The Originals season 4, episode 13 (season finale) recap: The Feast of All Sinners
By Leah Smith
Was this really the end of “always and forever” for the Mikaelsons? Find out in this recap of Friday’s season 4 finale of The Originals.
First, lets get this out of the way: it’s a good thing The Originals has been renewed for a fifth season. While this episode certainly featured some closure, there was not enough to turn this into a satisfying conclusion for the series. Instead, the show will be back next season and it has quite the corner to work itself out of.
Anyway, back to the actual finale. The episode opens with Vincent explaining his desperate plan to save Hope to the Mikaelsons. It involves splitting The Hollow into four parts and diluting her power by placing her soul into vampires that share the same blood as her, a.k.a, Kol, Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah.
The major catch is that the siblings will need to remain separate forever, so that The Hollow can never again gain enough power to grab a foot hold in the world. Of course Klaus is immediately on board with the plan, but his siblings are a little more hesitant. Rebekah doesn’t like being told she has to separate from the family. She likes to leave on her own, with the knowledge she can see her siblings whenever she wants.
Meanwhile, The Hollow is showing off her power to the people of New Orleans. First, she brings Dominic back to life, again. He then attacks Josh and a group of vampires and witches at the bar. He kills most of the vampires and tells the witches to join The Hollow. He leaves Josh alive so Josh can tell Marcel and Sofya what is happening.
This leads to Marcel and Sofya working with the Mikaelsons and giving them some dark objects to get Hope back. They all attack the gathering of The Hollow and her followers and are able to capture Hope.
Freya is desperately looking for another option that will save Hope without destroying her family, but has no luck and must admit Vincent’s plan is the only way to go. To make matters worse, Kol is not answering his phone. There needs to be four vampires, and Freya is not going to let Hayley be one of them. See Vincent left out a part of the ritual. For Hope to truly remain safe from The Hollow’s influence, the Mikaelsons infected with The Hollow must also stay away from Hope forever.
So, Hayley being one of the four means Hope would have to grow up without a mother and father, just like Freya did. And for a brief second that looks to be the tragic path The Originals is heading toward as Kol continues to not answer his phone. But Freya has a backup plan. If Kol is a no-show, she will turn into a vampire. She even gets the go ahead from girlfriend Keelin.
Ever one for the dramatics, Kol arrives right as Freya is about to turn herself into a vampire so he can fulfill his Mikaelson duty. And with all the siblings in one place, it is time for goodbyes.
Klaus has a heart-to-heart with Marcel and apologizes for failing as a father. Elijah explains to Hayley why their relationship would have been doomed even if he wasn’t about to be possessed by one fourth of an evil witch who needs to avoid his niece forever to not turn her evil. They say they love each other and share one final kiss.
Elijah also shares an important moment with Klaus. Realizing that he will probably slip back into his evil ways without Hope, Klaus makes Elijah promise that he will resist the urge to run and save him. So, basically resist something that has been part of Elijah’s nature for the past 1000 years.
Then it is time for Vincent to perform the ritual. There is some blue light and then it is time for the Mikaelsons to go their separate ways. Klaus waits until the last possible second to leave so he can say goodbye and make sure Hope is ok. Rebekah makes a quick stop to say goodbye to Freya. She tells her sister to not lose the love she has with Keelin and leaves a Mikaelson necklace for Hope.
Elijah has once last meeting with Marcel on his way out of New Orleans. With Vincent’s help, Elijah gets Marcel to compel him into forgetting about his strong bond to his siblings and Hayley.
Freya says goodbye to Hayley and Hope. Keelin then joins her so they can continue their lives in New Orleans. Meanwhile, The Originals checks in on where all of the other Mikaelsons ended up.
Rebekah went to New York, where Marcel eventually joins her so they can finally be together. Kol went to San Francisco, where he is preparing to propose to Davina.
Free from the burden of being the glue that held his family together, Elijah went to France and is a musician. One night he gets a large tip from Klaus who drops by the bar he is playing in. Somehow, this does not appear to reactivate The Hollow.
That just leaves Hope and Hayley. They are in a very familiar location, Mystic Falls. Hayley decided to enroll Hope at Caroline and Alaric’s school for the magically gifted. Hayley even gets to have a conversation with Alaric. He shares his hope for the future that their kids will grow up to embrace and accept their magical gifts.
Related Story: Is The Originals setting up for a big time jump?
This future is likely coming in season 5, which is set to feature a much older Hope. The Originals is set to return to The CW for midseason 2018.