In 500 A.D., a Native American tribe on the Gulf Coast gathers for a blessing for a newborn. A shaman says something that goes untranslated, then puts the baby on a bed of flowers. The torches surrounding the tribe suddenly go out and the wolves that are in attendance start growling. Blue light emanates from the baby, surprising and terrifying the shaman.
In the present, Hope is trying to get a good look at the jawbone Hayley found, but it keeps turning away from her in the protective circle it’s in. She asks Hayley if she hears “them.” There are voices saying that the two of them are connected to “this.” Klaus thinks she means the jawbone, so they should throw it in the river. Hope clarifies that she means the ancestors and the witches. They have a message – Hayley needs to go to St. Anne’s to talk to them and do exactly what they say. She needs to go now, before the Hollow comes for them.
We know now that the Lockwoods were part of the Apisi werewolf line, who were somehow tied to the Hollow. Elijah also knows that Tyler’s bones are in Mystic Falls, so the Mikaelsons have gotten in touch with an old acquaintance for a favor – Alaric is on his way to New Orleans with an old finger bone. He’s making the delivery to keep Klaus from going to Mystic Falls, since “things tend to get murdery” when he’s there.
Over the phone, he tells Klaus that the Lockwoods safeguarded the bone and kept records about it and other families guarding the other remains of the Hollow. He asks if the name Labonair means anything to Klaus. It sure does! Alaric tells Klaus that could be a lead to finding the rest of the remains, but Klaus is on his own for that, because Alaric’s done with the monster-fighting. Check back in about nine years, Ric.
He’s going to be at a barbecue restaurant until 2 p.m., and if Klaus doesn’t show up, the bones and records will go in a Dumpster for him to fish out. Alaric, my man, the Mikaelsons are trying to fight an ancient evil that’s threatening innocent lives. I know you hate them – with good reason – but come on. Also, Klaus is sending Elijah to the meet-up, and Alaric would be smart to be patient with him.
Elijah asks Hayley not to go to St. Anne’s, offering to go in her place. She knows the ancestors aren’t going to want to meet with him after what he did to the teenagers in the last episode. He defends his actions, saying they were necessary, but Hayley’s learned that he uses that excuse a lot when he does bad stuff. He reminds her that they’re at war with a being they don’t understand. Hayley replies that that’s the point – they need help to understand it, and she’s going to get it from the ancestors.
As she leaves, Klaus joins Elijah, agreeing that Hayley’s doing the right thing. He thinks Elijah and Marcel should work together on this. They’re in a time crunch to get the remaining bones, and Marcel knows the city really well. “He’s the enemy of our enemy,” Klaus notes. Maybe it’s time to mend bridges instead of throwing people off them. Ooh, good one.
At his penthouse, Marcel tells his vampires to search the city’s antique and junk shops for bones that might belong to the Hollow. If the Hollow gets them first, she’ll be impossible to stop – they’re dealing with magic that the covens can’t defeat. But this is the vampires’ city, and they need to do whatever’s necessary to protect it. Sofya (possessed by the Hollow, AKA Inadu) arrives as the vampires head out on their assignment and tells Marcel that she only made a deal with Dominic to try to save him. Now that he’s free of the Mikaelsons, she’d like to work out their problems. Well, specifically she says she wants to put them to bed, which we can all assume she means literally.
Klaus goes to St. Anne’s with Hayley, thinking they’re walking into a trap. Hayley reminds him that since Hope is a New Orleans witch, and New Orleans witches protect their own, they’re not going to do anything to hurt her. Klaus notes that Hope isn’t a practicing witch yet, and since she’s seven, anyone who wants to deal with her should be going through him. “You’re gonna be a lot of fun when she starts dating,” Hayley comments. “I’m gonna be a perfect gentlemen, and should any of her suitors fail to meet my expectations, I’ll compel them to the priesthood,” he replies.
The girls Elijah killed for the most recent Harvest arrive to speak on the ancestors’ behalf. They want to make a deal, though they don’t want there to be any impression here that they’re the Mikaelsons’ friends. Klaus is fine with that.
Marcel has filled Sofya/Inadu (hereafter Sofadu) in on things, and she says she’s sure the vampires will find the rest of the bones. Elijah shows up and dismisses Sofadu so he and Marcel can talk privately. Except she only goes into the next room, and she has vamp hearing, so that was pointless, Elijah. He wants Marcel to come with him to meet Alaric, thinking that between the three of them, they can figure out where the rest of the bones are by the end of the day. Marcel asks why he should trust Elijah, and relatedly, why Elijah should trust him. Elijah doesn’t, but he’d like to put aside their rivalry so they can accomplish their common goal. He offers Marcel the Marcel-killing knife as a show of good faith.
