The Originals - Recap: Anything Up to and Including Eye of Newt

Episode 12 of Season 1 of The Originals, “Dance Back From the Grave,” introduced us ever so briefly to Papa Tunde, a super-witch from Klaus’ (Joseph Morgan) past who resurfaced during Sabine/ Celeste’s (Shannon Kane) jacking of the Harvest last week. More light was shed on Celeste’s wicked plan during Episode 12, but the show also focused on the continued unrest within the Mikaelson family and the ranks of the vampires. Can Davina come back now? Here is the Recap and Review of Season 1 Episode 12 of The Originals, “Dance Back From the Grave”!

To begin the recap for Episode 12, it’s important to note that this week’s episode took place in two parts. The hour alternated between the happenings of the present and the explanation of Klaus’ history with Papa Tunde in the past. Picture Klaus, Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt) guest starring in an episode of Boardwalk Empire and throw in a voodoo priest.

The Past:

Papa Tunde rolled into town amidst the political quarrels between the witches, humans, vampires, and werewolves. While Elijah and Klaus attempted to negotiate peacefully with those whom they shared the city with, Tunde was more interested in demanding respect for his people, who’d been treated as inferiors, as their newly self-appointed leader. A witch of sacrifice who saps his power from those he offers up, Tunde first made his mark by offering the sacrificial head of the mayor as a token of his proposed new partnership.

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Klaus doesn’t take well to demands and ultimatums, while Elijah is always the first one to offer restrained and respectful communication. Once Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) returned to the French Quarter following his time served fighting in World War I, Klaus gained another ally in his fight to squash Tunde. Klaus works with a very particular cunning nature. He lures in his enemies, renders them vulnerable with feigned friendship, and learns of all their secrets. By the time Papa Tunde was on his murderous sacrificial rampage following the Mikaelson clan’s refusal to offer power and money, Klaus had deduced that the witch sapped his power from a borrowed source, his twin boys who always seemed to be by his side. In killing the twins in cold blood, Klaus effectively cut of Papa Tunde’s power supply. The Original hybrid offed Papa Tunde the first time by gouging out his eyes.

The Present:

Sophie Deveraux (Danielle Pineda) later clued us in on all of the details, but basically someone jacked the power intended to reconnect the witches to their ancestral magic during the Harvest, rendering Davina and her three gal-pals dead and, instead, raising four dead witches in their place. Papa Tunde, needless to say, was one of those under Celeste’s control. Well, at least we can assume she’s in charge, if not totally in complete power at this point.

The CW "The Originals"

In the wake of Davina’s death, Marcel chose to drown his sorrows rather than participate in the duties of Kingdom Klaus. Klaus, whose strategy for coping with the loss of his greatest weapon was simply to rough up some more witches, found himself with a new problem to deal with. A new witch in town seemed to be remaking the dangerous rituals of Papa Tunde, as exhibited by two sacrificed vampire corpses in the coven square. Marcel, hood up, refused to even consider committing to a literal witch-hunt for a voodoo priest powerful enough to conjure with that kind of dark juju. A half-in-the-bag Marcel meandered his way to Cami’s (Leah Pipes) empty bar for some consolation and some potential information from an absent Sophie. Cami and Marcel two made amends over conversation regarding the passing of Davina, who was likely lost in some kind of strange limbo while the Harvest remained incomplete or disturbed.

Klaus also dug Thierry (Callard Harris) out of the Garden this week at Rebekah’s “suggestion.” Remember, Rebekah has been carefully building a trusting alliance with Thierry. Apparently, Klaus bought that his return to the compound would buy some respect among his men. Elijah, on the other hand, was absolutely disgusted with Rebekah upon learning the truth of her plan to build forces against Klaus. He expects that kind of behavior from his brother but not from Rebekah. Rebekah always seems to get the short end of the stake, huh?

The CW "The Originals"

The CW "The Originals"

Elijah and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) seem to have completely patched things up, though that sort of went unrealized by me. It seems the looming threat of some supernatural evil boss was enough to drive Hayley back into Elijah’s good graces, though during Episode 12, it seemed to be Hayley who was the disappointed party. Elijah bases his entire existence around appeasing Klaus and ensuring his happiness. In the wake of his adamant dedication to advising his little bro, Elijah neglects the other people he loves. Hayley, for one, is basically chained to her bed at this point. Wait, not sexually speaking. What I meant was simply that Hayley is stuck in the middle of this French Quarter war bull with a bun in the oven and little to no opportunities to leave the house.

