Vincent voices over that “New Orleans is a survivor” and has turned “misery into magic.” Through everything, the people always set aside their differences to celebrate Mardi Gras together. As the different factions put together their floats around the city, Vincent says there’s something for everyone there, “as long as you can stand the heat.”
Klaus pulls him, Ivy, and another witch named Colette aside to tell them that Hope admitted to using a cloaking spell on Hayley. Since someone else was able to find her, a witch must have been involved. Vincent doesn’t think any of his witches would go after Hayley. Plus, they helped search for her. She’s a friend of theirs and has earned their respect, unlike Klaus. Klaus challenges Vincent to prove their innocence by finding Hayley.
He next goes to the bayou to discuss the situation with Lisina and a werewolf named David. David tells him they’re the victims here – someone killed Henry because he became a hybrid. Klaus notes that the werewolves were disgusted by that and could have harmed both him and Hayley. Maybe they’re trying to point the finger at the vampires to cover for themselves. Klaus tells them to mobilize and find their alpha.
Finally, Klaus meets with Marcel, Josh, and Greta. Marcel notes that his vampires know they’d have to answer to him if they did anything to Hayley. Klaus thinks they were responsible for Henry’s death and hung him up to rile up the wolves. “Perhaps your royal status has wilted along with your marital prospects,” Klaus says. Oh, ouch. Josh tells him that the vampires like Hayley and none of them would have hurt her. Klaus suggests that they find her before sundown or he’ll have a family reunion and let the Hollow destroy everyone.
Marcel follows Klaus home, where he’s compelled the police to investigate Hayley’s disappearance. They may not have supernatural abilities but they outnumber the non-humans in the city, so at the very least, they’ll provide extra sets of eyes. Marcel notes that Klaus seems pretty Klaus-like, even though the rumors going around about him say he’s lost it. Marcel hopes he’s not planning something that everyone will regret. Klaus says he won’t have to if Hayley’s abductor returns her unharmed.
Marcel asks what happened when Klaus went to France to see Elijah. Klaus lies that he wasn’t there, but Marcel knows he was, since the maggots that resulted from their proximity to each other have also popped up in Mystic Falls. Klaus suggests that Kol and Rebekah met up, taunting that Rebekah certainly isn’t with Marcel. Marcel warns that the city won’t put up with whatever revenge Klaus is threatening. Klaus is like, “I guess you’re motivated to find Hayley, then.” A note suddenly appears out of thin air with an address on it in the Treme.
Vincent calls Freya to fill her in on Klaus’ recent antics. She’s in Mystic Falls to visit Hope, and she tells Vincent to just ride out her brother’s bad mood. He warns her to be careful with Hope, since Ivy’s tarot cards hinted that she’s “the devil in disguise.” Freya reminds him that Hope’s only 15, too young to be fated to turn out a certain way. Freya’s going to make sure she’s not anyone’s downfall.
Hope thinks Freya’s come to the Salvatore School because she has bad news about Hayley. Freya just wanted to deliver a care package of beignets in person. Hope claims she’s fine and doesn’t need her company, but it’s just because she’s busy working on a locator spell (which she’s not supposed to do outside of the classroom). Freya’s in no rush to drive all the way back to New Orleans, and she tempts Hope to take a break to eat beignets with her and talk about Roman.
Klaus and Marcel head to the address they received, which is in a quiet neighborhood. Marcel thinks they could be walking into a trap. He wants Klaus to admit that he could use help. “If your assistance requires psychological evaluation, allow me to make this easy for you: Psychopath on a mission; no time for chitchat,” Klaus replies. Yeah, only Cami is allowed to evaluate him! Marcel says he cares about Hayley, too, so Klaus should be nicer to him.
They arrive at a rundown house and find blood smeared on some of the walls inside. There’s also an empty chair that once held a captive with ropes soaked in wolfsbane and vervain. Someone has used blood to write on the wall, “Freak. Filth. Crossbreed.”
Hope takes Freya to the school’s soccer field to watch Roman play. It’s a normal scrimmage like at any normal school until a witch uses magic to freeze the ball in the air so Roman can hit it with his head. Roman totally eye-flirts with Hope and gives her a wave, but she gets a little embarrassed.
