The Originals starts with an opening montage reminding the viewers of where the series left off at the Xmas break. Elijah and Hayley share a moment of domestic bliss, until it becomes infused with their sexual attraction. Rebekah is trapped in the body of a witch inside a house. Finn/Vincent is caring for his wounds before being discovered by Michael. Esther is in the cellar struggling to resist the temptation of a bag of blood, after being turned into a vampire and Kol kisses Davina in celebration for imprisoning Rebekah.
Klaus delivers Cami to the house where Elijah and Hayley are staying because she is worried that having back stabbed Finn, he will want to seek his revenge. Hayley exits the house holding onto Hope and Cami is in a complete state of shock. Klaus makes it clear that Cami must keep the secret that Hope is alive. Inside the house, Cami, Elijah, and Klaus, plot a plan to move forward. Since Elijah is still dealing with the guilt that Esther released, he will stay at the house with Cami, while Klaus and Hayley return to the city to deal with Finn. Elijah is not at all thrilled at being sidelined and so Klaus snarks that Cami has a talent for helping people dealing with issues and that perhaps, Elijah should seek counseling. Klaus stands, and suggests that Rebekah should be arriving at the house shortly because she should have woken up in the body of Angelica already. Rebekah is in fact strapped to a bed and is being force fed medication by a warlock.
An angry Finn is working on a spell and Michael informs him that Esther's mistake was her belief that there was anything left in the Mikaelson siblings worth saving. Michael suggests to Finn that together they can both defeat Finn's siblings. Michael lays it on thick by putting his hand on Finn's shoulder and referring to him as his son. Finn says that he is happy to hear Michael say this because Michael is a powerful man. Does anyone else get the feeling that this is not going to end well?
Hayley has arrived at the vampire compound in the city and finds Jackson waiting for her. Jackson snarks about not being insecure because after his proposal of marriage to Hayley, she accepted, then promptly disappeared for three days. Hayley is ready to get things underway, so Jackson says that they have to do the ceremony by the book, which includes trials and a devotion ceremony. Hayley is disturbed by the intimacy and Jackson reminds her that this is about a marriage and says that he is looking forward to getting to know Hayley. They are interrupted by the arrival of Marcel, Aidan and the rest of the other influential wolves. However, Marcel also bring along his vampires.
Rebekah wakes and meets Cassie, who is the only who believes that Rebekah is who she says she is because Esther at one time had taken over her body. Rebekah asks how to break out of the house and Cassie says that once you're in, there's no getting out, unless of course you are dead.
Kol is still gloating when Klaus makes his appearance. Klaus presents Kol with a bottle of booze in celebration but Kol doesn't get to open it because it explodes when Finn enters the room looking for Esther. The two brothers snark about how Finn looks ill and tell Finn not to worry because Esther is tucked away safely. Finn suggests that Klaus's arrogance will not last because he has not won.
Marcel announces that he is willing to stand with the werewolves against the witches and in return, he asks that there be peace between them after the wedding. The wolves are not immediately receptive because Marcel is the one who spent the last 100 years oppressing them. Marcel suggests that this is precisely why the wolves should listen to him. Finn makes his appearance, cutting short negotiations suggesting that the only things which can exist between the vampires and the werewolves are hatred, war and death. Finn then touches the walls and sets off a spell causing the room to shake. Hayley reaches forward trying to grab Finn but her hand is burnt by some sort of forcefield. Finn makes his exit, saying that when the two sides spend time confined together, they will see things as he does.
Klaus and Kol realise that they are all trapped inside the compound. Klaus tells Kol that this is his job to handle since he is a witch. Klaus reminds Kol that he can handle the wait but Kol on the other hand might suddenly appear to be appetizing to some of their fellow prisoners. Kol says that he is going to need some help.
Gia and Marcel meet and he says that the wolves are checking the house to see if Finn possibly left an opening for escape. Gia asks Marcel if he can control Jerrick's attitude but Marcel says that Gia is to stop her tough girl routine because the wolves have a long list of reasons to hate the vampires. Gia apologises and Marcel asks her to make sure none of the other vampires start looking for trouble. When Gia leaves, Hayley enters. Marcel pulls out a bottle of booze and suggests that they all drink and blow off a little steam.
