by Dianna Berrian
“Over the course of my life I’ve encountered no shortage of those who presume to speak of good and evil. Such terms mean nothing. People do what is in their best interest, regardless of who gets hurt. Is it evil to take what one wants to satisfy hunger even if doing so will cause another suffering? What some would call evil, I believe would be an appropriate response to a harsh, unfair world.”
This is the philosophical voiceover, given by Klaus, that sets the mood for tonight’s episode. As it turns out, it’s actually more of a speech he gives Cami after inviting her over with an ulterior motive. Since he’s caught her interest, he continues telling her the real reason as to why he came to New Orleans, including pregnant Hayley and the all powerful Davina. With a clever twist of meanings, he makes her believe he wants to help protect Hayley and free Davina. Does that sound like the mind of an evil man? She doesn’t believe in evil as a diagnosis. Her diagnosis – unstable personal relationships, stress related paranoia, chronic anger issues, and fear of abandonment. Hey, just your typical psychopath. She also thinks he’d benefit from talking to someone professionally. Pfft…
He then tells her that the French Quarter is on the verge of war – Klaus versus Marcel, Davina and an army of vampires. Of course that would shock any normal human girl off her tootsies, so he quickly compels her not to be frightened. Once again her passion for psychology kicks in rendering her intrigued by this new notion of compulsion. I find both humorous and annoying how much this show drives into us the main aspects of each character. Honestly, it only takes one mention to let us know that Cami is into psychology, Elijah loves family and Klaus is a dick.
Marcel and Davina, in the mean time, continue arguing over giving Elijah back to Klaus. So she tries a compromise. Davina the teenage witch wants to go to the Music Festival. And when he declines her request at first, she reminds him how powerful she is by making him sweat. Well, really she’s showing him she can make someone’s blood boil but a sweaty forehead doesn’t really come off all that intimidating. But it’s enough to get Marcel to agree.
Later that day, Klaus approaches Cami in the bar. It’s peculiar to her that she can only remember who and what he really is only when he’s around. It makes her wonder why and it makes him admire the way her mind works. But cutting to the chase, he learns from her that Marcel is finally bringing Davina out in the light for her night at the Music Festival. Seeing as she refused the first time, Klaus then compels her to agree to escorting Davina around like Marcel asked. While that’s going on, Hayley is hearing a lecture from a witch about how she needs to properly take care of the demon fetus in her womb and get an actual checkup. Not easy to do when there’s a target on her back as the only werewolf in the French Quarter. Rebekah, on the other hand, is utilizing Google Maps to try to locate Davina’s secret attic lair. Klaus saunters in, poking fun at her, then gets down to brass tacks, suspecting the delay in getting back Elijah means that Marcel is not really in charge. He voices his desire to discuss a new alliance with Davina so he can rob Marcel of his secret weapon and bring their brother home. Sorry, when did Klaus – a thousand year old ORIGINAL vampire – become obsessed with having a harem of supernatural teenage girls? Yuck.
Josh (I’ve finally figured out the name of Klaus’ vampire!) interrupts one of Marcel’s vampires, Diego, in his feeding session to inquire about getting a daylight ring. Diego says he must be in the inner circle to get one and Josh makes a crack about Thierry’s spot opening up. But Diego is still bitter about his friend’s punishment and about Klaus being there, wanting him gone. With impeccable timing, Rebekah waltzes in with an offer of helping to get rid of Klaus if he can tell her anything about what girl Marcel’s moved from her on with, using her past with him to support her false motive. What she’s really up to is trying to pull information about Davina’s whereabouts out of him, but all she learns is that the witch is somewhere in the Quarter, probably close by. Thaaaaanks, Diego. We probably would have been better off asking your cousin, Dora.
Walking down Bourbon Street like a boss, Marcel begins raffling off his orders to his posse to keep an eye on Davina and Cami. Aye-aye, el capitán. Flash forward to the street festival where there’s an abundance of people, music, alcohol and brass instruments. Davina is glowing with happiness to be out of captivity for the night. But as with any Cinderella story, there are rules: No talking about witches, vampires, originals or Marcel. And Davina’s rule to Marcel: No hovering. That said, Marcel ventures off to go apologize to Cami for making a scene at the Masquerade. She says it’s no big deal and does as she’s told, keeping Davina company when he leaves. That’s when she sees Davina eyeing the guy with the fiddle who turns out to be a boy named Tim, her long lost friend she’s known since she was 10. This will be useful later.
