The Originals recap: A Ghost Along the Mississippi

Well, I hope you all spent your hiatus breathing deeply, de-stressing, and NOT crying, because if tonight’s episode is any indication, we are in for some beautiful torture this season.

Am I shocked that Cami’s a vampire? No. As much as I would’ve missed Leah Pipes, I did love the idea of them making such a bold move as to kill Cami. However, in my mind, vampirism was always option No. 2 — not as bold, but still a good twist. As for Jackson, well, I did NOT see that coming, and I’m not okay. We’ll get to that later.

Act One: Farewell, Jackson

We kick off the hour cutting back and forth between Klaus destroying his bedroom as his emotions overcome him and a flashback to one of Cami and Klaus’ “little chats,” which appropriately centers on the topic of death. In the flashback, Cami’s trying to convince Klaus that death does mean something to him. “If not your own then at least the death of others.” And of course, we’re seeing that she’s right as Cami’s death is currently destroying him. But as Klaus puts it, “Death dances silently in everyone’s shadow and she doesn’t give a damn, so why give a damn about her?” Well, because she can steal the woman you love.

But back the present, it turns out death has only sort of won … when Cami comes back to life. Remembering what happened to her, Cami tells Klaus that Aurora compelled her. When the moment came that Cami realized Klaus loved her, she was forced to drink a vial of Aurora’s blood and then slit her own throat. HER OWN THROAT. Right now, I’m so thankful we didn’t have to watch that (though Julie Plec says they originally filmed it).

While Cami showers off her own blood, Elijah and Klaus make a plan. Despite Klaus’ need for swift and brutal revenge, Elijah tells him to stay with Cami. Elijah will handle the rest, starting with tracking down Vincent, who’s currently shirtless … and also, he’s activating the saratura for Tristan and company.

But because Tristan’s the worst — and clearly not a man of his word like his sire — he takes the saratura from Vincent and does not give him Freya’s pendant, which holds Finn, in return. Instead, Tristan orders his witches to hold Vincent captive for the time being. Or at least until he out-magics them and Elijah shows up to lend a hand. The bad news? Vincent tells Elijah that he can’t deactivate the saratura, so now they have to figure out a way to use it.

Elsewhere, Hayley and Jackson are packing up his stuff from the bayou to make their apartment a bit more manly — I’m thinking a denim couch and flannel wallpaper — when the Strix show up and capture them both. Yeah, it gets worse.

The Strix chain Jackson and Hayley up and pump them full of enough wolf’s bane to take down an entire pack. And with a leg that’s gushing blood, Jackson takes a moment to make sure Hayley knows how much he loves her. He tells her: “I love you. I’ve always loved you. When I first saw you, you broke me. And nothing has ever been the same since.” He just wants her to know that “it was all real — every moment, every touch, every word.”

And because a beautiful speech can only be followed by tragedy — right, Klaus? — Tristan then decides to enter and get his payback for that time Hayley tortured him. Apparently, it took him until now to realize the best way to torture a hybrid, and clearly, his sister gave him some guidance on this one, because Tristan rips Jackson’s heart from his chest.

[Quick break to cry all the tears in the world.]

Poor Hayley, now stuck sitting next to her dead husband, apologizes for bringing Jack into her life. “I never met anyone who was always just there for me. You let me feel what it is to be loved. But I will make them suffer for this, I promise you. I will make all of them suffer.” One question: Who is “them”?

NEXT: Cami decides her fate

Act Two: Cami’s Choice

Back at the compound, Cami is experiencing the torture that comes with having heightened senses. (But thankfully, her hair has never looked better.) In the end, it’s a trip to her apartment that makes her decide her fate. In my favorite exchange, Cami mentions that her choice would be easier if she believed in an afterlife.

Klaus: “Vampirism is by definition an afterlife.”

Cami: “Which one is it, Klaus? Heaven or Hell?”

Spoiler: Cami decides it’s hell, so she says she’s not going to feed. That, and she wants an epic wake complete with an open bar and dancing.

And cue my favorite exchange (ever) between these two — and beautiful work from both Joseph Morgan and Leah Pipes. Cami explains that she doesn’t know who she’ll become if she transitions, but Klaus does: She’ll be an extension of the person she is now — strong, understanding, brave. But Cami informs the ancient hybrid that he doesn’t really know her. There’s a darkness inside of her, and what if it takes over? Klaus says it won’t, but she once again wins by informing him that he can barely contain his. (Does he contain his?)

