A prison inmate is running through the woods, not to escape the authorities but to escape Kol. He’s hungry after his five-year nap, and he, Rebekah, and Elijah have slaughtered and fed on a bus full of prisoners and guards to build up their strength. Freya’s not pleased, not because her siblings are killing people but because the screams of Kol’s latest victim are keeping her from concentrating on breaking the cloaking spell that’s hiding Klaus. Elijah yells from the side of the road for Kol to keep it down. In the woods, a crunching sound followed by silence indicates that Kol heard him.
Freya can sense that Klaus is still in New Orleans, probably underground. She won’t be able to narrow down his location until she’s actually in the city. Hayley tells her that’s not going to be easy – her contacts in New Orleans have told her about all the visiting vampires and their hatred of the Mikaelsons. They’ll need to get in and out quickly.
Kol would rather not deal with Marcel, so he suggests that they “draw that Muppet” out of the city, then swoop in. Hayley doesn’t want to delay this rescue mission – she’s eager to get back to Hope. Kol says they need to be sensible. They can’t risk another bite from Marcel when they don’t have more of the cure Freya made. Elijah overrules his brother and sides with his girlfriend (or whatever label we’re putting on their relationship): They’re saving Klaus today, even if it means burning New Orleans down.
Sofya tells Marcel that some vampires found Hayley in Austin and went after her and Keelin. Sofya found out that Keelin is the last of the Malraux werewolf line. Marcel knows that this means Hayley might have venom from all seven packs, and therefore the cure for his bite. The Mikaelsons could be on their way back to New Orleans right now.
After a call to Will, Vincent tells Maxine that the police are going to keep an eye out for Adam. The witches haven’t had any luck with a locator spell. Will told Vincent that the police have gotten a lot of calls recently about break-ins in a neighborhood of abandoned houses. Vincent’s going to take a look around the area and see if Adam’s there. Maxine gives him a protection charm in case Adam needs the extra help.
Josh’s life has changed a lot over the past five years: In addition to working as a manager at Rousseau’s, he’s moved into Marcel’s loft and started dating again. He and his boyfriend, Eddie, are saying goodbye before starting their days. Josh hears a noise in another part of the loft and rushes Eddie out, trying not to let on that anything’s wrong. As soon as he leaves, Elijah and Rebekah enter. Josh thanks them for not barging in or killing Eddie. “We’re only monsters by necessity, Joshua,” Elijah says. “Besides, we just ate,” Rebekah adds. She thinks Eddie’s sweet (but also vulnerable, since he’s human). Josh urges them to say why they’re there so they can get this over with.
Klaus has spent the night with the Tunde blade in his chest, and he wakes up to a hallucination of Cami. He insists that he can handle the pain of the blade, but she knows that that pain on top of his captivity and solitude are making him miserable. He snaps at her, which she knows is his way of sublimating his feelings. He’s upset with himself, not her, and he can admit it, since it falls under therapist/patient confidentiality.
Klaus tells Cami that he misses her and is ashamed that she’s seeing him like this. She believed that there’s light in him and that he could be a light for Hope. Instead, his sort-of son has left him to rot while vampires who hate him flock to his city. “I’m not a light. I am darkness made flesh,” he says. Cami tells him that he’s the reason his family is alive. He bought them the time they needed, and now they’re awake. She thinks Klaus can feel that the link he shared with them is broken. He has to know that they won’t leave him there. He’s worried that if they come to rescue him, Marcel will capture them, too, and kill Elijah. Cami replies that Klaus will have to save himself, then.
Freya, Hayley, and Kol go to the bell tower at St. Louis Cathedral, Freya’s favorite place to do magic. Meanwhile, Rebekah tries to convince Elijah to let her distract Marcel, since he won’t hurt her. Elijah doesn’t like the idea of her creating a diversion – she’ll be putting herself at risk. While they bicker, Josh grabs his phone and starts to send a text. Elijah catches him, so Josh says he was just going to order a pizza. Elijah’s like, “Great! ‘Cause I’m starving.”
