Talk about an action packed mid season finale. I didn't expect it to be all eggnog and mistletoe but this episode left me reeling. Even though Savior was filled with all kinds of Mikaelson family drama, I think that this was the best episode of the season to date, even if Klaus was slightly bombarded with blondes.
It begins with Rebekah's coffin being pulled out of the ocean. We learn that unlike the dagger Klaus uses to punish her, this dagger allows her to be aware of the passage of time, feel cold and her own gnawing hunger. The men that Elijah hired to retrieve Rebekah decide to open the container in the false belief that if Elijah would pay them so much to get it from the deep, he would be willing to renegotiate for more money. And thus we being our Christmas episode with Elijah slaughtering those who sought to double cross him, just as any Mikaelson worth their salt would do.
Back at the family compound things are cozy with Klaus and Cami. It seems that Cami is so appreciative of being saved from Aurora, that she has no problem watching as Klaus compels a young woman to slit her hand to feed him blood. I guess Cami has put her Jiminy Cricket mode on pause. Who is this Cami? Their little moment of bonding comes to and end when Cami gets a text from Vincent and rushes off to meet him.
Now that Marcel is officially a member of the Stryx, it's time for Tristan to start throwing his weight around and to that end, Tristan declares that whatever belongs to Marcel also belongs to him. Just like so many other rich, straight, cisgender white men, Tristan wants his tax and privilege. After his entitled announcement, Tristan decides to share that the Stryx have arranged for Van Nguyen to become the new Regent. Van Nguyen will be a Regent that the Stryx will control and will certainly help them achieve their goals. Marcel plays along but clearly he isn't pleased by this news.
Cami meets up with Vincent, and she learns that things aren't going well for Kinney. It seems that Lucian's compulsion has served to ruin Kinney's life. Kinney lost his job for being absolutely incompetent and has locked himself away from everyone. Vincent tasks Cami to check in on the detective.
Christmas is the time for family. Hayley has finally swallowed her pride and headed out to the Bayou to track down Jackson. Jackson is still not at all pleased that Hayley is at the beck and call of the Mikaelsons and is bitter that Hayley is still in love with Elijah. Well, it's not like he went into the marriage with this as a secret. Why Jackson thought that their year long marriage would somehow eradicate Hayley's love of Elijah is beyond me. The two come to terms and Hayley confesses that she just wants to have a happy little Christmas with Jackson and her daughter. Y'all know that there's a fat chance of this happening right? Apparently, being chosen regardless of the fact that it was under extenuating circumstances is enough for Jackson. That's one well trained wolf.
An angry Marcel meets with Vincent. Marcel thinks that Vincent isn't doing his duty to the Quarter by allowing Van Nguyen to ascend to the Regency. Umm, they wouldn't have been in this problem if they had just left Davina in that role. Marcel decides to poke the bear and get aggressive with Vincent. Vincent gives a show of force and warns Marcel that he has been holding back his power for a long time and that now perhaps he will take the Regency and use his power in a way Marcel will not like. It looks like they are finally going to give Vincent something to do other than follow Cami around like a puppy dog. It's about damn time! Since the prophesy says that one of the Originals will fall by foe, I wonder if Vincent will be responsible?
Having reconciled with Hayley, Jackson makes his way back into town and pauses when he sees that Freya is being followed by a group of vampires. In a parking lot, Freya is attacked and doesn't manage to hold her own for long. It's Jackson to the rescue and he just happens to be carrying an axe. Quick question, why is it that despite supposedly being such a powerful witch, Freya always seems to get her ass handed to her? The vampires weren't able to kill Freya but they manage to steal the medallion back that the Stryx plan on using as a weapon against the Originals.
Back at the compound, Rebekah learns that the family Christmas she was hoping for is going to be a little tougher to get than simply waking up from a long nap. It seems that the dagger placed some kind of magical curse on Rebekah which will slowly turn her into a Ripper. Freya tries to help and learns that despite having some of Hayley's blood, she has a wound that won't close and it has left her weak. Oh those Stryx are crafty crafty vampires.
Cami has arrived at Kinney's only to discover that she has been
Hayley and Rebekah hug but the warm sisterly reunion doesn't long. It seems that the spell has already kicked in and Rebekah has some choice words for Hayley. Rebekah questions Hayley's loyalty and even suggests that Hayley likes the power she has over Elijah. That's it, it's on like Donkey Kong and the two women are at each other's throats.
In another room, a weak Freya is working on a spell trying to save Rebekah but she doesn't have the strength. Freya channels Kol but he is absolutely not interested in helping to save his siblings. It's only when he realises that Freya will not give up that he lends her some of his power.
Elijah has to run to the other room to break up the cat fight. It's worth noting that this is the only time these two women (read: Hayley and Rebekah) have looked deadly in a fight. Elijah gets between the two women but Rebekah is too much for him to handle. Fortunately, Klaus arrives with Cami and the cure. Finding herself over powered, Rebekah switches her attack to verbal and says that Cami will turn to poison and that she is too fragile. The brothers manage to subdue Rebekah and Freya cuts the cursed flesh from Rebekah's wrist.
Guess what time it is? It's eggnog time. The family gathers together and it's all love and roses. Rebekah even gets a makeshift bonfire together so that the siblings can burn their Christmas wishes. This moment of family togetherness is not fated to last because predictably, Rebekah has to flee for her life in order to thwart the prophesy. I know that Claire Holt doesn't want to be a regular on the show anymore but it still irks me the way that they always seem to send her character on the run. It makes Rebekah seem weak, especially in comparison to her brothers who never run.
