'The Originals' recap: 'Save My Soul'

Remember the days when learning that Elijah was Klaus Mikaelson’s brother was a big deal? Or the time we discovered that the brothers also had a sister? And a few more brothers? Oh, and then there was the time we found out that their mother was the Original Witch, and their father was the Destroyer (also known as the vampire who hunts vampires). That was pretty fun.

But even that was only the beginning: Now there are siblings who have died and returned in new bodies (and maybe died again). There are siblings who we thought were dead but were really just taken prisoner by crazy aunts. And let’s not forget about the sibling currenlty living in a necklace.

But here’s the thing: Just when this show should feel like it’s getting too complicated, it hits it stride. Suddenly, I’m wishing there were cousins and grandparents and a secret twin for Elijah—because one is never enough. But before I spend this entire recap writing my Original family fan fiction, let’s find out more about the newest family member: Freya.

Act One: Vampires who brunch together…

We start things off in the Kingdom of Norway in 977 A.D., where an adorable baby Freya really wants her mommy. Instead, she gets a lifetime with the Wickest Witch of the West, who’s all about the bonds of family making them the strongest witches ever. Same thing, right?

Back in present day, the still-damaged Freya has a brunch invitation from none other than her brother Klaus. And considering that Rebekah just woke up to find Josephine LaRue on her doorstep accusing her of attacking two children last night, the siblings could really use Freya’s help. Don’t worry. Josephine doesn’t take Rebekah/Eva. Rather, in our (very early) Elijah Moment of the Week, Elijah elegantly steps into the confrontation between Josephine’s witches and Marcels’ vamps, and—without messing up a hair on his beautiful head—talks everyone down, promising to get to the bottom of the recent attacks. The lesson? Even Josephine can’t deny Elijah when he’s rocking a tie (and just enough facial scruff).

As for Josephine’s suspicions, well, she’s right. Rebekah/Eva attacked those kids. But Elijah is less concerned with the who of it all and more worried about how they’re going to put a stop to Eva. With that in mind, he heads to brunch to tell Klaus to set aside his whatever dastardly plan he’s been working on in regards to Freya. Turns out they might actually need Freya’s help with this one … so it’s a good thing she just showed up.

Ever the bad host, Klaus doesn’t even offer Freya a mimosa before he and Elijah start asking her to divulge all of Dahlia’s secrets. Basically, Dahlia is alive for the next year before she goes back into another century-long slumber, and she’s going to want Hope’s power for herself. Cutting to our second flashback, we watch as adorable baby Freya magically bonds with Dahlia, making the Wicked Witch so powerful that she kills an entire village—she really is related to Klaus—with the wave of her hand. Okay, so maybe she’s more impressive than Klaus.

The one sibling not invited to brunch? Finn. Well, to be fair, he’s in Freya’s necklace, but the body he left behind—Vincent—isn’t invited either. Instead, Marcel is keeping him for questioning. After informing the poor guy that a Mikaelson—and the boring one at that—invaded his body for the last nine months, Marcel asks Vincent to tell him what he knows about Eva Sinclair. More to come on that.

Act Two: Freya Explains It All

After Rebekah goes to Davina for help with the whole Eva situation, she calls Elijah and tells him that she’s on her way to brunch. But really, she passes out in the cemetery and wakes up in some sort of warehouse lot. We don’t know what happened, but it’s safe to assume some harm came to children during her blackout.

Also missing out on the festivities are the wolves, who choose to spend the day training in the bayou, where Aiden and Jackson are currently enjoying their time being manly men. There’s grunting, mud, lots of hair, and even more raw sex appeal. The two practice their moves until Aiden takes things just a bit too far—he bites his alpha. Aiden claims he’s just trying to look out of Jackson. In his mind, if Jackson doesn’t remain the strongest in the pack, someone might challenge him for the role of alpha. Vulnerability’s a bad thing. But as Hayley later reminds her hot new husband, they’re a team now. She will handle Klaus while he uses his backwoods bayou charm to remain as alpha with the wolves. Any questions?

Back at the compound (and still not enjoying mimosas—though Elijah does seem to be pretty into that tea), Freya tells Elijah all about dreadful Dahlia and her weaknesses. Apparently, she’s paranoid, obsessed with power, and she “hungers constantly for what’s been denied her—be it love or revenge.” In other words, she’s Klaus but older and with boobs. After suffering a rough childhood, Dahlia vowed never to be weak again. So in her master plan, she wanted to use her own bloodline to build a coven.

But here’s the thing: Esther ended that bloodline when she turned all her kids into vampires, which left Freya as Dahlia’s only hope. And so, in trying to keep another child from living the way she did, Freya swore off all love, vowing to never have a child of her own.

