The Originals Season 1, Episode 17: "Moon Over Bourbon Street" Recap/Review
Sigh, I miss Rebekah, you guys. Even still, "Moon Over Bourbon Street" was full of all kinds of drama that has been simmering over the last couple episodes and is no doubt about to boil over as we fly toward the finale. And I, for once, am forever thrilled to watch all of the political posturing on the parts of the various supernatural factions. I've always been interested in politics in general, so to see it in The Originals, with the five factions of witches, werewolves, vampires, Originals and humans pushing and pulling for power with their various magical abilities has been PRETTY amazing. Basically, I am loving the shit out of this show, so much that it has almost made me forget how much I miss Teen Wolf.
So, let's dig into the pieces of this game that are slowly but surely being pushed around the board, yeah?
Previously, on The Originals: Rebekah and Klaus finally came to a truce over their epic throwdown while locked in the cemetery, and Rebekah rode off into the sunset all by her lonesome, with the only rule being that she never comes back (to which I say "PSH! Yeah right!") Hayley finally found her biological family, the Crescent werewolf clan, who was cursed by a witch, back in the 90s. That curse made them the opposite of regular werewolves, in that they would be stuck in wolf form for the entire month except for a few hours during the full moon. Hayley finally convinced Celeste (under threat of bodily harm) to undo the curse by making a potion that the werewolves will drink during the full moon when they're human. She also learned that the wolf who has been protecting her, Jackson, was meant to be her husband in some kind of old-school arranged marriage to bring unite the two Crescent wolf bloodlines. The temporarily-resurrected Bastianna hexed Father Kieran for the role he played in disrupting the Harvest, and as a result has slowly been losing his mind, just like his nephew Sean did (before killing all his fellow seminary school students AND himself with a scythe). The newly-resurrected Davina admitted to Cami that she was basically emotionally tortured while she was in limbo. AND, finally, Elijah exiled Marcel from New Orleans as punishment for his role in summoning Mikael almost 100 years ago, and threatened to make his life unbearable should he so much as stick a toe back into the city. Whew!
We start the episode in a voice-over montage, which we haven't had in a while. Naturally, Klaus is the one doing the monologue-ing while we catch a glimpse of what everyone has been up to in the four weeks or so since Rebekah blew town. "They say the passage of time will heal all wounds," Klaus begins, as we see him focused on painting outside the Mikaelson compound. "But the greater the loss, the deeper the cut, and the more difficult the process to become whole again." In the bayou, Hayley stands in front of a bonfire, gripping her baby bump protectively as she watches Jackson in wolf form, standing guard for her. At St. Anne's, Cami is feeding Father Kieran all manner of psychiatric meds and water in hopes of helping to manage his condition, but unfortunately, modern medicine isn't really that effective against old-school voodoo hexes. "The pain may fade, but scares serve as a remind of our suffering, and make the bearer all the more resolved never to be wounded again." That line basically describes Klaus in a nutshell, but do you know who else it describes? Marcel, who is standing shirtless on a balcony outside of New Orleans, staring at the his hometown's skyline.
In a surprising twist, Genevieve has seemed to have caught Klaus' eye, and she saunters toward him as he continues to paint out in the yard in the daylight. "So, as time moves along, we get lost in distractions." The two smile at each other, before Klaus zoops them over to a nearby wall, where they make out like fiends. "Act out in frustration." Diego feeds on a human police officer in the middle of the street, and growls at passerby. "React with aggression, give into anger" Monique pops up out of nowhere and gives that fabulous mohawked vampire lady a mystic migraine, which brings her to her knees. "And, all the while, we plot and plan, as we wait to grow stronger." Hayley and Jackson pour the anti-Crescent wolf curse potion into a pot of some kind of alcohol punch, I would assume, and they drink it as they watch the full moon come and go. When the cursed Crescent wolves don't turn back into wolves after it's over, they all start to cheer in glee that they're back to being human. "And, before we know it, the time passes. We are healed. Ready to begin anew."
We end up in Klaus' bedroom, where Genevieve is lounging in some lovely black lingerie and watching Klaus as he gets dressed. "Spoken like a man who's made peace with his demons," she coos, which, LOLOL, that's a funny joke. Klaus claims all of his demons are dead or chased off, but we all know it's a front. Elijah knows it, too, as he swaggers into Klaus' room. "Yes, apart from the one lingering monster with whom you share a bed." He hilariously holds out Genevieve's fancy stilettos and quips, "I trust you can find your clothing and the door?" God, Elijah's bored distaste will never cease to entertain me. It is the absolute BEST. Genevieve, being the 1920's-era dame that she is, does blush a little bit as she grabs her shoes and dress and skedaddles. Once she's out of earshot, Elijah wastes no time reminding him that Genevieve not only tortured Klaus, but Rebekah as well. Still, Klaus argues that she also exposed Rebekah's lies about how Mikael managed to find them, so to him, that seems to cancel it out. I'm with Elijah on this one--I'm intrigued by Genevieve, solely because I can never figure out just what her deal is (Is she one of those super-intense witches like Bastianna and Monique, now? Or, is she more of a Katherine Pierce, "Better you die than I/I will always look after myself" kinda girl? WHO KNOWS?!) but I don't trust her as far as I could throw her.
Elijah points out that a consequence of Genevieve's actions is that Rebekah is now gone forever, but Klaus still refuses to concede in their argument, and claims that since Rebekah has wanted to be free forever, it's all groovy. "Niklaus, it has been a month," Elijah says, in an attempt to reason with him. "Now, I feel our sister's loss as deeply as you. But, you must stop distracting yourself with this ridiculous behavior and channel it into some kind of action." Unfortunately, Klaus is more interested in painting all day, every day, in an effort to try to manage his raging control issues, and doesn't understand why he needs to do more than that. Elijah has a pretty good point, though, per usual. "Because over the course of Marcel's tenure, the city grew accustomed to having a king. You wanted this throne. Now, you must accept the responsibility that accompanies that." Klaus just ignores him and continues painting, so Elijah goes for the low blow--if he's going to neglect his home like this, what does that say about his future with his soon-to-be-born daughter? He tries to remind Klaus how stressful and terrifying it is to live under the constant threat of violence, and urges his brother to help him make the city united again, for the wellbeing of their family. Klaus isn't swayed by his passionate speech, though, and claims the city is too broken to mend. Annoyed, Elijah insists that if Klaus won't step up to the plate, he's going to do it himself. I mean, any Mikaelson rule is bound to be unstable at best, but at least Elijah is more or less honorable, you know? I'd take him over Klaus any day. And, TITLE CARD!
At St. Anne's Church, Elijah and Father Kieran have requested a meeting with representatives from the witch and vampire factions (Genevieve and Diego, respectively, accompanied by unnamed members of their respective factions). Kieran welcomes them by reminding them that St. Anne's has always been neutral ground and thanks them for coming. Elijah repeats the greeting, and then holds up the former treaty. "These are the rules of the city, according to Marcel Gerard," Elijah announces, before tearing the parchment in half. "Which, of course, no longer apply, because I'm in charge." Naturally this pisses off EVERYONE, especially Diego, who immediately points out that the only reason why they even came to this meeting was because they were under the impression that they would be allowed to run things themselves--they have no idea Elijah would be crowning himself in the process. "Well, you were each selected to represent your own communities," Elijah assures them calmly. "In our honor, however, any issues that arise between factions, it will come to me. Now, we are all responsible for the current chaos in the city. However, you have one very, very simple choice ahead of you here--you can all play nicely together, or you can leave." DAMN! Well, then.
Over at what I'm guessing is where Genevieve and the Harvest girls are living, which I'm just gonna call the Coven House until we're given a better name to work with, or I come up with a more clever one myself. Monique and Abigail are happily practicing a spell on dried roses, while Davina sits nearby and reluctantly tries the same. "Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Maintenent," the girls chant, and Monique and Abigail are thrilled when the dried rose reanimates into a fully-bloomed fresh one. Unfortunately, Davina's heart must not have been into it, because her rose remains dead. Abigail assures Davina that it's an easy spell, and that if she tries, she can do it, but Davina claims she is trying. "Trying and FAILING," Monique snits rudely. "Ever since you came back." Davina angrily asks Monique when she's going to quite being a huge asshole to her, but Monique claims that she will when she stops being weak. "You're supposed to be a Harvest girl, but maybe you don't belong here. Maybe you never did." UGH, OUCH. I really do not like Monique. Did anyone else see the depression parallels in this scene? Abigail's "See Davina? It's easy, all you have to do is try," is pretty much what anyone who has dealt with clinical depression, or anxiety, or any other mental illness, has heard, over and over again. "Just BE happy, it's easy! You just have to DO it, stop worrying about it!" Sigh. I just want Davina to move in with me, and we could just paint and watch movies and listen to music and talk and shield her from all the badness in the world.
We cut to the bayou, where the TO gods have blessed us with plenty of shirtless werewolf hunks wrestling in the mud. HALLELUJAH! Hayley walks over to where Jackson is standing and watching the wrasslin' go down. "Shouldn't you be out there playing Fight Club with the rest of the frat boys?" Hayley asks with a smile, but Jackson just laughs and explains that they're just fighting over pecking order in the pack hierarchy. The throwdown ends, and when the victor asks who wants to go next, Oliver volunteers. Hayley and Jackson then head inside one of the shacks, where a SUPER long banquet table has been set up, buffet-style, for dinner, complete with candles and everything. Jackson urges her to try Tucker's ribs, as the rest of the Crescents who AREN'T fighting gather around to eat. Hayley makes a joke about how they should go play horseshoes next, but Jackson tells her not to mock country living. "Sorry," she admits shyly. "This is just a lot more family fun than I'm used to." Jackson suggests maybe he can help her get used to it, which makes me squeal in my typical multi-shipper fashion. So, instead of a Klaus/Hayley/Elijah love triangle, it's a Klaus/Hayley/Elijah/Jackson love quadrangle? Which doesn't even take into consideration the Klaus/Cami/Marcel love triangle, either. I can't help but love all of the pairings, is that bad?
Oliver appears behind them and ruins their cute little moment. "Then, all we gotta do is just forget that she spent half her life with humans, and the other half with vampires," he sneers. Dude, werewolves are part human, aren't they? And they have family members who are untriggered werewolves, so I don't get the human hate, here. Jackson gets annoyed and orders Oliver to back off, but Hayley is very adept at dealing with assholes, after basically living on her own for half her life. "It's okay! If the runt of the litter has got something to say, he should say it," Hayley retorts. Oliver isn't exactly without ammunition, though--the reason why he came in to talk is because he heard a rumor that Elijah was holding a "power summit" for the various factions, and, unsurprisingly, the werewolves were not invited. Hayley is shocked to hear this news, partially because she wasn't expecting Elijah to be in charge, nor would she expect him to do something like this without telling her, and asks him where he heard that. "It doesn't matter," Oliver snaps. "The point is that we're stuck here living in the swamp, while your vampire boyfriend's deciding who gets what in the city. But, I guess that shows how much respect he's got for the werewolves, huh?" We all know Hayley by now, so it's not really a surprise that Hayley is SUPER pissed at this revelation.
At the so-called "power summit" at St. Anne's, everyone is continuing to yell at each other. Father Kieran is looking especially pale and agitated, so it seems pretty clear that the hex is having a pretty bad effect on him.
That's when Hayley bursts into the church, high on pregnancy hormones and rage. She asks him if he's seriously dividing up the city among the different factions, without allowing the werewolves to have a say in the matter whatsoever. Diego, who seems to hate werewolves more than any other vampire in NOLA, is furious that Hayley is there, but Elijah orders him to settle down. He turns to Hayley and assures her that they're not dividing the city, they're simply setting up boundaries. "No, Elijah!" Hayley says, cutting him off. "There is not gonna be a peace if the werewolves are excluded. They want a seat at the table." Genevieve and Diego both scoff patronizingly at her, so Hayley turns to them and adds, "And, if they don't get one, I can guarantee that you will all regret it." The representatives all begin to argue again, so Elijah takes Hayley aside to talk with her privately. Elijah is a very polite person, usually, who has nothing but fond feelings for Hayley, but he can't hide his annoyance at her intrusion.
