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The Originals 2.11 “Brotherhood of the Damned” RECAP {{SPOILERS}}

Brotherhood of the Damned

Well, well, well.  So Freya’s well-preserved corpse, not to mention her ghost, is hanging around the Witch Asylum?! Interesting, eh? What’s your theory? Is she a vampire? Is she somehow just wonderfully preserved so that when the Mikaelsons have children she can be revived to exact Dahlia’s payment? What’s the deal with all that?

I have a feeling this episode will be less focused on Rebs-not-Rebs, and more on the situation with the Witch Bubble of Doom and the hungry vampires vs Kol, and the entire Hayley/Jackson wedding thing (that’s bound to be a fiasco). But we’ll see.

Shall we?

Marcel introduces the episode, showing us when Finncent revealed himself to his brothers and Klaus’s leaving of Cami and Elijah (with alllllll his baggage) with Baby Hope in Arkansas as he returns home with Hayley. Klaus’s unspoken hope that Cami will be able to help Elijah with his current Mommy-issues-turned-blind-rage leads into Hayley asking Jackson if he’s ready to “get hitched?” Hayley addresses the wolves, reminding them of the power they will have once she and Jackson are united. Marcel pledges himself and his Merry Men to the wolves in their stand against the witches. And then Finncent places the Witch Bubble of Doom (thanks, Josh, for that) around the entire compound, trapping a tense group of wolves and vampires inside. Finncent then casts his other spell on the Witch Bubble of Doom . . . making the vampires thirst like never before (with the catch that if the do give in and feed, they won’t be able to stop). Koleb and Davina cast a disruption spell, allowing for a 60 second window of time where people may escape the compound. Hayley ushers the wolves out, and then Klaus pushes Koleb back in – for messing with where Rebekah ended up when she jumped bodies. (REMINDER: Super hungry vamps!)

New Orleans is bathed in red, as statues and people are covered with red cloth representing Carillon Eve (defined later) as Klaus tells Marcel that he can’t find Finncent anywhere. He says that he can’t do anything about the barrier until he chokes the life out of Finn. Marcel had hoped for a “plan B” – which turns out to be Davina – and then Klaus instructs Marcel to keep Kol alive so that they can (I assume) eventually torture Rebekah’s whereabouts out of him later. And, then we get why Marcel seems alittle stressed. In the first scuffle between trapped werewolves and vampires, Marcel got himself bitten. This news stops Klaus in his tracks. And then makes him vow to get Marcel out of there “whatever it takes.”

Marcel looks at one of the Mikaelson Ms on the wall, and we realize his vision has gone a little blurry. Then he hears dogs barking. And then we’re in Flashbackville . . .

1916: Klaus is forbidding Marcel to leave for the war. Marcel has already enlisted, and has every intention on going. He’s been ranked among the 369th regiment, the “Harlem Hellfighters.” Klaus thinks this act of defiance is related to his condemning of Marcel’s budding relationship with Rebekah. Klaus tells him to remember that this is his home, and family aren’t just people that “coddle you,” they are people who fight for and with you. He says that Marcel leaving is abandoning the family that has taken him in. Marcel leaves without another word, Klaus yelling after him “you’ll be back” and saying that the “prodigal son always returns home.”

Back in the present, Marcel seems shocked that the wolf bite has brought out these particular memories and tries to refocus. He looks down on the vampires from balcony, and says that home is the last place he wants to be.

 

Church bells are ringing around the city, and Marcel examines the bite on his arm. Koleb asks him about the bells, saying it makes him think its the “preamble to my own bloody funeral.” It is Carillon Eve. The locals cover the eyes of all the angels in the city so that the dead may walk about the city (just tonight) with the humans “without judgement,” Marcel says. The bells are the cue to the dead, guiding them to eternal rest. Koleb says that he knows Marcel is going to make sure he stays alive, since he’s the only one who knows where Rebekah is. Marcel reminds Koleb of how hungry everyone (including him) is, but Koleb counters that Davina would never forgive Marcel if something happened to him inside the Witch Bubble of Doom. Marcel leaves the room, to join his Merry Men. His vision goes blurry again.

