Tuesday, April 14, 2015

The Originals, Season Two, Episode Seventeen: Exquisite Corpse


Rebekah wakes from a dream in which she was a child again and being chased by an enraged Eva Sinclair. Eva has taken over her body as elsewhere, Elijah and Gia make love.  Vincent sits in a bar drinking and looking at a picture of Eva. Eva heads into Hope's room and stands above her crib.  Hayley sees Eva and immediately senses something wrong and attacks. Hearing the scuffle, Klaus rushes in and acts to protect his daughter. Together, Klaus and Hayley manage to scare Eva out of Hope's room.

Later, Klaus charges Marcel with a mission to find Rebekah/Eva, and shackle her so that she cannot do magic.  Klaus is however insistent that Rebekah not be hurt.  Marcel points that Elijah's truce with the witches has expired and this means that the witches will be looking for Rebekah. Klaus orders Hayley to go with Elijah to secure another truce with Josephine.  Hayley however is worried about leaving Hope alone, so Klaus reminds her that Jackson has been working steadily to ensure that the compound is secure. Klaus points out that he is in the house and that while Marcel and Hayley are busy, he will be doing the even dirtier work.

Hayley, Gia and Marcel are at Josephine's and when Josephine does not make an appearance, Gia excuses herself to locate her. Hayley uses the opportunity to snark about Gia, exposing her jealousy. They are interrupted by Josephine before Hayley can explain exactly what she wants from Marcel. 

Klaus has gone to see Freya about putting Rebekah back in her original body, making it clear that even though he is asking a favour, he still doesn't trust Freya.  The siblings snark back and forth and Freya finally tells Klaus that Rebekah's condition has worsened and now Freya doesn't have a spell strong enough to help Rebekah.  Klaus being Klaus, puts the handcuffs on Freya, stopping her from doing magic, saying that he knows someone who knows how to do such spells.

Vincent is still getting his drink on at the bar when he is approached by Marcel.  Vincent declares that he is done with the vampires and the witches of New Orleans.  Marcel tells Vincent that he needs to find Eva before the witches do, in order to save Rebekah.  Vincent is resistant to helping.

Back at Josephine's,  Marcel, Eva and Hayley are informed that if Eva is back in control, they need to put an end to her because she will use up Rebekah, just like she did the others.

In the bar, Vincent tells Marcel about his relationship with Eva and the missing children.  It was Vincent who put together a posse to find the kids and found Eva by fluke.  Vincent then caught Eva, who pleaded that she only needed three more to complete the right of nines - thus creating a new witch order in New Orleans.  Eva wanted to be more powerful than an elder or any harvest girl. To this day, the kids are still missing, unconsecrated, and used as a source for Eva's magic.

Josephine tells Elijah that Eva must be caught and therefore she is unwilling to extend the truce they negotiated, even though it means sacrificing Rebekah. 

Klaus takes Freya to see Esther and Freya is incensed that Klaus will trust Esther but not her.  Since Esther is now a vampire, Klaus compels her to speak only the truth. 

Eva treats the wound she received when she was trying to steal Hope. Marcel appears and puts the handcuffs on Eva, who is stunned that she was found by a vampire. Marcel admits that he had a little help and Vincent makes an appearance.  Marcel demands that Eva release Rebekah but Eva threatens that if she gets hurt, Marcel will not only never see Rebekah again, he won't see Davina.  Marcel is shocked because he didn't even realise that Davina was missing. Marcel starts to torture Eva but Vincent intervenes, saying that torture is not going to work, offering to talk to her instead.

Josephine is adamant that she will not change her mind and Elijah makes it clear that this means Josephine is ending their alliance before starting to leave.  Josephine demands that Elijah stop threatening her and points out that it is Elijah who needs her and not the other way around. Josephine then grabs Hayley's hands, telling her that there is a storm coming, filled with blackness which should terrify Hayley.

Vincent and Eva argue about their relationship and witch politics.  In frustration, Eva reveals that she didn't kill any kids and that they are asleep and cloaked. Eva says that she just needs their power and the kids don't need to die.