Josh asks why the two of them need him: “I’m know I’m adorable but I’m extremely small potatoes.” Rebekah explains that they were going to get him to tell them stuff about Marcel, then use him as “collateral.” Now, though, she wants to try her plan. Elijah still objects, but Rebekah would rather risk her own safety than put her family in danger. Freya texts Elijah just then to report that she found Klaus. Rebekah tells Elijah to get him while she handles Marcel.
She meets Marcel at Davina’s tomb in the City of the Dead. He’s been wondering about her for the past five years. She wonders if he kept Klaus alive because he knew they were linked. If so, Marcel must still care about her, which means she might be able to convince him to let Klaus go. He asks what will happen if he says no. Rebekah reminds him that the Mikaelsons always get what they want, “no matter if it takes a thousand days or a thousand years.” He’ll have to decide if Klaus is worth the trouble.
Marcel asks if she thought it would be easy enough to just ask nicely. Klaus is a “good trophy,” and keeping him around has some advantages. It’s proof that Marcel took down “the worst monster in the world.” Plus, Klaus is an on-demand cure for werewolf bites, and holding on to him will keep the Mikaelsons in line. And, of course, there’s Marcel’s biggest motive for all of this: He wants Klaus to suffer.
Rebekah thinks his excuses are ridiculous. Marcel could just take a bunch of Klaus’ blood and keep it in reserve in case someone needs it. If he wants a trophy, he’s not much of a man. And Marcel has had enough revenge over the past five years. The Mikaelsons were at war, and war always comes with casualties and mistakes. The Marcel Rebekah used to love knew that. He tells her that Marcel is long gone: “Whose fault is that?”
Josh clears out Rousseau’s (using the old “gas leak” excuse) so the Mikaelsons can take it over. There’s tunnel access through the kitchen, the perfect way to sneak into the so-called dungeon where Marcel is keeping Klaus. Josh tries to leave as soon as he’s given the Mikaelsons what they need, but they’re never going to let him go if there’s a chance he’ll warn Marcel. Kol agrees to stay back to keep an eye on him, and also kill anyone who tries to follow Elijah, Freya, and Hayley.
In the dungeon, Cami urges Klaus to pull the Tunde blade out of himself. If Mikael could do it, so can he. She reminds him that Hope is out there, and as soon as he escapes, he can go see her. Klaus says he can’t. Cami doesn’t get why he’s choosing to stay even though he can get himself out. The blade isn’t the problem – he’s scared to see Hope. She’s old enough know to catch on that he’s a monster, and she could hate him for it.
Klaus wants a picture-perfect reunion with Hope. He wants her to run into his arms and know how much he loves her. Cami tells him that every father says that. He’ll have to deal with the day-to-day stuff kids go through, like fighting with friends. Klaus can’t fix her problems with violence. He’ll just turn her into a monster, too. Cami thinks that’s another one of his fears that’s keeping him where he is. As long as he’s in the dungeon, he can’t hurt her. He’s a myth, a hero who sacrificed himself to save his family. Klaus is done with the conversation, and since it’s all in his head anyway, he easily sends Cami away.
Marcel doesn’t feel like he owes Rebekah anything – Elijah killed him, and she defended him. Davina’s dead because of the Mikaelsons, and Rebekah made excuses for them. She notes that her family has always done whatever they had to. She knows what she is. None of them are innocent, including Marcel. The two of them agree that they were idiots to fall in love with each other. Rebekah pulls out the dagger stake, willing to infect Marcel with the same curse she suffered if it means getting her brother back.
Klaus tries to pull out the Tunde blade, but he can’t quite maneuver it out. He summons Cami back, though she notes that she can’t help. He needs to face his fears. He admits that he doesn’t want to be like Mikael or like the father he was to Marcel. Maybe Hope is better off without him. Cami tells him that all parents are afraid of screwing up. Hope needs her father now more than ever. Klaus says Hayley can protect her well enough, as if that’s the only reason Hope needs parents. Cami thinks Hope deserves Klaus. “Yes, history could repeat itself. If you’re not careful, it will,” she warns. “But you owe it to your daughter to try and change the narrative, for her and for you.”