"Do you have any idea what it took just to get those people in one room together?" Elijah asks harshly. Hayley replies that no, she doesn't, because she didn't even know this meeting was going down until she caught wind of a rumor all the way in the fucking bayou. Have we established just how far away the bayou is from the French Quarter/New Orleans? Is it like Whitmore College in TVD, where it's like 8 hours away in some episodes, and like 10 minutes away in others? She orders him to honestly answer one question--did he leave the werewolves out of negotiations because of her? Elijah claims that his intentions were pure, and I'm inclined to believe him, not that that excuses his actions. "I excluded them because they no longer reside in the French Quarter," he maintains. "My immediate concern is the mounting conflict here. Now, I can assure you, once this treaty is solidified, it will expand to include your people." Hayley is still upset, though, and asks him what the fuck she's supposed to tell them to do in the meantime. "Sit? Stay? Roll over?" she snits. Elijah shows uncharacteristic anger when he shouts that his preference would be for Hayley to stay out of this mess completely, which shocks her. Realizing how mean he just was, he softens and asks, "Hayley, are you absolutely certain that you shouldn't return to the compound?" Hayley laughs sarcastically at the idea that she and her baby will be any safer there, but Elijah isn't sure the bayou is better. Hayley sighs, and prepares to leave. "The wolves deserve a voice," she states. "Give them one. You know it's the right thing to do."
We check back up on Klaus, who is STILL painting in his room, while Genevieve slinks around the room in only her silk robe and her bra and underwear and regales him on all the events of the day. She laughs about the look on Elijah's face when Hayley barged in, which leads Klaus to assume that the curse on the Crescent clan really has been broken. Genevieve asks him if he really thinks that there can be peace in New Orleans, but before he can answer, Cami bursts into the room. "I saw the light from the courtyard, and took a chance that..." She stops in her tracks when she sees Genevieve in her lingerie, and then glares at Klaus. "...You weren't with a half-naked psychowitch. Seems I gambled, and lost," she finishes. Genevieve just smirks at her and quips that ten minutes earlier, she was FULLY naked. "Oh! Then, you've served your purpose. Don't let me hold you up!" Cami retorts right back. DAMN! Cami, 1, Genevieve 0. Genevieve refuses to allow herself to look offended, and just struts toward the door. Before she leaves, she snarks that O'Connells have a bad habit of pissing off witches.
Once Genevieve has left the room, Cami immediately goes in on Klaus for sleeping with the same witch who tried to blackmail her into stabbing him with Knife of Excruciating Pain. "Well, New Orleans breeds nothing if not strange bedfellows," is the only thing Klaus has to say for himself, before changing the topic to why exactly Cami has come to see him. She informs him about Father Kieran's deteriorating condition, and how the medications and meditation that he's been using to treat the symptoms are no longer working. In fact, he's getting worse by the day. "A witch did this, a witch can undo it. You seem super-tight with Genevieve...maybe you could persuade her to help?" Cami asks reluctantly. Klaus admits that at this point, there's nothing anyone can do, because the hex has had time to take root, and now it's altered Kieran's brain chemistry so much that the damage is irreversible. He apologizes for not being able to help her, but Cami refuses to believe that, and storms away.
Meanwhile, Davina has just walked into a unknown pub somewhere, where she sees Josh sitting at a booth. She smiles at him, and runs over to where he's sitting to join him.
LOL, Josh makes me laugh so much, but OUCH! My heart! Davina and Josh's friendship continues to be my most favorite relationship on this show, and it seems like right now, Davina NEEDS a good, loyal friend who simply just wants to hang out with her, rather than using her for nefarious purposes.
As it turns out, Marcel is on a rooftop across the street, where he's totally eavesdropping on their conversation, and looking pretty sad as he does so. After a moment, Thierry arrives, and makes a comment about him being in yet another fight with Davina. Marcel's clearly in a mood, so Thierry changes the subject by asking him why the hell he dragged him all the way out there. Where the hell ARE they, anyway? I doubt they're in the Quarter, because Elijah would kill him in a millisecond. Anyway, per usual, Marcel is scheming. "I have a proposal," he begins. "I want you and all the guys who walked out on Klaus with you to join me." Thierry can't believe Marcel's rounding up another army, but Marcel insists he can't take the city back without it. Still, Thierry is skeptical. "You have nothing. You have no weapons, no allies. You go even CLOSE to the Quarter and Elijah will kill you. That's if Klaus doesn't get you first." Marcel totally calls him out on the fact that he must be interested, or he never would have shown up. He's sure Thierry wants to take back his home, just like Marcel. "A battle is brewing, T, and while everyone's busy choosing sides, I'm gonna find a way to take back our city. So, you with me?" Thierry just gives him a long look before retorting, "You were always great with words, Marcel. But, it's gonna take more than a pretty speech this time."
I'm not a big Thierry fan, as you've probably gathered by this point, but for once, he's actually right. Marcel is nothing if not charismatic, and it's that charm that has helped win him the loyalty of his people for so long. But, now, people are starting to realize that he's all talk, especially after the epic failure that was Rebekah and Marcel's plan to bury Klaus in the Garden. If this season has taught us anything, it's that it takes a LOT to catch an Original off-guard. The only one who has really successfully hurt them is Celeste, and that's because she was patient and executed a long con over, like, CENTURIES. Unfortunately for Marcel, he inherited Klaus' impulsiveness, and I really don't think he has the patience to make a complicated enough plan to actually put him and the other vampires in a position of power over Klaus AND Elijah. And, it would have to be both, because you know if they went after one, the other would kill anyone who was involved. So yeah, I'm not confident in Marcel's abilities, tbh.
At St. Anne's Church, Cami arrives to the attic to find that Kieran is shackling his ankles to the radiator. Cami doesn't understand why he thinks this is a good idea, but Kieran's worried about what he could do to her, or others. "The sickness, it's-it's overtaking my inclination to forgive," Kieran admits nervously. "Replacing it with one thought I could barely contain at the summit. 'Kill every last one of them.'" She insists that they'll figure it out, together, but Kieran claims that that was his plan when this happened to Sean (though, at the time, he didn't realize it was a hex, iirc), when he should have been trying to STOP him before he could hurt anyone. Kieran refuses to allow that to happen to him, and reminds her of their family's legacy. "You're an O'Connell. They're going to ask you to take my place. Don't. Just leave. Just start over." Cami is secretly fascinated by this world, though, plus he's the only family she seems to have, so Cami has no intention whatsoever of leaving, especially not if there's still a chance to help him.
Unfortunately, this was the WRONG thing to say. "That is just stubbornness, like-like when you were a little girl. You always had to be right. You-you never listened. Just that thick head of yours. I prayed for you, and I got no answer. There is only blackness. There is only death. There's mine, and yours." YIKES! To make matters even WORSE, Kieran reaches out to grab Cami and tries to kill her. She thrashes around in his grip and falls onto the floor, and though she desperately tries to crawl away, Kieran grabs her by the calf and pulls her toward him. She frantically grabs a nearby lamp that fell during the fight and bonks him over the head with it, which thankfully, knocks him unconscious. Aw, poor Kieran, and poor Cami! Her twin brother AND her uncle have been cursed with the same hex and it seems that there is literally nothing she can do to fix it. Since they're like the only two decent people on this show, they really deserve better.
The supernatural creature-summit must have ended, because Elijah is now meeting with a beautiful woman who introduces herself to Elijah as Francesca Correa. Elijah seems to have done quite a bit of research before meeting her. "I know exactly who you are. You own the Palace Royale Casino, you're one of the city's leading philanthropists, and--according to my sources--you're the matriarch to a rather sizeable drug trafficking empire." When he asks her why he's meeting her this evening, so Francesca gets to the point; basically, she comes from a family who has belonged to the human faction for years, so since Father Kieran is reahing the point where he can't effectively lead the faction, she's nominating herself as his replacement. Elijah chides her for trying to mandate his actions, but she claims she just wants them to be allies. "I want peace just as much as you do. My lifestyle--which I enjoy very much--depends on it." Elijah laughs and admits he can tell that she's very ambitious. She starts to sense that Elijah is going to put up some resistance, so she solidifies everyone's mobster assumptions by laying down some threats that make it clear that she's someone that the gang will have to keep their eye on from now on.
Klaus is on his balcony, taking in the French Quarter, before heading back into his bedroom to get back to his painting. He grabs a paintbrush from one of the eighteen bajillion jars of paintbrushes scattered around his room, only to find that Elijah is standing right in front of his painting. Elijah explains that he's not really impressed by his lack of interest in the King of New Orleans title that he worked so hard to obtain. "Well, it's difficult trying to unite a community that has a history of mutual loathing," Klaus reasons. Elijah isn't really interested in his excuses, but Klaus won't drop it. "A perspective, then?" he offers. "If you want peace, you must begin with the werewolves. A hundred years ago, they had a run at ruling this city. As of late, all they've had is time to watch their enemies tear down that legacy." OH SHIT, I KNEW he was going to get into some shit with Genevieve! They're both too schemey for their own good.
Anyway, Elijah reminds him that the werewolves' enemies (namely, the vampires, but also the witches) are very hesitant to allow them to come to the table for that very reason. Klaus' advice? "If the table's the obstacle, remove it." He pours them both drinks and asks him if he recalls back in 1720, when the governor was desperate for the vampires' aid in order to build the levees, but the Mikaelsons wouldn't agree to it. So, the governor got them drunk and gave them lots of corsetted prostitutes to sleep with/feed on until finally, they said yes. I can't imagine Elijah enjoying that kind of thing, can you? Elijah just smiles and asks if Klaus is suggesting that he throw a party for the factions, and the two drink.
Somehow, they managed to compel enough people to get a party all set up for that evening. The lights are blue, and everyone is wearing sexy cocktail attire. The camera pans around to show us that Diego and the vampires are there, along with Jackson, Hayley, and Oliver representing the werewolves, and Genevieve and the Harvest girls, representing the witches. Elijah and Klaus are on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, where Elijah compliments his brother on his short-notice party plans. "Now, if I can just keep them from tearing one another to shreds," Elijah adds. Klaus just laughs, and retorts, "Well, then, for your sake, here's to a spectacularly boring evening!" YEAH, RIGHT. Like Klaus has EVER wished for a boring evening. He's like the nogitsune from Teen Wolf, feeding on chaos, strife, and pain (that others are feeling, of course, not himself). Something tells me that tonight will be anything but dull. (And it's not at ALL because I've already seen this episode and know exactly what is going to happen)
The partygoers are all mingling around the party as Diego pushes his way through the crowd. He sees Jackson and Oliver on his way through and purposely bumps into Jackson. "What's up, little man?" This gets Oliver all steamed up, but Jackson assures him it's not worth the energy. Elijah senses the hostility brewing, and is just about to follow the werewolves and see what they're up to when Francesca struts up to him and distracts him. "Since you're preoccupied, I'll intuit your flattering comment," she says, before smiling widely. "Thank you, I think I look stunning, too!" Elijah can play games with the rest of them, though, and hilariously snarks, "I trust you've spent as much time fortifying alliances as you clearly have selecting that dress." BAHAHAHA.
Francesca humble-brags about everything she accomplished before the party--she mollified the witches by increasing their share in the cemetery tours, settled the dispute over the docks, AND gave the Crescent wolves what she calls a "Welcome Back to Humanity" gift of $100 dollar chips to her casino. She insists that she deserves some champagne, so Elijah grabs some off a passing waiter. However, when she grabs for it, Elijah holds it away from her. I assumed he was gonna call her out on how obvious she's being, but instead, he informs her that the rest of the Human Faction has caved regarding Father Kieran, and have decided that they will allow her to be Faction Representative until Kieran has regained his mental faculties. Francesca is all about getting up in Elijah's grill, but Elijah sees Hayley walk by him, and immediately is like, "See ya, gotta go fawn over the love of my life!"
