The Originals recap: 'Voodoo Child'

How talented is Summer Fontana? That darling girl manages to turn in a performance that is straight up disturbing using nothing but creepy facial expressions. Not only has Hope stolen the show this season, but I love her sweet relationship with Hayley and Klaus. She’s softened the entire family and this new take on the Mikaelsons is actually refreshing.

Vincent is another character I’ve enjoyed lately. Yusuf Gatewood is a great actor, don’t get me wrong, but what I like most about Vincent is that he explains things to me. Most of the time I am utterly confused, but then good old Vincent comes along and basically translates for me.

For example, Vincent has the Hollow’s book. Remember, it’s the one that made him crazy once upon a time. For the past few days, he’s been figuring out a way to channel the book so he can learn the spell the Hollow’s mom used to put her down back in the day. We see him walking around in some woods next to a grass hut and then we hear a baby crying. Suddenly, he’s back in the current time and the Hollow’s acolytes are there to take back what belongs to their master.

Meanwhile, the Mikaelsons have no idea the Hollow is still out there. Freya has found a new reason for living (read: Kileen) and wastes no time showing her girlfriend how she feels both emotionally and physically. Rebekah is eager to celebrate her brother’s resurrection with some good food and light jazz. Elijah would rather brood over the fact that Hayley is giving him the cold shoulder and Klaus is determined to discuss the terms of his family’s departure with Marcel. Now that the Hollow is gone, the deal was that they all have to leave New Orleans.

Since Rebekah can probably still feel the tingle of her passionate kiss with Marcel the night before, she volunteers to talk to Marcel. She visits her former beau, requests a truce, and basks in the glory that there is “food to be savored, music to be enjoyed, and broken relationships to be mended.” Why would they leave?

Well, her name is Sofya and Marcel loves her. Kissing Rebekah was a mistake and he tells her as much. Ouch. Also, Marcel and the Mikaelsons have a habit of killing each other. It’s only a matter of time before the power struggle returns. Marcel invites Rebekah to leave so he can wake up his beloved with the juice from the thorny dagger that kills Originals. Poor Rebekah.

Marcel does wake up Sofya who proceeds to freak out. This woman has been floating around in darkness for a long time. Sofya admits she was afraid she was never going to make it back. Thanks to Marcel, she is free from the fear of being forever lost. Oh, and one more thing: Sofya can feel that the Hollow is still out there. You’d think Marcel would immediately type a courtesy text to the entire gang. For some reason, he only informs the brothers.

Back at the compound, Hayley walks into Hope’s room. Her stoic daughter is staring at a blank piece of paper. Hollow Hope is majorly creeping me out at this point. She appears a little ticked that Hayley starts brushing her hai while talking about how normal life is going to be now that the pesky serial killer witch is out of the picture. Hollow Hope gives her mom the stink eye and continues to stare at the blank piece of paper. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TEXT HAYLEY?

NEXT: Hollow Hope gets mad

Over at the cemetery, Vincent wakes up from his witchy headache courtesy of an acolyte, just in time to share some unfortunate news with Marcel, Elijah, and Klaus. The Hollow’s body may be dead, but her spirit is still out there. The good news is that the book represents an extension of the Hollow’s spirit. Someone is going to have to go get it. Elijah volunteers his services, as well as Klaus’.

After the powwow in the cemetery, Klaus takes the time to tell Haley that the Hollow is still out there. She receives this information just after processing her feelings about Elijah’s tendency to be impulsive and reckless. Rebekah encourages her to stick with it, because her brother adores Hayley. That’s great, but what about Hope? Should she be raised around a family who puts their enemies in dungeons?

Or what about close family friends who kill one another for the greater good? That’s right. Vincent has decided the only way to get the Hollow’s takedown spell, without having the book, is to channel Marcel’s powers. And when that doesn’t work, he whips up some Romeo and Juliet potion that will kill him, unless Marcel injects the anecdote before the last grain of sand falls in the old timey hourglass. This plan sounds well thought out and smart.

While Vincent lays dead in a circle of salt, Rebekah checks on Hope, just in time to find her niece snatching off her non-magic bracelet and throwing it into the fire. Hollow Hope tries to act innocent, claiming she can’t protect her parents if she can’t do magic. Rebekah reminds her that in a thousand years, no one has bested their family.

Big mistake.

Hollow Hope summons a piece of wood from the wall that flies through the air and stakes her aunt in the back. Then she calmly walks out of the room. Again, this is Children of the Corn unsettling.

During this nightmarish moment, Klaus and Elijah make their way to where Elijah was killed by the Hollow. Before they go into the cabin, Elijah tells Klaus that he wants him to take Hayley and Hope away from this life. He knows that Hayley saw something horrible in that pendant, and he wants to protect her from who he really is at the core. He emphasizes they were all empty until Hope came along. She’s worth every fight and every sacrifice. And he wants her life to be different from how they’ve lived.

Klaus appreciates his brother’s admiration of his daughter but points him in the general direction of the shack. It’s time for heads to roll. I know this because Elijah takes off his jacket. The brothers waltz into the acolyte prayer circle and request the one thing that can capture the pesky Hollow. As Elijah rips out a heart, the leader of the pack laughs. It seems the spell has already begun and it’s clear Elijah and Klaus have no idea the gravity of their situation.

