A second-line parade is starting up to honor Cami. As Hayley and Elijah get ready for her memorial, Vincent voices over a combination of a poem by Rabindranath Tagore and some stuff he just made up: “Say not in grief that she is no more, but be thankful that she ever was. And though she was taken far too soon, may her enduring light show us a way through this darkness.”
Kol, Josh, and Marcel are also mourning Davina’s death, so they join Vincent in the City of the Dead while Klaus, Elijah, and Hayley walk in Cami’s parade. Vincent says it’s hard for him not to think about vengeance at a time like this. Josh remembers telling Davina about his first boyfriend, something he’d never shared with anyone else. She was like a sister to him. Kol is too emotional to speak, and Marcel decides that what he wrote out to say isn’t good enough. He vows to make the Mikaelsons pay for sacrificing Davina.
Cami’s mourners gather at Rousseau’s, where Hayley makes sure the whiskey keeps flowing. She asks Elijah how Klaus is holding up. Well, he’s quiet, so that means he’s really hurting. Will approaches him, finding him familiar even though the only time he met Klaus, he was compelled to forget afterward. He’s curious about how Cami died. Klaus just says it was an accident. Marcel arrives and ignores Klaus, who wants to reach out to him over Davina’s death before Marcel’s anger at the Mikealsons leads to anything bad.
Kol skips Cami’s wake to go to the Compound, telling Freya that he’s already been to enough funerals for one day. He asks why Freya didn’t show up for either memorial. She’s doing something with blood and a skull, so he wonders if she’s taken up desecrating the dead as a new hobby. Freya wants to know if Lucien was right when he said the prophecy would still unfold even after his death. She’s using Alexis’ remains to see the prophecy and find out if it’s still in effect. Kol hopes it is, because he’d love to see his family punished for what happened to Davina. He won’t be around to see it, though, since he doesn’t see a reason to stay in New Orleans. Freya may have spent her life trying to find her family, but Kol never wanted her.
Will and Vincent meet up at a bar in the Quarter, where Will shares that he feels like something weird is going on in New Orleans. Vincent says that if he really wants to know, he should be careful what he wishes for. Will asks what happened to Cami, but Vincent won’t give him any details. Will refuses to believe that there isn’t a cover-up. There’s always some kind of trail, like a call to 911 or hospital records. In Cami’s case, there isn’t even a death certificate.
Vincent starts to leave, warning Will that he doesn’t want to know the truth. Will says he can handle it. He can’t just sit by and not respond to his instincts that something isn’t right. He won’t let this go. Vincent gives in and agrees to take him somewhere for answers.
Josh holds his own wake for Davina at Marcel’s place, with some help from Marcel’s alcohol. He warns Marcel not to act on his “declaration of war” against the Mikaelsons. Marcel says the Mikaelsons need to worry about him this time. He shows Josh the vial of upgrade serum Vincent gave him. “Oh, so you’re gonna die soon, too!” Josh says. “Well, that’s good to know. I’ll make sure I get this suit cleaned stat.” Marcel corrects that the serum will ensure that he can’t die.
Josh points out that if Marcel upgrades himself, he’ll become the only weapon that can take down an Original. That’s another declaration of war. Is Marcel going to kill all of them – Klaus, Elijah, Freya, and Kol? Kol may be on the outs with his siblings right now, but it won’t last. Even Hayley always chooses the Mikaelsons over Marcel. Does he really want to take them all down? Is that what Davina would have wanted?
Freya’s having trouble seeing Alexis’ prophecy, but when Elijah puts a hand on her shoulder, they’re both able to clearly see “the beast that is yet to come.” Lucien thought it was him, but it’s actually Marcel. They go back for another look, this time seeing everything Alexis did: Marcel standing on a bridge, Elijah with a werewolf bite, a bloody Hayley looking in a mirror while holding Hope, Marcel stabbing Klaus, and Elijah and Marcel toasting each other before Marcel attacks Elijah. The final part of the vision shows them a line of coffins. Freya tells Elijah that Vincent was able to get the upgrade serum from Aurora’s body, so if he gave it to Marcel, the Mikaelsons are in trouble.
