The Originals recap: 'I Hear You Knocking'

Things are getting pretty tricky now that The Hollow has found two hosts to duke it out for the ultimate power. In one corner, we have Marcel, the unkillable King of New Orleans. In the other corner, we have Klaus, who is really peeved that a blue orb threatened his daughter. Unfortunately, one can’t live while the other survives. Let’s get ready to rumble.

The Hollow pits Marcel and Klaus against each other by diving deep into their souls and using their darkest fears against them. For Klaus, it’s dear old daddy. He flashes back to 990 A.D., remembering a time when his father slaughtered a few dozen people and yelled at Klaus for having mercy on the one dude who managed not to die immediately.

Klaus wakes up from the dream in the Mikaelson mansion (which moonlights as a shack). Candles are everywhere. I guess no one can be bothered to call the electric company. He checks on Hope, who is either fast asleep or totally afraid of her father. Then the blue orb comes for a visit. Perfect.

Klaus asks Elijah and Hayley to take Hope to the bayou so he can make sure the threat is over. He manages to have this conversation while his dad is in his head, suggesting he’s too weak to kill the one thing that will make this all go away: Marcel.

Marcel is in the exact same boat. He confides in his girlfriend Sofya that something is off. He shows her the mirror cracked like the sigil and tosses back a whiskey, assuming he’s anchored to the orb. Since Vincent isn’t answering any of Marcel’s calls, Sofya takes matters into her own hands and asks her witch buddy Dominic to help out. While she makes the arrangements, Marcel receives a few visions of his own. They come in the form of Elijah, who just so happens to want Marcel to kill Klaus.

Side note: Fake Elijah’s eyes turn orb-like in the vision. He’s just as handsome with glowing, blue eyes.

Meanwhile, Freya ignores Keelin’s flirtatious advances and celebrates her latest creation. Thanks to Freya’s blood, Esther’s magic, Marcel’s venom, and Lucian’s ashes, Freya now has the weapon they need to kill Marcel. She ditches Keelin and runs to her brother, who has bigger fish to fry. Klaus tells Freya that he’s been affected by The Hollow, who comes to him in the form of their father, and that he’s pretty sure it wants him to kill Marcel. Freya tries to purify him, but it doesn’t work. So she hands over the dagger.

Over in the bayou, Elijah loves walking along through the field of poppies with his best gal and her child. He could get used to this. Of course, he’d have to downgrade his wardrobe to include jean shorts and flip-flops, but the debonair Elijah is willing to sacrifice his suits in the name of love. The arrive at Mary’s house. She isn’t too happy to see Hayley with a vampire. Elijah leaves and Hayley explains the previous night’s massacre to Mary. She also explains the weird serpent sigil. Mary has a strange look on her face and then presents her deceased husband’s journal to Hayley. There’s the same picture of the serpent sigil.

Things just got interesting.

All this time, Marcel has been mentally fighting a tag-team vision in the form of Elijah and Klaus. Both want Marcel to seize his revenge against the Mikaelsons. Marcel goes after Elijah in a choke hold. It takes him a moment to realize it’s Sofya he has pinned against a tombstone. Well, this is an unfortunate side effect. It’s a good thing Dominic is on his way to fix Marcel.

Klaus is having the same problem. At first, he isn’t fazed by Mikael’s taunts. Klaus even verbally fights back with a few digs of his own. Klaus claims he would never kill Marcel, even though he has the means to do so. Then Mikael hits a trigger. He claims Klaus’ worst fear is that Hope will loathe him the same way he loathes Mikael.

All of a sudden, Klaus kills Mikael once, twice, then a third time. Klaus looks around and discovers three innocents on the ground, dead. If Mikael can make him to that, what’s to stop him from hurting someone he loves? He spies Freya, throat slit. Klaus rushes over to help her, but it’s someone he doesn’t know. He’s thankful it’s not really his sister, but concerned it could have been Hope. This is a game changer.

The real Freya is all about making a potion she can pour over a totem, with some blood and feathers, so she can figure out what The Hollow wants with Klaus. I’m not sure how this works, but we’re going with it. Keelin waltzes back in, because she likes Freya more than a friend, but the witch is hell bent on saving her brother and not exploring new relationships. There’s no time! She begins chanting and the blue orb appears. Freya becomes mesmerized by its power, but Keelin is there to pull her back. Freya knows what it wants: a blood sacrifice. Marcel or Klaus. Who will it be?

Marcel is going to do everything he can to help himself. Dominic explains that The Hollow was caught between the living and a great big question mark mystery place in the unknown, but now it has broken free, thanks to Vincent severing the link. It must be sent back to sleep. Dominic gives Marcel some beads that will help, but he has to bury them at the root of the creature’s power, which is the abandoned house where all the little children went to be sacrificed.

Welcome, nightmares!

Back at Mary’s house, Hayley shows Elijah the journal. They notice how the writing becomes erratic and that the entries no longer make sense. Hayley wonders if it was The Hollow that made Mary’s husband kill her parents so many years ago? This news is worth pondering, but Freya calls Elijah for backup. It’s time to suit up.

Marcel arrives at the abandoned house just before Klaus. Marcel tries to explain that he has a way for them both to live, but Klaus doesn’t believe him. Klaus shows Marcel the weapon and things turn south, especially when Fake Mikael and Fake Elijah torment their prey. They both fight each other hard, but neither has the guts to finish the other off. Klaus stakes Marcel. Marcel clobbers Klaus. Back and forth. Crashes and burns.

Freya channels Elijah and they somehow make it into the house. Elijah runs to Klaus’ aid. As Fake Mikael whispers in Klaus’ ear to, “KILL YOUR SON,” Klaus drops the dagger and snaps Marcel’s neck. The blue orb comes out to play, but it has a new design element. There’s a black smoke cloud that forms hands a set of glowing eyes. Freya throws a potion at it shouting, “LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE!” It technically vanishes, but something tells me you can’t get rid of The Hollow that easily.

Later at the dilapidated mansion, Freya claims she can’t find any of the magic in Klaus or Marcel. Klaus unwillingly gives up the magical dagger to Freya, looking Elijah in the eyes, promising that mercy was the order of the day. He doesn’t have any feelings toward Marcel. He didn’t kill him because that’s what The Hollow wanted.

Speaking of Marcel, he’s down in the dungeon where Klaus was for five years. Elijah reminds Marcel that he is alive because Klaus wanted him to be alive. Even though Marcel doesn’t buy it, Elijah firmly believes that Klaus has changed, thanks to a little girl who fixes butterfly wings. Elijah thinks Marcel is the key to Klaus’ redemption. Marcel is Klaus’ biggest weakness.

Rest assured, if Marcel prevents Klaus from his redemption, Elijah will deliver another kind of nightmare. I imagine it will involve blue orbs and child sacrifices. Is that just me?

Just when I think it is all said and done, we see Dominic trespassing through the abandoned house. Sofya is ticked. They had a deal. Klaus was supposed to die. Now Marcel is gone. So long Dominic!

But wait! He points to Marcel’s blood spilled from the stake to the gut. There’s a vine growing on it, with thorns.

Dominic: “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.”

It’s awfully convenient that Dominic knows so much about The Hollow… and blood… and thorns… and Originals. Where did Sofya dig this guy up? Here’s hoping all the Mikaelsons wear long sleeves in the upcoming weeks. One scratch and POOF!

Were you rooting for Klaus or Marcel? Do you think that Hayley’s family is the reason The Hollow is out to get them? How much would you pay to see Elijah in jean shorts? His legs have to look pretty good too, right?