Hayley arrives at the Bayou clinic, otherwise known as a creepy cabin in the woods. And as she gets out, Agnes, the witch who brought her, makes a call to tell someone to “send him in now and tell him to do it quickly”. So clearly, something wicked this way comes. When she’s through with the sonogram (don’t worry, the demon spawn has a strong heartbeat, guys), we get a second – well, first to any newcomers – glimpse at the strange crescent moon shaped birthmark on her shoulder. Coincidentally, a wolf howls from outside, drawing her toward the window where she sees a car pull up. Interesting. Was the howl a warning call? Seems so, since a slew of vampires walk in just as the doctor begins filling a needle with an unknown substance that is sure to paralyze even a werewolf. But really, who couldn’t have guessed that? Luckily, Hayley gets the upper hand and gives the doctor a taste of her own medicine. (Heh. I like puns.) She hurries to lock the door and tries to open the window before the vampires can break through. And she does escape, but come on! You’re telling me vampires need a few minutes to bust down a locked wooden door?
Defying all laws of vampirism, Rebekah wanders inside a church after spending the day searching the town for the shutters she remembered seeing behind Elijah’s coffin in the attic where Davina was hidden. She meets Father Kieran who tells her the tale of a brutal massacre at the church that left nine seminary students killed. When he’s finished, she compels him to tell where the attic is and forget she was there. Her efforts come to fruition as the attic is indeed the one in her memory and there lies the corpse of Elijah, peaceful in his death slumber. That is, until his eyes fly open and send Rebekah into the past. Well, her mind anyway. Cool trick. It’s a memory, shared only between Elijah and Rebekah, on a night when they were going to the Opera house. But how is this possible? How is he awake? Well, what Davina didn’t know when she took out the dagger earlier what that doing so even once negates its power which means he should be awake and good as new in a few hours. But instead of running off with Rebekah just yet, Elijah wants to have a talk with the witch when he wakes and propose a truce, to end the war between vamps and witches. All he wants right now is for Rebekah to swear to protect Hayley. And as soon as she does, she leaves him alone in the attic again. I don’t know, guys. Anyone else get the feeling this is a trick?
Outside, Klaus approaches Tim to compel him to help send a message to Davina. Inside, Cami and Davina can’t find Tim and it seems like a lost cause so Davina heads out. Before Cami follows her, Klaus sneaks up to slip the note from Tim to her so she can give it to Davina. It will prompt her to want to leave, so Cami will have to help her slip out the back exit where Marcel can’t see. Step by step, his plan falls in place. Davina meets Tim in the church, just like his note said. They have a brief conversation about how she just up and vanished, and will she be coming back to school? Not if Marcel could help it, but she misses him and misses seeing him play his violin. So he serenades her with a song and it’s sort of a creepy melody, kind of sad, and almost gives of this impending sense of something tragic about to happen. Cami is hiding in the back watching when Klaus shows up. She makes mention of the massacre and wonders how a good man, a priest, could go on a killing spree out of nowhere. Of course Klaus’ views differ from hers so he can’t exactly see eye to eye when she says people want to be good; something makes them bad, breaks them down, makes them snap. There are signs, symptoms, before someone has a psychotic break and the guy who did it had none. As he listens, he realizes something coming to light here and discovers that Cami knew the priest. His name was Sean and he was her twin brother. Sometimes she even dreams about what happened and hates it, to which Klaus advises that we must all stand alone against our demons. But what if someday her brother’s demons become hers too? For whatever reason, Klaus deflects by getting back to business and compels her to forget their talk and what he’s doing with Davina and go. Jeez, Klaus. Give it a rest with the compulsion, wouldja?
Father Kieran approaches Marcel to tell him how Rebekah came to him, asking about the attic which leads to a brief confrontation of blood boiling chemistry between them later where Rebekah refers to Cami as “comfort food” to sate the hunger for what he really wants, meaning her. We also find out that Father Kieran wasn’t really compelled because he takes vervain.
Back inside the church, Klaus sneaks up on Davina and compels Tim to go sit down and count to 100,000. There are moments, Klaus – brief and fleeting moments – where I just want to high five you for your awesomeness. Anyway, he appeals to Davina with a schpeel about poor alliances, Marcel keeps her prisoner and how she should have more freedom. But as any helpless damsel would, she argues that Marcel’s her friend and keeps her safe. But Klaus would be a better friend, offering safety AND freedom. If Marcel could do that, why hasn’t he? And if he can’t, then what of those she cares about? No worries because she’ll kill anyone who tries to kill anyone she cares about. Well then, if that’s the case, why even bother with Marcel? Klaus begins to play his own mind games on her, saying Marcel tricks her into doing his bidding. In retaliation, she begins to make his blood boil. Oh no! Anything but sweat! Klaus super speeds back to Tim and holds him hostage, using him as leverage. If she swears allegiance to him, Tim lives. If not – the world may never know because he’s cut off by her unstable power that shatters windows and makes papers fly. What’s so scary about this girl again? Oh. Right. She can make you sweat. I’m sorry! It’s funny to me!