Klaus goes to Marcel’s loft, trying to express his condolences over Davina’s death when what Marcel really wants is an apology. He had a chance to bring Davina back, but the Mikaelsons wouldn’t cooperate. “It seems you’re always willing to watch the world burn, long as you survive,” he says. Klaus reminds him that they had to kill Lucien before he destroyed them. Marcel points out that Klaus was the reason Lucien wanted to take them all out. Klaus doesn’t see Lucien’s motive as important – he was a threat and had to be dealt with. Freya just had to sacrifice Davina to do it.
Marcel asks if he’s supposed to just accept that and go back to being Klaus’ friend and ally. Klaus insists that letting Davina die was their only choice. Marcel asks what he is to Klaus – a friend? A sidekick? An ally? Klaus doesn’t treat him like one. Klaus says they’re “bonded by blood.” Yeah, they fight, but they’re still family. Marcel doesn’t agree. Klaus was his savior and mentor once, and he sired Marcel, but he’s never been Marcel’s brother. Now he’s nothing to Marcel. Klaus asks for one last chance to prove him wrong. Marcel agrees to go somewhere with him, secretly slipping the vial of upgrade serum into his pocket first.
Freya can’t detect any of the serum in Aurora’s (still-unconscious) body, and she tells Elijah that they need to warn Klaus. Elijah says he’s not answering his phone. Freya no longer has enough ancestor-provided power to handle Marcel like she did Lucien, so if Marcel takes the serum, she won’t be able to stop him. Elijah tells her to find Klaus while he looks for Marcel.
Elsewhere in the house, a music box starts playing by itself, making Kol think someone’s using magic nearby. A matchbook from St. James Infirmary lights itself on fire and a mirror cracks. When he takes a closer look, Davina appears in front of hiss reflection. His throat opens up and bleeds as he tries to tell Davina that he didn’t mean to hurt her. Everything suddenly goes back to normal.
Vincent takes Will to an abandoned, falling-down house – the house he used to live in with Eva. Witches are supposed to maintain a balance in nature, but sometimes they get corrupted by power. Eva tried to siphon power from the ancestors, which allowed her to create a depot d’argente, which Vincent says is like a “mystical battery cell” that stores negative magic.
He explains to Will (who’s freaked out by all this supernatural talk) that witches protected New Orleans until the ancestors made their deal with Lucien. That got Cami killed, and now the witches want a war with the Mikaelsons. Long story short, innocent people will get hurt because the ancestors don’t care about them, but Vincent can use the battery to sever their connection to the living. It will “wipe the slate clean.”
Klaus takes Marcel to a bridge, unaware that he could be fulfilling a part of the prophecy. It’s the bridge where they scattered the ashes of Marcel’s father after what I hope was a long, painful death. It’s the same bridge Marcel crossed when he first went to live with the Mikaelsons. Klaus sees it as a threshold between Marcel’s past and future. The Mikaelsons’ love for New Orleans bloomed along with their love for their newest family member, Marcel. He may hate Klaus, but…well, so does everyone else in the family.
Klaus has always seen himself in Marcel. When Marcel scattered his father’s ashes, he also released his hatred, something Klaus has never been able to do. That day, Klaus saw his full potential and began to think of Marcel as a son. Marcel laughs, asking if this field trip was designed to make him feel like he owes Klaus something. He’s already repaid any debts he owed. If any of them is indebted to the other, it’s Klaus.
Marcel would like to enjoy the sunset quietly, but Klaus has never gone more than two minutes without speaking and isn’t going to start now. He notes how much Marcel is like him. They’re both stubborn and angry. Klaus raised Marcel in his image, but instead of being proud, Klaus worried that Marcel would surpass him. Marcel says he never wanted to be better than Klaus, at least not until Klaus tried to hold him down. Klaus laments that he hasn’t done right by Marcel. But they’re bonded by fate, history, and blood, and they’ll always be family. Before Klaus can continue, Elijah arrives.