Freya asks about the stuff she was looking at earlier, which included magic to break a cloaking spell. Hope wants to try that, since no one’s had any luck with locator spells. Plus, she’s the one who used a cloaking spell in the first place – maybe she can lift it without being near Hayley. Freya reminds her that that’s never been done before, but Hope doesn’t want to sit around and do nothing. Freya agrees to help her.
Josh and Greta head to the bayou to help with the search, which she thinks is a waste of time and a poor way to honor Poppy’s memory. Josh notes that Marcel wants Klaus to leave New Orleans ASAP, and he won’t go until Hayley’s safe, so they’re just helping things along. Getting rid of Klaus would be good for everyone. Greta thinks what’s good for everyone might not be good for the vampires.
As they split up, Klaus ambushes Josh and confronts him for his comments about getting Klaus out of town. Josh thinks those should be canceled out by the fact that he’s trying to help. Klaus responds by taking him to the dungeon at the Compound, where he’s already brought Colette and David. He now has one hostage from each faction (though he calls this “gentle encouragement,” not kidnapping). He tells Colette to do a barrier spell so they’ll stay put. She refuses, so Klaus asks Josh to tell her the consequences of disobeying him. Then he jumps in to do it himself, threatening to hunt down everyone Colette loves. When Josh confirms that he’s serious, Colette does the spell.
Vincent does his own spell at the rundown house, determining that Hayley was definitely there at some point. Marcel asks if he’s 100 percent sure none of the witches took Hayley. Vincent is, and he asks Marcel the same question about the vampires. Marcel admits that after his seven years away, he’s not seeing as much loyalty as he used to. Vincent says he liked the city better when it was a democracy instead of a monarchy. No one missed Marcel or the Mikaelsons.
Ivy arrives and tells Vincent that Klaus kidnapped Colette, David, and Josh. He’s going to kill them if Hayley isn’t returned by sundown. So much for Klaus not doing something you’ll all regret, right, Marcel? Vincent complains that he keeps giving the Mikaelsons the benefit of the doubt and helping them with magic, and the result is always the same: Someone innocent gets put in the middle.
Ivy notes that the witches are always jumping in to help others, but who’s looking out for them? They can’t try to rescue Colette right now – Klaus will kill all the hostages. Vincent says that Klaus is unpredictable and a brilliant war strategist, but he needs Elijah to keep a leash on him. Vincent insists that they go get Colette now. Ivy suggests that they look to her tarot cards for guidance instead. At least they’ll know if Klaus gets out of line.
Marcel goes to the dungeon and demands that Klaus let Josh out. (Sorry, David and Colette – you’re on your own.) Klaus says Josh is much more useful where he is. Marcel complains that his vampires already think he’s following Klaus’ orders. Hmm, sounds like a Marcel problem, not a Klaus problem. Klaus notes that the words on the wall of the house apply to Marcel, too. Maybe the vampires aren’t listening to him because he’s not just a vampire anymore.
Marcel points out that the words apply to Hope as well. Klaus says all of this is for her. Hayley was taken by force and tied up like an animal because people are afraid of her. The abductors’ language is fear, so that’s how Klaus will speak to them. He tosses some letters on the ground and tells Marcel to deliver them.
Hope takes Freya to an old mill near the school, which she thinks is Josie and Lizzie’s “evil mean girl lair.” It’s also a spot where students can sneak a drink or, in this case, secretly do magic. Freya wants to retrace Hope’s steps so they can figure out if someone followed her when she hid Hayley. They use Hope’s blood for the spell, but since she heals faster than she can bleed, she’ll have to keep cutting herself. She guesses that Freya picked a spell she doesn’t actually want to do. Freya admits that it won’t work – if it could, one of the Quarter witches would have tried it already. Hope thinks Freya’s trying to distract her. Freya admits that Vincent and Ivy learned something about her.
Marcel gives Greta and Lisina the letters, which contain goodbye messages from Josh and David. Greta asks why they’re supposed to care about Hayley – she’s not a vampire. Marcel dismisses her indifference, since she’s a newbie. Greta calls him a “self-made legend” and wonders if his loyalties have changed since he got fangs. He replies that he’ll use those fangs to shut her up permanently if she doesn’t start following his orders.
