Annette Brown/The CWWarning: spoilers below! Do not read until you have watched The Originals season two finale, "Ashes to Ashes."
After all the buildup to the big battle between evil aunt Dahlia (Claudia Black) and the Original siblings over baby Hope, The Originals season two finale ended on not a bang, but a whimper.
Now, that's not to say "Ashes to Ashes" wasn't a great episode. On the contrary, it was one of the most beautiful and well done episodes of the series to date. But the main conflict was over and done with about 2/3 of the episode in, and the last part actually took the time to deal with the fallout and consequences of it. It was not what we expected, and that surprising choice caught us off guard, especially since the buildup to the final confrontation with Dahlia was so intense.
Klaus (Joseph Morgan) figured out last week that the witch who broke Dahlia's heart was not Freya (Riley Voelkel) but their mother Esther (Alice Evans), thereby realizing they had to resurrect their mother's original witch body and use her blood as the final ingredient to kill Dahlia.
In order to do this, Klaus, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Rebekah (Claire Holt), back in her original body, acted like real jerks and hijacked Davina's (Danielle Campbell) spell that she only got one shot at. She was using her new regent powers to resurrect Kol (Daniel Sharman), but in his Original body (Nathaniel Buzolic), and the ancestors were only granting her the power for one try.
And while we were getting our hopes up to see either Sharman or Buzolic back on the show, The Originals pulled a fast one on us, switching out Kol's ashes for Esther's, bringing her back and robbing us of the chance for sarcastic Kol quips and smirks.
Davina thought so too: when she realized what Elijah and Rebekah did on Klaus' orders, she vowed to use her new position as regent to make the Mikaelson family pay. Girl. Is. Pissed. And can you blame her?
But as much as we wanted to hate the Original siblings for pulling that nasty prank, we have to admit it worked...Esther walked willingly to her death, but not before apologizing to her sister for abandoning her all those years ago. Klaus ran them through with the blade they imbued with the other two ingredients necessary to take down Dahlia, and the two sisters died hugging each other.
Before Dahlia died, she did manage to destroy both the dagger and white oak stake, meaning the Originals are now safe from any form of death...at least, we think so? This part was unclear.
After their victory against Dahlia, Freya decided to do her sister a favor and heals Rebekah's witch body (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), and does a body swap for her. Rebekah, now a human again, takes her Original body in a casket with her and leaves town after kissing Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) goodbye and vowing to do all she can to figure out another way to bring Kol back. Is Rebekah gone for good? Please say no!
And here's where the Klamille 'shippers started jumping for joy: Klaus and Cami (Leah Pipes) pretty much admitted to each other they have feelings for each other. And they almost kiss in the bar! But Klaus freaks out and leaves before their lips touch, leaving Cami and the viewers all hot and bothered and confused. Whoa! How ya doing, Klamille 'shippers? You guys okay? Need a moment? Okay, take your time.
Unfortunately, Haylijah 'shippers didn't fare as well. When the full moon finally arrived, Elijah found Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) in the bayou, back in human form, and before she turned back into a wolf she made him promise to return to Klaus' side so that Hope wouldn't be raised by him alone. With her out of the picture, at least until they can find a way to reverse the crescent wolf curse, she wants someone she trusts around her child...and that person is not Klaus. So despite the fact that Elijah hates Klaus for what he did to Gia (Nishi Munshi), he's back with his brother for Hayley's sake.
Going into season three, the Mikaelson family has never been more fractured, and this emotional shakeup of the siblings who once agreed to "always and forever" is so jarring. Not going to lie: we're super nervous for season three. But here's some good news: while Rebekah might be MIA for a while, Freya's sticking around! Voelkel has been promoted to a series regular for season three, according to TVLine.
But by the way: where the hell was Jackson (Nathan Parsons)?! Not one shirtless shot of the alpha wolf in the bayou on the night of the full moon?! Major missed opportunity there.
Now it's your turn, The Originals fans: what did you think of the season two finale? Sound off in the comments section below!