On this episode of The Originals, “Out of the Easy,” Elijah and Klaus entertain their enemies for Thanksgiving dinner, Cami remains Lucien’s prisoner, Freya is determined to find Rebekah and Davina is forced to pay for her past transgressions.

Elijah and Freya are anxious to locate Rebekah, but Nik has decided to take a more subdued course of action and one that allows him to have sex with Aurora as an added perk. By keeping Aurora close, Klaus believes it will generate goodwill, and she’ll eventually reveal Beks’ whereabouts.

A Gesture of Goodwill

Elijah finds Klaus’ plan a bit lecherous, he is after all, fornicating with the “she-devil” who took their sister. But where Elijah see madness, Klaus sees method. And Aurora didn’t technically take Rebekah, The Strix did. Aurora merely hijacked the body.

The other problem facing the Mikaelson brothers is that mystical medallion. Elijah knows that Aurora will always protect her brother, and since Tristan and Lucien are aligned, the threesome have a distinct advantage. He decides they need to break up that nasty little alliance. Elijah suggests to Klaus they invite their enemies to Thanksgiving dinner and use the opportunity to systematically turn Aurora, Lucien and Tristan against one another.

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Aurora finally reunites with Tristan who is less than pleased to discover Aurora has interfered with this plans. His feelings are also hurt that she made time to poison Lucien’s seer and look up her ex before coming to see her own brother. Aurora figures it was payback for him locking her up in that monastery.

Tristan question what Aurora has done with the head of her sire line, stressing that Beks would have been perfectly safe under The Strix’s watch. Aurora may not have been privy to Tristan and Lucien’s plans, but she managed to get one step ahead of them anyway. She tells Tristan she prefers to be control of her own fate.

Lucien still has Cami under lock and key, waiting for the vervain to leave her body. He’s been courteous enough to have a Thanksgiving meal prepared for her, but won’t be joining her for dinner since he’s going to Klaus’. Lucien leaves Cami with a very large manny named Anton. If Lucien doesn’t return by nightfall, Anton is under orders to kill his house guest.

Marcel Warns Davina

Marcel asks Davina to meet him at the fighting gym. He warns Davina there are some new vamps in town, but the ancestors have already given Davina a heads up. What Davina doesn’t know is that The Strix want her to help them take down Klaus. If she refuses, they’ll kill her. If Davina agrees, Klaus will do something far worse.

Marcel wants Davina to leave town, but she reminds her former guardian that she’s not a little girl anymore and is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. All evidence to the contrary.

The Dinner Guests from Hell

Lucien, Aurora and Tristan, with some arm twisting from his sister, arrive at the Mikaelson compound for dinner. Elijah doesn’t waste time with pleasantries. There’s a dire prophesy circulating that put them all in danger, so it would only make sense they all work together to make sure it doesn’t come to pass. But since any alliance is impossible without honesty, Elijah calls the threesome out on their “clandestine” alliance. Lucien starts to respond, but Elijah doesn’t give him a chance to deny it.

Klaus warns his dinner guests that he and Elijah are expecting an honest and productive negotiation. Tristan says if he and Lucien had arrived as allies with news of a bleak future, especially given the fact they loathe one another, they didn’t think Klaus and Elijah would believe them. The bottom line is, Lucien and Tristan want to protect their sires.

Klaus questions why The Strix felt the urge to murder people in the Quarter, and Tristan responds that it is a tactic that The Strix have used in the past. A frightened populace is easy to control. If tourism declines, the food source for the local vampire dries up also ensuring their cooperation. Tristan cites how quickly Marcel joined their ranks.

Lucien admits another reason for the murders was it was a means to an end. A way to gain access to the dark objects Cami had in her possession. This is the first Klaus is hearing of Cami’s current predicament, but Lucien swears that no harm will come to her since he knows the great affection Klaus has for Cami. Aurora takes in this morsel of information without response, but you can see the wheels turning. She now knows that she has competition for Nik’s affections and a potential complication.

Elijah makes it known he and Klaus are fully aware of the medallion’s existence and why Lucien and Tristan were desperate to acquire it. Klaus doesn’t see how using the medallion is a wise strategy for those who have come to protect them. Elijah orders his guests to hand over the medallion and release Rebekah.

Tristan points out that Kol and Finn’s deaths have added fuel to the war between the sire lines, and there are some “upstarts” who are all too eager to do whatever it takes to wipe out their rivals. Surely, having the lives of thousands of vampires resting on the Mikaelsons’ shoulders is a heavy burden to bear. In a perfect world, the Originals would agree to take themselves out of the equation willingly, but Klaus points out they are not living in a perfect world.

