‘The Originals’ Review: The Past Comes Back to Haunt Everyone

Last night The Originals mostly took a break from the faction war to celebrate life and mourn the death of Father Kieran. Each side respected the temporary truce and gathered for the funeral, but the impending battles were still on everyone’s minds. There were plenty of threats, double crossings and secret plots in “A Closer Walk with Thee,” but the real impact of the episode was the emotional punches it delivered.

The episode began with the funeral and the first clue that something was off was the open casket. Kieran died a vampire so all the makeup in the world wouldn’t have made him look that human again. Klaus arrived and after stopping to kiss Cami on the cheek, he went to the casket and lifted the lid. But it was no longer Kieran in there, but a baby girl, who was adorable and pretty happy to see him. Klaus was happy to see her too and just when he reached for her, Mikael showed up and drove a stake through his heart – cut to Klaus waking up from the nightmare.

We switch to the actual wake and Klaus is angrily trying to drown his pain in alcohol. He has a brief chat with Cami and admits that his father is getting to him through his dreams and he knows it’s because of his own impending fatherhood. Cami is surprised that he’s actually talking about it and Klaus gives her attitude just as Marcel shows up and Cami makes a snide (but true) remark about his first parenting attempt. Elijah takes her place at the table and they’re soon joined by Hayley, who wants answers on the moon rings. Klaus continues to drink and toasts to his father haunting him.

That gets Elijah’s attention because he’s been dreaming about Mikael too. They spot Genevieve across the room and assume she’s behind their visions. Klaus is all too happy to have a reason to kill her and he and Elijah corner Gen at the witches’ shop. She insists that she has nothing to do with the dreams, but she’ll find out what’s going on. Elijah is skeptical, but Klaus convinces his brother to back off because he needs Gen for the rings. The witch gets the answer, but Klaus already has it since he placed a call to Bonnie in Mystic Falls and she told him that the spirit world was crumbling (A+ use of continuity with The Vampire Diaries). Klaus is more than okay with the idea that Mikael will soon be dead for real and no longer able to bother him.

But of course that’s too good to be true because this is Mikael we’re talking about and he always finds a way to haunt his son. This time he gets an in through Davina, who attempted to contact Tim via séance, but got Mikael instead. Monique continued to be the worst by using a spell to try and kill Hayley and the baby. She collapsed in the middle of the funeral march and Elijah, Klaus and Genevieve rushed her back to the compound. Elijah could hear the baby’s heartbeat, but not Hayley’s and seeing Elijah lose his cool was kind of terrifying as Klaus vowed to save his daughter, even if he had to rip her out of Hayley then and there. Gen tried a spell and detected Monique’s magic. She said she could fix it, but she needed some time.

Meanwhile, Hayley had woken up in an alternate version of the compound where she was by herself, but not for long. Mikael appeared and began to taunt her about Klaus and the baby. He spewed his usual hatred for his son (Sebastian Roche is so good at being evil) and once Hayley realized who he was, she freaked out that if she could see him, that meant she was dead and her first reaction was to worry about the baby (Mama Wolf is the best). Mikael continued to attack her verbally and physically and Hayley fought back, eventually realizing that she wasn’t dead because Mikael was trying so hard to kill her. She was able to take him on and then wake herself up, where a relieved Elijah and Klaus were stunned when she told them that she’d seen Mikael.

This entire sequence was fantastic. I never get tired of seeing Hayley fighting for herself and her daughter. But the emotional fallout was even better. First, Hayley agreed to move back into the compound on the condition that she could come and go as she pleased and she was not going to be told what to do. Klaus agreed and reiterated that he wanted to protect his daughter. Hayley asked what would happen when she was born and made it clear that she would not let Klaus take her away. Klaus asked Hayley to come with him and then he showed her the nursery he’d created for the baby and told Hayley that he wanted their daughter to have both her parents and be raised in her family home.

I’m pretty sure my heart grew three sizes during that scene because it was perfect. Klaus loves his daughter and he understands that to give her a better life than the one he had, he needs to make peace with Hayley so they can both be there for her. Hayley was obviously touched by the gesture as well and when Klaus asked her what Mikael said to her, she told him that it was nothing true. It was a seriously beautiful moment and one that has been a long time coming. Klaus and Hayley are never going to see eye to eye on everything and she might never trust him completely, but they both want what’s best for their daughter and will work together to make sure her life is better than theirs.