So as Elijah’s heart warms to his older sister, Klaus proves that he’s still, well, Klaus, asking Freya why she didn’t just kill herself if her life sucked so bad. Apparently, she tried, but much like her siblings, Freya is also immortal. Ah yes, those Mikaelsons: Creatures of great power, cursed for all time. But at least they’re pretty, right?

Speaking of pretty Mikaelsons, after Rebekah wakes up surrounded by warehouses, she finally makes her way to the compound, where she and Elijah convince Klaus to let Freya help. According to Freya, helping Rebekah is simple: She’ll put her to sleep and perform a spell to suppress Eva.

Not surprisingly, that answer is a bit too easy for Klaus, who’s still not buying Freya’s story. Focusing her attention on Elijah—smart girl—Freya remembers how she used to sing to him when he was still in Esther’s womb. She was “enchanted” by the prospect of his birth. (Can you imagine if she’d met him?!) She always wanted more siblings, but instead, much like her siblings, she was ruined by those who raised her. It’s a solid attempt at some common ground on Freya’s part, but Nik is done with storytime. So he snaps her neck. Welcome to the family, Freya!

NEXT: Dahlia is the worst

After Freya wakes up—yes, she really is immortal—Klaus demands to hear the rest of her story. See, Elijah and Rebekah can be a bit naive when it comes to family, hence their unending faith in Klaus. So in order to repays them for their loyalty, Klaus protects them, which is why he’s giving Freya one more chance to explain why she hates Dahlia.

In our final flashback, we learn of the man Freya loved. His name was Mathias—because why wouldn’t it be?—and the two of them fell in love in the early 1400’s. Freya was pregnant with his child, but when he wanted their child to be free, Dahlia cursed him to death. As a result, Freya drank some of Dahlia’s poison, killing herself and her child. When she woke up—immortal, remember?—her child was still dead, and therefore free from a life with Dahlia.

Klaus sees the story as a way for her to garner sympathy from the new father, and he’s not easily manipulated. So Freya tries a new angle: The cold hard truth. Dahlia is coming and he can either have a chance with Freya or be rendered to ash without her. [Cue mic drop.]

Act Three: It’s all about the allies

With Klaus testing Freya, Elijah and Rebekah investigate what Marcel’s gotten out of Vincent. The answer? Not much. After a therapy session with Cami, all we learned was that Vincent was born and raised in New Orleans. He had just walked away from his coven right before Finn found him. That’s probably why he was an easy target.

But the real kicker is what we learn when Rebekah and Elijah enter the room: Vincent and Eva knew each other. More specifically, in a sort of incesty twist, Eva was Vincent’s wife. I realize it’s not really incest, but Finn’s old body and Rebekah’s current body were once married. That’s weird, right?

Also weird is the fact that Vincent is clearly really into Cami. We’ve been here before, guys. But also, we haven’t. I’m confused.

Elsewhere in the world of relationship problems, Hayley attempts to tell Klaus to give Jackson some space to lead his wolves, but Klaus is in no mood. Shutting Hayley down immediately, he informs her that they are living with a monarchy, NOT a democracy. (And yes, Klaus is obviously the king.)

So while Hayley gets yelled at downstairs, Marcel tucks Rebekah in upstairs. For the first time in ages, Rebekah says she feels vulnerable, weak, and genuinely afraid. But Marcel quickly informs her that we’re all vulnerable. Weak, however? Not so much. According to Marcel, Klaus is the smartest person he’s ever met. Elijah is the stuffiest. And Rebekah is the strongest. No matter what body she’s in.

That’s all great, but could he really not come up with anything better than “stuffiest” for Elijah? Growing up with this family, you’d think Marcel would have more words to describe them. But I’ll let that slide for now.

After fetching Rebekah a drink, Marcel returns to find Rebekah experiencing another of Eva’s memories. Marcel vows to stay with her through the night, but, for the viewers, their sweet moment is interrupted by a realization: Eva has a warehouse full of kids, Davina included.

Back across the river, Klaus enters Elijah’s new, very large, almost all wooden bedroom to inform him of his chat with Freya. Shockingly, Klaus still doesn’t want to trust his sister, but he allows Elijah the freedom to do what he wants with Freya. Of course, it helps that Elijah promises that if Freya so much as tries to betray them, he will “bury her beneath 1,000 wretched torments.”

But at the end of the day, Elijah tells his brother that they have to be prepared. Dahlia is coming. The only question is when. And considering the fact that Hope’s music box just started playing, I think it’s safe to say she’s real close.

With that, we have a teenage witch in a warehouse, an evil aunt on her way into town, a whole lot of paranoia, and just a touch of almost-incest. One thing you can never blame The Originals of? Running out of story.