Esther tries to reach out to Freya but Freya is not interested in a positive reunion with her mother.  Klaus interrupts and explains the situation with Dahlia and Rebekah, stunning Esther with the knowledge that her granddaughter is still alive. Klaus asks his mother to tell Freya a spell to put Rebekah back in her body. 

Eva asks if Vincent understands what needs to be done, now that he has experienced having his body stolen by vampires.  Eva adds that she just needs one more child to finish the ceremony and then the children can return to their mothers, ending vampire control of witches.  Marcel enters the room, declaring they are back at square one.  Vincent tells Marcel that he listened to what Eva had to say, before using his magic to toss Marcel through a window and free Eva.

Later, Marcel reports back to Hayley and Elijah that not only is Eva free and working with Vincent, if she has Davina, Eva has eight of the witches needed to finish the ritual.  Hayley declares that if Eva comes after Hope, regardless of Rebekah, she will put Eva down for good.  Elijah however demands that Eva be captured and not killed, ordering Hayley to gather whatever wolves she has available.

Josephine is sipping a tea when Eva and Vincent arrive. Eva reveals that she only needs one more special witch to complete her ritual and that Josephine is a target of choice. Josephine appeals to Vincent, who responds that the only time he has ever really been himself, is when he is with Eva.

Esther is working on the spell Klaus requested and Freya snarks about being sold into slavery. Esther explains that when she made the deal with Dahlia, she had no idea what it was to be a mother. Esther adds that she thought that if she had a dozen children, she wouldn't miss one but Freya was born with a light about her.  Freya is enraged that Esther never once tried to rescue her but Esther says that she should have but it would have been a mistake.  Esther tells Klaus that he is making a mistake allowing Freya to help him because there is no light in her anymore.  Esther warns that Freya will offer to solve his problems but it will come with a price.  Klaus snarks that he is glad Esther gave Freya away so he could be born.

Eva takes Vincent to the place where she has hidden the witches, admitting that she lied and that they will all have to be killed. When Eva turns her back, Vincent hits her in the back of the head with a metal pole.

Marcel tells Hayley and Elijah that Eva has taken Josephine and they wonder where exactly Eva is hiding her captives. Marcel gets a call from Vincent saying that he found all of the captives and attacked Marcel to make it look good for Eva.  Vincent explains that they have a problem because all of the witches are linked to Eva.  If Eva dies, everyone dies.  Marcel declares that they will find someone with a lot of power.

Freya tells Esther and Klaus that she cannot do the spell because it will require an enormous amount of power. Freya says that she is not anchored thanks to Esther and risks losing herself, if she even attempts.  Esther makes it clear that there are no other spells.  Freya wants to use Klaus as her anchor and Esther calls it a price, adding that if Freya channels Klaus, Freya will have access to Klaus's mind past and present. Klaus asks Freya is she believes him to be a fool.  Elijah appears and volunteers to be the anchor, adamant that he will not lose Rebekah. The two brothers bicker back and forth, until Freya uses her magic to open the handcuffs and knock Klaus unconscious.

Gia is guarding Hayley and Hope and tells Hayley if something should happen, Hayley should flee with Hope while she stays behind and fights.  Gia explains that she is doing this because she knows what Hayley and Hope mean to Elijah. Gia says that it must have been tough for Elijah to be the shoulder everyone to lean on for over 1,000 years and now maybe Elijah needs to live his life for himself.

Marcel puts Eva in a diagram that Freya has drawn.  Freya warns them all about the dangers of what they are attempting.  In order for Vincent to have a weapon, Freya says a spell and then stabs him with it in the side. Elijah offers his hand to Freya and they begin the spell.

When Marcel and Vincent awake, they are inside of Eva

Klaus gets to his feet to find Freya and his brother gone. Esther once again warns that Freya will turn his siblings against him.  Esther again brings up what would have happened if she hadn't turned her family but Klaus says that it's the only thing Esther has done that he has forgiven.  Esther tells Klaus that she wanted to undo her evil so that he could love her again but Klaus tells her to enjoy the darkness before leaving.

