Synopsis of 2×09: In a touching reunion that has been weeks in the making, Klaus and Hayley are finally reunited with their child, Hope. Cami, Davina, Kol, and Marcel make a risky plan that puts both Cami’s and Rebekah’s lives in danger. Hayley and Elijah find some unconventional closure with their relationship. Meanwhile, Esther makes a questionable alliance that may put her children’s plans in jeopardy.
I don’t often give five star reviews, but I was entirely overjoyed with The Originals‘ mid season finale. A particular favorite relationship of mine may have taken a big step forward while the show did a fantastic job at tying up a couple of loose ends and putting our weary souls at rest. Despite these wrap ups, The Originals added a couple of new jaw droppers, and one Mikaelson brother upped the game to a whole new level.
The Originals opens in 1914, where Kol is seen ransacking the Folly mansion, a house that is home to the famous Paragon diamond and many other rare artifacts. Unfortunately, after Kol manages to steal the diamond, Klaus and Marcel swoop in and take it from him by force. Later that evening in 1914, Kol is inevitably still searching for the diamond during a holiday gathering at Klaus’ compound. When Rebekah walks in on him rifling through things, Kol tries to convince her to join him to create a dagger capable of incapacitating Klaus. Rebekah surprisingly agrees to his schemes and claims she will cover for him while he continues searching.
Back in the present day, Rebekah has taken Hope and an unconscious Elijah to a safe house out in the country. Rebekah is still wary of Elijah, and very rightfully so. Massacring an entire group of people at a diner of all places is certainly not very characteristic of the Elijah we’ve all come to love. Despite his impulsiveness and bitterness towards Rebekah for snapping his neck, Elijah still sees it as his sole duty to protect Hope. There is no telling how far he would go to protect that child.
While the two wait for Hayley and Kol to arrive, Rebekah takes it upon herself to revive an old bonfire tradition of the Mikaelson family. As part of the tradition the Mikaelsons would all write down their wishes for each other before throwing them into a large bonfire for luck. While preparing the bonfire, Rebekah reflects on her time she spent with Hope and reveals to Elijah how much it is has changed her for the better. Maybe all the Mikaelsons just need to babysit a kid for a couple of months.
Still, Elijah reveals to Rebekah that he is continually plagued with visions where he experiences the monstrous things he has done and sees images of who he once was. Despite his frustration, he has no way to turn it off and has concluded that he must face the consequences of turning down their mother’s offer.
Hayley and Klaus soon arrive at the farmhouse and the two share a wonderful, tearful reunion with their daughter that has been months in the making. Klaus actually cracks a genuine smile or two when he sees Hope and her adorable chubby cheeks and innocent smile. Fancy that. For a minute or two, Hayley and Klaus actually act like married, blissful parents, passing Hope between each other and enjoying the sweet precious time that they have with their child. It’s funny how it only takes a little baby, and a child actress who probably has no idea what is going on, to reunite characters and bring out some truly brilliant character performances.
Back at the compound, Davina and Kol are preparing a spell that is supposed to protect Cami’s body from Esther’s magic. Kol reveals to Davina that Klaus is in possession of the larger paragon diamond that he needs to complete the spell to trap Klaus. Thick as thieves, the two stoop around the compound in search of the diamond.
Meanwhile, Esther heads out into the woods to broker a deal with the last person on Earth we’d expect, her late husband, Mikael. In order to convince him to join her, she offers Mikael the one thing he can’t refuse, the chance to kill Klaus and he is all but willing to join her little revolution.
While dropping their wishes into the bonfire, Rebekah convinces Klaus to take a memorable selfie with her, Elijah, Hayley, and Hope. For a brief moment, they all look convincingly happy and content but the mood turns sour when the four realize they must burn the picture to keep Hope’s identity a secret. At this moment, Rebekah insists they all deserve a happy ending and claims she will take Esther’s deal in order to stop her and take her down. During the spell, they believe Esther will be vulnerable but they must stop her ability to body jump somehow. Rebekah is willing to risk losing, something Klaus and Elijah could learn from their sister. After all these years, it’s a shame they still don’t trust Kol and instead believe providing their brother with leverage will be enough to garner his support.
