The Originals – I Hear You Knocking

By: Stacy Miller

As the episode opens, we see it is 990 A.D. and a Young Klaus is crushing berries to make paint (This is what he was telling Hope a few episodes back that he used to do). He hears shouting and goes to see what is happening. Young Klaus comes upon the scene of a bloody slaughter but finds one survivor.  The boy wants to help the man. That is when his father Mikael (Sebastian Roché) appears and roars at Klaus for his weakness in showing mercy to the enemy. It all turns out to be a dream/vision. Klaus (Joseph Morgan) is at the Mikaelson mansion.  He asks Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) to take Hope (Summer Fontana) away to the bayou where she will be safe until he can make sure that this is all over. While Klaus is talking, Mikael is taunting him for being weak and unable to kill Marcel; it looks like The Hollow is playing with his mind by making Klaus face the one person in his life that he hated the most. And since The Hollow will be popping up in different forms throughout the episode, I will be referring to each manifestation as Hollow and whatever person whose form it takes.

Meanwhile, Marcel (Charles Michael David) is having a drink with Sofya (Taylor Cole) and telling her that he feels that something is not right.  How right you are Marcel as The Hollow is messing with you too! Marcel shows Sofya the cracked mirror that seems to be shaped like the sigil.  He has been trying to contact Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) to find out what it all means, but Griffith is not calling him back.

Vincent isn’t the only witch game in town; Sofya tells Marcel that his friend Dominic (Darri Ingolfsson) might be able to help him. While Sofya is off making the call, Marcel sees Elijah. It’s not really him, but The Hollow’s manifestation of Elijah. Hollow Elijah urges Marcel to kill Klaus, then flashes blue eyes.

Meanwhile, Freya (Riley Voekel) has been able to create the Marcel killing weapon she needs using her blood, Marcel’s venom, Lucian’s ashes and her mother Esther’s spell. There also appears to be a change in Freya’s relationship with Keelin (Christina Moses), who seems to care about Ms. Mikaelson. Freya leaves to return home to her family.  Klaus tells her how The Hollow has been affecting him by coming to him in the form of Mikael to convince him to kill Marcel.  Freya attempts to purify her brother and when that doesn’t work, she gives him the dagger.

In the bayou, Elijah and Hayley are on their way to Mary’s (Debra Mooney) house.  Jackson’s mother is not happy that Klaus is with Hope and Hayley and tells Hayley that the vampire isn’t welcome.  Elijah doesn’t argue with her; he simply leaves.  Hayley tells Mary about the massacre at the woods and about the strange serpent sigil.  Mary gives Hayley her husband’s journal, which has the same simple.  What does this all mean?

At the cemetery, Marcel doesn’t have to just worry about Hollow Elijah but now Hollow Klaus has joined the fray as well.  The manifestations of the Mikaelson brothers urge Girard to take his revenge against the family he once considered his own.  Tired of Hollow Elijah’s taunting, Marcel grabs him by the neck and pins him against a tombstone. Sofya tells him that it’s her and to stop.  She’s come with the news that Dominic is coming to help him.

Meanwhile, Klaus is refusing to let Hollow Mikael get the best of him and fights the insults of his weakness by his failure of killing Marcel.  But Hollow Mikael uses the best weapon he has in his arsenal: Klaus’ love for his daughter and his fear that Hope will grow up to hate him the same way that Klaus hates Mikael.  Klaus then kills three Marcels, who turn out to be three vampires. Klaus is shaken – what if they had been members of his own family?  He finds his sister Freya and her throat is slit. But again, it’s not Freya but someone else.  He’s glad it was not Freya, but it could have been. Or even Hope.  Klaus needs to find a cure to this affliction before he hurts someone he loves.

Freya is back with Keelin.  She is working on some sort of potion that will be poured over a totem.  Keelin hints that she is interested in Freya as more than a friend.  But Freya doesn’t have time to think about anything else other than saving her brother.  Freya starts chanting and the blue orb appears before her. Keelin is there to save her before the orb’s power overcomes Freya. But now Freya knows what The Hollow is after:  It wants a blood sacrifice – either Klaus or Marcel. That’s why it has been trying to get them to kill each other.  The question is which one will The Hollow get?

Dominic explains to Marcel that The Hollow has been caught between the living world and has broken free due to Vincent severing its link.  Now they need to put it back asleep.  Dominic gives Marcel some strange beads and tells him that they must be buried at the house where The Hollow kept the children it intended to sacrifice as that house seems to be the root of the entity’s power.

Hayley shows Elijah the journal that belonged to Mary’s husband. They realize that as the entries progressed, the script was almost erratic and the entries became illogical.  Hayley ponders whether The Hollow was the reason that Mary’s husband killed her parents.  But they don’t have time to pursue that notion as Elijah gets a call from Freya and she needs his help.

Meanwhile, both Marcel and Klaus arrive at the abandoned house.  Marcel tells Klaus that they don’t have to kill each other as he knows a way to stop this thing where they both can live.  But Klaus says he doesn’t believe him because Marcel has betrayed his trust.  Klaus shows Marcel the dagger and that’s when Hollow Elijah and Hollow Mikael appear to get both to kill the other. Klaus and Marcel begin fighting with Klaus staking Marcel (though not fatally).  Marcel pulls out the dagger and they continue fighting. As Klaus and Marcel are in their to the death fight, Freya is channeling Elijah.  They make it to the abandoned house just as Hollow Mikael is urging Klaus to “Kill your son!” Klaus is able to fight the compulsion and snaps Marcel’s neck instead.  The blue orb appears, but looks different than before.  There now seems to be a black smoke along with glowing eyes. Freya throws the potion at it and shouts “Leave my family alone!”  The black smoke vanishes and The Hollow is defeated.  Or is it?  I get the feeling that The Hollow is way more powerful than even a powerful witch and her spell and will take more to be defeated.

Elijah, Freya and Klaus return to the Mikaelson mansion.  Freya tells her brothers that she can’t sense any of The Hollow’s influence in either Klaus or Marcel.  She suggests that Klaus return the dagger back to her.  Klaus hands the dagger over to Freya, though reluctantly.  Klaus tells Elijah that he showed Marcel mercy, not because of any lingering father/son feelings he has for him. It is because The Hollow wanted him to kill Marcel and there was no way that he intended to give The Hollow what it wanted.

Elijah goes down to the same dungeon where Marcel kept Klaus locked up for five years.  Now where Marcel is imprisoned.  Elijah tells Marcel that the reason he hasn’t been killed is that Klaus wants him kept alive. Even though Marcel doesn’t want to believe it, Elijah tells him that because of Hope that Klaus has changed.  Elijah feels that his brother is on the road to redemption.  And as far as Elijah is concerned, Marcel is the only thing standing in the way of Klaus’ redemption as Marcel is Klaus’ weakness.  Elijah warns Marcel that if he stands in the way of Klaus’ redemption, Marcel will have Elijah to deal with.

Meanwhile, Dominic is at the abandoned house.  Sofya reminds him that they had a deal, but Marcel is still alive.  So, it’s obvious now that Sofya wasn’t planning to help Marcel. Dominic shows Sofya the blood of Marcel from the staking he received from Klaus.  The blood has a vine with thorns growing on it.  What does that mean? Dominic gives a little exposition for Sofya (and the viewers) “Marcel’s blood was spilled today. He’s the only one who can kill an Original. The Hollow has received this offering and has given us a gift. A single scratch from this thorn will kill an Original.”  This is bad news for the Mikaelsons.  And it makes me wonder about Dominic…is he more than just some witch? He knows a lot about what can kill an Original and about The Hollow. Does he have a connection to it?  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.