Out in the woods, on the run for her life, Hayley zips through the forest snapping vamp necks like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As much as I’m not a fan of her, I have to give her credit. But then the image is shattered when the last vampire closes in on her, about to rip her throat out or snap her neck or something of the sort. But not to worry because Rebekah swoops in. SERIOUSLY?! Stop playing the same scene every week! Suddenly a flying arrow hits Rebekah in the chest, then another. With her savior down for the count, it’s Hayley’s turn to get hit by one. When Rebekah wakes and removes the arrows from her chest, she finds Hayley is gone and the bloody bodies of her attackers all strewn about and ripped to shreds.
When Davina finally gets up from having the wind knocked out of her, Tim and Klaus have vanished. She runs out, looking for him and we see Klaus on the balcony of the church. After receiving word from Rebekah about Hayley’s disappearance, he tosses Tim over the railing in the church then throws his violin over too. Davina runs in and finds Tim, all broken bones and dying. Klaus creeps up, playing on her guilt if he dies, then reveals he can heal him. All she has to do is ask. She obliges so he feeds Tim his blood and the violinist starts to revive. Klaus compels him to forget everything that happened after the concert, including the fact that he saw Davina. At her objection, he explains – if he remembers, he might come looking. If he comes looking the witches will learn she has a weakness and then Tim might end up as leverage in an awful scheme to control her, again. Now she owes him a favor. She picks up the broken violin and when she looks up, Klaus is gone. Just in time for Marcel to find her.
Rebekah walks into the cabin clinic and sees the dead or paralyzed doctor on the ground. Klaus shows up in a tizzy, asking questions she doesn’t have the answers to. They hear that ominous wolf howl and wander out to follow the sound when Hayley shows up, a bit bruised and battered but she’s completely healed. The perks of being a werewolf? Nope. Perks of having a demon hybrid baby with Klaus’ blood in it. In her delirium, she mutters that she thinks the wolf was trying to protect her. Klaus is pissed that Agnes and the witches who were supposed to protect her were trying to kill her but Rebekah won’t let him get back at them. She says they owe it to Elijah to protect Hayley and that catches his attention. And the three of them head home, to live happily ever after.
While alone in her room, getting ready for bed, Klaus appears at Cami’s window, very Edward Cullen-esque. He recalls something about nightmares and insomnia and says he can help her. She invites him in and asks him, what if a vampire compelled her brother to perform the massacre? He responds with a series of questions: “Would you devote yourself to finding the guilty party? Would you sacrifice everything to find out the truth? To what end?” And it turns out the massacre is the entire reason she’s in New Orleans. He promises her that whatever is on the other end of the mystery will only offer her pain, that nothing will bring him back. Her only hope is to forget it and move on. She sees right through his attempts to make her think he cares, knowing he just wants her to be a spy for him and focus on Marcel. But he snarls back that he is trying to honor his brother. I know it’s probably meant to be toward Elijah, but I can’t help feeling there’s an underlying meaning that refers to Henrik here…
Cami begs him not to take her memory away, not the destroy her purpose, but he compels her to move on from it, accept her brother was mentally ill, and that it was a horrific tragedy. He adds in that her brother is at peace and that she needn’t worry. He promises her he will find out what happened, and when he does, he’ll make sure to seek justice. But tonight, she “will sleep and dream of a world far better than this one. A world where this is no evil, no demons, and all people desire only to be good.” Cue my dreamy sigh. Wait. Time out. Is there actually a teeny, tiny, minuscule shred of me that is starting to ship Klaus and Camille?! Eeeek!
Because “The Originals” can’t leave an episode off without a bit of suspense, we cut back to Davina in her room making music with magic until she’s interrupted by a bang from Elijah’s coffin. She tiptoes towards it and suddenly when she looks up, there’s an ashen Elijah standing across the room from her claiming “It’s time we had a talk.” I think it’s time you had a snack first, Elijah. You’re still looking kind of…dead.
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