Marcel sets up a little memorial to Josh at Rousseau’s as Freya tells Keelin that in the midst of the sadness of his and Ivy’s deaths and what Hope’s going through, just looking at Keelin makes her feel happy. She worries that that’s selfish but Keelin doesn’t think that Josh and Ivy would agree. They wouldn’t want the couple to waste their time together. They should still get married – in fact, they should do it today. Freya’s on board.
Klaus goes to check on Hope as she’s leaving a flower at Bill’s tomb in the City of the Dead. She’s not sure why people leave flowers for dead people, since they don’t do any good, and they’re definitely not a sufficient apology when the dead person is dead because you killed them. Klaus doesn’t think Hope has anything to apologize for, since her actions got rid of the extremists. She points out that she was also trying to get rid of the darkness inside her. It wound up not doing a lot of good anyway, since her veins are dark again. She says Bill will have his revenge when the full moon comes next week.
Klaus assures Hope that once she transforms for the first time, she’ll feel better. She’s not sure if she dreads it or if she wants to turn and never turn back. She knows from Hayley that it’s a great experience once the pain is gone. She hates having to go through this without her mother. Klaus offers his support instead, but Hope wants to be alone. When she turns away from him, he sees that the darkness in her veins is spreading.
Elijah looks through some of his things and finds a letter Hayley sent him while he was in Manosque. The return address is simply “Andrea.” He pockets it as Freya comes in to discuss wedding arrangements. Rebekah will be her maid of honor and Vincent will be the best man. Klaus is “doing nefarious things” to get a venue and Kol will officiate. Freya wants Elijah to walk her down the aisle. He’s not sure he’s up for that but she’d like him to be there for her. He apologizes and says he can’t. After she leaves, he takes the letter back out and sits down at a piano.
Five years ago: Hayley shows up at Elijah’s bar, and he approaches her when he’s done playing the piano. He comments that she’s been nursing the same glass of wine for an hour. Is it because she’s broke or a terrible drunk? She tells him that there are problems neither money nor alcohol can solve. She has an ex she can’t get out of her system. He introduces himself, and instead of telling him her real name, she calls herself Andrea. They have a friendly chat until he checks the time and mentions going to an art show Antoinette (who’s out of town) told him to check out. He invites Hayley to stop by but she’s hesitant to leave the bar, for some reason.
Present: Kol has arrived in New Orleans for the wedding, and Klaus channels the Salvatores by greeting him with, “Hello, brother.” Kol thinks he’s being “suspiciously warm.” Klaus didn’t come to chat with him; he wants to see Davina. Never mind that she’s mourning Josh – he wants to talk to her about Hope’s Hollow side effects.
Freya strikes out with snagging Vincent as her best man since he’s anxious to get out of New Orleans. He feels like he keeps pushing the same stone up the same hill and is getting crushed over and over. After all the years of vigilance of peace, good people have died. Vincent feels like nothing he’s ever done in his life means anything. Freya disagrees – he’s the reason they had seven years of peace. People got to live their lives without apologizing for who they were or losing loved ones. Vincent says it was because of both of them. But it’s over sooner than he expected. Freya is okay with him leaving but doesn’t want him to disappear on her.
Declan and Marcel toast Josh together at Rousseau’s. Declan was told that Josh was killed in a mugging gone wrong, but he doesn’t buy it…mostly because he knows from Kieran’s journals that Josh was a vampire, and that Marcel is one, too. Marcel doesn’t think this is the right time to discuss this, but Declan figures it’s as good a time as any for a conversation about their “demon town,” which Marcel ran “like a fascist” before Kieran died. Marcel says they worked together and were friends. But according to Kieran’s journals, he was terrified of Marcel and thought his rules were killing New Orleans.
Marcel asks if Declan wants something. Declan spits out that the humans deserve justice. They’re not pawns or food, and they deserve to know what’s going on under their noses. Marcel says he’s trying to protect Declan – he’s better off not knowing the details. Declan argues that’s not Marcel’s decision to make, but Marcel says he’s naïve if he thinks he can do anything about it. Declan announces that he’s set up a meeting with the mayor, the archbishop, and other members of what he’s calling the human faction. They’re going to have a say again. Marcel tries to compel him to forget everything, but Declan has also learned about vervain. Marcel knocks him out instead. Yeah, that’ll solve the problem!
Davina finds Hope still at Bill’s tomb and notices the dark veins on her neck. Davina offers to make her a tea that will help clear her head. Hope wants to skip the wedding but Davina knows from her own experience being a teenager with the world on her shoulders that she needs to live in the moment. She learned that from Josh. After Hope leaves, Davina does a spell to collect some of Hope’s teardrops that fell on Bill’s memorial.
