Lucien and Aurora have reunited and are having a nice evening together, with a fancy dinner in a gazebo. Well, I guess the champagne makes it fancy. The dinner is just regular humans. Lucien wants this to be the start of a new chapter for them – a chapter where they use their newfound power to get revenge. Aurora’s heard a lot of big talk from men over the past 1,000 years, so she knows better than to believe Lucien’s promises without something to back them up. He vows to make Klaus suffer, but she reminds him that Klaus has a lot more power than they do. Lucien says he’s changed.
He brings out the second vial of upgrade serum and tells her that he’s now the most powerful being the world has ever seen. Just his bite can kill an Original. Finn is already dead, and the rest of his brothers will follow soon, as the prophecy said they would. Lucien gets down on one knee like he’s proposing marriage and offers Aurora the vial. He wants to spend the rest of immortality with her. She’ll have his undying love and all the revenge she wants.
Aurora’s open to this but doesn’t want to make any moves while Tristan’s still suffering at the bottom of the ocean. Lucien promises that if she says yes, she’ll have Tristan back by the end of the day. If Lucien can’t pull that off, he’ll just kill Elijah to end Tristan’s suffering.
Klaus hovers over Freya (saying he’s “supervising”) while she works on a sigil for a spell to take down Lucien. He suggests getting Vincent’s help, but Freya wants to let him keep hiding out at St. James Infirmary to avoid the ancestors. Elijah joins them and says that the ancestors are preoccupied with tormenting Kol, according to Davina. “Another day, another witch-inspired vendetta,” Klaus comments. He tells Elijah to take over “supervising” Freya while he goes out to actually do something that will help.
To give Kol some relief from the ancestors, Davina takes him to St. James Infirmary, where a live jazz band is playing. She says she knows how to fix all of his problems. It involves Vincent. The bar isn’t the only place live music can be heard in the Quarter, as there’s a big festival going on called Music Days. Cami can hear jazz through her window even before Klaus opens it to let himself inside. But he can’t enter, since Cami has put her lease in her neighbor’s name, banishing all other vampires from her home. Klaus tells her that was smart, and she shouldn’t have him invited in. He just wanted to make sure she was safe.
Cami expresses her condolences over Finn, since she knows how hard it is to lose a sibling. Klaus says he’ll get comfort from killing Lucien. Cami asks about Aurora, knowing she has access to the upgrade serum. Klaus says he doesn’t care about her, just Cami. But he knows that she doesn’t care about him (allegedly), so they don’t need to keep talking.
He heads through the Quarter and spots Lucien nearby. Lucien disappears and Klaus heads into an alley, waiting for a confrontation. He’s brought the Tunde blade along, but it doesn’t do him much good when Lucien ambushes him and is able to throw him into a car. Cami hears the fight from her apartment. Lucien has the chance to finish Klaus off, but Klaus refuses to be “defeated at the hands of a stable boy.” Lucien says his time will come; right now, Klaus still has to play his part in the prophecy. He’s going to help Lucien get Elijah.
Klaus attacks Lucien, trying to stab him with the blade, but Lucien holds him off. Klaus refuses to let him hurt Elijah. Lucien replies that Klaus won’t have a choice. He bends Klaus’ arm toward him until he’s stabbing himself with the Tunde blade. Cami watches from the end of the alley, terrified.
Vincent asks Kol if he heard anything the ancestors said while he was in purgatory. Vincent’s trying to figure out why the ancestors made a deal with Lucien and are targeting Kol. The ancestors used to be alive, and all living people want to protect their own. As unreasonable as they seem to be, there must be something Vincent can work out with them.
When he was a kid, everyone put their problems with each other aside for Music Days. The same spirits that were peaceful then have been restless since vampires took over New Orleans. The covens won’t know peace again as long as there are Mikaelsons around. Vincent thinks the ancestors see Lucien as a weapon to be used against vampires. To stop him, someone needs to convince the ancestors that there’s a better way. Kol wonders why Vincent would do anything to help him. Vincent says he’s helping Davina because he owes her.