Josh is still at the pub, though Davina has left. He drops his bill onto the floor, so he bends over to pick it up. When he sits back up, he's completely startled to see Marcel sitting across from him in the booth. "God!" Josh shrieks, before eventually composing himself. "Look, if you expect me to beg for my life, that's not me anymore," Josh states, as confidently as he can muster. Marcel smiles, but it's still pretty chilly. He claims he's not there to kill him, he's only there for Davina. He brings up the summit, and reminds Josh that if it falls apart, every single faction is going to scramble to find leverage over the others, (ironically, just like Marcel did when he had Davina in the first place, regardless of how honorable his intentions might have been) which means that Davina needs to start practicing magic again, ASAP. Josh doesn't quite understand why he's telling him, of all people, but Marcel reminds him that since she's pissed at him, he needs Josh to be the one to convince her. Not only has Josh grown a backbone recently, but he's also learned a lot about Marcel, too. "So, what? I tell her, and you try to get her back on your side, right? Go back to using her as a weapon?" TELL HIM, JOSH! However, Marcel maintains that he doesn't give a fuck whose side she's on, as long as she's safe. "Because we both know, right now, she isn't," Marcel adds, before taking his leave.
Meanwhile, back at the party, Oliver starts checking Davina out from across the room, which she totally notices. He smiles at her, and she smiles back at him. Diego watches this all go down, and whether he's angry because he just hates werewolves that much, or because the part of him that is Marcel's friend is uncool with Davina getting hit on by a werewolf who also happens to be WAY too old for her, I can't say, but he's basically fuming as he chugs his drink. Elijah notices his rage building up and immediately jumps in to mediate. He stops Diego before he can go anywhere, and orders him to be polite and courteous. Unfortunately, there is historical beef going down between Diego and the Crescents. "Yeah, see, his people killed my whole family. My sister bled out on the floor right next to me. The only reason I'm standing here is because Marcel came along and turned me before I bled out, too." Oh shit! That is horrible, actually. So, yeah, needless to say, Diego isn't really feeling up to being welcoming. However, the majority of us know that Elijah has TOTALLY been in Diego's place, having lost his own youngest brother to a werewolf attack, but Elijah insists that they need to make concessions in order to maintain peace.
To prove it, Elijah leaves Diego to go greet Jackson and Oliver and welcome them into his home. Jackson replies that they wouldn't have even come had Hayley not forced them to do it, so Elijah admits that some of his guests are not feeling especially tolerant of werewolves at the moment. "The vampires in particular view you as...well, barbaric," he adds, though not unkindly. Jackson informs Elijah that he's heard that the new peace treaty is important to him, to which Elijah most wholeheartedly agrees. "Yes, it certainly is," he responds. "So much so, in fact, that if anyone threatened to dismantle what I'm building here, I'd destroy everything they hold dear." He smiles that hilariously diplomatic smile of his, and wishes them a good evening before going to mingle more. Yikes! You know that the werewolves are going to want to try to get their place in New Orleans back, now that the curse has been lifted and Hayley and her miracle baby have been returned to them. And, what's interesting is that it seems the "things that Jackson holds most dear" are 1) his pack, 2) Hayley, and 3) Hayley's baby (all of which technically fall under the "his pack" umbrella), which is convenient, because they also happen to all be things that Elijah cares about, because he cares about Hayley, and Hayley cares about those things, too. So really, what can Elijah do to stop them, should the werewolves stir up some trouble?
Klaus is on the balcony again, watching the party go down, which is where Genevieve finds him. She is in a VERY snippy mood, thanks to a healthy Cami jealousy, and snits, "Looking for your shrink?" Klaus immediately calls her out on said Cami jealousy, but Genevieve claims that she's only curious why Klaus would even care about her, because she's so "ordinary." He reminds her that ordinary people are often "welcome respite," which just makes her pout more. "I thought I was your respite!" Yikes! Stage 5 Clinger alert. Klaus assures her that she is, and makes her promise him that she won't continue to stress about Cami and how much affection Klaus has for her. He then sees Jackson coming up the stairs and immediately ditches her for some manly conversation.
Jackson is greeted by Klaus when he enters Klaus' bedroom, but right off the bat, Jackson is (understandably) cold. "So, is this where the great Klaus Mikaelson says something poignant and snaps my neck?" Jackson asks, but Klaus promises that he's not going to kill him. On the contrary, Klaus wants to give him a gift. Unfortunately for Klaus, werewolves hate Originals just as much as they hate vampires, especially those in New Orleans, so Jackson immediately calls him out on the fact that he's not just feeling generous of spirit. Klaus tries to bond with him over the fact that they were both born werewolves, and offers to help alleviate his pack's burden. Jackson assumes that Klaus wants to make him and his pack into hybrids, and insists that he would never, ever compromise his family's legacy like that because hybrids are still half-vampire, and vampires are bloodthirsty parasites, yadda yadda yadda. Luckily for him, that's exactly why Klaus likes him. "That pride, that sense of loyalty? Well, that's exactly why I haven't snapped your neck yet." That's when the conversation takes a turn for the enlightening.
Downstairs at the party, Davina is leaning against a wall in a hallway off the courtyard, looking very bored and WAY too sexy in that dress for such a young girl, when Oliver comes up to say hello. He gets a little tongue-tied, and stammers out, "Hey, you look, um..." Davina tries to helpfully suggest "nervous" and "out of place," but instead, he backtracks and says she looks pretty. He introduces himself by name, and cheesily asks, "What's the name of the girl I'm about to ask to dance?" GAG ME. Before Davina can answer, Monique appears out of nowhere and snipes Oliver from her. Davina is so mad that she just storms away, leaving the two of them to dance, but IMO, Davina should NOT be crying over this missed opportunity. Oliver may be a hunk, but he's also an asshole, so he and Monique pretty much deserve each other, as far as I'm concerned.
Hayley is watching everyone mingle from the sidelines when Elijah materializes behind her and asks her if she'd do him the honor of dancing with him. She's still a little salty from the whole summit thing earlier, but she reluctantly takes his hand and follows him out onto the dance floor. She compliments him on the party, and the fact that he even strong-armed Klaus into playing nicely, and Elijah retorts that only a huge blow-out party is enough to drag his baby bro away from his easel. Hayley reminds him of the fact that his art spree is a BAD sign, because Klaus once told her about how painting is his metaphor for control, and accomplishing his visions through force of will, blah blah blah. Elijah always knows just what to say, though. "Well, truthfully, I'd be shocked if he didn't have at least a dozen of those visions swarming around in that insidious skill of his," Elijah replies, before checking her out from head to toe and adding, "I do hope your daughter inherits her mother's...everything." Damn, that was so fucking smooth! He then spins her around dramatically, which makes her laugh.
(via littleheartss)
She points out how weird it is to be back at the compound, after staying with the wolves for so long. Elijah hopes it's not unpleasant for her, before asking her if she's positive that it's a bad idea for her to come back home to live with them. "Why, Elijah?" she asks sarcastically. "Because you don't think it's safe in Big, Bad Wolf Country? I'm not going to sit in a rocking chair and knit booties, or haven't you figured it out yet?" Yeowtch! I totally feel Hayley on being frustrated at the fact that everyone is treating her like some fragile thing that can't protect herself, especially since we ALL know that's not the case, but still. You can say a boatload of terrible things about Klaus and Elijah, but the one thing they can agree on is that they want Hayley and the baby to be safe, full stop, no question, no alternatives. Whether Hayley likes it or not, since she's knocked up with Klaus' hellspawn, she's a target from all sides, and while it's clear the werewolves are also perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, you can never be too careful in that world, you know?
ANYWAY, Jackson interrupts them and asks to have a minute with Hayley, and though Elijah tries to have him come back later, Hayley is back to being livid, and runs off with Jackson for a dance. Once they're alone, Jackson asks her if she's okay, but she promises she's fine. "We were just discussing the future of the city," she snits. Jackson breaks out the, "How can you be thinking about the city when you look so beautiful tonight?" line, and of course Elijah is within earshot, because this complicated love-web can apparently always use more obstacles. Whoops!
Cami is making herself a much-needed drink at her apartment when Marcel shows up to check on her. Really, he just appears behind her, which startles the fuck out of her, because apparently vampires are unable to just knock on the door if they've been invited in. Once she's calmed down, she offers him a drink and chirps, "Julep? Minus the sugar and mint?" LOL, Cami, you are a girl after my own heart. Marcel takes the offered drink, but frowns when he notices Cami's injuries. "Hey, I just saw Kieran. He's not gonna hurt you again. In fact, he won't leave the attic at all. I arranged for a little boundary spell." Cami is shocked, and points out that all of them despise him, but he claims he found one who didn't, just for her. Cami starts to tear up, and though she tries to hold it back, eventually, she just can't help but let it out. "You're the first person to help me in a month. Kieran's the only family I have left. Without him, I have no one." Marcel admits that he's a little short on family members himself, but he promises he's here for her, no matter what she needs. When he asks her what he can do, Cami smiles a wry little smile and replies, "There is one thing," before holding up her empty bottle and shaking it in his face. "We're out of bourbon." Man, when Marcel is with Cami, all of the negative feelings I have about him just float away. He's so good to her! Cami needs someone like him around, and really, Marcel benefits greatly from her influence, too. GAH! They're like Stefan and Caroline to me.
As the party rages on, Oliver wanders over to the bar for a drink, when Diego saunters over for some really lame insults. "Hey, wolf boy! Should have had them put it in a bowl for you," Diego sneers. Oliver says that'd be awesome, if he wants him to crush his skull. Francesca notices the tension and tries to defuse it by refocusing their attention on her. "Please, boys. At least fight over something interesting. Me, perhaps?" BAHAHA. You've gotta admire Francesca's hustle, even if she is totally shady. Diego insists that Francesca wants nothing to do with the werewolves, because they have a tendency to eat innocent people during full moons. Oliver insists that they're not like that, and apologizes on his clan's behalf for however they wronged him. Just when I was starting to think Oliver may be an okay person, he just had to go and ruin it. "Though, I'm surprised my kin could choke them down, being half as ugly as him." RUDE. So, naturally, Diego picks him up and throws him across the room, where he lands on a table covered in glasses full of champagne. The table and glasses shatter on impact, and when Diego zoops over to Oliver, Oliver grabs him by the shirt and pushes him against the wall.
Thankfully, Elijah appears to play host mediator. "This ends NOW," Elijah says, as he pulls Oliver off of Diego. "I won't ask again." Behind him, Jackson calls out, "Oh, we'll end it, all right." When Elijah turns around, he finds Jackson holding a stake up against Diego's chest. WONDERFUL. Hayley walks down the stairs to join them, and sarcastically eggs Elijah on. "What's stopping you? Kill him. Go ahead, Elijah. Do it. I mean, it's not like he doesn't deserve to die." Elijah, Oliver, and Jackson are ALL confused, and nearby, Francesca stands next to Klaus and asks him why he's not intervening. Of course, Klaus is LOVING the drama, so he just watches as Hayley continues.
YES, YES, YES! Damn, Hayley is the best, and I'm pretty sure this is the most accurate statement on this show, after Cami's assertion that Klaus is the "architect of his own unhappiness." I was talking to Kathleen about how this brewing war is just a result of literally ALL of the factions treating each other like shit and using every opportunity that they can find to get the upperhand on each other. Klaus tried to basically re-colonize New Orleans, Marcel killed werewolves and witches alike and held both more or less under subjugation, and the humans don't give a fuck what goes down as long as they're still getting paid. I'm pretty sure Elijah knows this to be the truth as well, but the nobleman in him isn't exactly fond of huge scenes at public functions. So, he sternly asks, "Are you approaching a point?" So, Hayley makes her point: "The point, Elijah, is this--if we can't all learn to get along, if our families can't create some sort of community, then what's the point? Kill each other, and get it over with." Elijah considers her words for a moment and realizes that not only is she totally right, but that she, just like Klaus claimed earlier, is supporting his vision. He lets go of Oliver, so Jackson reluctantly lets go of Diego, too. Woot! Unity!