The leader slowly explains that the Hollow has taken on another body. Klaus casually mentions they will just kill that one too, but is stopped short when the dude adamantly swears there is no way he will ever touch the body. The Hollow has locked herself in the greatest witch the world has ever known. Clearly, Klaus does not like this answer. Cue heads rolling.

At the same time, Hayley begins to piece things together. Why didn’t the Hollow kill her? Why did she only take her blood? Freya suggests a locator spell, healing potion, or perhaps linking. LINKING! Hayley hands Freya the hairbrush to see if there’s any dark energy. Oh, there’s dark energy, all right. Freya drops the brush and looks at Hayley. What are they supposed to do?

Freya smudges her room and uses a sleeping spell to keep Kileen out of danger. Hayley tries to be cool and talk to Hollow Hope as if she doesn’t know anything. With one twitch of Hope’s eyebrow, it’s clear Hollow Hope knows Hayley is on to her. She shows Hayley the serpent tattoo that is slowly making a circle on Hope’s inner arm. Once it’s complete, the Hollow will be in Hope’s body F-O-R-E-V-E-R. That’s when Freya comes in and smashes some sleeping potion on Hope. They only have a few minutes to figure out what to do. They leave before they notice a dark cloud escaping from Hope’s little body.

NEXT: Family first

Over at the cemetery, Marcel’s super hearing detects visitors. He’s supposed to stab Vincent with the antidote, but he has to take care of some rogue acolytes first. There’s about a dozen of them, so the challenge is a bit on the difficult side. Luckily, Sofya is there to help. Just as the last grain of the hourglass is about to fall, Marcel manages to get to Vincent in time to administer the antidote.

Klaus and Elijah arrive with the book, ready to do whatever they can to help Hope. Sofya warns them that if Hope stays in the darkness too long, she might not be strong enough to keep fighting. Vincent figures that if Hope is now tethered to the book, through the Hollow, and Klaus shares Hope’s blood, maybe he can reach Hope through the book like Vincent did earlier to figure out the spell. (See? We like when Vincent tells us things!) Klaus is willing to give it a try.

At the same time, Freya scrambles to put a spell on the pendant so Hope can galavant around in there like her uncle did a few days ago. Lo and behold, the Hollow, in her normal gothic form, destroys the pendant before knocking Freya into a wall. Hayley attacks, but runs right through the cloudy mirage of the Hollow. Not being able to fight an actual body is going to be problematic. The Hollow toys with Hayley’s emotions before staking her into an iron door. It is gross and bloody.

While Klaus and Vincent work to reach Hope on the other side, the rest of the crew head to the compound to bait the Hollow. Sofya goes down easily. Elijah is devastated by Hayley’s body hanging from the door, so he barely puts up a fight. Marcel dares her to fight him, which she does, and while she’s distracted, Vincent traps her in a salt circle. She genuinely looks scared when he tells her he has her mama’s spell. He starts chanting while holding the book.

In the next moment, we cut to Klaus who has found Hope huddled on the floor looking like a pitiful version of her young self. He begs her to hold on, willing her to not fall asleep. Joseph Morgan shines in this exchange. He and Fontana have a palpable chemistry that is charming at times, and gut-wrenching at others. This is one of those gut-wrenching moments.

Klaus tells Hope a story about how he used to be cruel, but from the moment he saw her, he wanted nothing more than to be worthy of being her father. This makes Hope cry, which makes Klaus cry, which makes me cry. SO MANY FEELS.

In real time, the Hollow’s circle is reversing! Klaus is giving her the strength she needs to fight! Then the Hollow says “You think you’ve beaten me?”

Well, yes. Hasn’t he? The tattoo is gone. Isn’t that the point?

Apparently not. Vincent is thrown backwards, the salt circle is severed, and Hope disappears from her father’s side. The dark cloud goes back into sleeping Hope’s body and the Smurf blue eyes return.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

Hollow Hope walks into the courtyard, sees the book, and sets it on fire using her mind. Then she walks out with a haughty attitude and makes her way to wherever her followers are holed up. They bow down to her and Hollow Hope smirks. Ew.

Hayley wakes up on the door. Marcel wakes up in the courtyard. Rebekah, Elijah, Freya, and Sofya make their way to the rest of the group so they can count heads and regroup. Vincent is concerned that even if they found a way to get the Hollow out of Hope, he has nowhere to put her since the book has been destroyed.

Hayley’s mother-bear instincts kick in and she stalks out of the courtyard to go find her daughter. Elijah offers to go with her, but she is not having it. She never should have brought her daughter back. Elijah’s face when he hears this is heartbreaking.

Klaus comes back from the cemetery with a plan that consists of “family first.” That includes Hope. She is his heart and soul and Morgan does a remarkable job humbling himself as Klaus to beg his family to help any way they can.

Vincent knows a way. But it will be the end of the Mikaelson family. It will be the end of always and forever.

Ten bucks says Elijah sacrifices himself for the cause. Another ten bucks says he’ll have to fight Klaus to do it. Now that I think about it, I assume Rebekah and probably Kol will be right there to volunteer too. I guess they will have to draw straws.