In the Quarter, a SWAT team led by Will raids Jardin Gris. Vincent grabs what he needs for the battery, explaining that New Orleans cemeteries both hold the ancestors’ spirits and focus their energy so they have access to the world. There are spots where the real world and the spirit world meet. There’s a tomb that serves as the seat of the ancestors’ power, and if Vincent can go into the spirit world and destroy it, he’ll cut off the ancestors’ link. All Will needs to do is make sure no one’s in the City of the Dead when Vincent uses the battery. Will asks how Vincent plans to get it into the spirit world. Kol arrives and says he has to die.
Klaus tries to send Elijah away, but Elijah insists on sharing his important warning. Marcel notes that this is typical of them – one of them is trying to make peace while the other is planning violence. Elijah thinks he’s pretty justified to want to take Marcel on right there. Marcel slams him for allowing Davina’s spirit to be destroyed. Klaus tries to make peace, but Elijah ignores him and asks Marcel where “it” is. Marcel shows him that he brought the vial of serum with him.
Kol wants to come with Vincent on his mission to blow up the ancestral well. Vincent doesn’t want his help, but Kol notes that Davina brought him back. Parts of her are still around, “fragments of her soul bound to those she loved.” He thinks she’s reaching out to him, and he needs to see her again. Vincent gives in and allows him to come along.
Elijah explains to Klaus that Vincent gave Marcel the last of the upgrade serum. Marcel doesn’t see any reason not to take it; it’s not like loyalty has ever gotten him anywhere. Klaus tells him not to be an idiot, like, that’s not the way to keep him from doing something you don’t want him to do, buddy. Marcel reminds Klaus that he’s family, so what would it matter if he upgraded himself? Oh, except then he would be Klaus’ equal, and he knows Klaus won’t stand for that.
Klaus tells Marcel that he’ll forgive this “act of defiance” if he hands over the serum. Marcel says he thought Klaus wanted his forgiveness. “You like it better this way, don’t you?” he asks. “Me owing you.” Marcel can only be part of the family if Klaus is in control: “Klaus Mikaelson, smiling down like a benevolent king. Showing mercy to all his subjects.” What Klaus has forgotten is that eventually, all kings fall, even Klaus. As the lights on the bridge flicker, Elijah realizes that this moment is exactly like what he saw in Alexis’ prophecy.
Josh brings Davina’s favorite record to Vincent and Kol in the City of the Dead. They’ll be channeling him the way Davina did when she visited Kol in purgatory. It’s “witch purgatory,” but Kol is able to go because he died a witch. They’ll need to conjure Davina and set up the battery bomb before the ancestors can send them away. Vincent drinks hemlock to kill himself (Josh: “Old-school – respect”) and he and Kol take a little trip to purgatory.
On the bridge, Klaus and Elijah continue to try to convince Marcel to hand over the serum. Klaus says he can’t let Marcel hold on to something that will allow him to destroy Klaus’ family. Marcel notes that he’s calling them his family, not their family. Elijah warns that Marcel will betray Klaus, and Marcel points out that the Mikaelsons have already betrayed him by sacrificing Davina. Yes, Klaus put down Lucien, but he created Lucien first. He turned him and taught him, then abandoned him. Then he blamed Lucien because nothing is ever Klaus’ fault. “Maybe you were the villains in his story,” Marcel says. “After all, that is the Mikaelson way, right? Kill, maim, torture, all in the name of family, always and forever.”
Marcel used to admire that promise. It gave him back something that had been beaten out of him: faith in the people he loved. He was an idiot to believe he was ever part of their family. “Always and forever is just an excuse to do whatever the hell you want,” he says. “Maybe it’s time someone put an end to that.”
Elijah slowly approaches Marcel, telling him to choose wisely what he does next. Marcel seems willing to think this through, but then he opens the vial and prepares to drink. Klaus rushes him but Marcel is able to throw him back. He tells Klaus he can’t stop him. Klaus says he just wanted to keep Marcel from crossing a line and doing something he’ll regret. Marcel thinks Klaus just wants to stay in control. He vows to hurt Klaus, no matter what he has to do.
Elijah has flashes of the rest of the prophecy as Marcel warns that Klaus will never be safe as long as Marcel is alive. Klaus can call Marcel family if he wants, but Marcel’s done with him. From here on out, Marcel is Klaus’ worst–
He doesn’t get to finish, because Elijah has come up behind him and torn out his heart. Marcel falls off the bridge and into the water below. Klaus is horrified at first, then furious with Elijah.
