This
episode is all about Elijah and how he is dealing with amnesia life - but, more
than that, I think this is the episode that is officially writing him out of
the series
We
know Elijah asked Marcus to blank his memory because his obsession with Klaus
was so extreme that if he still remembered his brother existed there would be
absolutely no way he’d be able to stay away and then the Hollow would do its
terrible bad stuff because they’re too close together.
Elijah,
with his memory all fuzzed has not only forgotten he’s a Mikkaelson, but also
that he’s a vampire. Which is awkward and involves in him biting and killing
people and being all tortured and angsty and scared and confused and generally
not good
He’s
found by Antoinette who is played by Jamie Murray who is a perfect legend
in all things. She introduces him to the world of vampiredom and, awesomely
embraces it. She loves being a vampire and really does an excellent job of
selling just how awesome it is to have awesome vampire senses et al. And for
the first time on every show ever we have a vampire who hears the word “cure”
and says “why would I want a cure?!”
Jamie
Murray was the vampire we’ve always wanted. Ok, everyone we need a vampire show
with Jamie Murray as lead.
She
teaches him how to be a vampire, about sunlight and daylight rings which he’s
wearing (which, apparently, every vampire basically has. Remember when these
things were rare? Is there a factory out there with witches churning these
things out) and they change him out of his suit.
Elijah is not in a suit. The world is ending.
Elijah
and Antoinette get really close and he tries to surprise her by inviting her to
a rave (ELIJAH IS AT A RAVE GUYS! THE WORLD ENDS!) with other vampires feeding
in public… which she quickly flees. She’s not into group feeding
Her
whole philosophy is very much about living in the now and letting the past go.
She was part of a vampire family with very rigid rules about how you should
live (possibly Elijah’s bloodline) and she struggled because she couldn’t let
go of her human life. She now has left her past behind her, she refuses to wear
a daylight ring so she can fully embrace her life as a vampire
Apparently
some of the other vampires object to her because of this… but it’s never really
explained as to why? Plenty of vampires lived without daylight rings until
quite recently. In fact, going by the Vampire Diaries, plenty of
vampires live relatively solitary lives as well - groups like Marcel’s in New
Orleans seemed to have been the exception going by Damon and Stefan’s various
flashbacks
She
also feeds by using compulsion to comfort and support her victim so they don’t
die in fear and their blood is super tasty and amazing
Wait,
did we just decide to run on an Anne Rice style vampires-must-kill-to-feed
thing? Because all this “oh look unique non-fear blood” is kind of standard
from what we’ve seen so far? Most vampires we’ve seen use compulsion to control
their meals and not leave bodies everywhere. Vampires who regularly leave
bodies behind (except for now and then) are usually a mark of badness: Klaus,
Kol, Stefan going ripper, Damon in his bad boy days. All of this feels like
it’s kind of shaking a whole lot of canon here.
Anyway
as they explore the edges of Elijah’s memories, like him speaking French,
Elijah also runs into Marcel who tells him to get the hell out. Antoinette is
all in favour of this but Elijah insists on following this up. And she leaves -
she lives her life in the present, she isn’t digging up the past and she’s certainly
not digging up Elijah’s when he’s been given an express warning not to do this.
Again
I’m applauding Antoinette. She has a whole life philosophy she has embraced and
she’s not going to derail it because a hot guy arrives and refuses to listen to
her.
Elijah
goes on a mad, blood-stained rampage, as one does on this show, until he runs
into Marcel again who is very very clear that he needs to leave. He manages to
convince Elijah to leave his past alone, that he himself is the one who doesn’t
want to dig up his past. Surprisingly Elijah both believes him - and takes his
advice, returning to Antoinette.
And
he proposes to her because they’re so happy together. So what can derail this?
Klaus of course.
He
jumps in and compels Antoinette to leave Elijah… which she doesn’t. But she
does tell Elijah that Klaus is here and what he wanted so they can have a
showdown
With
Hayley missing and all things getting iffy Klaus has decided he needs to
recruit Elijah back to the fold. Despite the fact multiple Originals together
is such a VERY BAD IDEA. Klaus has had Elijah as his comfort blanket for
centuries, that’s not changing any time soon. He makes a big appeal about how
Elijah totally loves them, honest. Elijah refuses and Antoinette stakes Klaus
and they run off
Antoinette
warns Elijah that a stake will only delay Klaus because of who he is - but
Elijah knows, as he tells Klaus when Klaus catches up. Elijah knows who he is,
he’s done some research. The difference is that, though he knows who Hayley and
Klaus and Hope et al are, he’s learned it from an academic standpoint, through
books and notes. He hasn’t regained his memories, he hasn’t regained his
feelings. So, from a completely objective standard, without his familial love
and millennium old obsession with trying to redeem Klaus, he can see just how
wretched an existence it was. How awful it was to constantly be following in
Klaus’s devastating wake trying to pull him to the bright side and just how
toxic the Mikkaelson family is
He
knows the truth, but doesn’t feel it and has absolutely no wish to jump back
into that piranha pool again. He breaks Klaus’s neck and they leave
Antoinette
worries about Klaus following them - and honestly so do I. I felt sure Klaus
would kill her because that’s kind of Klaus’s MO -kill anyone who is deemed
more important to his family than him. But Elijah thinks otherwise - he says
his open rejection of Klaus has broken Klaus to his core, and he won’t be
following them
Elijah
seems to be right - because Klaus calls Feya to tell her Elijah is gone.
Leaving
Elijah free to remove his daylight ring and burn it and all his past in a big
dramatic sunbathing moment to seal his new life with Antoinette, leaving the
past behind and all his history with the broken Mikkaelson clan
Which
makes me think that Elijah has been written out of this series. And also makes
me wonder if this is The Originals end game. This is the final season
after all. Other than annihilating them all, how can you end this series? To
me, this seems like the best way - destroying not the all powerful characters,
but their pathological need for each other. It’s their toxic co-dependence that
is the main issue and I’ve said from the beginning that the prime frustration
of The Originals is that these uber-powerful characters are the
architects of all their own conflicts.
But
with Kol and Elijah gone it’s fairly clear that shattering the family bond,
banishing this “always and forever” pledge will be the way to finally bring
them all peace: free Freja to leave with Keelin, get Hope away from her growing
daddy issues, let Rebekah seek her own life without the shadow of Klaus…
...which
brings me to Klaus and my creeping feeling that he will die. Because though
there’s a lot of Original Family drama, with mummy, daddy and Finn all dead
there remains one source: Klaus. You kill Klaus and Rebekah, Freya, Hope are
all pretty much free of their prime source of drama