This time, its as if he’s in the compound alone. Until a one of his “Harlem Hellfighters” (we assume) walks up in full uniform. “Joe?” asks Marcel. “Hey, Corporal” comes Joe’s response. Then we’re in Flashbackville again.

Clearly in a war-zone, scorched earth, bombs landing from above, and men in trenches running for cover. Joe and Marcel are next to each other. Joe has noticed that Marcel is a little different. Marcel deflects, saying he’s just like everyone else. Joe doesn’t agree. He’s been watching Marcel. Joe’s seen Marcel get shot in the gut, and then be up and around helping other guys out, like nothing happened. Joe has two theories about Marcel. One is, Marcel has guardian angels. Or, two, “you’re something else altogether.” (DUN DUN DUN) Their commanding officer (again, assumption) comes up and tells them that HQ says there aren’t enough gas masks for their entire unit. Joe protests, saying they’ll all be dead in hours without them. The CO reminds them that they are the “Brotherhood of the Damned” because they are only cannon fodder, destined to fail, meant only to slow down the Germans until the “real” forces get there. Marcel doesn’t like this attitude. They have held their line longer than any other in this part of the war, he says, and that they are called that because they’d rather be damned than “let the enemy break this line.” Marcel says that if the CO doesn’t know that, maybe they need a new CO. As the CO moves to come wag his finger in Marcel’s face, he’s taken down by a bullet to the head. A mortar goes off, and Marcel shoves Joe out of the way instead of diving for safety himself. (Not that Marcel gets hurt, but still.) Joe grabs Marcel, and says he doesn’t care what Marcel is, he’s there for a reason – to be that leader Marcel just talked about. All the other men in the trench turn to Marcel.

Gia is trying to get Marcel’s attention, back in the real world. She and Josh are right in front of him, and Marcel seems not to see them for a second. He jumps, and then is back in the present with them. Gia asks if he’s alright. Marcel plays it off as hunger and dismisses her concern.

In St Anne’s (RIP Father Kieran, you’re missed!) Davina is making a circle on the floor, Klaus nagging her about finding Finncent. Finncent seems to be blocking all her locator spells, so she’s trying something else and would do a better job of it without all his nagging. Klaus says to relax, they have the same goal here. Davina’s goal, however, isn’t quite the same. She just wants to get Kol out of the compound alive, calling it “number 10” on his list. He counters that it’s “number 9, at least” and Davina wants to know what’s wrong with Klaus that he thinks this treatment of one of his brothers is ok. (Ummmm. . . talking about lists, Davina, that is a pretty long one!) Klaus reminds Davina that he also has a sister “who I care about more” and until Koleb gives up where he put Rebekah, “Kol can rot.” Klaus reminds her who the real villain is here, Finn. Finn’s the one that cast the Witch Bubble of Doom after all, and she needs to hurry up and find out where Finncent is getting all this power from, so they can stop it. Davina starts chanting.

It looks like Finncent is chanting at the same time. As he waves a smoking Sage bundle over a bowl, Davina sees something. She says she saw glimpses of Finncent. He’s combining “sacred objects, totems, representational magic” in “Layfayette Number 1, The Lyonne Tomb” and he’s using Lenorsther and Mikael to power his spells. “And here I thought I was the poster child for least grateful offspring,” quips Klaus. (Flash of Finncent chanting, dropping something in the bowl.) Klaus asks Davina to come with him to “crash their little party” and then Klaus gasps and stops in his tracks.

Finncent stirs what looks like a bowl of blood with a paw of some sort (I think), then waves the Sage some more.

Davina snarks that now Klaus is the one being slow, and Klaus collapses.

In Arkansas, Cami is trying to get Elijah to confront his subconscious. Cami tells him that part of her thesis is discovering how suppression of “past trauma and how it can manifest in aberrant and often violent behavior.” (Sounds about right, yes?) Elijah quips that back in 1897 a “dear friend of mine – let’s just call him the godfather of modern psychoanalysis – mentioned something similar to me over tea in a Viennese cafe.” Yep. Elijah just name-dropped Freud! Cami jokes about the name-dropping, and says that she knows something about this particular branch of psychology that even Freud didn’t, because she knows what it’s like when “someone takes away your deepest, ugliest pain without your consent.” She calls it equal parts relief and violation.