Inside Eva, Marcel has found the young Rebekah but is forced to Rebekah to run when Eva appears.  On the outside, Freya continues to work on the spell. Eva starts to put out Marcel's eyes when Vincent shows up.  Eva says that Vincent's eyes made her believe that he loved her.  Vincent reaches into his waist band to get his weapon but Eva sees it and start to use her magic to attack Vincent.

On the outside, Freya calls out that she is losing everyone.  Klaus appears and tells Fryea that he is not finished with her but for right now, he wants her to save Rebekah.  Vincent and Eva have a tortured conversation about their relationship. When Eva moves in to deliver the kiss of death, Rebekah stabs her in the back.

Marcel and Vincent awake but Rebekah is still unconscious.  Slowly, the witches who were linked to Eva begin to regain consciousness. Rebekah then sits up to find herself surrounded by her siblings. 

Later, Klaus goes to see Rebekah to get her back into her proper body.  Rebekah declines the offer, saying that while Eva is gone for good, the body is still linked to Davina and the other children, which means if she leaves it, everyone will die. Rebekah adds that she likes Davina and doesn't want to see her dead, adding that if she switches, it will bring on the wrath of the witches.  Rebekah then reminds Klaus of her promise to Kol.  Klaus reveals that Freya has been inside his head and Rebekah replies  that this means Freya now knows Klaus will go very far for very few.  Rebekah asks if they can be a family united.  Klaus consents to this for Rebekah's sake for now, kissing her on the forehead before taking his leave.

In the bar, Vincent burns the picture of him with Eva.

Freya is inducted into the New Orleans coven by Josephine.  Later, Freya sits in a bar when she is joined by Klaus, who warns that while the witches and their siblings think well of Freya, he sees her for what she really is.  Freya snarks about Klaus being burdened by crippling paranoia, adding that all she saw when she channeled Klaus were anger issues and questionable taste in women.  Freya reminds Klaus that she was once alone, adding that it would be a shame if Klaus found himself that way now.  Freya warns that she has only so much patience.

Freya goes back to see Esther and declares that she loathes Dahlia.  Freya explains that Dahlia stole her light and that she was five and Dahlia was the devil.  Freya reveals that Dahlia took everything and while Esther is no longer her mother, Freya is not Dahlia's child. Esther apologises but Freya says that it's too late.  Freya tells Esther that she was right to warn Klaus about letting her look into his mind.  Freya admits that she and Klaus will never be allies because Klaus will never trust her. Freya's plan is to turn the family against Klaus one by one.  Freya then uses her magic on Esther, turning her into a flock of dead birds.

Even for The Originals that was a whole lot of angst.  It was so bad that at times it felt like I was watching a teenage soap opera. Let it rest Originals.

Okay, Rebekah has decided to stay in Eva's body.  Clearly this is because Claire Holt who originally played the role is no longer interested in playing Rebekah full-time.  It means that we have another long term character of colour though I am not at all pleased with how it happened.  Having a white woman just possess a black body and justify it by Eva being evil simply does not work for me because of the nasty racial undertones. 

All of this long drawn out drama also served as a vehicle for another ominous warning about the coming of Dahlia.  Clearly her arrival will be at the season finale to drum up suspense for the next season but I am tired of waiting already and just want to scream get the hell on with it. Doing the whole Freya vs Klaus thing is going to be just another distraction to hold us over until Dahlia shows up.

Now that Eva has been dealt with, I wonder if this means that Vincent is going back into the plot box?  If so, I think I will miss him.  Men of colour have not fared well on this show.  It's a mixed blessing I suppose because if he does stay around, he will probably be nothing but a servant for Klaus and that role is already filled by Marcel.

I must admit to being really disappointed that Davina was released.  She needs to stay in the plot box. I can see no reason for her continued presence on the show.

The one thing I kept thinking throughout this episode was where the hell are Josh and Aidan? Other than Elijah and Gia, they are the only couple I am actually interested in and they have been gone for quite some time.  I could give a damn about the whole star crossed lover thing between Hayley and Elijah.

Well I suppose for now, we all have to keep treading water until the writers decide to do something significant.