Freya’s still working on her sigil, and I don’t think bugging her to work faster is going to help, Elijah. Cami shows up and tells Hayley that Lucien has Klaus. Elijah and Freya join them so Cami can report that she followed Lucien, who took Klaus to his penthouse. Just then, Lucien texts Elijah demanding a meeting at a bar called the Whiskey Cask.
Lucien has chained Klaus to a rod hanging from the ceiling of the penthouse. The rod and chains are made of materials that suppress evil. They’re inescapable, so Klaus doesn’t need to be immobilized by the Tunde blade any longer. Lucien says he’s been collecting items like these for a long time, biding his time until he could take on the Mikaelsons. Klaus tells Lucien that he’s as delusional as Aurora is, and he’ll scatter their ashes together after he kills them.
Lucien isn’t intimidated, and Aurora says Klaus is beaten but not broken. She hasn’t taken the upgrade serum yet, and she warns Klaus that when she does, he’s in for some pretty nasty torment. She can’t wait to kill him. Lucien needs to go meet Elijah, and he tells Aurora not to kill Klaus until he gets back.
Hayley doesn’t want Elijah to leave the impenetrable Compound to go see Lucien. Elijah knows he’s being reckless, but come on, it’s Klaus. Of course he’s going to go. Hayley tells him to be careful. In the City of the Dead, Vincent asks the ancestors how he’s supposed to lead the covens when they keep forcing him to do things he doesn’t understand. Van is there and tells him the ancestors won’t answer him. They know Vincent has been sneaking around and helping Davina even though she was shunned. The ancestors want him out.
Vincent says that if Van speaks for them, he should ask why they trust Lucien. Van notes that Lucien killed a Mikaelson, which is more than Vincent’s ever done. Vincent argues that he’s trying to keep the peace. The ancestors’ actions are going to start a war. Van says the covens will win that war, thanks to him. He blasts Vincent with magic and tells him his time as regent is up. The witches are going to take back the city and put someone else in charge. As of right now, Vincent no longer has access to the ancestors’ magic. Van is the new regent.
Aurora wonders if Klaus ever thought that they might be in each other’s positions when he was bricking her up in the tomb. He acknowledges that he did that because he couldn’t bring himself to kill her. She guesses that he would have released her after a significant amount of time had passed. Klaus notes that he and Tristan have one thing in common: They both kept Aurora locked up.
Klaus still had hopes for himself and Aurora. She asks if his feelings for her would be rekindled if she kissed him right now. She would feel nothing. Klaus doubts that: “We are flames in the darkness of each other’s worlds. We burn brighter together than we ever did alone.” He can forgive all she’s done if she’ll forgive him, too.
Aurora laughs at that, taunting him for being desperate enough to try to seduce her. Klaus thinks she’s equally foolish for considering Lucien’s offer. She could never really love him. Aurora admires Lucien’s dedication, but she only sees him as a means to an end. Why should she pass up the opportunity to rescue Tristan? Plus, Lucien is offering her the chance to remake herself with the upgrade serum.
Klaus wants Aurora to remember that they’re alike, and she wouldn’t be able to survive eternity without him. Yeah, nice try. She knows the happiness she’ll get from killing him will overshadow any pain that comes from losing him. She opens the vial and drinks.
Elijah goes to the Whiskey Cask, where Lucien wants to reminisce about seeing Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald perform live back in the day. Elijah’s like, “Yeah, they were great. Where’s Klaus?” Lucien wants Tristan’s location first, or at least the chance to kill him by killing Elijah.
Aurora needs to die to activate the serum, and she considers taking off her daylight ring so she can burn to death in the sun, then rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Klaus says she might ruin Lucien’s carpet. She should torture Klaus some more instead. Aurora guesses that he wants to stall her, but even if he got free, what would he do, kill her? That’ll just make her upgrade complete.
Klaus asks if this is what she wants. Becoming like Lucien will just make Aurora more miserable. He can’t save her from herself. Tristan and Klaus never could. She’s tried to cure her psychological problems for centuries, but she’s never been able to. Aurora picks up a stake and threatens to use it on him, but that’s what he wants. He tells her that though she’ll live forever, it’ll be a life without love. Aurora’s tired of him talking, so she twists a stake into his throat.