Elijah looks thoughtful as he realizes she alone might understand pretty much what he is going through right now. She asks him about the Red Door. He tells her that the Red Door is from his youth, that it was the door to the slaughterhouse. He says he sometimes sees it in flashes. He calls it both a memory and a metaphor because it’s a place where “unspeakable deeds dwell in darkness.” (Nice alliteration, Elijah!!) Because she’s one second smart and the next, has the IQ of a rock, Cami asks if there have been many of these deeds. (DUH! He’s been a vampire for over a thousand years! A vampire Hell-bent on the redemption of his nuts half-brother! DUH, Cami! DUH!) Elijah goes to stare out the window, telling her his more polite version of DUH, and says that even considering that, he’s always had a certain level of control. He says that now, after his time with Lenorsther, he comes loose from that control. He says behind the Red Door is every one of his bad deeds. Cami asks why that particular door and Elijah says that it was in front of that door that the “first woman I ever loved told me she loved me in return.” (Aww, Tatia!) They both smile at the memory, but Elijah kills the joy of that moment by telling Cami that in front of that door was also “where I laid her body after I took her life.” (Aww, Tatia!) He tells Cami that he’s not told anyone else that little bit of information, and that Klaus loved Tatia as much as he did. Elijah says that Klaus still believes that Esther killed Tatia. He’s scared that Klaus will never forgive him – since Klaus is so big on forgiveness and all. Elijah says that he should forget for both of them.

Finncent stirs his bowl of blood with a deer antler. Elijah gasps, and collapses, just like Klaus did.

Gia asks Josh what’s wrong with Marcel. Josh says he doesn’t know, and he can’t think straight anyway because he’s so hungry. Gia agrees that all of them are that hungry, and there are footsteps behind her. Koleb comes into view. He tells them that if they come anywhere near him, he’ll give them a “headache that will last a century.” Gia starts toward him, saying that it would be worth it, and then she’s on the floor screaming and grabbing her head. Marcel bursts in, and demands to know what’s going on. Koleb tells Marcel that his “protection detail” was trying to eat him.

Finncent picks up what looks to be a fox tail, heading for the bowl of blood with it, too.

Koleb goes to lash out at Gia again, screams in agony, and drops to the floor. Josh is confused. (Join the club, Josh. Join the club.)

Close up on Klaus’s face, and he opens his eyes. He looks around, and then Elijah appears behind him. (Hold up. There’s a deer head and a fox head hanging up in there . . . ) Kol comes around the corner. He notices the deer head, and makes some snark about it. And there’s the fox, too. Kol calls the room a “Chambre de Chasse” which, apparently, is where a witch brings their enemies for “mental target practice,” saying that their bodies are still in the real world, but their minds are in here, in this “Hunt Room” (literal translation). Kol says they are represented in the animal heads. Klaus guess that Finn is behind this, and demands that Finn show himself. And Finn walks through the door, looking both cocky and a bit like the cat caught with the canary in his mouth. Klaus goes to attack, and Finn holds him off without really trying. Finn says he is “untouchable” in here. “My magic. My rules,” he says. He tells his brothers to makes themselves at home, because they are going to be there for a while.

Aiden dumps all the Moonlight rings into a bowl, saying that now everyone in the Bayou is ring-free. Hayley says that they are better off now, but Aiden disagrees as he’s now back to changing every full moon and if the wolves that stayed loyal to Finncent come back, they will destroy the Bayou wolves. He asks when the wedding is, and Jackson tells him “10 days.” Any wolf that wants to be able to control their changing needs to be here, Jackson said, to be a witness to the wedding, and asks Aiden to spread the word. Aiden says he will, and asks what they’re going to be up to. Jackson says they are going to see an Elder, because they need an “old school Crescent Wolf” to perform the wedding, and there are “trials” that they must complete first. Hayley looks worried, but Jackson blows it off, saying it isn’t anything too awful. The only thing that seems odd in his list of trials is “smoke a little Blue Calamus Root out of a peace pipe . . . everything else was less specific. Aiden heads off to spread the word of the timing and location of the wedding, and Hayley asks Jackson if he knows of an Elder. Jackson says he does, his grandmother.