In the purgatory version of the City of the Dead, Vincent conjures Davina using her record. Back at the bridge, Klaus tells Elijah that the current swept Marcel’s body away. Elijah tries to explain that he wanted to prevent the prophecy from unfolding. Klaus argues that he could have talked Marcel down. Elijah disagrees, believing that Marcel would have killed everyone in their family. “He was one of us!” Klaus yells. Elijah corrects that Marcel hated them. He was once their friend and family, but as soon as Davina died, he became their foe. He led the Strix and knew all the Mikaelsons’ secrets. They betrayed him, so Elijah had no choice but to kill him before he could kill them. “Do you really believe that?” Klaus asks.
Vincent is ready to detonate the bomb, but Davina doesn’t want him to stay behind to get the job done. Once the witches in New Orleans are cut off from the ancestors, they’ll need a new leader. It should be him. She sends him out of purgatory before he can try to argue.
Elijah goes home and asks Hayley to forgive him. He’s suddenly overcome with emotion over killing Marcel. In purgatory, Davina asks Kol to tell Josh not to be sad, and that she got all the friendship she needed from him. She asks him to thank Marcel for being her family. She doesn’t know how to say goodbye to Kol.
He tells her that he saw her before they met in the record store. He was dead for “ages” (no, it was, like, a year and a half, drama queen), and when he woke up, everything was chaotic and he was full of anger. But that night he saw her leaving St. Anne’s like she was carrying the weight of the world. She paused to use magic to bring some dead flowers back to life. Her smile made him feel alive again. He hugs her and tells her he loves her. After one last kiss and a final “I love you” from her, she sends him out of purgatory.
Davina detonates the battery/bomb, which makes the cemetery shake in the real world. The guys run out before it can collapse on them. “Give ’em hell, Davina Claire,” Kol says. She does.
At the Compound, Hayley tries to tell Klaus that Elijah’s hurting from killing Marcel. Klaus wonders if she’d say the same thing if he’d killed Hope. She tells him not to use Hope to manipulate her, but Klaus thinks it’s fair since Marcel was like a son to him. Hayley tells him that Freya showed her the rest of the prophecy. None of it has been wrong yet, so Elijah was justified in doing what he did. Hayley reminds Klaus that Elijah has always forgiven him, no matter how much pain Klaus has put him through. Klaus needs to forgive him, too. Klaus tells her that she sounds like Cami.
Speaking of Cami, smoke blows past her headstone, which is engraved with 1 Corinthians 13:7: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” Kol, Vincent, and Josh walk through the City of the Dead, where small fires burn in the aftermath of the severing of the ancestors’ connection to the real world. Will arrives and Vincent tells him the witches are free. He’s grateful for Will’s help. Will says he spent months feeling like he was crazy, like there was something waiting for him in the darkness. Now he knows it wasn’t just in his head. He’s equally grateful to Vincent for telling him the truth.
Hayley returns to Elijah, trying to reassure him that killing Marcel was the only way to be sure the prophecy wouldn’t come true. She thinks Klaus gets that, too. But Elijah needs to forgive himself. He starts to leave the room without responding, but then he turns around and kisses her.
Vincent and Josh go to Marcel’s loft, where Klaus greets them with a passage from Hamlet: “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.” He tells them Marcel’s dead, then leaves. Josh panics, thinking he talked Marcel out of taking the serum. Vincent says he beleives that because Marcel wanted Klaus and Elijah to believe that. Marcel took the serum as soon as Vincent gave it to him.
Indeed, Marcel is still underwater, alive and well. Elijah unknowingly activated the upgrade serum by killing him, and Marcel is now the most powerful being in the world.
Etc.: Two real things in this episode, according to showrunner Julie Plec: the SWAT team and the cockroaches at Vincent’s old house.
Will’s greeting at Jardin Gris: “Psycho slumber party’s over. We got reports of health code violations, animal cruelty, and felony creepiness.” I think Will and Damon would get along surprisingly well.
Hey, how about we let the last two women on the show do some stuff, hmm?
An Eternity of Misery 