As Dahlia’s storm rolls over New Orleans, Vincent helps Rebekah do the spell to unlink herself from Davina and the other young witches. In the Quarter, Dahlia watches as a couple of partiers duck into an alley. Klaus ambushes them there and feeds on them. Back in the City of the Dead, Rebekah and Davina successfully complete the unlinking. Dahlia approaches Klaus, who tells her he understands now how horrible it is to be daggered – no wonder his siblings hate him. She advises him to keep feeding so he can replenish his strength before the storm.
Rebekah and Marcel meet up with Elijah and Freya at the Compound with the news that the unlinking worked. Marcel assures Elijah that Davina will do what’s expected of her. And what’s that? She’s going to accept the role of regent, which will give her both the access to the magic she needs to resurrect Kol and the political pull to get the witches to work with the vampires.
Marcel doubts that the storm is just a normal weather occurrence, considering that it’s starting right when Dahlia’s about to show up to get Hope. Elijah says they have a weapon, so it’s okay. Marcel isn’t sure they should put all their eggs in “one still-kind-of-mysterious basket,” i.e., Freya. Freya promises that she’s on their side and wants to take Dahlia down (not that she has much choice now, since Elijah forced her to be the bait). Elijah says that at the very least, they’ll buy time for Hayley and Hope to disappear. Rebekah closes a window and finds blood on the frame. She realizes that Klaus is no longer in his coffin. He’s still in the alley, and he’s had quite a meal.
Mary has joined the pack at their camp in the bayou, wanting to be part of the fight to keep Dahlia from taking Hope. When Mary was younger, before the werewolves and witches turned on each other, a voodoo queen showed her how to use herbs to detect when magic was being used nearby. She tells Hayley that when you burn the herbs, the color of the smoke will tell you if there’s no magic around (white), a hex has been used (black), or you need to run away as fast as you can (red). The smoke right now is black, making Hayley guess that Dahlia’s using the storm to keep the pack in one place.
Jackson tells Hayley and Mary that they’ll have to use backroads to continue their trek. Hayley relays a message from Elijah that Klaus is on the loose, so Jackson’s more eager than ever to get on the road. They decide it’s not a good idea to take the whole pack with them, so Hayley thanks them and tells them that she, Jackson, and Hope are going off on their own. She’s stepping down as their queen. The wolves all bow to her, and Jackson tells her that she’ll always be their queen.
Rebekah calls Cami to let her know that Klaus is awake and on the move. She hopes Cami can talk Klaus down from getting revenge on her and Elijah, at least until after they’ve dealt with Dahlia. Cami isn’t sure what to say to him, but Rebekah says it doesn’t matter. She’s the only person Klaus will listen to. Cami reminds her that Klaus’ worst fear just came true – the people he loves the most stabbed him in the heart – so he might not be in the mood to listen to anyone, including her. Rebekah’s like, “He’s in love with you, you idiot. Are you going to help or not?”
Cami calls Klaus, who ignores the call. He’s taken Dahlia to the bell tower to wait out the storm. She asks if he’s having second thoughts about standing against his family. He promises he’s not. Dahlia says they made a deal that allows Klaus to be in Hope’s life because it’ll make her happy, but Dahlia has no problem taking the baby away completely.
Klaus says Dahlia needs him. He knows his siblings’ strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. They would have no problem hiding from her for the rest of the year she has awake until she has to sleep for 100 more years. He knows how to defeat their enemies, and that’s what he intends to do. Dahlia calms the storm, since it’s done what she needed it to do. She tells Klaus that it’s time to take Hope. If Hayley fights, Dahlia is more than willing to kill her. He tells her she doesn’t need to worry about that. He has something worse than death planned for Hayley.
Elijah sends Marcel and the other vampires to search the city for Klaus. Rebekah wonders how he’s awake. Freya says Dahlia had to have done something – this was part of her plan all along. She must have killed Aiden and framed Klaus knowing that everyone would turn on him and he would switch to her side. Rebekah thinks that’s ridiculous – he would never team up with someone who wanted to take away his daughter. Freya points out that that’s what Hayley’s trying to do.