Davina is smacking the crap out of Klaus, trying to wake him. She actually needs him for something, and he won’t wake up. She hears his cell phone buzzing in his pocket, and answers it. It’s Cami. And Cami, holding Hope, wants to know why Davina is answering Klaus’s phone. Davina tells Cami that she answered because Klaus won’t wake up. Cami says that Elijah collapsed, too, and wants to know what’s going on. Davina has a light bulb moment, and realizes that one of the spells Finn used trapped his brothers – which means Kol is in trouble. Cami asks what they’re to do now, and Davina doesn’t have a clue.

Finncent says that this “prison” is, at least, more comfortable than the box Klaus stored him in for almost 900 years. Klaus points out the animal heads, says he must be the “big, bad wolf,” Kol is the “wily fox,” Elijah is the “noble stag,” and Finn is “fittingly enough, are the boar, bit obvious as symbolism goes.” (We see each character either positioned in front of their animal, or looking up at it. Nice touch!) Klaus asks why they are there, but then decides it must be about Mother. He says that he didn’t force Lenorsther to drink the blood bag he left with her to “betray everything she holds dear,” she did it herself. Finncent says they aren’t there to talk about Mother, they are there to discuss Klaus. Finncent wants Klaus to experience feeling powerless, taking the thing that matters most to him – the city of New Orleans. Elijah interrupts, saying that Finncent should release them . . . now. Finncent says that he will, but it will be after sunset before he does. He’s chosen that time, because the streets will be flooded with humans out celebrating Carillon Eve and his barrier spell will drop then, too, releasing all the Super Sized-Hungry vampires out into said streets. He says that after the slaughter that will occur, the “supernatural community” of the city will be driven out of the city, forced to find another home. Koleb says he doesn’t give a damn about the city, he’s just worried about his “very human” body stuck in the Witch Bubble of Doom and Finncent’s fight isn’t with him in the first place. Finncent says that all Koleb cares about is himself, so he’s going to make Koleb vulnerable and uses some magic to make Koleb’s nose bleed – both in the Chambre de Chasse, and in the real world.

Gia and Josh turn toward the smell of blood, and Gia goes to attack. Marcel stops her and Josh, reminding them that if they start feeding they won’t be able to stop, and then Koleb will be dead and all of them will still be hungry. He reminds them that he has been “at war, in the trenches, starved” and if he can make it out of that situation they can make it out of this one. (So, that’s the point of the war flashbacks? Cuz, I’m not really getting it otherwise.) He says they will fight through this hunger together, and then . . . Joe is hanging out with them again.

And, then? Flashbackville.  Marcel is making sure that all the men have a little bit of the cocoa they have, since they have no rations and no gas masks. Joe complains that it tastes more like dirt, but it’ll do. Joe says that he knows Marcel must be starving, and rolls up his sleeve. Marcel says he’ll never feed from one of his own men, catch him a German, and all bets are off. Someone runs up and tells Marcel that he’s needed back at HQ. Marcel walks into the HQ tent to see a huge meal laid out – he looks rightfully horrified – two women, looking very compliant . . . and then the desk chair around, revealing Klaus! He makes some quip about hating the war, but loving the hats. Marcel wants to know what Klaus is doing there, and Klaus says that he just brought Marcel dessert (the two women). They present themselves to him, and all Marcel can hear is their heartbeat. Klaus encourages him, but Marcel resists only after Klaus insists that Marcel come “home” after he’s done. Marcel goes to leave to be with his men, and Klaus tells him to “let the food fight among themselves if you must, but make no mistake, your place is at home with your family.” Marcel yells that Klaus always told him that family were people that fight with and for you, and he’s currently with his family right now and storms out.

