The Originals recap: Alone With Everybody

Never has one bullet caused so much drama. Okay, that’s probably not true. But never has one UNUSED bullet caused so much drama as the final piece of White Oak. And this week, with Klaus on the run and the return of Finn, that very bullet dictated every move made by, well, everyone. Let’s get to it!

Act One: A Staycation

For the first time ever, our Elijah Moment of the Week happens in the first minute of the episode as Elijah is enjoying his evening playing piano at a bar. Sadly, his moment is cut short when he overhears some stranger talk about killing Klaus. Naturally, Elijah follows the man out of the club … until Marcel stops him. It seems the Strix are now Elijah’s personal security and with that in mind, Marcel sends Elijah home while the Strix try to track down the last remaining White Oak bullet.

Spoiler: Vincent has it. At least until some mysterious blond vampire shows up, bites Vincent, and takes it. Furthermore, she claims that she’s just a “hired gun.” And as such, her next move is to set up an auction on the dark web, Scandal-style. But instead of selling Olivia Pope, they’re selling a bullet.

Josh, proving his worth as a man of modern times, is the one to tell Marcel about the auction and when Vincent confirms it’s real, Elijah leaves it up to Marcel to get the bullet. In the meantime, Elijah, Kol, Finn, and Freya are all trapped at the compound. It simply isn’t safe to leave.

While Lucien tries to win over Freya, Kol updates Elijah on his revenge plan for Finn. After all, “He didn’t just drop a bloody vase! He murdered me!” (Kol does have a point.)

Wait, I take that back. I just saw Finn and GOOD LORD has that pendant been good to him. Heck, I’ll spend a few months in there if I come out looking like that. Bottom line: Finn is back and hotter than ever!

However, Kol isn’t nearly as excited about Finn’s new look. He very quickly starts a fight with his brother, one which Lucien — and ultimately, Elijah — interrupts. Elijah informs them all that they’ll be staying at the compound for now, because nothing says family bonding like a staycation.

Act Two: On the Road

While Elijah tries to keep his brothers from killing each other, Klaus finds himself on the run with Hayley, who has a plan for where they can hide out. The great news? It involves forcing Klaus to wear a trucker hat that says “Mother Trucker” on it in order to blend in. Yep, I love this plan already.

Hayley takes Klaus and Hope to a bar where she apparently used to spend her days drinking tequila, throwing darts, and dancing on the bar. There, her buddy Hollis updates her on the werewolf situation in the area. It seems there’s not much of a pack left. And while Klaus complains about just about everything — “never underestimate the allure of indoor plumbing” — Hayley finds out that a young girl she used to babysit just triggered her werewolf curse.

NEXT: Someone’s hunting werewolves

Klaus refuses to let Hayley leave the bar to talk to the young girl, so he quickly puts Hope (and her fabulous coat) back in her car seat. But Hayley doesn’t go down without a fight. She tells Klaus that he’s being a dick, which is why he has so many enemies in the first place. “The enemies you have are the ones you made,” she tells him. She’s not going to let him raise Hope to be just like him. Instead, he’s going to shut up while Hayley goes and helps a young girl out, because if the day comes around that Hope triggers her curse, she hopes someone will do the same. (But won’t that someone be you?)

She drops one last truth bomb — “Being kind doesn’t make you weak” — before heading to the girl’s trailer. Once there, she takes the girl to the spot where the pack used to go to honor the dead in order to move on. Hayley got the victim’s wallet from the cops and just as the young girl says goodbye, Klaus shows up and totally steals her moment.

Klaus apologizes to Hayley and promises they will make decisions together, as partners, from now on. And the first decision they face? Well, Klaus just realized the man that poor girl killed worked for Kingmaker, a.k.a. Lucien! These wolves are being hunted. But why?

Act Three: Horrible Boss

After Josh hacks into the dark web and manages to win the auction — it’s all very easy — he shows up in just enough time to meet the sketchy blond woman, get beaten up, and spill some of his blood on her outfit. Vincent then uses that blood to track her. Just like that, Marcel gets the bullet and returns it to Elijah.

Speaking of Elijah, he’s having a conversation with Finn at the compound. It seems Finn has and hasn’t changed. He’s still sickened by his siblings, but he’s done trying to atone for past sins. All Finn wants is for Freya to put him in a witch body and then for Elijah to let Finn and Freya leave.

Elijah thinks about it, but Kol is not a fan. He wants Finn to suffer and when his rage gets out of control, Kol has to leave Davina alone for fear of biting her. As Kol confesses to Elijah, his rage and hunger is worse than ever. And it doesn’t help that he never learned to control it before. But now, he wants to, because he couldn’t live with himself if he hurt Davina. And in a super depressing moment, Elijah informs him that hurting the ones they love is what the Mikaelsons do.

But Davina has a mind of her own, so she (rudely) rips a page out of a grimoire and uses magic to lock Finn in his vampire body for the rest of his life. Now, Finn’s only hope is the White Oak bullet, which is why he catches it before Elijah can throw it into the fire. Finn can’t imagine an “eternity with no hope of escape.” But can Elijah?

After Lucien steals the bullet from Finn and redelivers it to Elijah, Elijah makes a choice. As Finn puts it, “Forever is a burden that nobody should have to bear.” Elijah, torn, decides to take Lucien’s advice and give the bullet to Freya, “the one who loves each of you most.” She agrees to cloak herself and hide the bullet under a thousand spells until the day they decide they’re “ready for release.”

The bad news? Something takes over Vincent, and when the ancestors decide they want to help the blond woman’s boss, Vincent agrees. As for the identity of the boss, it’s Lucien who kidnaps Freya (and now has the bullet). So it’s safe to say he’s been making good use of his free time. (But surely there’s a powerful witch helping him, right?)

What did you all think of the hour? Hit the comments with your thoughts or find me on Twitter @samhighfill. And be sure to read Julie Plec’s blog to go behind the episode!