Greta turns on Lisina, saying this all started when Henry killed Poppy. Lisina notes that the vampires responded by murdering Henry. Greta says he was a threat, and Lisina shoots back that he was a kid. Marcel shuts them up and threatens to kill them if Josh dies because of them. He orders them to go back to looking for Hayley.
Ivy and Vincent go to a tomb for another card reading. She’s heard stories about him, mostly good. She doesn’t judge him for what happened to Eva. Vincent judges himself, though. Ivy says she took her husband to a burlesque club for their anniversary, but she didn’t blame herself when he left her for one of the dancers. Vincent asks how she got past the grief of their relationship ending. She replies that she talks like she’s strong but she secretly cried and read up on vengeance spells for a long time. He hates that she lost her self-confidence. She says she let go of her rage and prayed, and now things are good.
Vincent draws cards that symbolize battle, cunning, and loss. Ivy says Klaus is desperate and grieving, but he’s not going to go too far. He knows if he does, the factions will revolt and he’ll lose his chance to find Hayley. However, he’s also “playing at a larger game” and “walking a fine line.” He’s on the right side of it, for now.
When Klaus returns to the courtyard, it’s empty, since Marcel sent all the police away and compelled them to forget what they were doing there. Don’t poke the bear, Marcel! He says Klaus was just using them as “playthings.” Also, the goodbye letters didn’t do what he wanted. The factions have stopped searching and are getting paranoid. Klaus blames Marcel’s leadership skills instead of the letters.
Marcel says that if Elijah were there, he would know the right thing to say, but he’s not. Klaus misplayed this and needs to let his hostages go. Klaus says that would be a show of weakness. Marcel thinks it’s worth it if Hayley stays alive. Klaus isn’t about to take his advice, since he’s been protecting his family for 1,000 years. “This is my family,” Marcel replies. He spent seven years supporting Hope. He’s trying to talk Klaus out of making the biggest mistake of his life. He wants to protect Klaus from himself and make sure he doesn’t have to tell Hope that he’s the reason Hayley’s dead.
“He knew!” Klaus yells. Elijah knew who he was and still wouldn’t come home with Klaus. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with his family. He’s gone. Marcel says he understands how much that hurts Klaus, but he can’t let it cloud his judgment when Hayley’s at risk. A box suddenly shows up outside the front door, along with a note that reads, “Per your request.” Inside the box is a patch of skin with Hayley’s Crescent birthmark.
In the tomb, a tarot card flips itself over and Ivy tells Vincent that something’s changed. It’s the death card. Klaus heads off to kill the hostages, but Marcel tries to hold him back. He says he’s the only friend Klaus has right now. Klaus is distressed about Hayley being harmed. He admits that he doesn’t do well without Elijah. Marcel offers to help, but Klaus breaks his neck.
In the dungeon, Colette wants to break the barrier spell so the hostages can run. Josh tells her that Klaus will just hunt them down. David thinks that together, the three of them can overpower Klaus. “Said the guy whose last words will be, ‘Oops,'” Josh replies. Colette doesn’t want to stand around and wait to die, so she takes down the barrier spell. Klaus arrives just then and kills her and David. Josh begs for his life. Fortunately, Vincent shows up just in time to fling Klaus aside with magic. He’s ready to get retribution for all the innocent blood Klaus has spilled. He makes Klaus cough up blood, then magically breaks his neck.
Josh is still in the dungeon when Marcel comes down, and he confronts Marcel for not stopping Klaus from killing his hostages. He came back to try to run things the way he used to, but he alienated everyone. Josh was the one who had his back, and look what happened. Vincent isn’t any happier, and he tells Marcel to deal with Klaus.
Hope asks Freya if she’s cursed. She’s not sure if she’s supposed to be the downfall of her family, New Orleans, or the world. Freya doesn’t know, but she thought Hope should be aware of what’s going on. They need to prepare for the possibility that things won’t work out the way they want. If Hayley dies, Hope needs to know how to handle her emotions so she doesn’t hurt anyone. Hope doesn’t know how anyone can be ready for the tragedy she might have to face. Freya notes that she’s not just anyone – she’s a first-born Mikaelson witch with a ton of power. And that’s not even taking into consideration the darkness her family’s trying to protect her from.