Back in the present, Marcel still sees Joe standing there, but blood has begun to pour out of Joe’s mouth. He walks toward Joe, and Gia and Josh look at him like he’s out of his mind. Gia asks him if he’s ok, and grabs his arm. And, of course, sees the werewolf bite. Josh loses it a little, saying “you’re 6 ways to dead if you don’t get Klaus’s blood in you” and worries what will happen if the other vampires find out. Marcel swears them both to secrecy, just as bells start ringing outside. In the Quarter, hundreds of people are parading through, ringing bells. Gia points out the sound, calling it “the sound of food” and reminds him that they can’t get near it. Marcel reminds her that lots of people deal with hunger every day, they can get through this. She says that he promised them things when he turned them, that they bought into what he was selling, and now they’ve been “wolf bait, beaten up, stuck exiled across the river, then stuck here” and now he doesn’t even bother to tell them that he’s dying when they are all looking to him for help. She tells him that he sucks at being a leader, and we see even more people flooding the streets. Marcel goes out onto the balcony and sees all of his Merry Men crouching into attack-mode at the sight, smell, and sound of all those people going by. Joe appears beside him, as a lot of the Merry Men start vamping out. Joe says, “we don’t all get to get out of this alive, son.”

Davina is still sitting on the floor next to Klaus’s unconscious body. Cami and Hope are looking down on Elijah’s. And Koleb is still on the couch in the compound. To Finncent, back in the Chambre, Koleb says that Finncent’s point was made. Koleb asks Finncent, again, to let him go back to his body even though “nobody enjoys a good joke like fox boy here.” Elijah says that he rather likes watching Koleb “twist in the wind” not unlike what he did to Rebekah. Elijah whips out a handkerchief and hands it to Koleb. Finncent wants to know where Rebekah is, too. Koleb says that, well, she crossed him, so he crossed her back, asking again to be let back into his body and saying that he’ll let everyone know what they need to know afterward. Finncent stops him talking with a brain-pain spell. Finncent reminds Klaus and Elijah that the only thing standing between them and finding Rebekah is Koleb, so perhaps Koleb should go and live out his mortal life while he still can, and sends Koleb back to his body.

Koleb wakes up with a start back at the compound. Gia and some Merry Men come stalking in. Koleb asks them if it’s too late to say I’m sorry and Gia goes in for the kill. Marcel whooshes Koleb to safety. Koleb thanks him, but Marcel seems ready to bite him, too. Koleb tells him that he’s only got to hold on for a few more minutes – until sundown to be precise – because Finncent plans to release them all then. Marcel quickly realizes the problem there. Marcel’s vision blurs again, and there’s Joe again. Koleb notices Marcel’s mind wandering, and snaps in his face to get his attention again. Koleb echoes what Joe said earlier, that they aren’t getting out of this alive. Marcel defiantly says that they are.

Hayley and Jackson are walking in the woods/Bayou. After some awkward banter about meeting his grandmother, and the number of girls he’s brought home to her (actually none), and Hayley saying she’s great with “old people . . . and babies” Jackson’s grandmother pops out of the trees and tells them that they’re late. “Grandma Mary” calls Hayley out on her “old people charm” and chastises them again for being late, as they have “premarital rituals to attend to.” They have “fasting, purification, the rite of divulgement” among other things to look forward to, apparently. Hayley, obviously, has concerns about that last one, but Mary shrugs it off saying “you speak the truth, he speaks the truth, secrets are cleansed, everyone is happy.” Ummmm . . . maybe not so much here. Mary says that when they smoke the root of the Blue Calamus flower, it links their hearts and minds together, and the ceremony “won’t take if there are lies separating” them. UH OH! Mary says that part of the ritual is most important, second only to the actual ceremony. Hayley looks worried, but Mary makes light of the situation. And . . . then Hayley says she’s “not doing that.” The three of them exchange looks, and then Hayley walks off, leaving Jackson gaping at his grandmother.