At the Coven House, Davina and Josh are hanging out in the greenhouse. He looks through all the herbs and dried flowers, and admits that he's only gotten roses once in his life, and he didn't even get to keep them. We don't know much about Josh's family life, and neither does Davina, so she asks him why. The story is, Josh got roses from his first boyfriend for Valentine's day his senior year of high school. He tried to hide them in his bedroom, but his super-bigoted parents found them and shoved them through a paper shredder. However, there is a point to his story, because apparently he's taken some motivational speaking tips from Hayley. "You know, I don't have a home to go home to, or a family to go home to. I used to hate myself for that, but the thing is? I don't really care what they think anymore. If your family doesn't like you the way you are, screw them! You got me, and Cami...even Marcel. If you want."
Davina reminds him that Marcel used her, but Josh, being a third-party participant, can see both sides of the situation in a way that Davina can't. "He used you to fight the people who were trying to kill you. And, you know, he also saved you from those people. You don't have to trust the guy, but he does love you." He gives her the sweetest smile ever, and adds, "And P.S.? So do I." I'm not crying, you're crying! Seriously though, Davina and Josh's friendship is the most genuine and loyal friendship on this show. I love it, so, so, so much. Davina asks him if he'll still love her even if she doesn't have any magic, because she's afraid that all of her power came from the other Harvest girls, and now that they're (mostly) back, she's not even sure she has power anymore. Josh replies that he owes it to herself to find out, and maintains that Davina can't change the fact that she's a witch, any more than he can change the fact that he's gay and a vampire. He encourages her to embrace it, and hands her one of the dried roses he's been playing with. She holds it in her hand and starts murmuring the spell as she focuses. "Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Maintenent." The rose comes back to life, and Davina smiles so sweetly that she was able to do magic again. Josh is SO proud of her, and when she hands him the rose to keep, he just awws at her. THESE GUYS WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME.
Marcel and Cami must have made a pitstop to a bar somewhere, because they are now stumbling through the front door to Cami's apartment, drunk as hell. She trips on her way in and falls, and Marcel is just able to slow her down enough to where she doesn't hurt herself. He asks her if she's okay, and she starts to drunk-babble adorably as he picks her up and carries her to her bedroom. "Just some bruises, I'm still bruised! OH! 'Bruise' is such a funny word. It sounds like booze! Ooh, do we have any more booze?" Marcel just laughs and replies that he's pretty sure they drank ALL the booze, ever. She pouts a little bit, but can't keep it up for long. "You're a good friend, Marcel." He smiles, and tells her she should lie down. Instead, she hugs him, and admits that she's tired of being alone. Marcel sighs, and confesses that he is, too. After a long moment, Cami kisses him, and they immediately move over to her bed, where they have some super hot sex. Unfortunately for them, they have a voyeur, in the form of Genevieve, who has placed some kind of voodoo dreamcatcher on Cami's desk in her bedroom. At the coven house, she holds a similar dreamcatcher in her hands, which allows her to WATCH THEM HAVE SEX. How fucking creepy is that? I'm sure she TOTALLY won't use this new information against Marcel and Cami in some way...
Anyway, after they've had their sexy time, Cami sits in bed, covered by a sheet, and watches as Marcel gets dressed and gathers up his stuff. She wastes no time to give him the "The sex we had was mindblowingly amazing, but we can't ever do that again," speech, which makes Marcel chuckle. "What if one of us craves another julep?" Bahaha! Cami reminds him that for whatever unknown reason, Klaus both cares about Cami, and trusts her, so considering the fact that Marcel is Public Enemy #1 with Klaus right now, things could go VERY badly if Klaus were ever to find out. And by badly, she means that she and Marcel would both probably die, I'm guessing. Marcel notices the dreamcatcher on Cami's desk and stealthily tucks it under his coat before he turns to leave. Before he goes, Cami smiles, and calls out, "Marcel? It really was totally worth it." Marcel turns back to look at her one last time before replying, "Yeah, it was." Man, I hope this isn't the end of Marcel/Cami hook-ups together! Cami makes me like Marcel so much more than I normally do.
Marcel meets Thierry on that same rooftop from earlier in order to pitch his plan. He takes out the dreamcatcher and stomps it with his boot before he digs into Thierry for doubting him earlier. "You said I had nothing. You were wrong. I have the same thing I had when I rebuilt this city from the ashes the first time. Everything to gain, and nothing to lose. I'm making inroads, allies-- not the least of which is Davina-- and I'm not leaving this roof until I can count you in, too." He also reminds Thierry that they both know Marcel is all Thierry has left now, because all of the other vampires who left the compound with Thierry ended up leaving New Orleans for good. Thierry sighs, knowing full well that he's right, and asks, "So, us against the world?" Marcel promises that they'll get a third person, and a fourth, and eventually, they'll have the army they need to take back their home. Thierry nods, and the two just stand on their rooftop, staring at the New Orleans skyline.
We then have a little closing montage, narrated by Klaus' voiceover, that recaps where everyone stands before the shit REALLY starts to hit the fan in the next episode. Klaus stares at his painting for a moment before grabbing a paintbrush again and getting to work. "All change begins with a plan, the success of which depends on several things: depth of commitment, passion for one's cause..." At the compound, the leaders of the five Factions, Elijah, Diego, Genevieve, Francesca, and Hayley, have finally drafted their peace treaty. They each cut their palms and drip their blood into a large inkwell, which they mix together and use as the ink for each of them to sign the document. That is so old-fashioned and AWESOME, tbh, although, I always wonder, do the vampires heal the witches and the humans when they do that? Palm cuts are the worst, because sweat and dirt gets in them and it burns and it's just super inconvenient. Meanwhile, over at St. Anne's, Cami watches Father Kieran clutching a rosary and praying in the attic from the doorway.
Over in the bayou, Hayley has returned to the shack with the long-as-hell banquet table, where the rest of the pack has gathered around to celebrate. Jackson lifts his drink and yells, "Hey! To Hayley!" The rest of the pack holds up their glasses and toasts to her fight for the werewolves' presence in the supernatural community. Klaus' voiceover continues as we head over to the Coven House's greenhouse. "Willingness to embrace a new path, determination to overcome any obstacle..." Monique walks into the greenhouse to find Davina sitting at the table with an adorably smug smile, surrounded on all sides by huge, fresh roses that she magically brought back to life. Monique is SO pissed to see that Davina has her mojo back, and I love it. Don't let Monique bully you, girl!
(via stllesstilinskis)
"...and, in some cases, making unnatural alliances." Back at the bayou, Jackson and Oliver are having a private chat away from Hayley and the rest of the wolves. Oliver, as expected, is not at all thrilled with the fact that Jackson made a deal with Klaus, and claims he'd rather turn every full moon than deal with him. However, Oliver hasn't heard Klaus' pitch yet, so Jackson argues his side. "Klaus is right, this magic could do more than just stop us from turning. We could finally control what we are! We can draw on all the strength, all the speed, the raw power of our werewolf form. Our bite would be LETHAL to vampires, 24/7. The humans who hunt us, the witches who curse us, the vampires who hate us--we wouldn't just be their equals. We'd be their superiors." OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT. I have a LOT to say about this, just you wait.
Finally, we return to the Abbatoir compound, where Elijah has waltzed into Klaus' room, carrying the inkwell full of blood and the peace treaty. He orders Klaus to sign it, but Klaus doesn't understand why he has to, considering Elijah already did on behalf of the Mikaelsons. "Brother, I am not a fool. It's clear to me you're not as disinterested as you'd like me to believe. Sign, please. If there is no peace between us, then how can you expect others to follow suit?" Klaus finally caves, and snits that he'll sign it, just to get Elijah off his back. However, that doesn't mean he thinks this treaty will work--in fact, he's sure that eventually, the city's supernatural beings will break it. Elijah just shrugs. "Well, you are welcome to wager against me! You will lose." God, Elijah is the best. I wish Klaus had Elijah's self-confidence rather than his raging insecurity stemming from his many daddy issues. Klaus is just like, "Whatever, dude," and returns to his painting. It's of the New Orleans skyline, and it's gorgeous. We can see that Klaus has added a large, round, full moon in the city above the skyscrapers, which is just more evidence that he's turning toward his werewolf brethren and going against his fellow vampires. THIS IS GONNA BE A DISASTER. And I CAN'T wait!
Next episode: Genevieve convinces Elijah to throw a holiday party, namely, La Fête des Bénêdictions, a traditional feast day in New Orleans' witch culture, in which the citizens give witches gifts in exchange for blessings. Marcel makes a move, Klaus and Genevieve butt heads, and Hayley figures out what Jackson and Oliver have going on behind Elijah's back.
Click HERE to move on to my next recap of The Originals!
[screencaps via Screencapped]
NOTES/QUESTIONS/SPECULATION:
-I already have a bad feeling about Francesca, especially now that she's running the Human Faction. However, I do enjoy that NOLA still has mobsters. Part of me figures that the humans don't really stand a chance against the supernaturals, but you never really know what can happen in this show!
-Speaking of shady characters, I cannot for the life of me get a read on Genevieve! From the flashbacks in "Long Way Back From Hell," it seemed like she was a very sweet, caring witch before Rebekah killed her. Obviously, she became quite vengeful in death, but there is still a lot of the sweet girl who just wanted people to like her in her, especially judging from the fact that she's been sleeping with Klaus. She seems to have her coven's best interests at heart, but there's also a very Katerina Petrova-esque sense of self-preservation from her, too, which means we really never know WHICH way she'll go. As much as I dislike her for what she's done to my favorite characters, she's definitely intriguing, and I'm excited to see where she goes from here.
-I'm also very interested in Klaus' new attitude since Rebekah left. While he is still, at his core, Klaus, he really does seem to have taken his fight with Rebekah to heart, you know? All this new preoccupation with family, empowering the werewolves, embracing his werewolf side--it really does appear that he's taking his soon-to-be-father role much more seriously. As unstable and unpredictable as Klaus is, I really do believe that he's trying to break the cycle of abuse that he inherited from his father, which is just the kind of character development that we've all been waiting for! Fingers crossed!
-You know, when Hayley was on TVD, I was NOT a fan. Part of it was because she reminded me too much of Faye Chamberlain, her character from The Secret Circle, a character of whom I was also not fond, but also because of how shitty she was to Tyler, Caroline, etc. Now that we know her better, though, I find her so much more endearing. Like Elijah (and like everyone else on TVD) she's willing to do whatever it takes to protect those that she cares about, whether it's family or friends or her unborn demonspawn. I had no idea, though, that she had such potential to be a leader! Now that she is aware of her family's legacy, she has really stepped up in order to give the werewolves a voice again, and I am so excited to see where it goes from here.
So, let's dig into the pieces of this game that are slowly but surely being pushed around the board, yeah?
Previously, on The Originals: Rebekah and Klaus finally came to a truce over their epic throwdown while locked in the cemetery, and Rebekah rode off into the sunset all by her lonesome, with the only rule being that she never comes back (to which I say "PSH! Yeah right!") Hayley finally found her biological family, the Crescent werewolf clan, who was cursed by a witch, back in the 90s. That curse made them the opposite of regular werewolves, in that they would be stuck in wolf form for the entire month except for a few hours during the full moon. Hayley finally convinced Celeste (under threat of bodily harm) to undo the curse by making a potion that the werewolves will drink during the full moon when they're human. She also learned that the wolf who has been protecting her, Jackson, was meant to be her husband in some kind of old-school arranged marriage to bring unite the two Crescent wolf bloodlines. The temporarily-resurrected Bastianna hexed Father Kieran for the role he played in disrupting the Harvest, and as a result has slowly been losing his mind, just like his nephew Sean did (before killing all his fellow seminary school students AND himself with a scythe). The newly-resurrected Davina admitted to Cami that she was basically emotionally tortured while she was in limbo. AND, finally, Elijah exiled Marcel from New Orleans as punishment for his role in summoning Mikael almost 100 years ago, and threatened to make his life unbearable should he so much as stick a toe back into the city. Whew!