Hope thinks everyone’s worried that she’ll lose it because she’s sensitive. Freya knows from experience that losing it could mean burning down a village. She also knows what it’s like to have her family force her into a situation where she carries a lot of responsibility and isn’t sure she can handle it. It’s not going so great for her, which is why she broke things off with Keelin. Hope tells her to go home and deal with that, and leave Hope to keep looking for Hayley.
Freya doesn’t want Hope to shut down and let herself be consumed by guilt. Hope yells for Freya to leave her alone, her power lighting up some fires. She’s scared by her loss of control, and Freya thinks she’s ready to talk over her feelings now.
Marcel has given Klaus a taste of his own medicine and chained him up in a coffin. He thinks Klaus gave him a sob story about Elijah to manipulate him. Klaus says that Elijah is completely unfamiliar now. Klaus promised Hope that he would bring Hayley home, and turning everything upside-down was part of his plan. He wanted to see how the factions would react when the pressure was on. The witches worked with him and the werewolves were ready to die for their alpha, but the vampires just resisted. They’ve always felt threatened by “freaks” and “crossbreeds” like Klaus and Marcel.
Klaus thinks the vampires took Hayley to make her loved ones suffer. They’re playing a game. Marcel says Klaus is playing right into it. He got some answers but he didn’t rescue Hayley, and he’s now alienated everyone. Why? “I can’t save her if they don’t fear me,” Klaus replies. “And neither can you.”
Marcel summons the vampires to St. Anne’s to address their irritation with him coming back and taking over again. He says he always wanted to be more democratic. But instead of trying that again, he’s going to tighten the reins even more. Until he can trust everyone to do what he says, he’s going to restrict them more. He’s taking their daylight rings. When a vampire objects that Marcel isn’t one of them anymore, Klaus zooms in, snaps his neck, and says he’s right. Marcel announces that they’re in charge. Disobedience will be punished by death, not a sentence in the Garden.
Roman finds Hope in the school library and wonders if she’s at the window Henry jumped from because she’s thinking about copying him. She tells him her mother is still missing and all the witches in New Orleans think Hope will “melt the city” if she doesn’t come home. She’s tired of everyone being scared of her. Roman thinks that’s understandable. He’s scared of her himself, but he’s also a risk-taker. Freya breaks up the chat and teases Hope a little for getting to talk to her crush. Hope apologizes for her behavior, but Freya says it’s not her fault that all this is happening.
The witches hold a second-line parade for Colette and place flowers on her body. Ivy says this will remind them of what they stand for – the spirit, the earth, and New Orleans. They chant that they’re “together as one.” In the bayou, the werewolves give David a traditional funeral in the water. Lisina says they’re at war now, after Henry’s death and Hayley’s disappearance. Klaus has killed their friend and denied his wolf roots. They’re on their own and need to be ready to fight.
At St. Anne’s, Marcel and Klaus look on as the vampires turn in their daylight rings. Klaus then joins the witches to tell Vincent that when he’s done honoring Colette, Klaus and Marcel need his help. Vincent refuses to do any magic for him. He really thought Klaus had the potential to be a better man, but now he knows better. The witches are no longer on call for Klaus. He treats them like pawns in the Mikaelsons’ “endless self-defeating schemes,” and they’re done being used.
Vincent sarcastically congratulates Klaus for returning “to the top of the food chain.” If he comes after the witches again, there will be a war – not between Klaus and the covens but between him and Vincent. Klaus, to his credit, is a little subdued by that, knowing that Vincent is completely serious.
He goes home and tells Marcel that they’re on their own. Marcel doesn’t understand what Hayley did to deserve being kidnapped. Uh, nothing, Marcel. I thought you already agreed that she was taken to hurt the people who care about her. Klaus throws the box they received across the room and a coin falls out. It’s a message from enemies from Klaus’ past who he thought he’d buried a long time ago. On one side of the coin is an eagle, and on the other, a swastika.
Etc.: Klaus has always treated Hayley like a means to an end at best, just someone has has to put up with because she’s his child’s father, but in this episode you can see glimpses that he really does care about her. It may just be because he doesn’t want Hope to lose her mother, but I think he genuinely respects and maybe even likes her.
Considering how many non-human friends Hayley has and how much supernatural stuff she’s involved in, I can’t decide if she’s exceptionally good at hiding it all from Declan or if he’s just really, really dumb.
Heh, Freya’s met Alaric for a total of five minutes but knows he likes to drink.
An Eternity of Misery 