Finncent wants to know what they should talk about while they wait for nightfall – how about their parents? Klaus says he isn’t surprised that Finncent is using Lenorsther to fuel his spells (now that she’s a vampire), but he is a little surprised that Mikael has met the same fate. Finncent says that he wasn’t meaning Mikael, he wanted to talk about Ansel – Klaus’s real father. He wonders why longed for that relationship, and yet, when given the chance at it, he killed Ansel. Klaus suggests perhaps the same reason that Finncent “took out Esther. Severing parents ties has a way of freeing one up to recognize one’s true potential.” Finncent agrees, but says that Esther wasn’t a idiot. She did, after all, pinpoint all of the things that Klaus wanted – a relationship with a father that loved him being at the top of that list. Finncent says that something else is at the top, though, and it isn’t NOLA (because he’s going to take it from him when the vampires eat their way through the crowd). But that threat didn’t have the effect Finncent wanted – barely even got a rise out of Klaus. He says that even the threat of not knowing where Rebekah is – and the possibility that the one person who knows just met his fate with a horde of hungry vampires didn’t do it either. As Finncent starts to suspect something else, Elijah speaks up. “I am fighting the monumental desire to mount your severed head upon one of these walls,” he says. Finncent ignores Elijah, and says to Klaus that he thought Klaus would be more concerned over the state that Esther left Elijah in – but, no, no rise there, either – saying that Klaus just ditched Elijah instead of trying to help him. (Not quite right, there, Finn.) Finncent speculates that Klaus is indeed hiding something from him, “something big, something dark.” (No, just about baby-sized . . . ) Finncent thinks that maybe Ansel discovered the secret, and that’s why Klaus had to kill him. Klaus asks if Finncent really wants to know why he killed Ansel? Klaus says that he’s tired of blood relations letting him down, and when they do, he just “removes” them. “So the secret is, there is no secret?” asks Finncent, but doesn’t believe it to be true and since he controls Klaus’s presence in the Chambre, they have all the time in the world to get to the bottom of it. Over Finncent’s turned away shoulder, Klaus spares a concerned glance at Elijah.

Jackson is chasing after Hayley in the woods, calling her name. Hayley says she just can’t do that ritual. Jackson says she’s not alone in having stuff she doesn’t want to talk about. “Some of my secrets are not mine to tell,” she says. (Very diplomatic, Hayley.) Jackson says that honesty is a good thing. She reminds him she lives with the Original family, and in that family, honesty can get you killed. Jackson says that she probably won’t like some of the things he has to say, either. Hayley disagrees. Jackson begs her to come back with him. He says that they will take it slow, and if anything makes her feel uncomfortable, tell him, and they will stop. He says that he’ll go first, when the time comes for honesty, because “I don’t run, and I don’t scare easy” and he promises that whatever she says to him will become his secrets, her demons will become his, and she will no longer have to fight them alone. (If I wanted these two together, I would find that really sweet, actually.) He begs, she caves, and they start back to Grandma Mary.

The vampires are getting more and more restless. Gia looks up to Marcel on the balcony, and tells him she’ll give him 2 minutes to explain why they can’t go up there and feed on the witch. She challenges his leadership, saying that he lied to them. And then he’s hearing bombs go off, and we’re back in . . .

Flashbackville: Mortars are exploding, the men are all coughing (no gas masks, remember), and then he notices Joe with blood on his chin looking pretty bad. Joe reminds Marcel that he never did get those gas masks, and Marcel apologizes saying he failed them. Joe counters that he won’t have failed them, if he makes them all into vampires like him. Joe wants to make the fight more even that way. “Turn us,” Jos begs. Marcel looks around at what he told Klaus was his “family” that all appear to be dying . . . and bites his wrist and feeds Joe his blood.

Back in the present, Marcel calls his Merry Men to attention. He apologizes for letting them down, but he’s been through this kind of hunger and despair before, and survived it. He says that when they come out the other side of this, they will be all the stronger from it. He tells them that the Witch Bubble of Doom will be raised at sundown, and they are going to be “smack in the middle of a parade of innocent people.” Gia says that they don’t care if the people out there are innocent, they are hungry. Marcel does his rallying speech about not feeding on the locals, etc, and reminds them that they’ve only been allowed to stay in their “home” of NOLA for the last 300 years because they have lived by this code. Gia asks if that’s the same code that won’t allow him to tell the rest of them that he’s dying of a werewolf bite. Marcel whooshes downstairs, and tells them he’s not dying of anything because there’s a vial of Klaus’s blood at his place across the river – and enough blood for them all – they just have to get there.

