Praise be to whatever deity/spirit you care to mention, The Originals is BACK!!!
The episode kicks off with Aunty Bex giving the best recap of season 1 you’re ever likely to hear in the form of a fairytale at bedtime for baby Hope and goes on to set up what has happened in the months since Francesca destroyed the Mikaelson’s kingdom. Klaus is a shut in, powerless on every full moon as his strength is sapped by the moonlight rings Genevieve created he can only look out over the city he once held in thrall. He is joined by his big brother who is rocking some serious stubble and boy do we approve of that.
Over the summer Elijah seems to have broadened his horizons, is he into property developing? No, he’s just doing anything he can to confound the plans of the werewolf bitch by preserving an historic building that she wants to turn into a casino. He also notices that one of her goons is wearing one of the moonlight rings.
Back at the compound Klaus is having a bit of trouble painting, he’s missing the blood of his enemies, Elijah suggests he use Venetian Red with a hint of rust. Oh Elijah it’s good to see you haven’t lost any of that sass you developed towards the end of season one over hiatus!
Elijah now knows which wolves are wearing moonlight rings so it is time to fight but first the brothers argue over Hayley who is out roaming the bayou in her grief (and in her full wolf form).
Marcel and Cami seem to have forgotten their “we can’t do this cos Klaus will see it as a betrayal” conversation from the last time they slept together and are hooking up again. Cami says it’s no strings but Marcel seems quite stringy. He asks about Klaus but Cami doesn’t know anything, Marcel can’t help feeling something is wrong, as he says if anyone can mourn and murder at the same time it’s Klaus Mikaelson.
Davina is apparently back at school and no longer has anything to do with her coven (which isn’t terribly surprising since most of them are dead), she also seems to have developed a habit of buying ancient Icelandic folk music on vinyl at a cute little record store in the Quarter – gee I wonder who that might be for. Anyone else wanna drag Papa Mikaelson kicking and screaming into the 21st Century – what’s wrong with a bit of Sigur Ros, assuming you wanna keep that old Viking connection to your homeland. Anyway, Davina spots a cute guy watching her but he leaves just as everyone’s favourite dumbass, naive, murderous, backstabbing werewolf Oliver arrives. Oliver is working for Francesca and he’s there to kill Joe, the sweet natured vamp who has run the store for the last century. Davina stops the wolves and lets Joe escape which pisses off Francesca no end. She demands that Cassie get control of Davina who is not part of their coven any more.
Francesca is terrified of Klaus and is afraid to leave her house, she’s freaking out cos he hasn’t made a move on her yet but she doesn’t know why. Outside Cassie/Esther meets up with Vincent – aka mummy’s boy extraordinaire Finn, they discuss Klaus and Elijah’s plan which seems to be to unravel Francesca by doing nothing, Cassie/Esther seems impressed but is more interested in how Klaus and Elijah will do against her.
Francesca has her goons following Cami in an attempt to intimidate her but she gets rid of them and goes to the Compound to see Klaus. He is there, watching her, but he doesn’t come out of hiding, instead he sends Elijah to do the talking. She says she is there to tell them to work with Marcel and Elijah is impressed with “her spirit” as is Klaus. Boy you really do need to get out of that house my dear Hybrid.
Across the river Marcel is with Josh (YAY JOSH) and they seem to be trying to assemble a new vamp army from a rag-tag group of thugs and street rats from the Quarter. Josh asks what the difference is between a fighter and a warrior and Klaus arrives at the perfect time with his definition, “A warrior fights for what they believe in. A warrior fights for his family.”
Elijah and Hayley clash over the proper way to proceed with their grief, or at least the illusion. Elijah is dismantling the baby’s crib but Hayley doesn’t think it’s anything to do with him. He is worried about her, Hayley doesn’t think he needs to worry since hybrids are invincible – does someone wanna remind her that if that was true she and Klaus wouldn’t be the only 2 in existence?
Cue ancient Icelandic folk music – oh hi Mikael. He’s still in the attic, totally under Davina’s control and not at all happy. He wants Klaus dead but Davina wont let him loose until she figures out how to break his sire line and save Marcel and Josh. She’s been studying Esther’s grimoire – obviously she doesn’t know that her fellow returned harvest girl actually is the Mikaelson’s mommy dearest.
Klaus and Marcel talk strategy for the coming fight whilst playing Go (Japanese strategy game – for more info see Teen Wolf season 3b where it featured quite heavily). Marcel calls Klaus out on his lack of action and realises that the white oak stake is missing. Joe arrives and tells them about Oliver’s attack. Klaus asks Joe if he wants to get back in the fight, they realise that Francesca hasn’t made a move yet because she doesn’t have the stake either, otherwise she wouldn’t be so terrified of Klaus.