We start the episode in a voice-over montage, which we haven't had in a while. Naturally, Klaus is the one doing the monologue-ing while we catch a glimpse of what everyone has been up to in the four weeks or so since Rebekah blew town. "They say the passage of time will heal all wounds," Klaus begins, as we see him focused on painting outside the Mikaelson compound. "But the greater the loss, the deeper the cut, and the more difficult the process to become whole again." In the bayou, Hayley stands in front of a bonfire, gripping her baby bump protectively as she watches Jackson in wolf form, standing guard for her. At St. Anne's, Cami is feeding Father Kieran all manner of psychiatric meds and water in hopes of helping to manage his condition, but unfortunately, modern medicine isn't really that effective against old-school voodoo hexes. "The pain may fade, but scares serve as a remind of our suffering, and make the bearer all the more resolved never to be wounded again." That line basically describes Klaus in a nutshell, but do you know who else it describes? Marcel, who is standing shirtless on a balcony outside of New Orleans, staring at the his hometown's skyline.
In a surprising twist, Genevieve has seemed to have caught Klaus' eye, and she saunters toward him as he continues to paint out in the yard in the daylight. "So, as time moves along, we get lost in distractions." The two smile at each other, before Klaus zoops them over to a nearby wall, where they make out like fiends. "Act out in frustration." Diego feeds on a human police officer in the middle of the street, and growls at passerby. "React with aggression, give into anger" Monique pops up out of nowhere and gives that fabulous mohawked vampire lady a mystic migraine, which brings her to her knees. "And, all the while, we plot and plan, as we wait to grow stronger." Hayley and Jackson pour the anti-Crescent wolf curse potion into a pot of some kind of alcohol punch, I would assume, and they drink it as they watch the full moon come and go. When the cursed Crescent wolves don't turn back into wolves after it's over, they all start to cheer in glee that they're back to being human. "And, before we know it, the time passes. We are healed. Ready to begin anew."
Elijah points out that a consequence of Genevieve's actions is that Rebekah is now gone forever, but Klaus still refuses to concede in their argument, and claims that since Rebekah has wanted to be free forever, it's all groovy. "Niklaus, it has been a month," Elijah says, in an attempt to reason with him. "Now, I feel our sister's loss as deeply as you. But, you must stop distracting yourself with this ridiculous behavior and channel it into some kind of action." Unfortunately, Klaus is more interested in painting all day, every day, in an effort to try to manage his raging control issues, and doesn't understand why he needs to do more than that. Elijah has a pretty good point, though, per usual. "Because over the course of Marcel's tenure, the city grew accustomed to having a king. You wanted this throne. Now, you must accept the responsibility that accompanies that." Klaus just ignores him and continues painting, so Elijah goes for the low blow--if he's going to neglect his home like this, what does that say about his future with his soon-to-be-born daughter? He tries to remind Klaus how stressful and terrifying it is to live under the constant threat of violence, and urges his brother to help him make the city united again, for the wellbeing of their family. Klaus isn't swayed by his passionate speech, though, and claims the city is too broken to mend. Annoyed, Elijah insists that if Klaus won't step up to the plate, he's going to do it himself. I mean, any Mikaelson rule is bound to be unstable at best, but at least Elijah is more or less honorable, you know? I'd take him over Klaus any day. And, TITLE CARD!
At St. Anne's Church, Elijah and Father Kieran have requested a meeting with representatives from the witch and vampire factions (Genevieve and Diego, respectively, accompanied by unnamed members of their respective factions). Kieran welcomes them by reminding them that St. Anne's has always been neutral ground and thanks them for coming. Elijah repeats the greeting, and then holds up the former treaty. "These are the rules of the city, according to Marcel Gerard," Elijah announces, before tearing the parchment in half. "Which, of course, no longer apply, because I'm in charge." Naturally this pisses off EVERYONE, especially Diego, who immediately points out that the only reason why they even came to this meeting was because they were under the impression that they would be allowed to run things themselves--they have no idea Elijah would be crowning himself in the process. "Well, you were each selected to represent your own communities," Elijah assures them calmly. "In our honor, however, any issues that arise between factions, it will come to me. Now, we are all responsible for the current chaos in the city. However, you have one very, very simple choice ahead of you here--you can all play nicely together, or you can leave." DAMN! Well, then.
Over at what I'm guessing is where Genevieve and the Harvest girls are living, which I'm just gonna call the Coven House until we're given a better name to work with, or I come up with a more clever one myself. Monique and Abigail are happily practicing a spell on dried roses, while Davina sits nearby and reluctantly tries the same. "Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Maintenent," the girls chant, and Monique and Abigail are thrilled when the dried rose reanimates into a fully-bloomed fresh one. Unfortunately, Davina's heart must not have been into it, because her rose remains dead. Abigail assures Davina that it's an easy spell, and that if she tries, she can do it, but Davina claims she is trying. "Trying and FAILING," Monique snits rudely. "Ever since you came back." Davina angrily asks Monique when she's going to quite being a huge asshole to her, but Monique claims that she will when she stops being weak. "You're supposed to be a Harvest girl, but maybe you don't belong here. Maybe you never did." UGH, OUCH. I really do not like Monique. Did anyone else see the depression parallels in this scene? Abigail's "See Davina? It's easy, all you have to do is try," is pretty much what anyone who has dealt with clinical depression, or anxiety, or any other mental illness, has heard, over and over again. "Just BE happy, it's easy! You just have to DO it, stop worrying about it!" Sigh. I just want Davina to move in with me, and we could just paint and watch movies and listen to music and talk and shield her from all the badness in the world.
We cut to the bayou, where the TO gods have blessed us with plenty of shirtless werewolf hunks wrestling in the mud. HALLELUJAH! Hayley walks over to where Jackson is standing and watching the wrasslin' go down. "Shouldn't you be out there playing Fight Club with the rest of the frat boys?" Hayley asks with a smile, but Jackson just laughs and explains that they're just fighting over pecking order in the pack hierarchy. The throwdown ends, and when the victor asks who wants to go next, Oliver volunteers. Hayley and Jackson then head inside one of the shacks, where a SUPER long banquet table has been set up, buffet-style, for dinner, complete with candles and everything. Jackson urges her to try Tucker's ribs, as the rest of the Crescents who AREN'T fighting gather around to eat. Hayley makes a joke about how they should go play horseshoes next, but Jackson tells her not to mock country living. "Sorry," she admits shyly. "This is just a lot more family fun than I'm used to." Jackson suggests maybe he can help her get used to it, which makes me squeal in my typical multi-shipper fashion. So, instead of a Klaus/Hayley/Elijah love triangle, it's a Klaus/Hayley/Elijah/Jackson love quadrangle? Which doesn't even take into consideration the Klaus/Cami/Marcel love triangle, either. I can't help but love all of the pairings, is that bad?
Oliver appears behind them and ruins their cute little moment. "Then, all we gotta do is just forget that she spent half her life with humans, and the other half with vampires," he sneers. Dude, werewolves are part human, aren't they? And they have family members who are untriggered werewolves, so I don't get the human hate, here. Jackson gets annoyed and orders Oliver to back off, but Hayley is very adept at dealing with assholes, after basically living on her own for half her life. "It's okay! If the runt of the litter has got something to say, he should say it," Hayley retorts. Oliver isn't exactly without ammunition, though--the reason why he came in to talk is because he heard a rumor that Elijah was holding a "power summit" for the various factions, and, unsurprisingly, the werewolves were not invited. Hayley is shocked to hear this news, partially because she wasn't expecting Elijah to be in charge, nor would she expect him to do something like this without telling her, and asks him where he heard that. "It doesn't matter," Oliver snaps. "The point is that we're stuck here living in the swamp, while your vampire boyfriend's deciding who gets what in the city. But, I guess that shows how much respect he's got for the werewolves, huh?" We all know Hayley by now, so it's not really a surprise that Hayley is SUPER pissed at this revelation.
At the so-called "power summit" at St. Anne's, everyone is continuing to yell at each other. Father Kieran is looking especially pale and agitated, so it seems pretty clear that the hex is having a pretty bad effect on him.
DIEGO: [shouts] "This is our city, too! We should be able to go wherever the hell we want!"
GENEVIEVE: [shouts over Diego] "We would consider it an act of war!"
KIERAN: [aggravated] "We're getting nowhere. You vile creatures cannot agree!"
ELIJAH: [yells] "Father, calm yourself, please! [lowers his voice] Thank you. Now, returning to the issue of boundaries, you will all heed to the following--"
That's when Hayley bursts into the church, high on pregnancy hormones and rage. She asks him if he's seriously dividing up the city among the different factions, without allowing the werewolves to have a say in the matter whatsoever. Diego, who seems to hate werewolves more than any other vampire in NOLA, is furious that Hayley is there, but Elijah orders him to settle down. He turns to Hayley and assures her that they're not dividing the city, they're simply setting up boundaries. "No, Elijah!" Hayley says, cutting him off. "There is not gonna be a peace if the werewolves are excluded. They want a seat at the table." Genevieve and Diego both scoff patronizingly at her, so Hayley turns to them and adds, "And, if they don't get one, I can guarantee that you will all regret it." The representatives all begin to argue again, so Elijah takes Hayley aside to talk with her privately. Elijah is a very polite person, usually, who has nothing but fond feelings for Hayley, but he can't hide his annoyance at her intrusion.
"Do you have any idea what it took just to get those people in one room together?" Elijah asks harshly. Hayley replies that no, she doesn't, because she didn't even know this meeting was going down until she caught wind of a rumor all the way in the fucking bayou. Have we established just how far away the bayou is from the French Quarter/New Orleans? Is it like Whitmore College in TVD, where it's like 8 hours away in some episodes, and like 10 minutes away in others? She orders him to honestly answer one question--did he leave the werewolves out of negotiations because of her? Elijah claims that his intentions were pure, and I'm inclined to believe him, not that that excuses his actions. "I excluded them because they no longer reside in the French Quarter," he maintains. "My immediate concern is the mounting conflict here. Now, I can assure you, once this treaty is solidified, it will expand to include your people." Hayley is still upset, though, and asks him what the fuck she's supposed to tell them to do in the meantime. "Sit? Stay? Roll over?" she snits. Elijah shows uncharacteristic anger when he shouts that his preference would be for Hayley to stay out of this mess completely, which shocks her. Realizing how mean he just was, he softens and asks, "Hayley, are you absolutely certain that you shouldn't return to the compound?" Hayley laughs sarcastically at the idea that she and her baby will be any safer there, but Elijah isn't sure the bayou is better. Hayley sighs, and prepares to leave. "The wolves deserve a voice," she states. "Give them one. You know it's the right thing to do."
We check back up on Klaus, who is STILL painting in his room, while Genevieve slinks around the room in only her silk robe and her bra and underwear and regales him on all the events of the day. She laughs about the look on Elijah's face when Hayley barged in, which leads Klaus to assume that the curse on the Crescent clan really has been broken. Genevieve asks him if he really thinks that there can be peace in New Orleans, but before he can answer, Cami bursts into the room. "I saw the light from the courtyard, and took a chance that..." She stops in her tracks when she sees Genevieve in her lingerie, and then glares at Klaus. "...You weren't with a half-naked psychowitch. Seems I gambled, and lost," she finishes. Genevieve just smirks at her and quips that ten minutes earlier, she was FULLY naked. "Oh! Then, you've served your purpose. Don't let me hold you up!" Cami retorts right back. DAMN! Cami, 1, Genevieve 0. Genevieve refuses to allow herself to look offended, and just struts toward the door. Before she leaves, she snarks that O'Connells have a bad habit of pissing off witches.