Elijah thanked Gen for helping Hayley and told her that while he’d never forgive her for driving Rebekah away, he would more or less stop scowling in her direction if she’d make the moonlight ring for Hayley. Gen seemed good with the deal and Elijah went to check on Hayley, who was watching the funeral party outside. She didn’t like the idea of someone throwing a party after she died and Elijah pointed out how close she’d come and how that was the most terrified he’d been in 1,000 years (if that’s not a swoon moment, I don’t know what is). He started to walk away, but Hayley called out to him and then she walked over and kissed him! Elijah kissed her back and it was everything my shipper heart has wanted since the pilot. But then Elijah was gone in the blink of an eye. It was still the best though.

Meanwhile, Klaus was dealing with his other child. Throughout the episode, we saw flashbacks to when Marcel was a boy and Klaus had rescued him from the planation. At one point, a grown Marcel goes back and is furious that the owner hasn’t freed the rest of his slaves. He tries to fight him and ends up shot. Klaus arrives and wants to heal him, but Marcel wants to be a vampire. Klaus is torn because he doesn’t want Marcel to suffer his fate and become what he is, but it’s Marcel’s choice and Klaus does as he asks. Everything about this scene broke my heart. Klaus wanted better for his son, but he also couldn’t deny him what he wanted most.

In the present, Klaus and Marcel meet as Marcel’s exile reprieve is about to end. Klaus wants to know how he failed Marcel – what did he do to make Marcel turn on him when he’d tried so hard to make up for everything his father had done to him (again, just rip my heart right out, show). Marcel said the cracks just went too deep and then he told Klaus that he didn’t fail him, he raised him. He taught him everything he knows and that’s why Marcel will never stop fighting until he’s dead. Klaus tells him that he’d expect nothing less. I just want these two to make up because this probably is not going to end well and I don’t think Klaus will recover if he loses Marcel.

Before we get to the ending, there are a few more things worth mentioning. Francesca continues to make everyone hate her (especially me). She tried to get Cami to give her the key at the funeral and then she gave Hayley attitude over the idea that she was behind the bayou bombing. The good thing to come out of that was our first Cami and Hayley scene where they agreed Francesca was the worst. It also made Cami realize that she couldn’t turn her back on the human faction because it was her legacy and she wanted to step up for her family. She figured out that the object the key opened was in her brother’s tomb and she recognized the code written on it, but she decided against sharing it with Marcel.

This was a smart move on her part. I don’t think Marcel would hurt Cami because I believe he values their friendship. But war is war and the whole point of the key and what it unlocks is to give the humans leverage against the supernatural. I’m dying to know what it is. I’ve seen some theories suggesting that it might be another white oak stake, but that would only work against the Originals (and the vampires because if the Originals die, all vampires die). But I assume the object would also be able to help the humans take on the witches and werewolves too.

Finally, Davina received another visit from Mikael (this is why we don’t do séances, kids. You never want to leave that window to the Other Side open). He played on her grief for Tim and offered her a way to bring Klaus down: by bringing him back to life. Yikes. This is not going to end well for anyone. I’m not against the idea of Mikael coming back (and Kol while we’re at it). I assume Esther is the one pulling the witches’ strings and demanding the baby be killed (I loved the scene where Gen begged not to make her kill the baby and then the ancestors tossed her around and made her eyes bleed until she relented). So depending on how these plans work out, we might be looking at a lot more than two Originals on this show going forward.

There’s one more thing that stood out in my mind during these scenes and maybe it’s just a coincidence, but did anyone else notice that the crystals above Davina’s head in the final scene with Mikael looked a lot like the ones hanging from the mobile over the baby’s crib? Even though the theory of Davina being Baby Girl Mikaelson died down after the Harvest episode, it’s always been in the back of my mind because I feel like there was a reason the show decided to go with teenage witches in the first place while all the other characters were adults. I have no idea how they’d be able to have this theory make sense, but if anyone can do it, I believe these writers can.

I’ve enjoyed the first season of this show as a whole, but this episode will stand out as one of its best. I love when they focus on the characters and their emotional connections, but still manage to keep the story flowing seamlessly. This episode had something for everyone (even the tiniest Rebekah mention) and it’s made me even more anxious for the final two episodes. I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but I’m okay with that. I watch a lot of TV, but this is the only show that has me holding my breath for the entire hour (who needs air, really?).

Next week, we’re jumping back into war. Marcel is making a move and Francesca doesn’t seem happy about it. Elijah and Hayley are kissing again (!!!) and Klaus and Marcel prepare to battle in the courtyard. Check out the promo below and then hit the comments and share your thoughts and theories with us! Do you want to see Mikael (and Esther and Kol) return to the side of the living? Do you want Klaus and Marcel to make up? Do you think there’s any chance Davina will turn out to be their daughter? If so, how?