In compensation for helping them find another body other than Camille, for Rebekah to jump into should the spell go wrong, Kol demands Klaus give him the Folly diamond. Rebekah strongly advises Klaus to not give Kol the diamond, but Klaus insists his brother has been plotting against him for years and has thus far been terribly unsuccessful. It sounds like Klaus is going to regret this decision when it comes back to bite him in ass.
Back at the farmhouse, Hayley nervously approaches Elijah and reveals that she will need to marry Jackson in order to save her wolves and bring peace to their home. While stunned at first, Elijah surprisingly counters her reveal by passionately kissing her. He fervently whispers to her that she should marry Jackson because he also wishes to see the city safe for Hope’s return in the future. Man, sometimes I wish Elijah were Hope’s father because his gambit of emotions runs far deeper than Klaus’. Despite this, the two can’t keep their hands off each other and they finally succumb to the romantic tension that has flared between them both since meeting. Still, their passionate goodbye sex that has been years in the making felt terribly forlorn, as if this precious moment would be the last time the two would be able to share their true feelings.
While Elijah and Hayley are getting intimately acquainted with one another, Rebekah and Klaus put their plan in motion. Along with Kol’s help, Rebekah approaches Esther, claiming she will take her mother’s deal. Back at the compound, Davina prepares a spell that she plans to use to jam the signal in order to prevent Esther from jumping Rebekah into another body.
During the spell, Esther reveals her plans to use the white oak stake to destroy her children’s immortal bodies, alarming Rebekah. Klaus arrives and insists his mother stop the spell. Esther then reveals that when Finn and Kol went missing, she found a new ally, Mikael. Klaus impulsively stabs Esther and Davina manages to recite the spell just as Esther’s spell takes hold. The spells literally explodes and both Rebekah and Camille fall unconscious. Cami, still herself, wakes shortly after, but Rebekah remains unconscious. When the gang regroups back at the compound, they discover that someone released Finn from his coffin prison. The plot thickens once more.
Despite their lack of complete success, Klaus and Rebekah reveal that they took some extra precautions against their mother. While bargaining with her mother, Rebekah cunningly put a couple drops of her blood within Esther’s red wine. When Klaus killed Esther, he knew she would begin the transition to vampire. Now, Esther can either be the thing she hates most or choose death instead. Well played Klaus.
Through more flashbacks, we learn that Rebekah actually ratted out Kol and his plans for the diamond to Klaus and Elijah. As punishment for trying to steal the diamond, Klaus locked Kol’s witch friends within the Folly mansion using magic. In present day, Kol reveals he found a way to get a little payback without physically harming his sister. Instead of preparing the body he claimed he would prepare for her, he sent Rebekah into the body of a witch trapped within the mansion. Kol believes Klaus will be preoccupied with finding Rebekah, giving Davina and him more time to use the diamond to craft their weapon against Klaus.
At the Folly mansion, Rebekah awakens in a new body of a witch. Panicking, she races to the door, but finds it locked and realizes she can’t escape, desperately calling out for her brother. I can’t help but feel sorry for her as she jeopardized her life to help Hope, but simply found herself as the brunt of Kol’s genius plans. The Originals’ writers likely realized fans loved Rebekah and as such, they believed they could body switch her to solve all their problems. The show is now able to bring Rebekah back full time without requiring Holt to stay on. Still, I am wary about a new actress taking on the mantle of Rebekah as Holt was absolutely brilliant as the snarky Rebekah.
Seriously, now that Rebekah is “missing” for the time being, how are Klaus and Hayley going to continue hiding Hope? Their list of those they trust seems terribly short and both Hayley and Klaus have issues of their own to deal with. A couple of months ago, I personally would have trusted Elijah with Hope’s life in a heartbeat, but now, I’m not so sure I would.
In terms of MVP this episode, Kol easily takes the prize. Blind-siding both of his brothers was a huge gamble but it paid off in the end and now he has the means to create his weapon against Klaus. Klaus won’t be underestimating or turning a blind eye towards him again in the future.
The Originals returns with the “Mother of All Family Feuds” of Monday, January 19th.
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