Elijah keeps trying to get a hold of Rebekah. Cami pulls out a bottle of booze and Elijah snarks about her wanting to get him drunk so that he will bare his damaged soul. I gotta say, I like this snarky Elijah. Cami suggests that Esther really ran a number on the brothers and adds that Elijah didn't consider for one moment that she is interested in forgetting her problems and not fixing his. Cami tries to initiate a board game but Elijah is still not interested. Elijah then asks how Hayley is doing and brings up the fact that Elijah and Hayley seemed close. Instead of answering Cami's question about Hayley, he answers her trivia question about Don Quixote.
Klaus is now questioning Hayley about Elijah and correctly surmises that the two got it on. Hayley asks him to stop, saying that the family is weird enough already while Klaus laughs. They watch as Jackson takes a seat and Klaus questions if Hayley is feeling guilty and wondering about telling Jackson things he doesn't need to know. Klaus tells Hayley that love is the decency of merciful lies.
Cassie and Rebekah walk through the house and Cassie tells Rebekah that the witches started imprisoning broken witches here, after her bother locked the first set of witches up. Rebekah then notices that some witches have scars on their faces and Cassie explains that they are the kindred, who years ago got obsessed with dark magic like necromancy. Rebekah asks about their magic because they are still witches and suggests sending a distress signal.
Davina arrives at the vampire compound and she begins to work on a spell with Kol. They are both quickly repulsed as everyone looks on. Davina suggests that Finn is channeling a dark object.
Vincent tells Michael that his brothers were confident in his defeat. Michael is spread out on the floor surrounded by candles and clearly not at all conscious that he is being used as a focus point for Finn's magic. Vincent tells Michael that his brothers have no idea what they are up against now.
Elijah and Cami are playing trivia and and in her drunken state, Cami knocks over a drink on Elijah's shirt. Elijah becomes frantic trying to dry the wet spot and Cami becomes disturbed, touching his arm but Elijah says that he is not as fragile as his brother suggests. Elijah then gets a call from Angelica Barker and realises that Rebekah has not taken over her body as they believed. Elijah then calls Klaus to inform him of what is going on and is told to stay where he is. Kol overhears Klaus's end of the conversation but does not interrupt, until the conversation is over. Kol tells Klaus that he may have come up with a solution to their imprisonment, adding that they need a few things from the area where Esther practiced magic. Unfortunately, this means telling Finn where to find Esther because that is the only reason he will leave.
Hayley takes Jackson into a separate room saying that they need to talk. Hayley tells Jackson that if they are going to get married she wants to be honest with him, and admits that she was with Elijah the last couple of days. Hayley also reveals that she slept with Elijah and Jackson questions if she is in love with Elijah. Hayley does not answer that question and Jackson admits that he always suspected. Hayley says that it doesn't matter how she feels because this isn't about her or Jackson for that matter. Jackson calls it a sacrifice and then walks out of the room.
Josh leads Aidan to a secure area of the house in the belief that since they are trapped, they should take the time to be together. The two kiss and Aidan pulls away, saying that someone might see but Josh replies that he doesn't care if someone sees him making out with his boyfriend. Josh steps back, realizing that he called Aidan his boyfriend. Aidan reveals that the wolves don't know about them as a couple yet, causing Josh to ask if he got murdered, came back to life and is now being shoved back in the closet. Aidan is adamant that this is not the case and that Josh is a vampire and the wolves are not cool with this. Aidan adds that Josh has no idea who Marcel made the werewolves suffer. Josh points out that he had nothing to do with what happened and Aidan again asserts that to werewolves, vampires are the bad guys. Suddenly, Josh takes a step backward in pain and he begins to have difficulty seeing. Josh tells Aidan that he has to leave because all he can think about is blood and this is 100x worse than when he first turned. Finn is busy working on a spell, as both Marcel and Gia double over holding their stomachs. Klaus barges in, telling Marcel that his vampires seem to think that it's lunch time. Marcel replies that they are not the only ones who are hungry and Josh adds that there is a super size werewolf buffet near by.