The Harvest Girls get set up for a spell that will guide Hayley and Klaus to the ancestors. Since Klaus and Hayley aren’t witches, the girls had to find a loophole – they’re bound by blood to a New Orleans witch, so the girls can use their link to Hope to get them an “audience with the dead.” Klaus guesses they’re holding something back, but apparently it’s just that the spell is painful.
Klaus and Hayley are sent to the ancestral plane, where they’re soon joined by a familiar face: Davina. She’s the only thing standing between them and the Hollow, so they’re going to want to listen to her. But first, she wants to know how Kol is (she can’t see him since he’s not in New Orleans). Klaus says he’s in the French Riviera but will probably come back when Klaus tells him how “lovely” Davina still is. Hayley hushes him.
Davina says that she and the ancestors are on Team Mikaelson when it comes to their desire to defeat the Hollow. They need to know what they’re up against. A thousand years before New Orleans was founded, two rival tribes united to combine their power. Two witches were married to unify their coven. A flashback shows the shaman from the beginning of the episode performing the ceremony. Hayley notes that that’s similar to her and Jackson’s unification ceremony. “Let me guess: Something went wrong,” Klaus says.
Davina continues that the wife got pregnant. During the pregnancy, tribal elders used magic to give the baby power. They wanted to make her a symbol of prosperity. They didn’t realize what they were doing. The baby was named Inadu, and it became clear that she was stronger than the tribe could imagine. She also hungered for more power. That’s how the Hollow was born. Klaus isn’t interested in this “frightening fodder for campfire tales” – he just wants to know how to kill the Hollow. Davina tells him they can’t.
“Good thing we brought the German sports car,” Elijah comments as he and Marcel go to meet Alaric at Jack’s Bar-B-Q Shack. “Says the man in the $5,000 suit,” Marcel snarks. “9, if we’re counting. I’m not a barbarian,” Elijah replies. Marcel hopes the “expert” they’re meeting will come through; if not, this is a big waste of time. “That’s so very hurtful, Marcellus,” Elijah says. “And here I thought we were having a marvelous galactic adventure together.”
Marcel is pretty sure that Elijah only brought him along to keep an eye on him. Klaus is up front about protecting his family, but with Elijah, there’s always a facade and an angle. Elijah asks what he’s supposed to do when there’s a threat looming. Marcel knows, and he knows how Elijah handles threats, like the time he killed Marcel. To be clear, Marcel will never forgive him for that. Elijah doesn’t expect him to, and he admits that he’ll never forgive himself, either.
As Alaric nears New Orleans, his car shuts down and comes to a stop right in front of Sofadu. She tells him to give her the bone, but he says that “some other guy called dibs, and he’s a real jerk.” He gets out and fires a crossbow at her, but she just catches the bolt and uses magic to throw him aside. He laughs, saying he knows something she doesn’t: The trunk of his Jeep is full of C-4. He fires a bullet at it and blows it up.
Hayley asks Davina why they’re getting a history lesson about something they can’t kill. Davina says the ancestors want them to know what they’re up against. Klaus scoffs that in 1,000 years alive, he’s never met something he can’t kill. They’ll find away to defeat the Hollow, too.
Hayley says that Inadu’s family should have stopped the tribe from turning her into what she became. Davina tells her that they tried, but Inadu was able to channel life in multiple forms. She craved power and loved the fear she inspired in people. Eventually the ruthlessness and emptiness her people saw in her became what defined her. That’s when they started calling her the Hollow. Hayley guesses that she killed her tribe. Davina says it wasn’t because they were mean or harmful – she just enjoyed it. “Well, to be fair, we all have our bad days,” Klaus says.
Dead, ancestral-plane Davina has no more patience for Klaus than she did when she was alive, and she asks if he thinks this is a joke. He’d just like to get to the useful part of the story. Davina tells him that the Hollow only has one weakness: Hayley. She’s the only chance they have to win this war. Klaus asks for an explanation but Davina’s done with him. She grabs Hayley’s arm and they both disappear.
Marcel and Elijah meet Alaric at the scene of his encounter with Sofadu. He tells them he blew up “one of those vampire/witch combos” when she tried to take the bone from him. They figure out it was Sofya and that the Hollow is inside her. Marcel wants to save her but Elijah wants to put her out of her misery. Before they can inevitably fight, Alaric steers them toward using the Lockwoods’ records to find the other bones. Someone from another werewolf line, Del Robles, is buried in the Treme with one of the bones.