Cami: “Better I die as someone I’m proud of then live as someone I despise.”

Klaus: “No, it’s better a flawed life lived than wasted rotting in clay.”

Seeing how upset Klaus is, Cami puts his face in her hands and simply informs him that she’s not going to feed. He can either accept that, or they can spend her last day fighting.

Back at the compound, Elijah and company get news of Jackson’s death via his heart in a box, courtesy of The Strix. They threaten that Hayley’s will follow if they don’t meet. But Freya has a better plan.

Act Three: Prepare for War

Off to battle, Klaus leaves Cami in his bedroom, trapped by Freya’s boundary spell with nothing but a glass of blood. Cami warns him that if he leaves her like this, she’ll never forgive him, but in his mind, he has to do this, because, “I’ll never forgive myself if I let you die.”

Just like that, the battle begins. After Vincent uses some badass magic to flip the car currently transporting Aurora, we get our Elijah Moment of the Week when he swiftly daggers two men without even blinking. And then Klaus is there to snatch Aurora.

At the compound, Freya gets rid of her boundary spell and gives Cami a choice. She can starve alone or risk what remains of her life to help Freya. Obviously, she chooses the latter.

NEXT: Tristan goes swimming

With Freya channeling Vincent to complete some mystery spell, Elijah and Klaus meet the Strix for a trade: They give them Aurora in exchange for Hayley AND the saratura. Of course, Tristan shows up with at least 20 others — including Marcel — but it takes more than that to scare a pair of Mikaelsons … especially when they have a plan.

Once they get Hayley, Tristan goes into one of the shipping containers to get his sister. Only, Aurora takes the saratura out of his pocket and activates it. Translation: She traps them both inside by creating an impenetrable boundary that nothing living nor dead can pass through. And then she walks through it?!

Fun fact: That’s not Aurora! It’s Cami! Freya’s spell simply made her look like Aurora, and because Cami is neither living nor dead at the moment, the saratura did not trap her. (Can you imagine if they’d been wrong about that?)

And now, once Elijah talks down Tristan’s army — a mixture of persuasion and threats he’s perfected over the years — they send him to the bottom of the ocean to drown over and over again for all of eternity. (Ask Stefan, it’s not fun.) As for Aurora, Klaus assures Tristan that her death will be “spectacular,” but it’s Hayley who gets the final word: Jackson might be gone, but he lives on with her. Meanwhile, Tristan will be forgotten.

As for Cami, Klaus once again begs her not to leave him, but it’s Elijah who steps in, warning that Klaus should “allows her the dignity of this choice. You force her, you lose her forever.”

Leaving Klaus, behind, Cami heads to her brother’s grave to meet up with Vincent. Knowing he won’t judge her, she speaks openly about her decision. And then he tells her that as crazy as the world is, “it’s still a better place with you in it.” Just like that, Cami decides that, if she becomes a vampire, she can finish what her uncle started. She can help fix the city because she’ll finally have the strength to make a difference. So Vincent offers her his wrist … and she takes it!

Back at Marcel’s place, Elijah arrives just in time to remind us all where Marcel’s loyalties lie. The two toast “to the devil in the deep blue sea.”

As for Aurora, well, it appears that Lucien used a dark object to rescue her while Freya was busy performing the spell that made Cami appear to be Aurora. But that can wait. For now, Hayley has to say goodbye to her husband, sending Jackson off with a proper werewolf funeral.

I could talk for days about what her saying “till death do us part” means. Is that her way of saying she’s with him until she dies? Is that her saying that she’s fulfilled her vows and can now return to Elijah? What does it all mean?!

And that brings us to our final scene of the night: Klaus discovers Cami in his room feeding on blood bags. Experiencing a hardcore bloodlust, she informs him that her first feed was “amazing.” And now, all she can think is “I want to do it again.” Yeah, that feels sexual, but she’s talking about drinking blood, so let’s all remember that.

Just like that, The Originals is back in our lives, and I’m so, so happy. This show is so dialed into its characters that watching it is an immersive experience in all the best ways. But what did you think of the hour? Hit the comments with your thoughts or find me on Twitter @samhighfill.

And for more Originals, check out showrunner Julie Plec’s blog on what they cut, along with executive producer Michael Narducci on what comes next!