Freya hasn’t found a dress she loves yet, and that on top of having no one to walk her down the aisle has made her less enthusiastic about the wedding. Rebekah thinks Elijah will change his mind, but Freya says he’s different from the Elijah who would do anything for his family. He seems to think he should be eternally punished for his part in Hayley’s death. It’s just ticking Freya off. Rebekah notes that it wouldn’t be a Mikaelson family event without someone being mad at someone else. Really, I’m surprised that just one person is mad at another.
Rebekah comments that Freya should wait until she has kids for real family conflict. Freya says she might not have them. Rebekah tells her that Keelin doesn’t appear to know that there’s an “if” here. Apparently the couple hasn’t discussed children. And what better time to do that than on their wedding day?
Elijah sits with Hayley’s letter and has another flashback.
Five years ago: Hayley shows up to the art show but doesn’t enjoy it. Elijah thinks she’ll appreciate the art more the drunker she gets. Heh. She tells him she used to be intimidated by upper-class things. She confirms that he loves living in France and is happy there. He says that it was love at first sight, so he can’t question it.
Present: Freya goes to see Keelin, who hides behind a screen, then covers herself up so Freya won’t see her dress before there ceremony. Freya wants to talk about having a family – specifically, the fact that she doesn’t want to. She still feels the pain of losing her son and won’t ever have another child. Keelin’s understandably upset that Freya’s bringing this to her right before their wedding with no room for discussion. Freya doesn’t want to ask Keelin to give up having children to be with her; she deserves better. So…that’s it, then.
Rebekah finds Freya crying and learns that the wedding is off. Freya confides that she doesn’t want to have children because she’s afraid of hurting them. She thinks she’ll be selfish like their parents were. She’s “toxic and broken and a Mikaelson,” and that’s what they do. “We may be damaged but we are not doomed to repeat our parents’ mistakes,” Rebekah tells her. None of them will allow children to suffer just to ease their own pain. And Freya always puts her family ahead of herself, so she wouldn’t be any different with a child. She can break the pattern. Rebekah is sure that Keelin would agree, so they need to talk this out.
Elijah finds a real estate listing with a note that reads, “For us.” It looks like he bought a house in the bayou for him, Hayley, and Hope to live in after the five-year nap.
Five years ago: Hayley and Elijah watch an older couple dancing at the bar, and she wonders if they know how rare it is to be with someone for so long. He tells her they got married there just a year and a half ago. Hayley laughs at herself for being sentimental, but Elijah thinks some relationships “can’t be measured in time.” He asks if she’s ever felt like she was destined for someone. She says yes, once. He invites her to dance, and when the song ends, he tells her he’ll see her in the next life. She replies that if they’re destined to meet again, she wants another dance.
Present: Davina and Kol go to the bell tower to do a spell to see if there’s an antidote to Hope’s slow consumption by the magic from the Hollow. If there is, it’ll be in one of Esther’s grimoires, and the spell will point them to it. Kol praises Davina for being so awesome and powerful, noting that he should probably never make her mad. Heh. But something goes haywire with the spell and all the pieces get burned.
Klaus compels someone to bump another ceremony for Keelin and Freya’s wedding. Rebekah arrives with the news that Hope is being destroyed from the inside out by dark magic. It’s going to kill her, and there’s nothing they can do to save her. She could have weeks left, or as little as hours.
Freya goes back to Keelin, who’s decided she’s done with their relationship. She spent seven years putting aside her own needs and desires so Freya could have everything she needed. Now Freya’s pulling this on their wedding day. Freya notes that the truth is better than lying. Keelin says Freya’s the reason she wanted to have kids in the first place. She didn’t want to pass on her werewolf gene, but she saw how much love the Mikaelsons have and it made her want more.
Freya says she thought this through with the same reasons in mind. She came to her decision because she’s scared. “Who isn’t?” Keelin replies. She’s pleased to see that Freya is giving her an “I don’t know what to do” look, which means she’s willing to work this through with her partner. It’s better than her stubborn, solo-decision-making Mikaelson look. If Freya doesn’t want kids, Keelin needs a little time to process that, but if she’s open to it, she should say so.
They tell each other they love each other, and Keelin asks what happens now. Freya says she’s open to figuring out what they’ll do together. She’s open to overcoming her fears and considering having a family. She still wants to marry Keelin today. Keelin says she has to think about it, but she’s kidding. The wedding is back on!
Klaus stops Elijah as he’s leaving with a suitcase of things he’s been looking through all day. “I knew who she was,” Elijah admits. Hayley wasn’t a stranger to him when he saw her at Shiloh Place. He met her in Manosque five years ago. He didn’t know who she was then, but they had a “profound connection” in the few hours they spent together. He was so surprised to see her at Shiloh Place that he thought she must have been “an agent of deception” for the Mikaelsons. When he got his memories back, he realized he could have saved her. He can’t forgive himself for that, and he doesn’t think anyone should.