She’s finished her spell to make Dahlia turn mortal as soon as she steps into the Compound, passing between two of Klaus’ paintings. She gives Mikael’s knife back to Elijah so he can use it to kill Dahlia. Just then, Gia arrives to join the fight against Dahlia for killing Josephine. Elijah tries to send her away but she doesn’t want to be dismissed for her own protection. She’s annoyed that he hasn’t been clearer about his feelings. He kisses her, then tells her again to leave.
Klaus goes to Marcel’s loft, saying he needs something. He snaps Marcel’s neck while Dahlia looks on. Back at the Compound, Freya tells Rebekah and Elijah that they’re ready to do the spell that will make the golem into a decoy Hope. Rebekah notes that Freya’s awfully calm considering how many ways this could go wrong. Freya admits that she wasn’t happy that Elijah made his own plan instead of using hers. She was a little jealous that the family is fighting so hard to protect Hope while Freya never had that for herself. But she saw Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah making their “always and forever” vow when she was in Elijah’s mind. She knows that makes their bond strong.
Elijah tells her that the promise has had consequences. Rebekah goes so far as to say that it’s been more trouble than good. But Freya says that proves her point: “Family defines you even if it does demand sacrifice.” She’s always wanted what her siblings have. She’s happy to get a glimpse of it, especially if she’s facing death, than have to spend her whole life never knowing what it’s like to have family.
Marcel revives hanging upside-down from his ceiling. Klaus bled him to get the vervain out of his system (and also killed a minion and knocked out Gia when they showed up – he plans to use Gia for something else later). Dahlia wants him to get things moving, but Klaus wants to really make his family suffer for turning against him. Marcel will serve a big role in that. He promises Dahlia that by the end of the day, his former allies will be defeated and Hope will be safe.
In the Claire tomb, Vincent coaches Davina about how to approach the elders when they go to discuss making her regent. She has to go through a rite of supplication. Davina doesn’t think the covens will want her to be regent. She’s not sure why they chose Vincent. He says they see him as a “selfless saint” for betraying Eva to save a bunch of kids. He’s kind of an outsider with no biases or anyone to answer to, so if he presents them with the idea of making Davina regent, they’ll listen. Davina notes that her coven sacrificed her and her friends for nothing. Vincent says that as regent, she would have the power to keep anyone else from suffering the way they did. She tells him she’s only going through with this because she wants the power to bring Kol back.
With the storm over, the pack continues their journey – the whole pack, since the wolves won’t let Jackson and Hayley go off alone. Hayley tells Jackson that their plan to unite the pack and form a family was a good idea. She wants him to know he has a choice here just like the other wolves do. She’s tired of other people fighting her battles and making sacrifices for her. Jackson reminds her that that’s what family does. They stay with you when things are hard. He doesn’t want to be anywhere but by her side.
Back in the Quarter, church bells play Dahlia’s tune. Rebekah starts the spell to make the clay doll the decoy. When Dahlia arrives at the Compound, she sees Freya holding what looks like Hope. Elijah hides nearby with Mikael’s knife as Freya tells Dahlia that she betrayed her siblings to get Hope. She’ll hand Hope over in exchange for her own freedom. As Elijah waits for Dahlia to step between the paintings and turn mortal, Dahlia laughs at Freya for trying to bargain for what Dahlia is already owed. She’ll let Freya make an argument for her freedom, and Dahlia will either release her or kill her.
The werewolves cross some water, then steal a truck as a getaway vehicle. Meanwhile, Vincent takes Davina before the covens, who aren’t interested in having a vampire ally as regent. Vincent says she was manipulated. The ancestors forgave her and brought her back, so the witches should forgive her, too. A witch named Melinda says they want Vincent as regent and they don’t appreciate him trying to offer up an “inferior candidate” instead.
Davina’s been listening quietly from nearby but that makes her speak up. She tells the witches that they’ve lived in fear her whole life. No one took charge while the vampires ran things and children were sacrificed. Davina’s the only witch who’s stood up to the Mikaelsons – and she won. She’s young but she knows what the witches are up against. She can help them build peace and burn their enemies to the ground. “The question isn’t whether or not I should be made regent,” she says. “The question is what the hell would you do without me?”