And all the church bells of NOLA begin to ring. Koleb sneaks a peek downstairs, as Marcel approaches the Barrier. He puts his hand out, and he doesn’t burn. He turns to his Merry Men and says “let’s go.” The Merry Men begin filing out, in an orderly manner, with Koleb still looking on from the balcony.

Finncent is still trying to goad Klaus – using the loss of NOLA again – and begins to list all the bad things that have happened to him in NOLA. “Marcel’s betrayal, Father’s attack, loss of your child” he lists and Elijah makes his best “what are you getting at” face. Elijah says that “representational magic” has to be done very precisely, and that the slightest misrepresentation can cause the entire enchantment to crumble. Finncent promises that neither of them have been misrepresented. Elijah counters that that depends on how well Finncent really knows Klaus and himself. Elijah says that the “noble stag is nothing more than a deception” to himself and everyone else. He says that if he had been truly noble all this time, he wouldn’t have withheld from Klaus the truth of Tatia’s death. “It was I who killed Tatia,” he says (Klaus’s chin quivers as his mouth hangs open a bit in shock), “I hunted her down and mercilessly I feasted upon her flesh. I tore her from us,” he says. He says that he allowed Esther to take the blame, and he felt certain that if Klaus ever found out, Klaus would never forgive him. Finncent counters that Elijah’s confession makes him exactly “the man I thought you to be.” (Have you caught on to what Elijah’s doing yet? If not, stay tuned!) Finncent brags that his magic still holds, so everything is still right. Klaus doesn’t think so. Klaus says that Elijah is more “depraved” than even he is, saying Elijah is no longer the noble stag, saying he is an altogether different beast. Klaus says that Finncent failed in his representation of him, too, because Finncent truly believed that Klaus was never capable of forgiveness. But . . . when he says the word “forgiveness” (in a sexy whisper), he puts his hand on Elijah’s shoulder, and Finncent’s magic falters with a clap of thunder. Klaus says that Finncent has been “a boar for centuries” but that he never learnt that the “bonds of family far outweigh anything else” and that’s where Finncent failed in the representation of himself. With a roar, Klaus says that Finncent never dreamed that that bond would be great enough for him to forgive something so horrible. First the wolf, then the stag burst into flame, and Finncent jumps up, the cocky demeanor slipping into that of fear. He doesn’t know how this is possible, but Klaus says its because Finncent’s magic is “as flawed as your perception of your own siblings.” Wondering just how “untouchable” Finncent is now, he and Elijah attack, but Finncent backs up and with a swoop of his hand, lets first Elijah, then Klaus gasping back into their own bodies.

Cami asks Elijah if he’s ok, and he responds, “for now.”

When Klaus awakens, Davina appears to be working on her spell circle. When Klaus becomes upright, Davina asks if Kol is ok, which Klaus snarks “I’m fine, thank you for your concern” to. Klaus says that he doesn’t think the same can be said of her friends, of the people of the Quarter. He says he can waste time explaining, or she can trust him, and come along. “I’m the one who’s been waiting for you to move your ass” she says, and leads the way.

The parade continues in the streets, Marcel and his Super-Sized Hungry Merry Men (Marcel now clutching his wolf-bitten arm) are walking through the people. After a few close calls of people bumping into him, Marcel slips back into Flashbackville.

He’s turned his battalion, and is explaining to them what the hunger will be like. He says that it will “eat you from the inside, but you are in control.”

In the present, they continue to struggle by the throngs of humans in the streets.

Flaschbackville: Marcel rallies his new vampires to attack the Germans, who he suspects think they will plow over the weakened cannon fodder of the Brotherhood of the Damned. “We are one unit, one army. We are family!” he shouts at them, as they begin to vamp out ready to attack.