Elijah lays out the plan, how to figure out who is wearing a moonlight ring, each ring is distinguishable by its setting – gauche – like those who wear them. Meeeow! Is it me or is Elijah getting sassier as the episode progresses?
Joe feeds the werewolves the idea that Klaus believes they have the stake and Francesca puts Cassie to work to find it, excited to finally have a weapon that can defeat Klaus.
Meanwhile Klaus and Hayley agree to work together and Elijah goes to sort the final piece of the puzzle…which is? Come on Elijah, don’t leave us hanging dude!
Cassie can’t find the stake by magic, someone is blocking it from her (nice one Davina). Joe tells them that rumour has it that Kieran had the stake before he died, which must mean Cami has it now. 2 goons trash her place until she gives them an address and the key they need, they leave and Cami trades nods with Elijah who is lurking outside her apartment, obviously this was the last part of the puzzle.
The moon is up and Klaus is weakened, Francesca splits her forces between retrieving the stake and going after Klaus while she stays home, safe where uninvited vampires can’t get at her. The stake retrieval team arrive at the foundry, the building Elijah was at earlier, the one he wanted to preserve and not sell to Francesca. Turns out his “historical preservation” efforts were a front, they’ve packed the place with wolfsbane in the sprinkler system. Marcel is waiting for the wolves and starts lopping off arms. Klaus begins to regain his strength as the rest of the wolves descend on the compound only to meet a supremely pissed off new hybrid. Hayley kills a few more and Klaus starts gathering painting supplies. 2 wolves attack him but he takes them out with a couple of paintbrushes to the throat. Hayley fights Oliver and takes his ring but (rather stupidly if you ask me) she lets him live.
Klaus finally has that art supply he was lacking – the blood of his enemies – and I’ve never wanted to be an inanimate object quite as much as I want to be the paintbrush he has in his mouth. Ahem.
Elijah pays Francesca a house call, she’s unsettled but she knows he can’t get in. Or can he? Turns out his little plan with the historical preservation society wasn’t just to save the foundry, he’s had them invoke the right of Eminent Domain, meaning her house now belongs to the public – no invite required. Francesca bails while Elijah kills her brothers but she doesn’t get away. Hayley goes after her and kills her.
Back across the river Josh asks Marcel what they are fighting for, Marcel says he is fighting for his home, for all the things that can only be in the city of New Orleans. Josh still doesn’t know what he is fighting for, but they are interrupted by the arrival of rocker chick from vamp fight club that morning. Seems like the seeds of Marcel’s new vampire family are starting to take root.
Hayley is spiralling – she has killed her own kind, 8 werewolves, when she had only just realised what it was to be a werewolf, the purity and nobility. She’s losing it and she feels like Elijah doesn’t feel the same way for her any more now that she is a hybrid (even though it’s obvious to anyone with eyes that he is still totally in love with her but just doesn’t know how to handle her hybrid nature).
Davina goes back to the now closed record store and meets the curly haired cutie from before who introduces himself as Kaleb (he’s English, Yorkshire somewhere I reckon by that accent) and has a good snark at her taste in ancient Icelandic folk music.
Elijah destroys the stones from the rings but Klaus still isn’t happy, he is angry at himself and his actions, his selfishness which led them to this point. Elijah tells Klaus he needs to go to Hayley, Klaus doesn’t know what he should say to her, “Whatever she wants to hear” is Elijah’s response. Dear god get me the kleenex!
Marcel and Cami are back in bed – Marcel praises her for the part she played in the take down of the wolves but she pulls away – she wants a normal human life and as such is off to meet her faculty advisor.
Klaus goes to see Hayley, he promises her that they will get their baby back but they need to work together to unite the wolves again. Hayley doesn’t think she can do that after she attacked them but Klaus knows that will respect and follow her because she is their queen.
Klaus finally seems to understand that he is more powerful with his family beside him, and that means Elijah and Hayley *sniffs*
Cami meets with her faculty advisor who just happens to be Vincent/Finn. Cassie/Esther is annoyed at being stuck in the body of a teenager but Kaleb is fine with it…or should that be KOL! Yep, in the biggest surprise and most impressively kept secret of the entire premiere we discover that Kaleb is in fact the final member of the Mikaelson clan returned from beyond the grave. Cassie/Esther reckons she is now in charge of the witches and the werewolves after Francesca’s demise and she has a family reunion to plan.
Talk about back with a bang. Emotion, violence and that final reveal left me absolutely salivating for more and particularly keen to find out what’s going to happen when Klaus and Elijah meet their mother. What are your hopes/fears for the forthcoming season? What do you really want to see? Sound off in the comments and I’ll see you next week for another episode!