Once Genevieve has left the room, Cami immediately goes in on Klaus for sleeping with the same witch who tried to blackmail her into stabbing him with Knife of Excruciating Pain. "Well, New Orleans breeds nothing if not strange bedfellows," is the only thing Klaus has to say for himself, before changing the topic to why exactly Cami has come to see him. She informs him about Father Kieran's deteriorating condition, and how the medications and meditation that he's been using to treat the symptoms are no longer working. In fact, he's getting worse by the day. "A witch did this, a witch can undo it. You seem super-tight with Genevieve...maybe you could persuade her to help?" Cami asks reluctantly. Klaus admits that at this point, there's nothing anyone can do, because the hex has had time to take root, and now it's altered Kieran's brain chemistry so much that the damage is irreversible. He apologizes for not being able to help her, but Cami refuses to believe that, and storms away.
Meanwhile, Davina has just walked into a unknown pub somewhere, where she sees Josh sitting at a booth. She smiles at him, and runs over to where he's sitting to join him.
JOSH: "Davina! [becomes worried] What are you doing out here? I would have met you anywhere you wanted. [beat] I mean, not anywhere Klaus or Marcel would be--which could be pretty much, you know, anywhere--but, you know what I mean. Hey, you okay?"
DAVINA: "It's Monique. She has no idea what I went through when I was dead. The ancestors hated me for what I did with my magic. I can't just start practicing again. [sighs] I knew I shouldn't have trusted Marcel when he told me to go back. I don't know how much more of it I can take."
LOL, Josh makes me laugh so much, but OUCH! My heart! Davina and Josh's friendship continues to be my most favorite relationship on this show, and it seems like right now, Davina NEEDS a good, loyal friend who simply just wants to hang out with her, rather than using her for nefarious purposes.
As it turns out, Marcel is on a rooftop across the street, where he's totally eavesdropping on their conversation, and looking pretty sad as he does so. After a moment, Thierry arrives, and makes a comment about him being in yet another fight with Davina. Marcel's clearly in a mood, so Thierry changes the subject by asking him why the hell he dragged him all the way out there. Where the hell ARE they, anyway? I doubt they're in the Quarter, because Elijah would kill him in a millisecond. Anyway, per usual, Marcel is scheming. "I have a proposal," he begins. "I want you and all the guys who walked out on Klaus with you to join me." Thierry can't believe Marcel's rounding up another army, but Marcel insists he can't take the city back without it. Still, Thierry is skeptical. "You have nothing. You have no weapons, no allies. You go even CLOSE to the Quarter and Elijah will kill you. That's if Klaus doesn't get you first." Marcel totally calls him out on the fact that he must be interested, or he never would have shown up. He's sure Thierry wants to take back his home, just like Marcel. "A battle is brewing, T, and while everyone's busy choosing sides, I'm gonna find a way to take back our city. So, you with me?" Thierry just gives him a long look before retorting, "You were always great with words, Marcel. But, it's gonna take more than a pretty speech this time."
I'm not a big Thierry fan, as you've probably gathered by this point, but for once, he's actually right. Marcel is nothing if not charismatic, and it's that charm that has helped win him the loyalty of his people for so long. But, now, people are starting to realize that he's all talk, especially after the epic failure that was Rebekah and Marcel's plan to bury Klaus in the Garden. If this season has taught us anything, it's that it takes a LOT to catch an Original off-guard. The only one who has really successfully hurt them is Celeste, and that's because she was patient and executed a long con over, like, CENTURIES. Unfortunately for Marcel, he inherited Klaus' impulsiveness, and I really don't think he has the patience to make a complicated enough plan to actually put him and the other vampires in a position of power over Klaus AND Elijah. And, it would have to be both, because you know if they went after one, the other would kill anyone who was involved. So yeah, I'm not confident in Marcel's abilities, tbh.
At St. Anne's Church, Cami arrives to the attic to find that Kieran is shackling his ankles to the radiator. Cami doesn't understand why he thinks this is a good idea, but Kieran's worried about what he could do to her, or others. "The sickness, it's-it's overtaking my inclination to forgive," Kieran admits nervously. "Replacing it with one thought I could barely contain at the summit. 'Kill every last one of them.'" She insists that they'll figure it out, together, but Kieran claims that that was his plan when this happened to Sean (though, at the time, he didn't realize it was a hex, iirc), when he should have been trying to STOP him before he could hurt anyone. Kieran refuses to allow that to happen to him, and reminds her of their family's legacy. "You're an O'Connell. They're going to ask you to take my place. Don't. Just leave. Just start over." Cami is secretly fascinated by this world, though, plus he's the only family she seems to have, so Cami has no intention whatsoever of leaving, especially not if there's still a chance to help him.
Unfortunately, this was the WRONG thing to say. "That is just stubbornness, like-like when you were a little girl. You always had to be right. You-you never listened. Just that thick head of yours. I prayed for you, and I got no answer. There is only blackness. There is only death. There's mine, and yours." YIKES! To make matters even WORSE, Kieran reaches out to grab Cami and tries to kill her. She thrashes around in his grip and falls onto the floor, and though she desperately tries to crawl away, Kieran grabs her by the calf and pulls her toward him. She frantically grabs a nearby lamp that fell during the fight and bonks him over the head with it, which thankfully, knocks him unconscious. Aw, poor Kieran, and poor Cami! Her twin brother AND her uncle have been cursed with the same hex and it seems that there is literally nothing she can do to fix it. Since they're like the only two decent people on this show, they really deserve better.
The supernatural creature-summit must have ended, because Elijah is now meeting with a beautiful woman who introduces herself to Elijah as Francesca Correa. Elijah seems to have done quite a bit of research before meeting her. "I know exactly who you are. You own the Palace Royale Casino, you're one of the city's leading philanthropists, and--according to my sources--you're the matriarch to a rather sizeable drug trafficking empire." When he asks her why he's meeting her this evening, so Francesca gets to the point; basically, she comes from a family who has belonged to the human faction for years, so since Father Kieran is reahing the point where he can't effectively lead the faction, she's nominating herself as his replacement. Elijah chides her for trying to mandate his actions, but she claims she just wants them to be allies. "I want peace just as much as you do. My lifestyle--which I enjoy very much--depends on it." Elijah laughs and admits he can tell that she's very ambitious. She starts to sense that Elijah is going to put up some resistance, so she solidifies everyone's mobster assumptions by laying down some threats that make it clear that she's someone that the gang will have to keep their eye on from now on.
FRANCESCA: "You know, I should mention, I've already spoken to the city's new mayor and the chief of police, and other interested parties, and I have their blessing. I think you'll find it beneficial to have me on your side...even if it is just to prevent my less-civilized brethren from lashing out in ways that could prove painful for you. [smiles fakely] Have a good night."
Klaus is on his balcony, taking in the French Quarter, before heading back into his bedroom to get back to his painting. He grabs a paintbrush from one of the eighteen bajillion jars of paintbrushes scattered around his room, only to find that Elijah is standing right in front of his painting. Elijah explains that he's not really impressed by his lack of interest in the King of New Orleans title that he worked so hard to obtain. "Well, it's difficult trying to unite a community that has a history of mutual loathing," Klaus reasons. Elijah isn't really interested in his excuses, but Klaus won't drop it. "A perspective, then?" he offers. "If you want peace, you must begin with the werewolves. A hundred years ago, they had a run at ruling this city. As of late, all they've had is time to watch their enemies tear down that legacy." OH SHIT, I KNEW he was going to get into some shit with Genevieve! They're both too schemey for their own good.
Anyway, Elijah reminds him that the werewolves' enemies (namely, the vampires, but also the witches) are very hesitant to allow them to come to the table for that very reason. Klaus' advice? "If the table's the obstacle, remove it." He pours them both drinks and asks him if he recalls back in 1720, when the governor was desperate for the vampires' aid in order to build the levees, but the Mikaelsons wouldn't agree to it. So, the governor got them drunk and gave them lots of corsetted prostitutes to sleep with/feed on until finally, they said yes. I can't imagine Elijah enjoying that kind of thing, can you? Elijah just smiles and asks if Klaus is suggesting that he throw a party for the factions, and the two drink.
Somehow, they managed to compel enough people to get a party all set up for that evening. The lights are blue, and everyone is wearing sexy cocktail attire. The camera pans around to show us that Diego and the vampires are there, along with Jackson, Hayley, and Oliver representing the werewolves, and Genevieve and the Harvest girls, representing the witches. Elijah and Klaus are on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, where Elijah compliments his brother on his short-notice party plans. "Now, if I can just keep them from tearing one another to shreds," Elijah adds. Klaus just laughs, and retorts, "Well, then, for your sake, here's to a spectacularly boring evening!" YEAH, RIGHT. Like Klaus has EVER wished for a boring evening. He's like the nogitsune from Teen Wolf, feeding on chaos, strife, and pain (that others are feeling, of course, not himself). Something tells me that tonight will be anything but dull. (And it's not at ALL because I've already seen this episode and know exactly what is going to happen)
The partygoers are all mingling around the party as Diego pushes his way through the crowd. He sees Jackson and Oliver on his way through and purposely bumps into Jackson. "What's up, little man?" This gets Oliver all steamed up, but Jackson assures him it's not worth the energy. Elijah senses the hostility brewing, and is just about to follow the werewolves and see what they're up to when Francesca struts up to him and distracts him. "Since you're preoccupied, I'll intuit your flattering comment," she says, before smiling widely. "Thank you, I think I look stunning, too!" Elijah can play games with the rest of them, though, and hilariously snarks, "I trust you've spent as much time fortifying alliances as you clearly have selecting that dress." BAHAHAHA.
Francesca humble-brags about everything she accomplished before the party--she mollified the witches by increasing their share in the cemetery tours, settled the dispute over the docks, AND gave the Crescent wolves what she calls a "Welcome Back to Humanity" gift of $100 dollar chips to her casino. She insists that she deserves some champagne, so Elijah grabs some off a passing waiter. However, when she grabs for it, Elijah holds it away from her. I assumed he was gonna call her out on how obvious she's being, but instead, he informs her that the rest of the Human Faction has caved regarding Father Kieran, and have decided that they will allow her to be Faction Representative until Kieran has regained his mental faculties. Francesca is all about getting up in Elijah's grill, but Elijah sees Hayley walk by him, and immediately is like, "See ya, gotta go fawn over the love of my life!"
Josh is still at the pub, though Davina has left. He drops his bill onto the floor, so he bends over to pick it up. When he sits back up, he's completely startled to see Marcel sitting across from him in the booth. "God!" Josh shrieks, before eventually composing himself. "Look, if you expect me to beg for my life, that's not me anymore," Josh states, as confidently as he can muster. Marcel smiles, but it's still pretty chilly. He claims he's not there to kill him, he's only there for Davina. He brings up the summit, and reminds Josh that if it falls apart, every single faction is going to scramble to find leverage over the others, (ironically, just like Marcel did when he had Davina in the first place, regardless of how honorable his intentions might have been) which means that Davina needs to start practicing magic again, ASAP. Josh doesn't quite understand why he's telling him, of all people, but Marcel reminds him that since she's pissed at him, he needs Josh to be the one to convince her. Not only has Josh grown a backbone recently, but he's also learned a lot about Marcel, too. "So, what? I tell her, and you try to get her back on your side, right? Go back to using her as a weapon?" TELL HIM, JOSH! However, Marcel maintains that he doesn't give a fuck whose side she's on, as long as she's safe. "Because we both know, right now, she isn't," Marcel adds, before taking his leave.