Klaus calls Finn about forming a truce. Finn starts ranting about wanting to see Klaus writhing in pain from hunger. Finn reveals that if any of the vampires start to feed, they will be unable to stop, leading to carnage. Klaus offers Esther in exchange for their freedom and Finn says that while he cannot trust Klaus, he will consider the deal, if Esther is found unharmed. Klaus gives out the location of Esther.
In the house, using tiles Rebekah has spelled out, "SOS RMIKAELSON WTCHASYLM". Rebekah asks Cassie to join hands with her, adding that Cassie should lead the way because Rebekah doesn't know what she is doing. Cassie says that she cannot because they are given medicine which makes it difficult to do magic. Rebekah reminds Cassie that she is a harvest girl and demands that she pull herself together. Cassie and Rebekah join hands and begin to say a spell but a matron opens the door announcing it's meal time. When the women leave the room the tiles burst apart.
Back at the vampire compound, a vampire and werewolf bump into each other and Gia is barely able to separate them before a fight breaks out. Kol is in conference with Klaus and Marcel. It seems that Kol can suppress all magic in and around the house for 60 seconds, just long enough for everyone to escape. The problem is that it would cause the vampire rings to fail and since it's the middle of the day, the vampires would die. Klaus suggests having the vampires wait until nightfall but Marcel doesn't believe that the vampires will be able to fight the hunger for much longer.
A troubled Elijah looks out the window, having visions of his past bad acts. Cami approaches, asking Elijah if he is okay and acknowledging that Elijah is worried about Rebekah. Elijah turns and starts stalking Cami, as she begs him to calm down. Cami closes her eyes in fear and when she opens them, Elijah is gone.
Rebekah is trying to get a window open in the house and when she turns around, she sees, "who are you?" written with the same tiles that she used to try and send a message. When Rebekah looks up she sees a specter. Rebekah's panic then increases, as she finds herself face to face with the warlock and the matron. Rebekah tries to tell them that there was someone in her room and she moves backwards toward her bed, accidentally revealing the pills she didn't take. The warlock moves forward and Rebekah attacks and bites his neck, forgetting that she is no longer a vampire. Upon tasting the blood, Rebekah calls it disgusting. When the matron moves forward, Rebekah manages to throw her to the ground before running out of the room. Rebekah again sees the specter and this time, runs towards it saying, "here's hoping you're a friendly ghost."
Finn breaks into Esther's cell saying that he has come to save her. Esther's eyes turn and a horrified Finn realises that his mother has been turned.
At the compound, a fight breaks out between the vampires and werewolves and when Aidan tries to stop it, his arm is slashed. The smell of the blood immediately catches the vampires attention and one of them charges Aidan. Josh quickly breaks the vampires neck and Jackson pulls away the other werewolf. Aidan's arm is still bleeding copiously and Josh turns towards him, caught up in the hunger. Before Josh can attack, Klaus intervenes and tells Josh to get away from Aidan. Marcel calls out for Davina and Kol to start the spell.
Rebekah follows the specter and it leads her to a room with a coffin in it. The body in the coffin is holding a rosary. When Rebekah hears a noise in the hallway, she heads outside and the door slams locked behind her.
Esther tells Finn that she fought the urge for blood for as long as she could and begs his forgiveness. Esther reminds Finn that she is still his mother but he calls her a hypocrite. Finn points out that it was her morality and conviction that caused him to fight for her. Finn screams that he would have done anything for her. Finn grabs Esther, saying that his mother would want him to finish what he started.