Well, that certainly soon changed. Rebekah and Thierry headed for Marcel’s secret riverside hideaway, the warehouse where he safely watched over Davina last week. There, he presented Rebekah with yet another one of Papa Tunde’s symbols painted on the ground. Before we knew it, Tunde made his presence known, scaring Thierry off in the process and rendering Rebekah desiccated as his latest sacrifice. I can’t believe it. R.I.P. Rebekah! Our dreams of moving Matt Donovan to New Orleans have perished. Kidding! Rebekah can’t die, but she certainly served as a massive source of power for Papa Tunde in his quest to exact revenge on Klaus. Is that what this is all about? Celeste has remained alive for centuries to punish Klaus for pointing the finger at the witches way back when?

Elijah managed to weasel the truth out of Thierry when Marcel’s former right-hand man was acting a bit odd back at the compound. Hayley watched as her potential boo roughed up Thierry in the name of his sister, who laid unconscious in some dank warehouse as a makeshift power outlet for a super-witch. Hayley, refusing to sit idly as her friend Rebekah suffered, joined Elijah in his journey over to the site of the ritual. There, a force field protected the Original sister’s body from being touched. Without the ability to break in and snatch Rebekah from the spiritual clutches of Tunde, they were powerless.

Tunde, meanwhile, had made his way over to Cami’s bar in an effort to take another shot at Klaus through Marcel. Cami refused to run while Marcel attempted to fight off Tunde and thankfully so. That woman knows how to wield a liquor bottle as a weapon, and while it might have inevitably landed her smashed against the shelves of the bar, at least she bought Marcel some time. Eventually, Cami managed to phone Klaus not a moment too soon. Just before Papa Tunde could kill Marcel, Klaus intervened, unaware of his resurrected enemy’s new strength thanks to that power stolen from Rebekah.

The CW "The Originals"

Thanks to some phoned in advice from Sophie, Elijah and Hayley became aware of the fact that this sort of ritual works like a recipe. If you, say, add too much salt to soup, it’s ruined. Therefore, any sort of witchy addition could eliminate the force field. Hayley’s baby is a quarter witch. Thus, Hayley's blood could serve as that one wretched ingredient. In a flash, they had Rebekah rescued from Papa’s clutches, and Klaus, from a distance, was able to overpower the witch once and for all. Papa Tunde fled in a hurry, and much to Klaus’ dismay, Cami offered her blood to an ailing Marcel. Remember, that sort of willing interaction between a vampire and human on these supernatural shows like The Originals is usually that of an intimate nature.

The Conclusion:

Papa Tunde headed for the cemetery to meet privately with Celeste just after sacrificing every vampire in the Garden. Yikes, that’s a lot of power! In the end, we witnessed a major plot twist. Papa Tunde made one final ultimate sacrifice… his own life. He handed his sacrificial blade over to Celeste in honor of the witches of the French Quarter.

While Rebekah laid into Thierry for cowardly abandoning her, it was Elijah who eventually felt her true sorrow-fueled wrath. Rebekah craves her own sense of deserved happiness, yet Elijah always seems to support Klaus in his efforts for power that result in her pain. Elijah is a fool for love, though, and he’d easily allow his feelings for Hayley to selfishly motivate him in any case. He’s a bit of a hypocrite, our Elijah.

The CW "The Originals"

The CW "The Originals"

We traveled back to the past one last time to learn the truth of Papa Tunde’s initial attack on the Mikaelson family. In fact, Marcel had scoured the earth to find one super powerful witch to scare Klaus from New Orleans. Why? To make amends with Rebekah, whom he’d burned in his decision to become a vampire in exchange for her freedom. Remember, Rebekah was daggered and locked in a box for about fifty years, and Marcel had been given the chance to wake her in the name of love over having Klaus transform him. At this point in the past, Rebekah was so charmed by Marcel’s moving of mountains that she came up with her own plan; use a witch (one whom I believe has been freshly resurrected in the present) to lure their vampire hunter father back to New Orleans to scare Klaus away for good. Of course, we now know that this all actually ended up transpiring. Just wait until Klaus learns of all of this…

In the end, Klaus called one final meeting in 2014 to discuss the matters at hand. He offered the vampires one choice; leave New Orleans forever or fight alongside him in the battle against this looming threat. Thierry and a large chunk fled, but honestly, it seemed like most stuck around to back Klaus! Boy, Thierry went from standup guy to bottom-feeder in a snap, right?

What did you think of The Originals Season 1 Episode 12, “Dance Back From the Grave”? Is killing Klaus Celeste’s true motive? Will Elijah give up his quest for Hayley’s heart? Will Rebekah quit her own plans to overthrow Klaus? Will Cami and Marcel start something up now? Seriously, when is Davina coming back?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of The Originals Season 1 Episode 12, “Dance Back From the Grave”!