Where in the World is Rebekah?

Freya, who has been trying to locate Rebekah (with no luck) turns up during dinner. Freya’s antagonistic attitude only serves to aggravate Aurora more. The saucy ginger says it is the Mikaelsons’ lunacy and paranoia, coupled with the stupid prophesy, that caused her to hide Rebekah away for safe keeping at the bottom of the ocean. (Given that the earth is 3/4 covered in water, I have to give her props for picking an excellent hiding place, that is if she’s not bluffing.)

Aurora’s revelation sets off a chain reaction that ends with Aurora unconscious (thanks to Freya), and Klaus retreating to one area of the house to interrogate/torture Tristan and Elijah to another with Lucien.

Klaus orders Tristan to convince Aurora to return Rebekah, but Tristan makes it know that Aurora is determined to keep her own counsel. Klaus figures one way to get her to change her mind is to torture her brother. Tristan says Klaus can go that route, but even if Aurora relents, Rebekah’s homecoming would be ruined by the arrival of more Strix who would descend upon the city, killing anyone who would stand in their way.

Tristan warns Klaus that the escalation of violence would only play into the prophesy. A better plan would be for Klaus to help put his siblings away for a year. Then he could stand guard over them himself. They cannot  prevent fate, but they could take control of it.

Meanwhile, Elijah deals with Lucien. Elijah questions if Lucien is the author of this little prophesy, but Lucien says Elijah gives him too much credit for being clever. Lucien warns Elijah that he should be much more concerned about Aurora and her influence over Klaus. Elijah is confident that no matter what their differences, family will always come first, no matter how smitten Klaus is. Lucien questions that if that is indeed the case, why has Klaus not retaliated against Aurora as punishment for what she’s done to Beks.

Aurora awakens to find herself alone with Freya and Hayley. The claws come out and some cat-fighting ensues, but Aurora stays mum. Hayley threatens to bite Tristan, but Aurora assures them that if they ever want to get Rebekah back, that would be very unwise. See, Aurora doesn’t know exactly where Beks is. Her friends dumped the body but didn’t tell her where. The coordinates are sealed in two envelopes. Aurora has the latitude and Tristan has the longitude. 

Davina’s Downfall

Having struck out with Davina, Marcel turns to Vincent for help. Marcel tells Vincent about The Strix and their plans for the Regent. Marcel isn’t big on sitting around waiting for Davina to die. Vincent figures out he may have a way to deal with the Davina situation.

Vincent pays Davina a visit. Davina reassures him that if The Strix come after her, she’ll deal with it. She’s not afraid. Vincent tells her perhaps she should be. He also brings up the Versailles witch massacre, pointing out Davina has trouble containing her anger when people disagree with her. Davina says that she took care of a threat (that’s what leaders do) and if anyone tries to stand against her, she’ll do it again.

Vincent set a trap for Davina. He used something called a Willow Hoop which apparently allowed Van Nguyen and other members of the covens to witness Davina’s confession. The rules regarding this kind of transgression are pretty clear. If you kill a witch,  you lose your place among the witches, so not only will Davina no longer be Regent, she’s to be shunned altogether.

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Tit for Tat

So, Thanksgiving dinner has been a bit of a bust, or so it would seem. But we all know that nobody outsmarts Nik. So imagine Aurora’s surprise when after completing a toast about collective survival, Nik quickly snaps Tristan’s neck. If Aurora does not bring Rebekah home, Tristan will die a slow, painful death. Aurora swears Nik will regret this course of action and storms off.

Lucien isn’t getting off the hook either. Klaus demands that Lucien take him to Camille and hand over the medallion, or he will meet an end so cruel “the devil will weep.”

When they arrive at Lucien’s, Klaus learns Cami has already escaped. She stole Anton’s daylight ring and made it as far as the elevator being running into Aurora. The latter part Klaus does not know, but he suspects Cami’s in deep trouble. Lucien does make good one one thing, he hands over the medallion to Klaus.

Vincent and Marcel have plans to bring Davina back from the brink. Cami is in Aurora’s clutches, and Hayley’s devotion to the Mikaelsons is driving a wedge between herself and Jackson. The maddening prophesy would seem to be under control, but Klaus emotions towards Aurora go unchecked. And where in the hell is Rebekah?

The Originals airs Thursdays at 9pm on the CW.

(Image courtesy of The CW)

Jennifer Lind-Westbrook

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.