With those words echoing, Marcel and his Merry Men continue to fight against the crowd.

“Family is not determined by blood, but by who you fight for and who will fight for you,” Marcel tells his troops – words that make sense now, combined with the situation. (Guess there was something to all these flashbacks, not just an excuse to get CMD in a uniform!)

Marcel stumbles.

In the past, bombs whiz overhead as Marcel continues his speech. “We are the Brotherhood of the Damned and we cannot be defeated!” (Boy, ol’ Marcel can give a speech, can’t he? Just glad he hasn’t done it every single episode in w while.) His troops charge, the enemy fires upon them, but Marcel’s men continue to advance.

Gia stumbles now, Marcel holding her up while hardly able to stand himself. Just as Gia says “I think we’re going to make it,” Marcel falls to the ground.

Klaus and Davina join the throngs of people in the Quarter, looking rather surprised that there isn’t a massacre happening. Davina wonders where Marcel et al went. Klaus tells her to look around, and he’ll see if he can’t track them. The crowd parts, and there’s Koleb. Davina smiles and runs to him.

Across the river, Marcel gasps awake, to find his Merry Men looking a lot better – as he does now that he’s had some of Klaus’s blood. She pulls up Marcel’s shirt sleeve, and all evidence of the bite is gone. Blood bags are strewn about, and she tells him that everyone else is downstairs pigging out. He wonders why she isn’t with them. She apologizes for being a “pain in the ass” and he tells her that “only the weak don’t challenge authority” telling her she did good. Finncent appears in the doorway, slow-clapping. He says that he applauds their strength and that he just finished congratulating all the vampire downstairs (what did he do?). Marcel wants to know, too, what Finncent’s done to them. Finncent says what he’s done is reversible, he just wants to ask Marcel a question. He wants to know what Elijah and Klaus are hiding from him. He says that he may not be able to get it out of them, but he could rip it out of Marcel. Marcel charges, but Finncent stops him with some finger-twitching.

Klaus asks Elijah how Hope is, and Elijah says she’s in good hands (Cami’s) – as he is. Elijah offers to come home, if he’s needed. Klaus encourages him to stay where he is. Elijah asks if the city is safe and, Klaus, walking through the strewn blood bags at Marcel’s place across the River. Apparently, Marcel and his Merry Men have all disappeared.  “Kol is in the wind. Rebekah is still lost, and Finn is dangerously suspicious,” Klaus warns. He also tells Elijah that he meant what he said earlier about forgiving him for Tatia. He tells Elijah they need to remain focused on the enemy (which makes me think that Klaus’s forgiveness has an expiration date), and hangs up.

Aiden arrives, Klaus teases him about wanting to save Josh, and Aiden just wants to know what he needs to do. Klaus tells him to question the wolves, but Aiden says most of them have already left for the Bayou to wait for Hayley and Jackson to finish their wedding trials. Klaus wants to know more about these trials. Aiden tells him about the smoking of Blue Calamus Root. Well, Klaus knows allllllll about that plant as a “truth serum” and starts to look very worried, explaining that long ago it was used in ancient rites “where secrets are confessed.”

Hayley and Jackson approach an area of the forest, decked out in candles.

Klaus wonders if they mentioned this to Aiden. Aiden says he just knows they had stuff to do before getting hitched. Klaus wants to know where Jackson took Hayley. “Back country, deep bayou” Aiden says, wondering why Klaus wants to know. Klaus quickly dismisses Aiden, telling him to stay on the hunt for Marcel and his Merry Men. Aiden demands to know where Klaus is going. “I’m going to have a little chat with the bride-to-be, (we see Jackson and Hayley entering a hut) remind her that some secrets need to stay buried,” Klaus answers, as Jackson pulls the door to, behind Hayley.

With the latching of the door, the episode ends. What do you think Klaus barging in on this ritual is going to do? What’s going to go horribly wrong there?? And how long until they sort out where Rebekah is? Or does that get put on the back burner while the threat of Baby Hope being revealed as a living baby looms larger?

An all-new episode airs tonight at 8pm/7c!!