Rebekah circles Marcel with the dagger, telling him he had every chance to do the right thing. He wonders who determined what the “right thing” is. This isn’t about him – it’s about Klaus. He guesses that Rebekah’s there to distract him while the others go rescue Klaus. He tells her this is over and she needs to let it go. Rebekah warns that as long as he’s holding Klaus captive, he’ll never know peace. Suddenly someone shoots a couple of crossbow bolts into her back. Sofya has come to Marcel’s rescue. He tells her to keep Rebekah there while he goes to kill Klaus.
Elijah, Hayley, and Freya have already found him, though. Hayley offers to let Freya channel her so she can take down the barrier spell around him. Back at Rousseau’s, Kol looks sadly at a picture of Davina. Josh offers him a drink and a toast to “nobody dying today.” He asks what the Mikaelsons will do after they rescue Klaus. Kol plans to leave New Orleans and never come back. Josh brings up his own lost love, Aiden, and how angry he was after Aiden died. Now he’s feeling normal again, and he knows Kol will, too, over time. Kol doesn’t appreciate Josh’s sympathy, but Josh thinks Davina would.
Josh’s phone buzzes with a text, and Kol picks it up to see it’s a single word from Marcel: “Teutoburg.” Josh tries to convince Kol that he’s not involved in whatever Marcel has going on. Kol warns that if anything happens to a Mikaelson, the city will burn, and Josh will lose everything. Josh spills that Teutoburg was a battle where the villains caught the heroes off-guard. Marcel’s text is a message for Josh to warn their crew that the Mikaelsons are back. Kol breaks Josh’s neck and comments that he’s lucky Davina liked him.
Vincent goes to the rundown house Adam was exploring in the previous episode. Adam’s not there, but he left his flashlight behind. While Freya’s doing her spell, Elijah realizes that Marcel has arrived at the Compound. He tells Freya to keep freeing Klaus, no matter what happens, then heads up to meet Marcel.
In the abandoned house, Vincent calls out for Adam but only hears the wind. It blows him back until he’s pinned up against a wall, then lets him drop. The blue light appears and Vincent immediately tries to hold it back with magic. It floats toward him, then sends out a blast of energy that causes him pain. He holds up the protection charm Maxine gave him, which causes the light to disappear. He asks whatever he’s dealing with to show itself. On the ceiling, an ouroboros appears.
Sofya keeps Rebekah immobilized in the City of the Dead, telling a minion that if Marcel wants her safe, they’re not going to do anything to her. Kol arrives and kills the minion, and Sofya wisely zooms away before he can do anything to her. He revives Rebekah just in time for her to help him fight some new attackers. He’s more than ready to leave New Orleans.
Marcel’s furious that Elijah came back to town after surviving a bite that should have killed him. Elijah’s fine with Marcel killing him now, if that’s what he wants, as long as Klaus gets his freedom. Freya continues her spell, and Cami tells Klaus it’s time to pull out the Tunde blade. Hayley hears Marcel and Elijah’s fight in the Compound and wants to join them, but Freya needs her to stay put for a little longer. Once her spell finally breaks the salt circle keeping Klaus in one place, she tells Hayley she can go.
Cami urges Klaus again to free himself. Elijah and Marcel throw each other around in the Compound until Hayley jumps in between them. Elijah tells her to stay out of it, since it’s not her fight, but Hayley thinks it is. They’re fighting over her daughter’s father. Marcel notes that he had Klaus as a father, too, and it didn’t work out well for him. Hope’s better off without him. Elijah tells Hayley to get Klaus and go. Marcel doesn’t plan to let either brother leave.
Freya struggles to keep the circle from reforming itself before Klaus can get out. Cami tells Klaus that his family needs him, especially Hope. He starts to pull out the blade as Hayley asks Marcel to let them go, knowing they can’t beat him. Marcel doesn’t think she should be seeking justice for her family. They were his family, too, and Elijah killed him. Klaus just stood there and watched. “There is only one justice left,” Marcel says, starting to wolf out.