Kol and Davina do the spell and Jackson hustles the werewolves outside. Kol reminds them that they only have 60 seconds. Kol moves to follow the wolves and is grabbed by Klaus and thrown back into the house. Klaus tells Kol that now he is going to be treated as the liar he is and demands to know exactly where Rebekah is. Davina begs for Kol, pointing out that the vampires will kill him. Klaus says that Kol should have thought about that before Kol disappeared Rebekah. Kol says that Rebekah is fine and that it was simply a prank, no different than any of his siblings have done to him. Kol points out that it's fine when he is on the receiving end. Kol moves forward and realises that the barrier is back up. Klaus screams that he was ready to invite Kol back into his home but Kol ruined it all with his petty jealousy. Klaus walks away, leaving Kol alone with the vampires. Davina calls out pleading to Marcel and Marcel advises Kol to make himself scarce.
Jackson and Hayley are at a campfire and Jackson says that he should have known things would go to shit the moment Klaus offered the daylight rings.Hayley replies that if she never hears the word ring again, it will be all to soon. After pausing for a moment, Jackson turns around and shows Hayley the engagement ring he got for her. Jackson then apologises to Hayley for his reaction when he learned that she slept with Elijah and thanks her for being honest with him. Jackson tells Hayley that he loves her and always has and even though their marriage is arranged, he loved her before he even met her. Jackson promises that they will turn this around for their pack and says that this is the only thing he can ask from her. Jackson tells Hayley that he wants to marry but not force her to love him. Hayley extends her hand, and Jackson slips the ring on her finger.
Klaus calls Elijah and asks him to trust that he can handle finding Rebekah. Elijah is not pleased that he is being asked to do nothing, so Klaus reminds him that he is protecting Hope. Cami tries to sneak up on Elijah, as Elijah tells Klaus that he will remain there with the courageous Cami, even if she lacks stealth. Elijah ends his call and Cami claims that she didn't mean to eavesdrop and thought that Elijah had left. Elijah apologises and says that his sister is missing and he's powerless to help his family which is in jeopardy. Elijah admits that he is not dealing with this well. Cami tells Elijah that if he ever wants to talk about it, it's what she does before walking away.
Klaus is down in the crypt where he stashed Esther and finds the empty blood bag.
Kol lays Esther into the circle next to Michael, saying that they were a family once. Kol adds that he remembers the day that they lost Freya and how they never got that happiness back. An angry Kol tells his unconscious mother that she should have stopped there but instead she give birth to the monsters she called children and for that, they will all pay.
The vampires continue to deal with their hunger. From the top of the stairs, Kol looks down on them before locking himself in a room and baring the doors. Kol pauses momentarily when he sees a picture of Rebekah.
Rebekah is put to bed and on the floor, the tiles begin to move spelling out the name Freya.
A lot happened this episode. It seems for now that the Original parents have been shelved the antagonist is now Kol. I think that this is probably necessary, as the only true adversary for Klaus would be a member of his family and to stretch the story out longer, it's probably best that the writers work through the Original family more slowly. That said, I hope they don't fridge Michael for too long because I love the scenes he shares with Klaus.
We finally got another kiss between Josh and Aidan but it was was really short. Juxtaposed to the heterosexual romances on the show, Josh and Aidan get very little screen time and even less time acting like lovers. I like that Josh said that he isn't interested in being closeted but Aidan's response while true, reads like an excuse for the writers to keep their relationship minimalist at best. I want to see Aidan and Josh grow together and have their own storyline. I worry about them becoming the Lafayette and Jesus of The Originals.
There is also the issue of Hayley's impending wedding. Clearly, Jackson is playing the good guy to Elijah's bad boy. I know we were supposed to think his proposal to Hayley was sweet but the whole I loved you before I had even met you is creepy. It doesn't even feel like he sees her as a person but instead, has built up this fantasy in his head and fallen in love with that.
Speaking of Elijah, I am glad that he is still having issues. It would have been far too easy to cure him and I enjoy seeing what makes Elijah tick. I particularly love Cami suggesting that she had no interest in healing him but as it turns out, Cami cannot seem to stop trying to fix the violent vampires in her life. I know that Cami is human but I would much prefer them give her something to do other than fix broken men. It reads as a trope and is getting tiresome at this point.
Also Freya. What are they going to do with Freya?
