I've recently been complaining about the fact that Freya spends too much time in the plotbox. I was happy to see her appearance at the beginning of the episode, particularly when she called out Klaus on the way that he speaks to her. Unfortunately, that was not to last. With white oak bullets in tow, Aurora de Martel is determined to kill Elijah so that her brother can die and not drown repeatedly in the ocean. To that end, Aurora decides to kidnap Freya, convinced that Elijah and Klaus will come for their sister. I have long complained about The Originals treatment of women and what happened with Freya just adds to my frustrations. Can we please find a female character who is strong and doesn't continually become reduced to a trope?
Davina is still obsessed with bringing Kol back because true love. Davina convinces Aya to bring Kol back as a ghost in order for Davina to figure out to break the sire line. When Kol arrives, though he is truly happy to see Davina, he's absolutely worried with the coven she has aligned herself with. Naive Davina believes that true love will solve all, saying that they can deal with the Stryx after Kol is brought back. By process of elimination, Davina figures out that the key to breaking the sire line is the heart of a vampire who has not been sired and there's only been one vampire like that in 1,000 years. Can you guess who that is? Well it's Hayley. Davina does call Hayley to warn her but by the time she does, witches have already arrived at St. Anne's, where Hayley is sparing with Camille.
Since becoming a vampire, The Originals has positioned Camille as some petulant child meddling in things way above her pay grade. It makes sense to me that she would want her dark objects, considering that as a fledgling vampire, she's essential powerless in the supernatural world. Camille represents yet another female character who is weak. Hayley and Camille have a little girl bonding time when Hayley takes Camille to St. Anne's to learn how to fight. Yep, sisters are doing it for themselves. I do however believe the ease with which Hayley kicked Camille's ass, proves exactly how much Camille needs her dark objects. When the witches attacked, Camille was ineffective at best.
Marcel is still busy playing both sides against the middle. He has promised to keep the Mikaelsons appraised of what is going on with the Stryx but he is clearly working his own agenda. Here's the issue, every time Marcel tries to get clever it always backfires in a major way. It's Marcel who figures out that since Jackson's heart is the mirror image of Hayley's, all they need to do is dig it up, thus stopping a potential war with the Mikaelsons. Marcel makes a point of threatening Aya, claiming that he will figure out a plan to kill her but Aya suggests that they work better as allies.
Aya is a clear believer in hedging her bets. Aya's next move is to track down Aurora and suggest the two become allies. It seems that Aya wants her revenge against Elijah for leaving when Michael showed up and challenging her leadership of the Stryx. We all know what this means for Aya right? Aya, like everyone who goes up against the Mikaelsons is destined to die. Thus far, The Originals have avoided casting her as the uppity Negro in the fashion that they have done with Marcel, but it really feels like it's just a matter of time. It's also worth noting that if Aya does die, she will be another in a long line of Elijah's lovers to die. At least three of the women which we have been Marcel involved with have been WOC and they are all dead. I wonder if The Originals are ever going to start thinking about the messages they are sending with this. What I see is the disposability of WOC and the suggestion that we are fine for sex and nothing else.
In the end, the three Mikaelsons declare their loyalty to each other. Freya is surprised by an expression of warmth from Klaus, who expresses that she is his sister and will always be. Freya might see this as a boon but given Klaus's treatment of Rebekah there's nothing positive for there at all. When Klaus cares about a woman, he crosses her boundaries (Cami) and policies her sexuality to the point of daggering her or killing her lovers (Rebekah), and tries to control her decisions (Hayley). The only female close to him who hasn't violated is Hope, and that's because she's still a baby. If anything, Klaus showing disinterest is perhaps the best thing a woman can hope for.