Meanwhile, back at the party, Oliver starts checking Davina out from across the room, which she totally notices. He smiles at her, and she smiles back at him. Diego watches this all go down, and whether he's angry because he just hates werewolves that much, or because the part of him that is Marcel's friend is uncool with Davina getting hit on by a werewolf who also happens to be WAY too old for her, I can't say, but he's basically fuming as he chugs his drink. Elijah notices his rage building up and immediately jumps in to mediate. He stops Diego before he can go anywhere, and orders him to be polite and courteous. Unfortunately, there is historical beef going down between Diego and the Crescents. "Yeah, see, his people killed my whole family. My sister bled out on the floor right next to me. The only reason I'm standing here is because Marcel came along and turned me before I bled out, too." Oh shit! That is horrible, actually. So, yeah, needless to say, Diego isn't really feeling up to being welcoming. However, the majority of us know that Elijah has TOTALLY been in Diego's place, having lost his own youngest brother to a werewolf attack, but Elijah insists that they need to make concessions in order to maintain peace.
To prove it, Elijah leaves Diego to go greet Jackson and Oliver and welcome them into his home. Jackson replies that they wouldn't have even come had Hayley not forced them to do it, so Elijah admits that some of his guests are not feeling especially tolerant of werewolves at the moment. "The vampires in particular view you as...well, barbaric," he adds, though not unkindly. Jackson informs Elijah that he's heard that the new peace treaty is important to him, to which Elijah most wholeheartedly agrees. "Yes, it certainly is," he responds. "So much so, in fact, that if anyone threatened to dismantle what I'm building here, I'd destroy everything they hold dear." He smiles that hilariously diplomatic smile of his, and wishes them a good evening before going to mingle more. Yikes! You know that the werewolves are going to want to try to get their place in New Orleans back, now that the curse has been lifted and Hayley and her miracle baby have been returned to them. And, what's interesting is that it seems the "things that Jackson holds most dear" are 1) his pack, 2) Hayley, and 3) Hayley's baby (all of which technically fall under the "his pack" umbrella), which is convenient, because they also happen to all be things that Elijah cares about, because he cares about Hayley, and Hayley cares about those things, too. So really, what can Elijah do to stop them, should the werewolves stir up some trouble?
Klaus is on the balcony again, watching the party go down, which is where Genevieve finds him. She is in a VERY snippy mood, thanks to a healthy Cami jealousy, and snits, "Looking for your shrink?" Klaus immediately calls her out on said Cami jealousy, but Genevieve claims that she's only curious why Klaus would even care about her, because she's so "ordinary." He reminds her that ordinary people are often "welcome respite," which just makes her pout more. "I thought I was your respite!" Yikes! Stage 5 Clinger alert. Klaus assures her that she is, and makes her promise him that she won't continue to stress about Cami and how much affection Klaus has for her. He then sees Jackson coming up the stairs and immediately ditches her for some manly conversation.
Jackson is greeted by Klaus when he enters Klaus' bedroom, but right off the bat, Jackson is (understandably) cold. "So, is this where the great Klaus Mikaelson says something poignant and snaps my neck?" Jackson asks, but Klaus promises that he's not going to kill him. On the contrary, Klaus wants to give him a gift. Unfortunately for Klaus, werewolves hate Originals just as much as they hate vampires, especially those in New Orleans, so Jackson immediately calls him out on the fact that he's not just feeling generous of spirit. Klaus tries to bond with him over the fact that they were both born werewolves, and offers to help alleviate his pack's burden. Jackson assumes that Klaus wants to make him and his pack into hybrids, and insists that he would never, ever compromise his family's legacy like that because hybrids are still half-vampire, and vampires are bloodthirsty parasites, yadda yadda yadda. Luckily for him, that's exactly why Klaus likes him. "That pride, that sense of loyalty? Well, that's exactly why I haven't snapped your neck yet." That's when the conversation takes a turn for the enlightening.
JACKSON: "Well, if you're not gonna kill me, then what the hell do you want?"
KLAUS: "Only to give you back the city that was taken from you. How's that for poignant?"
JACKSON: "Why would I trust someone who's conspiring behind his brother's back?"
KLAUS: "I'm not trying to undermine Elijah's venture. I'm supporting his vision. Vampires destroy life to survive, witches are only as powerful as their dead, but the werewolves have thrived because their strength comes from family unity. The safety of that unity is what I want for my unborn child. The painful truth is, vampires are the antithesis of unity."
JACKSON: "So, what, after a thousand years, you're finally ready to embrace the other half of your family tree? Maybe the other half doesn't WANT you."
KLAUS: "Oh, they will, once they return to the Quarter."Naturally, Jackson's interest is instantly piqued, and he's too curious (and, as an exiled werewolf, too desperate) not to ask Klaus what he's planning. Klaus pulls out that same wooden box that held his little knight toy from the previous episode, and pulls out the ring that Elijah found on that werewolf, Cary, from the bayou. He explains that his mother was a very powerful witch, one who created hundreds of crazy spells, including the one that was put upon the ring he's holding. "I hadn't seen it for a thousand years, and then it turned up around the neck of a werewolf--a direct descendant of my biological father. I believe she gave him this ring as a way of freeing him." Jackson becomes more confused (and intrigued), so Klaus explains his theory--MOONLIGHT RINGS. "Daylight rings shield vampires from the sun. So, why not a moonlight ring, to protect werewolves from the curse? Think about it! No more breaking bones, no more losing control to the beast within." HOLY. SHIT. That is SO FUCKING COOL! As you can guess, Jackson is automatically like, "SIGN ME UP, DUDE."
Downstairs at the party, Davina is leaning against a wall in a hallway off the courtyard, looking very bored and WAY too sexy in that dress for such a young girl, when Oliver comes up to say hello. He gets a little tongue-tied, and stammers out, "Hey, you look, um..." Davina tries to helpfully suggest "nervous" and "out of place," but instead, he backtracks and says she looks pretty. He introduces himself by name, and cheesily asks, "What's the name of the girl I'm about to ask to dance?" GAG ME. Before Davina can answer, Monique appears out of nowhere and snipes Oliver from her. Davina is so mad that she just storms away, leaving the two of them to dance, but IMO, Davina should NOT be crying over this missed opportunity. Oliver may be a hunk, but he's also an asshole, so he and Monique pretty much deserve each other, as far as I'm concerned.
Hayley is watching everyone mingle from the sidelines when Elijah materializes behind her and asks her if she'd do him the honor of dancing with him. She's still a little salty from the whole summit thing earlier, but she reluctantly takes his hand and follows him out onto the dance floor. She compliments him on the party, and the fact that he even strong-armed Klaus into playing nicely, and Elijah retorts that only a huge blow-out party is enough to drag his baby bro away from his easel. Hayley reminds him of the fact that his art spree is a BAD sign, because Klaus once told her about how painting is his metaphor for control, and accomplishing his visions through force of will, blah blah blah. Elijah always knows just what to say, though. "Well, truthfully, I'd be shocked if he didn't have at least a dozen of those visions swarming around in that insidious skill of his," Elijah replies, before checking her out from head to toe and adding, "I do hope your daughter inherits her mother's...everything." Damn, that was so fucking smooth! He then spins her around dramatically, which makes her laugh.
(via littleheartss)
She points out how weird it is to be back at the compound, after staying with the wolves for so long. Elijah hopes it's not unpleasant for her, before asking her if she's positive that it's a bad idea for her to come back home to live with them. "Why, Elijah?" she asks sarcastically. "Because you don't think it's safe in Big, Bad Wolf Country? I'm not going to sit in a rocking chair and knit booties, or haven't you figured it out yet?" Yeowtch! I totally feel Hayley on being frustrated at the fact that everyone is treating her like some fragile thing that can't protect herself, especially since we ALL know that's not the case, but still. You can say a boatload of terrible things about Klaus and Elijah, but the one thing they can agree on is that they want Hayley and the baby to be safe, full stop, no question, no alternatives. Whether Hayley likes it or not, since she's knocked up with Klaus' hellspawn, she's a target from all sides, and while it's clear the werewolves are also perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, you can never be too careful in that world, you know?
ANYWAY, Jackson interrupts them and asks to have a minute with Hayley, and though Elijah tries to have him come back later, Hayley is back to being livid, and runs off with Jackson for a dance. Once they're alone, Jackson asks her if she's okay, but she promises she's fine. "We were just discussing the future of the city," she snits. Jackson breaks out the, "How can you be thinking about the city when you look so beautiful tonight?" line, and of course Elijah is within earshot, because this complicated love-web can apparently always use more obstacles. Whoops!
Cami is making herself a much-needed drink at her apartment when Marcel shows up to check on her. Really, he just appears behind her, which startles the fuck out of her, because apparently vampires are unable to just knock on the door if they've been invited in. Once she's calmed down, she offers him a drink and chirps, "Julep? Minus the sugar and mint?" LOL, Cami, you are a girl after my own heart. Marcel takes the offered drink, but frowns when he notices Cami's injuries. "Hey, I just saw Kieran. He's not gonna hurt you again. In fact, he won't leave the attic at all. I arranged for a little boundary spell." Cami is shocked, and points out that all of them despise him, but he claims he found one who didn't, just for her. Cami starts to tear up, and though she tries to hold it back, eventually, she just can't help but let it out. "You're the first person to help me in a month. Kieran's the only family I have left. Without him, I have no one." Marcel admits that he's a little short on family members himself, but he promises he's here for her, no matter what she needs. When he asks her what he can do, Cami smiles a wry little smile and replies, "There is one thing," before holding up her empty bottle and shaking it in his face. "We're out of bourbon." Man, when Marcel is with Cami, all of the negative feelings I have about him just float away. He's so good to her! Cami needs someone like him around, and really, Marcel benefits greatly from her influence, too. GAH! They're like Stefan and Caroline to me.
As the party rages on, Oliver wanders over to the bar for a drink, when Diego saunters over for some really lame insults. "Hey, wolf boy! Should have had them put it in a bowl for you," Diego sneers. Oliver says that'd be awesome, if he wants him to crush his skull. Francesca notices the tension and tries to defuse it by refocusing their attention on her. "Please, boys. At least fight over something interesting. Me, perhaps?" BAHAHA. You've gotta admire Francesca's hustle, even if she is totally shady. Diego insists that Francesca wants nothing to do with the werewolves, because they have a tendency to eat innocent people during full moons. Oliver insists that they're not like that, and apologizes on his clan's behalf for however they wronged him. Just when I was starting to think Oliver may be an okay person, he just had to go and ruin it. "Though, I'm surprised my kin could choke them down, being half as ugly as him." RUDE. So, naturally, Diego picks him up and throws him across the room, where he lands on a table covered in glasses full of champagne. The table and glasses shatter on impact, and when Diego zoops over to Oliver, Oliver grabs him by the shirt and pushes him against the wall.
Thankfully, Elijah appears to play host mediator. "This ends NOW," Elijah says, as he pulls Oliver off of Diego. "I won't ask again." Behind him, Jackson calls out, "Oh, we'll end it, all right." When Elijah turns around, he finds Jackson holding a stake up against Diego's chest. WONDERFUL. Hayley walks down the stairs to join them, and sarcastically eggs Elijah on. "What's stopping you? Kill him. Go ahead, Elijah. Do it. I mean, it's not like he doesn't deserve to die." Elijah, Oliver, and Jackson are ALL confused, and nearby, Francesca stands next to Klaus and asks him why he's not intervening. Of course, Klaus is LOVING the drama, so he just watches as Hayley continues.
HAYLEY: "I mean, it was Oliver who handed Rebekah over to the witches so they could torture her. But, then again, wasn't it Diego who led a werewolf massacre last month? And the witches cursed the wolves, while the humans stood back and let it all happen. So, when you think about it, everyone here deserves to die."
