Klaus has also heard the message.
He finds Dahlia in the City of the Dead and tells her that though he doesn’t care about Hayley, the other Mikaelsons will try to defend her. Dahlia says she and Klaus will just have to go through them. “They have more than earned everything that is to come,” Klaus replies. He wants to hurry before Hayley runs off with Hope, but Dahlia says they won’t get far tonight. She mixes up something that causes a thunderstorm so the pack will have to stop running for the night.
Etc.: It’s funny that Klaus thought no one would believe Cami if she said he didn’t kill Aiden, since Elijah immediately believes her.
Why is Josh packing to leave town when he was on his way to leave town when Aiden died? What else is there to pack?
I didn’t remember it from my first viewing of the series but Rebekah is the first person in the Vampire Diaries universe to use the word we hear a million times over the course of Legacies in relation to Hope: tribrid.
Can Freya make any supernatural being mortal, or just witches? Asking for a certain sister of herself who didn’t get the cure for vampirism.
Elijah injecting Freya and making her the bait is bad%$#.
An Eternity of Misery 