In the Quarter on the way to rescue Klaus, Cami worries that she’ll be a liability. Hayley tells her that if you have to do the thing you’re afraid of, your fear is for nothing. Cami needs to either turn her fear into anger or leave it behind. She controls her emotions, which puts her a step ahead of Aurora. Cami sees a sign for a pharmacy and gets an idea.
Lucien is impatient for Elijah to either tell him where Tristan is or let Lucien kill him. Elijah calls him an abomination and taunts that he’s just doing Aurora’s dirty work now. Lucien says the prophecy is on his side and the Mikaelsons are doomed. If Elijah gives him Tristan’s location, Lucien could give Elijah a quick death. Elijah says he doesn’t know where Tristan is. He doesn’t think Lucien actually cares anyway. Lucien admits that he never liked Tristan, but now he can tell Aurora he tried to save him. Time for plan B: Kill Elijah.
Davina and Kol are still at St. James Infirmary, trying to enjoy their time unaffected by magic. He suddenly gets overwhelmed by the sound of people’s heartbeats, including Davina’s. She realizes she’s able to use magic in the bar, which means the ancestors have broken through the spell to keep it neutralized. Marcel zooms in and breaks Kol’s neck before he can hurt anyone. He sends Davina to the City of the Dead to help Vincent.
Elijah demands Klaus’ release, but Lucien’s only intention right now is to kill Elijah. As he crosses the room toward him, he suddenly stops and cries out in pain. He’s trapped in one spot by a sigil on the floor. Hey, Freya finally got it figured out! The sigil binds him and weakens him, and she added a little something to make his blood boil. She can’t kill him, but she can make him wish he were dead.
Back at Lucien’s Castle, Aurora has decided it’s time to die so she can be reborn in her upgraded form. Then she’ll kill Klaus. As she’s about to stake herself, the elevator dings in the hallway. Cami emerges, delighting Aurora. She asks how vampirism is treating Cami. Cami says she’s enjoying it, and she came over to officially thank Aurora for turning her. She brought a knife, though, so I think “thank” is a euphemism.
Klaus tells Cami to leave, but Aurora’s more than happy to make him watch her kill Cami. Cami tries to stay confident, though she backs up as Aurora comes toward her. She doubts Cami is quick enough to get in a slash with the knife before Aurora kills her. Cami must not have thought this through. “Actually, we did,” Cami replies. The elevator dings again, this time releasing Hayley. She tackles Aurora, throws her on the ground, and reaches into her chest to grab her heart.
Klaus tells Hayley that Aurora drank the upgrade serum, so killing her will just make her more powerful. Hayley withdraws her hand, which allows Aurora to snap her neck and toss her across the room. Cami and her knife are the only defenses Klaus has left.
Marcel has cleared out St. James Infirmary, so Kol has calmed down. In the City of the Dead, Davina finds a matchbook from St. James Infirmary next to a circle of six candles. Some of the candles suddenly light themselves. Vincent warns her not to touch the matchbook – it’s part of a spell. The ancestors have made Van the new regent, and they’re going after Kol. Once all the candles are lit, St. James Infirmary will no longer be magic-free.
Davina knows that if the ancestors get to Kol there, he’ll lose control of himself. They need to stop the spell. Vincent can’t do anything without access to the ancestors’ magic, but Davina thinks they can stop this if they channel each other. Back at the bar, Kol wants to go find his family and Davina, but Marcel refuses to let him near his girlfriend while he’s aggressive.
Five candles are now lit. Marcel tells Kol that the ancestors are messing with him and he needs to leave the Quarter before he hurts someone. The longer he stays, the more dangerous he is. The candles all blow out and Kol calms down. He tells Marcel that he would never hurt Davina. Marcel says that if that’s true, he needs to leave New Orleans and never come back.