YES, YES, YES! Damn, Hayley is the best, and I'm pretty sure this is the most accurate statement on this show, after Cami's assertion that Klaus is the "architect of his own unhappiness." I was talking to Kathleen about how this brewing war is just a result of literally ALL of the factions treating each other like shit and using every opportunity that they can find to get the upperhand on each other. Klaus tried to basically re-colonize New Orleans, Marcel killed werewolves and witches alike and held both more or less under subjugation, and the humans don't give a fuck what goes down as long as they're still getting paid. I'm pretty sure Elijah knows this to be the truth as well, but the nobleman in him isn't exactly fond of huge scenes at public functions. So, he sternly asks, "Are you approaching a point?" So, Hayley makes her point: "The point, Elijah, is this--if we can't all learn to get along, if our families can't create some sort of community, then what's the point? Kill each other, and get it over with." Elijah considers her words for a moment and realizes that not only is she totally right, but that she, just like Klaus claimed earlier, is supporting his vision. He lets go of Oliver, so Jackson reluctantly lets go of Diego, too. Woot! Unity!
At the Coven House, Davina and Josh are hanging out in the greenhouse. He looks through all the herbs and dried flowers, and admits that he's only gotten roses once in his life, and he didn't even get to keep them. We don't know much about Josh's family life, and neither does Davina, so she asks him why. The story is, Josh got roses from his first boyfriend for Valentine's day his senior year of high school. He tried to hide them in his bedroom, but his super-bigoted parents found them and shoved them through a paper shredder. However, there is a point to his story, because apparently he's taken some motivational speaking tips from Hayley. "You know, I don't have a home to go home to, or a family to go home to. I used to hate myself for that, but the thing is? I don't really care what they think anymore. If your family doesn't like you the way you are, screw them! You got me, and Cami...even Marcel. If you want."
Davina reminds him that Marcel used her, but Josh, being a third-party participant, can see both sides of the situation in a way that Davina can't. "He used you to fight the people who were trying to kill you. And, you know, he also saved you from those people. You don't have to trust the guy, but he does love you." He gives her the sweetest smile ever, and adds, "And P.S.? So do I." I'm not crying, you're crying! Seriously though, Davina and Josh's friendship is the most genuine and loyal friendship on this show. I love it, so, so, so much. Davina asks him if he'll still love her even if she doesn't have any magic, because she's afraid that all of her power came from the other Harvest girls, and now that they're (mostly) back, she's not even sure she has power anymore. Josh replies that he owes it to herself to find out, and maintains that Davina can't change the fact that she's a witch, any more than he can change the fact that he's gay and a vampire. He encourages her to embrace it, and hands her one of the dried roses he's been playing with. She holds it in her hand and starts murmuring the spell as she focuses. "Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Maintenent." The rose comes back to life, and Davina smiles so sweetly that she was able to do magic again. Josh is SO proud of her, and when she hands him the rose to keep, he just awws at her. THESE GUYS WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME.
Marcel and Cami must have made a pitstop to a bar somewhere, because they are now stumbling through the front door to Cami's apartment, drunk as hell. She trips on her way in and falls, and Marcel is just able to slow her down enough to where she doesn't hurt herself. He asks her if she's okay, and she starts to drunk-babble adorably as he picks her up and carries her to her bedroom. "Just some bruises, I'm still bruised! OH! 'Bruise' is such a funny word. It sounds like booze! Ooh, do we have any more booze?" Marcel just laughs and replies that he's pretty sure they drank ALL the booze, ever. She pouts a little bit, but can't keep it up for long. "You're a good friend, Marcel." He smiles, and tells her she should lie down. Instead, she hugs him, and admits that she's tired of being alone. Marcel sighs, and confesses that he is, too. After a long moment, Cami kisses him, and they immediately move over to her bed, where they have some super hot sex. Unfortunately for them, they have a voyeur, in the form of Genevieve, who has placed some kind of voodoo dreamcatcher on Cami's desk in her bedroom. At the coven house, she holds a similar dreamcatcher in her hands, which allows her to WATCH THEM HAVE SEX. How fucking creepy is that? I'm sure she TOTALLY won't use this new information against Marcel and Cami in some way...
Anyway, after they've had their sexy time, Cami sits in bed, covered by a sheet, and watches as Marcel gets dressed and gathers up his stuff. She wastes no time to give him the "The sex we had was mindblowingly amazing, but we can't ever do that again," speech, which makes Marcel chuckle. "What if one of us craves another julep?" Bahaha! Cami reminds him that for whatever unknown reason, Klaus both cares about Cami, and trusts her, so considering the fact that Marcel is Public Enemy #1 with Klaus right now, things could go VERY badly if Klaus were ever to find out. And by badly, she means that she and Marcel would both probably die, I'm guessing. Marcel notices the dreamcatcher on Cami's desk and stealthily tucks it under his coat before he turns to leave. Before he goes, Cami smiles, and calls out, "Marcel? It really was totally worth it." Marcel turns back to look at her one last time before replying, "Yeah, it was." Man, I hope this isn't the end of Marcel/Cami hook-ups together! Cami makes me like Marcel so much more than I normally do.
Marcel meets Thierry on that same rooftop from earlier in order to pitch his plan. He takes out the dreamcatcher and stomps it with his boot before he digs into Thierry for doubting him earlier. "You said I had nothing. You were wrong. I have the same thing I had when I rebuilt this city from the ashes the first time. Everything to gain, and nothing to lose. I'm making inroads, allies-- not the least of which is Davina-- and I'm not leaving this roof until I can count you in, too." He also reminds Thierry that they both know Marcel is all Thierry has left now, because all of the other vampires who left the compound with Thierry ended up leaving New Orleans for good. Thierry sighs, knowing full well that he's right, and asks, "So, us against the world?" Marcel promises that they'll get a third person, and a fourth, and eventually, they'll have the army they need to take back their home. Thierry nods, and the two just stand on their rooftop, staring at the New Orleans skyline.
We then have a little closing montage, narrated by Klaus' voiceover, that recaps where everyone stands before the shit REALLY starts to hit the fan in the next episode. Klaus stares at his painting for a moment before grabbing a paintbrush again and getting to work. "All change begins with a plan, the success of which depends on several things: depth of commitment, passion for one's cause..." At the compound, the leaders of the five Factions, Elijah, Diego, Genevieve, Francesca, and Hayley, have finally drafted their peace treaty. They each cut their palms and drip their blood into a large inkwell, which they mix together and use as the ink for each of them to sign the document. That is so old-fashioned and AWESOME, tbh, although, I always wonder, do the vampires heal the witches and the humans when they do that? Palm cuts are the worst, because sweat and dirt gets in them and it burns and it's just super inconvenient. Meanwhile, over at St. Anne's, Cami watches Father Kieran clutching a rosary and praying in the attic from the doorway.
Over in the bayou, Hayley has returned to the shack with the long-as-hell banquet table, where the rest of the pack has gathered around to celebrate. Jackson lifts his drink and yells, "Hey! To Hayley!" The rest of the pack holds up their glasses and toasts to her fight for the werewolves' presence in the supernatural community. Klaus' voiceover continues as we head over to the Coven House's greenhouse. "Willingness to embrace a new path, determination to overcome any obstacle..." Monique walks into the greenhouse to find Davina sitting at the table with an adorably smug smile, surrounded on all sides by huge, fresh roses that she magically brought back to life. Monique is SO pissed to see that Davina has her mojo back, and I love it. Don't let Monique bully you, girl!
(via stllesstilinskis)
"...and, in some cases, making unnatural alliances." Back at the bayou, Jackson and Oliver are having a private chat away from Hayley and the rest of the wolves. Oliver, as expected, is not at all thrilled with the fact that Jackson made a deal with Klaus, and claims he'd rather turn every full moon than deal with him. However, Oliver hasn't heard Klaus' pitch yet, so Jackson argues his side. "Klaus is right, this magic could do more than just stop us from turning. We could finally control what we are! We can draw on all the strength, all the speed, the raw power of our werewolf form. Our bite would be LETHAL to vampires, 24/7. The humans who hunt us, the witches who curse us, the vampires who hate us--we wouldn't just be their equals. We'd be their superiors." OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT. I have a LOT to say about this, just you wait.
Finally, we return to the Abbatoir compound, where Elijah has waltzed into Klaus' room, carrying the inkwell full of blood and the peace treaty. He orders Klaus to sign it, but Klaus doesn't understand why he has to, considering Elijah already did on behalf of the Mikaelsons. "Brother, I am not a fool. It's clear to me you're not as disinterested as you'd like me to believe. Sign, please. If there is no peace between us, then how can you expect others to follow suit?" Klaus finally caves, and snits that he'll sign it, just to get Elijah off his back. However, that doesn't mean he thinks this treaty will work--in fact, he's sure that eventually, the city's supernatural beings will break it. Elijah just shrugs. "Well, you are welcome to wager against me! You will lose." God, Elijah is the best. I wish Klaus had Elijah's self-confidence rather than his raging insecurity stemming from his many daddy issues. Klaus is just like, "Whatever, dude," and returns to his painting. It's of the New Orleans skyline, and it's gorgeous. We can see that Klaus has added a large, round, full moon in the city above the skyscrapers, which is just more evidence that he's turning toward his werewolf brethren and going against his fellow vampires. THIS IS GONNA BE A DISASTER. And I CAN'T wait!
Next episode: Genevieve convinces Elijah to throw a holiday party, namely, La Fête des Bénêdictions, a traditional feast day in New Orleans' witch culture, in which the citizens give witches gifts in exchange for blessings. Marcel makes a move, Klaus and Genevieve butt heads, and Hayley figures out what Jackson and Oliver have going on behind Elijah's back.
Click HERE to move on to my next recap of The Originals!
[screencaps via Screencapped]
NOTES/QUESTIONS/SPECULATION:
-I already have a bad feeling about Francesca, especially now that she's running the Human Faction. However, I do enjoy that NOLA still has mobsters. Part of me figures that the humans don't really stand a chance against the supernaturals, but you never really know what can happen in this show!
-Speaking of shady characters, I cannot for the life of me get a read on Genevieve! From the flashbacks in "Long Way Back From Hell," it seemed like she was a very sweet, caring witch before Rebekah killed her. Obviously, she became quite vengeful in death, but there is still a lot of the sweet girl who just wanted people to like her in her, especially judging from the fact that she's been sleeping with Klaus. She seems to have her coven's best interests at heart, but there's also a very Katerina Petrova-esque sense of self-preservation from her, too, which means we really never know WHICH way she'll go. As much as I dislike her for what she's done to my favorite characters, she's definitely intriguing, and I'm excited to see where she goes from here.
-I'm also very interested in Klaus' new attitude since Rebekah left. While he is still, at his core, Klaus, he really does seem to have taken his fight with Rebekah to heart, you know? All this new preoccupation with family, empowering the werewolves, embracing his werewolf side--it really does appear that he's taking his soon-to-be-father role much more seriously. As unstable and unpredictable as Klaus is, I really do believe that he's trying to break the cycle of abuse that he inherited from his father, which is just the kind of character development that we've all been waiting for! Fingers crossed!
-You know, when Hayley was on TVD, I was NOT a fan. Part of it was because she reminded me too much of Faye Chamberlain, her character from The Secret Circle, a character of whom I was also not fond, but also because of how shitty she was to Tyler, Caroline, etc. Now that we know her better, though, I find her so much more endearing. Like Elijah (and like everyone else on TVD) she's willing to do whatever it takes to protect those that she cares about, whether it's family or friends or her unborn demonspawn. I had no idea, though, that she had such potential to be a leader! Now that she is aware of her family's legacy, she has really stepped up in order to give the werewolves a voice again, and I am so excited to see where it goes from here.
I prefer always using ShowBox to downlaod and streaming movies. Showbox APK
ReplyDeleteNewly informative post. All about this post is something new info. To get best oral care visit Holistic Dentistry in Durango, CO
ReplyDeleteNo doubt your post is very informative. To know which mattress will be best for your kids visit best twin mattress for kids
ReplyDelete