The Originals recap: Time for a Mikaelson wedding

The title of this episode, “Til the Day I Die,” works in many ways. There’s the whole Freya/Keelin wedding, which is the nice way to look at the title: They will love each other until they die. And then there’s the Hope situation, which is more of a downer. This hour saw the return of Davina — yay! — who used magic to discover that the Hollow’s magic is slowly killing Hope.

But before we get to all that, let’s start with Freya and Keelin, who decide that in the midst of all of these goodbyes — R.I.P. Josh and Ivy — they need a bit of happiness. And that’s why they move their wedding date up to … TODAY. That might be a bit of a risk for humans, but for a witch and a werewolf with a whole team of vampires on their side, a little compulsion goes a long way.

Freya begins giving tasks to all her siblings: Rebekah is her Maid of Honor, Kol is officiating, Klaus is securing the venue, and Elijah will walk her down the aisle. That is if he can climb his way out of the dark hole he’s in. As he combs through his old things, Elijah finds a letter that he received during his time in France. That letter is from Andrea, a.k.a. Hayley’s birth name. That’s when he starts to remember their time together in France.

It seems Andrea went to visit Elijah during their years apart. At the time, Antoinette was out of town, and the spark between the two of them was instant. Andrea mentions an ex she can’t seem to get out of her system, and by the end of their chat, he invites her to a nearby art show. Of course, she shows up because she needs to see for herself that Elijah is happy in his new life. He seems to be, but he’s also seemingly enamored with this new woman in front of him. (Good lord, I’d forgotten how great their chemistry is!)

By the end of the night, he asks if she’s ever felt like she were destined for someone. “Yes,” she responds, as hearts break everywhere. Elijah then asks her to dance, after which he tells her, “I guess I’ll see you in the next life.” She answers, “If we’re destined to meet each other in another life, just know I’ll be waiting for another dance.” Then she kisses him on the cheek and walks away from what would be their final real moment together.

The memory is too much for Elijah. As he tells Klaus, “I knew who she was,” he explains how confused he was when he saw her in that farmhouse. In all the turmoil, he could only see her as an agent of deception for the very family he was at war with. (His words, obviously). But he knows this: He could’ve saved her. And for that, he’s not ready to forgive himself. He’s also not ready to help his family, which is very unlike him. Even after Klaus tells him that Davina discovered Hope will die from the magic inside her, he still walks away.

At least until he reads the letter from Andrea, which I’ve transcribed in full below:

Elijah,
I wanted to thank you for giving me a beautiful day just when I needed it. You helped me more than you could ever know. I realized I’d been holding onto things that I shouldn’t. If I had met my ex under different circumstances, without the legacy of pain that haunted him, things would’ve been different for us. My time with you helped to forgive him for the pain that he caused me and remember the best parts of our lives together. And though I can’t honestly say I’ll ever get over him entirely, I can finally look forward because of you. I’ll never forget my time in France. And if by some chance we do meet again in another life, I’m gonna hold you to that dance. Until then, be happy. And as you grow and find the parts of your life that fit you perfectly, make sure you never let them go.
-Andrea

Did anyone else read the “be happy” line and flashback to Stefan and Elena’s goodbye in the season 6 finale of The Vampire Diaries? Just me? That’s cool. Regardless, it was a beautiful farewell for a couple that I was worried we’d seen the last. As much as I would’ve loved for Elijah to be himself again when they said goodbye, at least they got to have a final day together. (Next: Freya and Keelin tie the knot!)

Outside of Elijah’s journey, there’s the whole wedding — but before we get to that, I should mention that Declan read Kieran’s journals and now knows everything. It seems he’s looking to be the new leader of the human faction, and thanks to a talk with Davina, Marcel decides to give him all the information he needs to try and do things a bit differently with this city. After all, nothing’s going to change if they keep going about the faction business the same way.

Okay, NOW to the wedding, which is almost called off! Why? Because Freya realizes there’s something she hasn’t told Keelin: She doesn’t want kids. And when she tells Keelin that the topic is non-negotiable, they end things … for about five minutes.

Thankfully, Rebekah is there to sooth Freya and reassure her that they’re not doomed to repeat the mistakes of their parents. If Freya and Keelin were to bring a child into this world, they would never cause it pain. “You always put your family in front of yourself,” Rebekah tells Freya. “You can break the cycle.”

Freya then tells Keelin that she’d be open to the kid discussion one day in the future. As for now, they need to get married! Just as Klaus is about to take Elijah’s place and walk Freya down the aisle, our beloved family man shows up. So together, Klaus and Elijah escort Freya to her forever. The two then tie the knot and head to the small reception, where Hope gets a tad bit drunk and makes a toast to the “best day ever” as a very worried and emotional Klaus watches.

After the wedding, Klaus pays Hope a visit and tries to tell her about what’s going on, but he can’t bring himself to ruin her great day. So instead, he meets Elijah out on a balcony and we finally get a brother balcony scene!!! Klaus admits that he didn’t tell her. He then says, “She’s my daughter, Elijah” — and before he can say anything else, Elijah, knowing exactly what his brother needs, fiercely pulls him into a hug. Now THIS is the stuff I’ve missed. I love how the show made sure to honor Hayley with Elijah’s mourning, but I hope that at this point, he’s back to being the kind of sibling that has defined him for years. (That being said, I could watch Hayley and Elijah flashbacks for the rest of the season and be okay with that too).