Dahlia tells Freya she’s surprised that she dropped her plan to win over the Mikaelsons and betrayed them instead. Freya says her siblings didn’t want her as a sister. Dahlia keeps slowly moving toward her, getting closer and closer to the space between the paintings. She tells Freya that the other Mikaelsons are known for violence, so she should never have tried to join their family. She should have stayed with Dahlia, who’s always protected her. But Freya left and now she’s alone.
Upstairs, Rebekah chants to keep up the decoy spell. Someone’s lurking outside the room. Back downstairs, Dahlia taunts that no one could love a “deceitful little wretch” like Freya. As she gets closer and closer to the space that will make her mortal, Marcel appears in the room with Rebekah. He tells her he’s sorry, then tackles her. The decoy Hope turns to dust.
Freya grabs Dahlia and moves her between the paintings, yelling for Elijah to make his move. But Klaus attacks Elijah and knocks him to the ground. “And so the wheel of betrayal circles round once more,” he growls. He tosses Elijah up to a balcony, far away from Dahlia. Dahlia turns on Freya as Klaus follows Elijah up to the balcony and tries to choke him. Elijah thinks that Klaus is under Dahlia’s control and urges him to fight her. Klaus says that Dahlia only undaggered him.
They fight as Dahlia mocks Freya for failing to trap her. The problem is that one of the elements that represented Dahlia’s weaknesses was Freya’s blood, the blood of a witch Dahlia loved. She’s not the witch Dahlia loves most, so it wouldn’t have worked. Freya says she just wanted to be free. Dahlia calls her pathetic and sends her into her next 100-year sleep early.
Elijah continues struggling against Klaus, warning that Dahlia will take everything from them. Klaus replies that Elijah took everything by breaking the “always and forever” vow. Now Klaus will take something from Elijah. He turns him so he’s looking down into the courtyard, which Gia has just entered. Klaus tells her to take off her daylight ring. A compelled Gia reluctantly obeys, removing her ring and burning up in the sunlight as Elijah is forced to watch. “Wait until you see what I’ve got in store for Hayley,” Klaus tells him.
Elijah attacks him and they fall down some stairs together. Klaus eggs Elijah on to let his truly evil self out from behind the red door. When Elijah attacks again, Klaus stabs him with the Tunde blade. “You should have known better than to fight me in anger,” Klaus says, “for my anger is unending.”
Cami arrives in time to see Klaus putting his brother down. She tells him that this isn’t him – he’s better than this. Dahlia comes in and asks if there’s a problem. Klaus says no; Cami’s just “another victim.” He slowly approaches her as she tells him she knows he won’t hurt her. She’s known from the minute she first met him, and she trusts him. “Then you’re already lost,” he replies before biting her neck.
Dahlia comments that the Mikaelsons had a pretty good plan cooked up, but it would have failed. Klaus was smart to come to her side. Marcel brings Rebekah in, wearing anti-magic shackles, and Klaus tells her that if she’s not careful, he’ll give her the same treatment as Elijah. He compels Marcel to keep Rebekah at the Compound and kill her if she tries to run. Marcel tells Klaus to go to Hell, but Klaus says he just came from there, if Hell is where you’re betrayed by the people you trust most.
Dahlia asks Klaus for some of his blood so she can do a locator spell to find Hope. Rebekah begs him not to help but he doesn’t listen. The wolves set up for the night in a junkyard, and Hayley tells Jackson she wants to find a place they can settle down. She doesn’t want Hope to grow up always on the run. He’s open to living wherever Hayley wants to. This is enough to make Hayley decide that this should be the first time she tells him she loves him.
Back at the Compound, Rebekah considers her options, all of which end with Marcel killing her. She wonders if Klaus is trying to force her to die in Eva’s body and wake up in her original body, which will take away her chance to live a mortal life and bring Kol back. Marcel says the solution is simple: Don’t run. Then he won’t have to hurt her. But Rebekah isn’t going to sit by and let Dahlia take Hope, so they’ll have to do this the hard way.