Hayley is happy that Jackson decided to help Freya. It seems that since he was born to love Hayley (how cheesy was that?) that he now acknowledges that he has to help Mikaelsons, even if they are the in-laws from hell.
Rebekah is all packed and ready to go. Rebekah and Hayley make peace and Rebekah apologises for all of the dirty things she said earlier. Hayley even admits that though there's a part of her that hates Klaus, she is oddly attracted to him. Is there anything that the women in Klaus's life aren't willing to overlook? Rebekah has her goodbye with her angsty brother Klaus and she encourages him to run towards Cami. What the hell did Cami ever do to Rebekah to make her encourage Klaus that way? What woman needs an emo serial killer as a lover?
Marcel is on his own since he is supposed to be on the outs with the Mikaelsons. Don't worry about Marcel though because Tristan is back for a little visit. Tristan informs Marcel that Van Nguyen will not be Regent after all and Marcel reveals that it will be Vincent. Even though Vincent warned Marcel that he wouldn't like what he did with power, Marcel decides to taunt Tristan with his belief that Tristan will not be easy to corrupt. Has no one ever taught Marcel not to drop the mic unless you know that your ducks are all in a row?
Freya embraces Elijah, saying that this is the happiest Christmas that she has ever had. It seems that it is the fulfillment of her desire to truly be a part of the Mikaelsons - talk about aiming low.
Klaus decides to approach Cami, who is wondering if Klaus believes that she is fragile. Klaus angsts about something happening to her but Cami cuts him off to question why he saved Kinney. Klaus reveals that he saved Kinney because Cami wanted him to and that he would do anything to keep her happy. Say awww everyone. Then comes the kiss that has building up all episode. We know that this isn't going to end well for Cami right?
To the graveyard where Vincent is trying to communicate with the elders about what they wish him to do. His solitude is interrupted by none other than Tristan. Vincent gets all big and bad and does his version of I'm the law in town. Unfortunately for Vincent, he forgot that despite being powerful, he is a Black man and on The Originals that means being checked in a heartbeat. Tristan waves the pendant in which Finn has been imprisoned and says that if Vincent won't comply, Finn will.
Elijah walks down the street and meets up with Rebekah who has sneaked back into town. It seems that despite everyone's best efforts, Rebekah is still a ripper. Elijah suggests going back to Freya but Rebekah has another plan. Rebekah pulls out the dagger that Klaus uses and asks Elijah to stake her. Rebekah has reasoned that if Elijah does the deed, one part of the prophesy will be completed and then they can work together in trust. Elijah doesn't want to do it but Rebekah is insistent and asks Elijah to hide her body and keep what happened secret from Klaus, so that he can be happy for once. Okay, pause. Serious pause. Why the hell is Rebekah so concerned that Klaus is happy in his romantic life when every time she happens to find love, he kills her partner? A remorseful Elijah grants Rebekah's request.
Klaus and Cami and are doing the deed. I'm actually surprised by how PG it all os. I know that this is the moment that the shippers have been waiting forever on but I am not sure that Klaus and Cami really have any chemistry to speak of.
Aurora makes her way down the staircase like a grand dame. It seems that she is quite over her hurt fee fees at Klaus's rejection after her little booty call. Aurora seems to think that this has been a wonderful day. The foreshadowing here was just a little obvious.
Klaus wakes in bed with Cami and instantly notices the blood on his fingers. You guessed it, Cami had to die for Klaus's manpain. Klaus grabs Cami in his arms and screams.
In case you're keeping count, that's two female characters who were fridged in one episode. That's a lot even for The Originals, where female characters are routinely depowered so that some man can come to the rescue and play the knight. Cami and Hayley weren't even the only women who needed to be saved from themselves this season. How many times did someone have to come to the rescue when Hayley forgot that though she may be a hybrid, she isn't even thirty years old yet? Then there's the ever so annoying Davina. I have wanted to get rid of her character since season one but this is ridiculous. Davina finally becomes the powerful witch she was meant to be and is beholden to no one but with a snap of his fingers, Marcel had it taken away from her. Davina couldn't possibly be trusted to take care of herself despite being a Harvest Girl and the Regent. Then there was the angst over Davina slaughtering Kara and a few other witches. When Klaus kills because someone steps out of line he is to be cheered but when Davina does it, it's bad because good girls don't kill (yep snark).
Cami even started off strong this season. She set up clear boundaries with Klaus which were a long time coming given how he has compelled and manipulated her over the years. Unfortunately that was all thrown down the drain because Klaus had on,e I repeat one heroic moment, making Cami's ovaries go ka-ching. How about no. How about we screw the fan service and have one character on this blasted show hold Klaus accountable for his shit without just pushing it aside?
This season also introduced us to the first brood. Tristan and Lucien are both conniving, cruel and smart. They seem to be a good match for their sires. Unfortunately, we also got the mentally ill Aurora. As aforementioned, the fact that Aurora's bad acts are based on her mental illness is straight up ableist. It's also worth noting that though Aurora is clearly smart, she is the weaker of the three for no apparent reason, quite akin to Rebekah.
We finally had Vincent step up. For most of this season he has basically been following Cami around. I know that we are meant to see him as recruiting Cami on the side of good but she was always there. The whole sideline with the humans being slaughtered was really a place holder for Vincent since he has no purpose outside of mopping.
I know that The Originals is not going to turn around any of the problematic aspects of this show. I have come to accept it for what it is. I do however think that the second half should be interesting, even if he we have to deal with Klaus's angst over what happened to Cami. The one thing that is certain is that The Originals will be unscathed in the end.