Klaus comes up behind him and stabs him with the Tunde blade. Marcel manages to grab the hilt and pull it back out before it goes all the way in, but it’s at least a distraction that allows Klaus, Hayley, Elijah, and Freya to run off.
Rebekah and Kol wait for their siblings at a predetermined meeting spot near a drainage pipe. They were supposed to meet up 20 minutes ago, and Rebekah refuses to leave without the others. She thanks Kol for coming to get her. The others arrive and rush to get back on the road, but Marcel has caught up to them.
At St. Anne’s, Vincent tells Maxine that he saw and felt something at the house – something he’s seen before. He promises to bring Adam back to her, but there’s powerful dark magic involved here, and he needs her to stay away from it. She reluctantly agrees to trust him to save her son.
Marcel tells Hayley and the Mikaelsons that none of them should have come back to New Orleans. Hayley says families fight for each other. Marcel’s like, “It would have been nice if my family had fought for me.” Kol tells him he was never a Mikaelson and needs to get over it. Kol, don’t tick off the guy who can kill you with one tooth. Rebekah steps in between them before Marcel can do anything, telling him that if he wants to kill one of them, he’ll have to kill them all. She’s ready to end this for good.
Klaus tells Marcel that he’s won. The city is his now, for good. Marcel wonders if he’s really admitting defeat or if he’s trying to create another distraction. Klaus says it’s neither – he’s trying to make peace. If he tries to kill the Mikaelsons, whoever lives will seek revenge, which will cause chaos in the quarter. Even if he killed them all, Hope would one day come after him, and her children after that. Marcel would be bringing an endless cycle of violence on himself. Alternatively, he can let the Mikaelsons leave and never come back.
Marcel can’t believe that Klaus is trying to make this sound like he has a choice. Marcel could kill them all right now and sleep peacefully. That’s what Klaus would do. He’s killed more people and destroyed more families and lives than anyone in history, just because he could. Even though Marcel was raised by the Mikaelsons, he’s nothing like them, and he’s proud of that. He beat them all without turning into them. Now they can live out their lives knowing they’re only alive because Marcel showed them mercy. He tells them to leave and never return.
At his penthouse that night, Marcel thanks Sofya for her rescue with the crossbow. Even though Kol and Rebekah got away, he’s impressed, mostly because Sofya survived a face-off with Rebekah. He wants to celebrate. Let’s just say that from the way they’re talking to each other, I think the celebration will involve nudity.
Vincent pries up the floorboards in the confessional at St. Anne’s and uses his blood in a spell to open a safe underneath. He leaves Marcel a message telling him that something he’s dealt with in the past has returned. It’s a threat to everyone in the city…and it might be Vincent’s fault. He retrieves a book from the safe – a book with an ouroboros on the cover.
Eddie goes to Rousseau’s, having gotten a text from Josh asking for a ride home. Josh is confused, since he didn’t send the text, but he’s happy because he missed Eddie. In fact, he hasn’t missed anyone that much in a long time. Kol has Josh’s phone, and as he looks at a picture of Davina, he tells Freya he took it to do a favor “for a friend of a friend.”
The Mikaelsons have arrived at Hayley’s house, and Klaus is grateful that his siblings rescued him after five long years in captivity. Hayley knows it must have been horrible, but he tells her he had some “moments of solace” that sustained him. She asks if he’s ready to see Hope. She takes him inside and up to Hope’s room, where she’s asleep. Hayley offers to wake her but Klaus wants to let her sleep. He hasn’t seen Hope in five years – what’s a few more hours?
Etc.: I’m delighted that Kol knows what Muppets are. That said, Marcel isn’t a Muppet. If there’s any Muppet on this show, it’s Josh.
Speaking of Josh, I wish he had ordered a pizza because I want to see Elijah eat a slice.
That’s two restaurants in the Vampire Diaries universe with secret tunnel access. That’s enough, showrunners.
Yes! Code words! I want more code words! That’s how you do strategy!
An Eternity of Misery 