Dahlia’s locator spell must have worked because Klaus is at the junkyard, ready to take on all the wolves. Jackson tells Hayley to take Hope and run. The wolves attack Klaus, and though the first few don’t make much progress, Jackson’s ready for a rematch with the guy who beat the crap out of him not too long ago. As Hayley is getting ready to flee with Hope, she sees that Mary’s herbs are releasing red smoke. That means Dahlia’s nearby. Instead of running and abandoning the people she loves, Hayley hands Hope off to Mary and stays back to take Dahlia down herself.
Marcel refuses to test Rebekah’s theory that if he kills Eva’s body, Rebekah will go back to her original body. She doesn’t think she has a choice. Marcel notes that Klaus could just want her dead. Rebekah doubts it, since that would take away the fun of tormenting her. She’s willing to try to escape so Marcel has to kill her. Marcel emotionally asks her not to do it because he won’t be able to stop himself. Rebekah realizes that he really does care for her. To save him from having to kill her, she does it herself.
Thanks to Jackson’s hybrid traits, his face-off with Klaus goes much better than it did last time. Hayley joins him but they don’t get much fighting in before Dahlia arrives. Hayley threatens to skin her alive. Dahlia does some magic and all the wolves start to transform into their wolf forms. Klaus says it was his idea to steal the Crescent curse from Marcel and use it against the pack. They’ll once again be stuck in their wolf forms whenever there’s no full moon. Thanks to the unification ritual, Hayley will join them.
Mary feels the effects of the spell, too, and fortunately, she pulls her truck over before she loses her ability to drive. Hayley begs Klaus not to do this – Dahlia’s going to take their child. Klaus says Hayley tried to take her, too, and this is how she’ll suffer for it.
The New Orleans covens gather in the City of the Dead to install Davina as regent. Melinda doesn’t look happy about it, but she also doesn’t protest when Davina gives her the chance to. Davina tells everyone that she was sacrificed by her coven and sided with the vampires against the witches who lied to her. Now she wants the past to stay in the past. The witches will stand together against anyone who wants to hold them down, including Klaus. “Here and now begins the time of the witches,” she announces. Oh, Davina. “The season of the witch” was right there!
Klaus and Dahlia find Hope in the truck as Cami regains consciousness at the Compound. A flashback from her perspective lets us know that when Klaus bit her, he gave her a psychic message. She picks up Mikael’s knife and goes to Elijah. Dahlia thanks Klaus for betraying his family so she could get Hope. He reminds her that she promised to protect Hope and only draw enough power from her to keep her safe. Cami uses the knife to cut into Elijah’s chest so she can pull out the Tunde blade.
Dahlia tells Klaus that once she channels Hope’s power, Hope will be under her protection forever. Klaus says that’s not going to happen. As Cami tells Elijah that Klaus got in her head, Klaus protests that Dahlia can’t link herself to Hope while she’s still under that spell that makes her sleep for 100 years at a time. Dahlia says she’ll use Hope’s power to end that spell. Klaus asks what happens if Dahlia fails or Hope isn’t strong enough. He has a better idea.
Cami reveals to Elijah that all of this is a trick. Klaus is just getting Dahlia to trust him so he can do what he needs to do. Klaus tells Dahlia that she can channel him instead of Hope. Once she breaks the sleep spell, she can link herself to Hope. Cami continues that Klaus needed to convince Dahlia that he’s turned on his family. He told Cami his secret, and now she knows how to kill Dahlia.
Etc.: Aww, Mary calls Hope her granddaughter even though she’s really Mary’s stepgranddaughter. That’s awesome.
I’ve never thought much about the similarities between Hayley and Elena, but both of them have the tendency to try to shield other people from harm. Hayley saying she doesn’t want other people to make sacrifices for her is just like Elena volunteering to die for Klaus’ curse-breaking ritual so her friends will be safe.
Maybe put the paintings closer to the door next time, Freya.
I guess we can assume that Rebekah didn’t think she would be strong enough to break Marcel’s neck, because that would have been the obvious solution to getting past him.
An Eternity of Misery 