Klaus announces that Hope is dying. He doesn’t want anyone to know yet, because of the day’s importance. Elijah replies that he doubts Hope will want him around to help.
As guests gather for the wedding, Marcel tells Davina that Declan is still at Rousseau’s but he’s not sure what to do with him. Davina suggests letting him go. She doesn’t get why Declan can’t know about the supernatural. Marcel says he’ll rile up the humans and cause more chaos. “It never ends. No battle’s ever won here,” Davina laments.
He tells her that the city has been at war with itself since before he was born. It won’t become peaceful just because they want it to. She says that it will if people in power do something. People like Marcel need to make changes or people like Josh will die for nothing. Marcel says Josh died for the city, and “bringing it back to glory” is a way to honor him. Davina points out that there are ways to keep people alive so they don’t have to be honored in death.
As he’s about to leave town, Elijah reads Hayley’s letter. Freya and Rebekah are ready for the wedding but sad that Elijah hasn’t shown up. It’s a good thing that they have another brother with nothing to do – Klaus volunteers to walk Freya down the aisle. Moments later, Elijah arrives and claims the job for himself. Klaus chastises him for being late, but Elijah says he’s “fashionably so.” And now Freya has two people to walk her down the aisle.
Freya meets Keelin at the altar, noticing that she’s not wearing the dress Freya saw her in. Keelin says she didn’t want to take any chances. I’m not superstitious but that was probably a good call. Kol starts the ceremony by commenting that with Mikaelson events, “sometimes it’s dinner and sometimes it’s daggers.” He wishes they didn’t wait until special moments like this to notice “the beauty in the moment during the moment.” They need to be grateful for what they have while they have it. When Kol first met Keelin, he never expected her to become his sister. She only deserves the best.
Elijah flashes back to reading Hayley’s letter as we see her writing it five years ago. She thanks him for the day he spent with her right when she needed a nice day. He helped her more than he can know. As the wedding continues, she voices over that she’s been holding on to things she shouldn’t. If she’d met her ex under different circumstances, “without the legacy of pain that haunted him,” things could have turned out differently for them.
After spending the day with Elijah, she was able to forgive him for the pain he caused her and remember the best parts of their lives together. She’s not sure she’ll ever be over him completely, but she can look forward because of Elijah. Hayley will never forget her time with him in France. She still wants another dance if they ever meet again. She wants him to be happy, and she hopes he never lets go of the parts of his life that fit him.
Kol pronounces Freya and Keelin married, and as they kiss, Hope turns some flower petals into butterflies. Everyone enjoys themselves at the reception, except maybe Elijah. Rebekah asks Marcel if he thought after they said goodbye the last time that they would next see each other at a wedding. He says it’s never really over for them – any of them. She hopes not. Klaus can’t stop worrying about Hope, and Freya wonders what he’ll be like when she goes to the prom. Hope falters while dancing with Keelin, who thinks she just drank too much champagne. Hope toasts her family, saying that days like this make her feel like she’s part of “always and forever.”
Marcel goes to Rousseau’s and tells Declan to call off the meeting with the new human faction. If he lets the humans live in peace, Marcel will teach Declan how to handle this right. He needs to learn about the dynamics of the factions, their history of problems with each other, and ways to protect himself before he can lead them. Declan wonders what made Marcel change his mind. Marcel says he listened to everyone who’s been trying to talk sense into him. Now he knows how Josh would want to be honored. For people like Cami, Kieran, and Declan, who have always had to live by others’ rules, “saving the city means change.”
Klaus checks on Hope, who’s still tipsy but in a great mood. She enjoyed spending the day with her family, taking a little time to forget how horrible her life is right now. But she’ll never forget that she killed someone, and she’ll be reminded at every full moon. She’s scared to turn but is happy that Klaus will be there with her. He pretends there’s nothing else that she’ll have to face with or without him.
He finds Elijah and admits that he hasn’t been able to tell Hope what’s going to happen to her. “She’s my daughter,” is all he can say. Elijah just hugs him.
Etc.: Marguerite MacIntyre (Liz) co-wrote this episode.
At no point in the past seven years have Freya and Keelin had a conversation about whether they want to have children? Seriously?
We know Keelin doesn’t have any family, but hasn’t she made any friends over the past seven years? The only attendees and members of the wedding party are Freya’s loved ones.
I feel bad for the actors having to film the wedding scenes outside. It’s so cold that you can see their breath when they talk.
I’m annoyed that we didn’t get to see the whole wedding because Elijah couldn’t wait until afterward to have a flashback.
Kol, wrapping up the wedding: “By the power invested in me by a Franciscan monk in the 13th century, and by the Internet a few hours ago, just to be on the safe side…” Ha!
An Eternity of Misery 