Marcel’s knowledge of the city comes in handy, just as Klaus expected, and he says that the cemetery where the family was buried was redeployed after some flooding. The people buried there were separated by class. Elijah knows the Del Robles line was aristocracy, so Marcel easily figures out where they need to go. Alaric has a small request before they head over there: Take him to the hospital.
Hayley and Davina return to the real world and Davina says that Hayley is the key to stopping the Hollow. It’s all about her bloodline – that’s the only thing that worked against her. When Inadu became too evil for her people to handle, they tried to kill her, but she was too powerful. Even when the tribe elders were able to capture her and bind her magically, she was too strong. Four elders put their magic in an axe and gave it to Inadu’s mother to kill her. Inadu cast a spell powered by her death that cursed everyone present. It bound them to the full moon and made them turn into wolves like the ones they’d used to hunt her down. Inadu created the first werewolves.
Davina continues that Inadu had the Crescent mark just like Hayley does. Inadu’s mother became the first of the werewolves, and the others present became the heads of the six other lines. Hayley’s line began it all, so only someone from her line has power over the Hollow. That’s why Inadu has targeted Labonairs over the years, and it’s why she wants Hayley dead. If Hayley dies, there’s just one Labonair left: Hope. Davina promises that Hayley can protect Hope, but she’ll need to trust Davina.
Marcel and Elijah go to the Del Robles crypt, but there are a bunch of them there, so it’s going to take a while to find the bone they need. There’s a plaque that reads, “Our hearts will always defend this land,” which Marcel thinks is a clue. Back at St. Anne’s, Davina tells Hayley that since the ancestors can’t find Inadu, she must have chosen a host. If Hayley can track her, she can fight her. Her blood is the Hollow’s weakness. Once Hayley has used it on Inadu, Davina can use Klaus to cast a spell to imprison her. She reminds Hayley that she’ll need to trust Davina for this to work. As Hayley heads out, Davina sends the Harvest Girls to do whatever they know comes next.
Elijah finds the tomb of a woman named Olivia Tierra Del Robles and figures it’s what they’re looking for, since Tierra means “land.” Marcel punches through her tombstone and retrieves the bone inside. Elijah wants him to hand it over, but Marcel thinks it would smart to keep it away from the jawbone the Mikaelsons already have. Elijah will just have to trust him. Gee, there’s a lot of that going around! Also, that’s not going to happen. Elijah shoves Marcel up against a wall, pulls out the Marcel-killing knife, and says he doesn’t have to trust anyone. “Careful, Elijah. Your true colors are starting to show,” Marcel replies. He knows that no matter what Elijah says, he’ll always opt for violence first, “always and forever.”
Sofadu arrives and tells them that their prize is already theirs. Marcel tries to get through to Sofya, sure she’s still in her body somewhere, but Sofadu says she’s nothing compared to Inadu. She demands the bone and Elijah challenges her to come take it from him. She throws both guys around, easily making Marcel drop the bone. But then Hayley zooms in, ready for a face-off.
Klaus returns from the ancestral plane and Davina says she sent Hayley to save everyone. Klaus thinks she’s actually trying to get revenge by holding him captive. Davina says she doesn’t care about revenge. She’s a New Orleans witch and wants to protect her home, not just for herself but for Hope. Klaus wants to be released from the circle she’s keeping him in, but she needs him there.
They have the same problem the tribes did: After Inadu’s death, her spirit became more powerful. She haunted her people with her blue lights. They burned her remains but couldn’t destroy all the pieces. When they were together, Inadu’s power grew. The bones were given to four families who were tasked with keeping them apart forever. Now that Inadu’s free, she’ll stop at nothing to get those pieces together. Klaus thinks it should be simple enough for Davina to put Inadu back in the prison she was in before the ancestral link was severed. Davina replies that that’s why Klaus is there.
Hayley cuts her hand, drips blood on the Marcel-killing knife, and uses it to stab Sofadu. But that isn’t enough to stop her – trapping Inadu requires a release of power only achieved when an immortal being is sacrificed. Davina is telling Klaus the same thing at St. Anne’s, but it takes him a while to get that she needs him for something more than just powering a spell. Sofadu asks whether Marcel or Elijah will be the one to die to stop her. Well, if Hayley’s choosing, we all know who she’ll pick. “No one is dying today,” Marcel declares, so Sofadu takes off. Hayley tells Marcel and Elijah that, actually, someone might die today: Klaus.
Klaus doesn’t think Davina can kill him, but she knows about the thorns. She sent the Harvest Girls to get some. Klaus notes that it’s convenient that his death will defeat Inadu. Davina points out that since she helped break the link to the ancestors, which allowed Inadu to escape, it makes sense for her to fix this. Klaus is going to have a slow, painful death, but she can use magic to make it a little easier.