Lucien is able to overcome the pain caused by Freya’s sigil, so she welcomes in some Strix members as backup. Elijah lets Lucien know that they plan to bury him under a few tons of cement and turn him into a parking lot. (“Okay, guys, don’t forget where we parked – we’re by Lucien’s right knee.”) Lucien says that Elijah is as arrogant as ever. Lucien can kill anyone, and the ancestors won’t let anything hold him back. They release him from the sigil’s hold and he takes in the sight of all the Strix, not worried in the least about defeating them.
Aurora asks Klaus who he should kill first, the mother of his child or the woman of his dreams. Klaus wants her to take out her anger on him, since he’s the one who betrayed her. But Aurora would rather watch him have to see her kill two people he cares about. Cami volunteers to go first, as if she stands a chance against Aurora, upgraded or otherwise. Aurora decides to let her find out what happens when a vampire tries to enter a home without being invited. It seems the result is similar to an electric shock. Klaus begs Aurora not to hurt Cami, but that just makes her want to do it more.
Lucien takes on all the Strix until Freya starts a spell to tear out his heart. Klaus continues pleading for Cami’s life, but he’s not offering up anything Aurora wants more. Freya isn’t able to completely remove Lucien’s heart, but she at least keeps him still until Elijah can tackle him and throw him across the room. While he’s distracted, Elijah zooms out with Freya.
Aurora holds Cami over the entrance to Lucien’s Castle as she cries out in pain and her eyes bleed. Aurora says Cami’s as blinded by love as Aurora used to be. She wants to give everything for someone who will always be unworthy. While Aurora’s eyes are on Klaus, Cami almost gets out of her grasp. Hayley zooms over and knocks Aurora aside, then tells Cami it’s time. Cami injects Aurora with a syringe and knocks her out. Klaus looks at her like he’s thinking, “That’s my girl.”
Davina meets Marcel at St. James Infirmary and learns that Kol left town. It’s just until Davina finds a way to keep the ancestors from controlling him. She’s upset, of course, but Marcel says this is the first time in the two centuries he’s known Kol that Kol is doing the right thing. On his way out of the city, Kol feels peace as soon as he crosses the border. But moments later, he starts desiccating. He pulls over and zooms back across the border into New Orleans. The ancestors aren’t going to let him go quite that easily.
Lucien goes home and finds Cami’s syringe sitting outside his door and Aurora’s empty vial on a table inside. He watches footage taken with a hidden camera and hears Aurora telling Klaus that she’s just using Lucien. Klaus smirks at the camera, hinting that he only had that conversation for Lucien’s benefit.
At the Compound, Klaus kind of, sort of thanks Freya for finally getting the sigil right. She and Elijah joke about keeping him chained up and adding a gag. Hayley reports that Aurora is still unconscious. Freya used a spell on her that will keep her out until they can use the serum in her blood to come up with something to kill both her and Lucien. Klaus thanks Hayley for the rescue as well, and she tells him he can pay her back by changing diapers. She suggests that he thank Cami, too. He thinks she wants to be left alone, but considering what Cami went through to save him, Hayley doubts that she really wants distance from him.
Lucien shows up at Cami’s apartment, and since he hasn’t been invited in, she feels brave enough to taunt that she interfered with his big revenge plot. But he’s smart enough to know that she’s put her lease in someone else’s name, and that that someone is probably a neighbor, so they’d be close by if Cami wanted them to invite someone in. He’s already figured out who that person is and killed her. He’s free to enter and bite Cami, infecting her with the same werewolf venom that killed Finn.
Etc.: Cami reading The Art of War is a little much.
The Mikaelsons finally did what the Salvatores only took two seasons to do: They put the deed to their home in a human’s name (Freya’s, in this case) to keep out uninvited vampires.
Cami also made a good move putting her lease in someone else’s name, but the problem with signing it over to a human is that humans are just so killable.
If only vampires from Klaus’ sireline can enter Lucien’s Castle without an invitation, as he mentioned previously, how was Hayley able to get in? Is it because Hope’s blood made her a hybrid, and Hope is technically from Klaus’ sireline?
I’m not clear on Cami’s plan. Did she just inject Aurora with air?
Some of the ancestors must be Travelers, since we know they love putting magic spells on town borders.
An Eternity of Misery 