At the Compound, Hope hears whispers again, then clearly hears Klaus’ voice begging Davina not to hurt him. She takes off her anti-magic bracelet and runs off. Meanwhile, Hayley, Elijah, and Marcel get to St. Anne’s, where Hayley advises Elijah not to enter the sanctuary, since he’ll just tick Davina off. Davina appears to Hayley and Marcel, telling them she has to kill Klaus or the Hollow will come for everyone else. With Marcel there, Davina no longer needs thorns – he can kill Klaus.
Marcel resists, but Davina thinks Klaus has lived enough lifetimes and doesn’t need any more. Hayley argues that he’s Hope’s father, which Davina doesn’t consider a good enough reason to let him live. In fact, killing Klaus will save Hope and all of New Orleans. Elijah comes in and says that Davina’s real problem is with him. Davina tells him this is about killing one person for the greater good. Elijah offers himself up instead. “Nobody’s dying today,” Marcel repeats, but Davina uses magic to make him wolf out, then extracts some of his venom. As it crawls toward Klaus, she says this is the only way to save everyone.
Suddenly Hope arrives. She reminds Davina that the ancestors promised to help, and Hope won’t let her hurt anyone. She causes wind to blow through the sanctuary, breaking the salt circle keeping Klaus immobilized. Davina disappears and Hope runs to her father.
Instead of getting the heck out of New Orleans as fast as possible, Alaric goes to the Compound, where he meets Hope for the first time. She knows from Klaus that he studies supernatural things. Alaric tells her that there are a lot of interesting things out there, and not all are dangerous. She shows him some magic objects she’s created, partly with help from Freya’s books and partly on her own. He’s impressed with the “littlest Mikaelson.”
Hayley brings Hope some candy, Klaus’ reward for saving the day. Hope thinks he’s sad, and Hayley says it might be because he wanted to be the hero today. But both of them agree that Hope was very brave. Hope says she just thought about what Hayley would do. Hayley always says that if they stick together, nothing can hurt them, “always and forever.”
Alaric finds Klaus, who reluctantly thanks him for lending a hand. Alaric’s like, “Stay out of Virginia and we’ll call it even.” He warns that Klaus won’t be able to keep Hope locked up much longer. He thinks the Salvatore School would be the perfect place for her. Josie and Lizzie are doing great there, learning how to use their powers for good and how to embrace who they are without being scared. Hope would be welcome there, too. Klaus isn’t interested.
Hayley examines her Crescent birthmark in a mirror, covering it up when Elijah joins her. She’s upset with him for promising her a future, then offering himself as a sacrifice. They would have been able to find another way to defeat the Hollow. Elijah argues that there isn’t always time to come up with an alternate plan. Hayley notes that Hope just got her family back, and she needs Elijah. He replies that Hope needs Klaus. “I need you,” Hayley clarifies. She loves him but they need to find a way to balance fighting and protecting themselves with a good life.
Elijah says that Rebekah asked him if there was somewhere he could go to start over and be happy. He decided on Manosque, a village in the south of France. When they’ve defeated the Hollow, he’ll take Hayley there. He promises he’ll make things right. He moves to kiss her but there’s one more thing she wants him to do: Give Marcel the knife that can kill him.
Marcel visits Davina’s tomb and apologizes. He fell apart after he lost her and took it out on Klaus and Elijah. He felt like they deserved what they got, but Davina’s still gone, and the only thing he can hold on to is his code. When he was growing up, he saw what happens without one. Davina’s spirit watches, unseen, as Marcel says he didn’t let her down. He’s sure there’s another way to defeat the Hollow. He hopes Davina still believes in him.
Elijah goes to Marcel’s penthouse and hears someone moving around inside. Sofadu ambushes him, stabbing him through the back with a stake wrapped in thorns. She hopes he’s ready to die because she’s ready to live.
Etc.: Maybe stop with the fake Native American lore, show?
The scene where Elijah and Marcel meet Alaric on the road is full of the reasons I like Alaric so much on these shows.
There’s a great blooper in the scene where Klaus returns from the ancestral realm and asks Davina where Hayley is. Instead of saying she sent Hayley to “save us all,” Danielle Campbell accidentally says she sent Hayley to “kill us all.” Now THAT would have spiced up the season.
If you’ve seen Legacies, you know that this episode is momentous: It’s the first time Hope and Alaric meet, and it sets up the whole second spin-off.
I can’t believe Klaus doesn’t say anything to Alaric about Caroline, just to get under his skin.
I keep imagining Klaus calling Kol, just saying, “Davina says hello,” and hanging up.
An Eternity of Misery 