The Originals recap: 'Savior' 

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Guys. Where does a person even begin to recap what just happened? We’ve all just experienced so many emotions that I’m just going to be happy if I can get through this without any major typos. (Sorry, editors.) Although, as distraught and traumatized as I am, I will say this: That was a fantastic hour of television. I might even say it was the best of the season. Heck, I might even say it was one of the best of the series.

Since episode 1 of its third season, this show has been laying the groundwork for something big. They’d paced themselves. And now, they’ve delivered the sort of emotionally draining blow that fans deserve. Bottom line: An episode that makes you feel this much is a great episode.

We start with Rebekah’s voiceover discussing how whatever they used on her was not your typical dagger. With this one, she feels everything. (In other words, she definitely did pull a Stefan.) But luckily for her, Elijah paid a couple of men to get her off the ocean floor, and because he’s a good brother, he also shows up to finish the job. (Read: Kill those men and wake Rebekah up.) Of course, all Rebekah wants to know is if she missed Christmas. #priorities

Spoiler: No, she didn’t. Back at the compound, Christmas is only getting started, with Klaus letting Cami heal while he compels his staff to feed him and hang an ornament or 

 1,000. Checking in on Cami, Klaus is happy with her improvement. He’s not so happy when she gets a text from Vincent that says Kinney is in trouble. Apparently, the detective’s lack of memory — thanks, Lucien — has gotten him fired, and he’s not taking anyone’s calls. With that, Cami is off to his house.

In town, Tristan has made his way to Marcel’s bar because apparently whatever belongs to Marcel also belongs to the Strix. (Rich people are always the greediest, amirite?) They inform Marcel that they’ve decided that the young boy whose mother Hayley/Davina killed should be regent, mostly because he’ll do whatever the Strix asks him to do. Marcel nods along but quickly runs to Vincent, who’s working on his biceps at the fighting gym.

Marcel hates the idea of handing nine powerful covens over to some outsider of the city, so instead, he pisses off Vincent to the point where Vincent does the one thing he’s been so ferociously trying to avoid: He uses his magic. Even more than that, he informs Marcel that he will be the next regent and Marcel is not going to like what he does with his new position. (However, right now Marcel is one very happy camper.)

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Meanwhile, in the bayou, Hayley begs Jackson to come home. He asks if she loves Elijah, to which she very simply tells him, “You knew when you married me.” Poor Jackson thought her affection for suits would fade over time, but it hasn’t. (They’re just 

However, she did choose Jackson, and she continues to choose him every day. And right now? It’s Christmas, and Hayley’s more than ready to have the first happy Christmas of her life. She promises him a quiet night with his small family if he returns home. He agrees to meet her there…

…and he even brings his trusty ax (at least he used it to chop down a tree first). But before Jackson can make it into the apartment, he witnesses a few members of the Strix — or as he puts it, vampires dressed like yuppies — following Freya. He shows up in time to decapitate a few of them with his ax, but he’s not fast enough: One of them takes the medallion while another stabs Freya with his ring.

It might not sound like much, but said ring was full of a slow-acting poison. Apparently, it’s a Strix signature. But that’s not the family’s only problem. After Rebekah learns what hell really looks like — the inside of a gas station bathroom — she discovers a skull mark growing on her arm. So, which sister do we save first?

Actually, first we save Kinney. When Cami makes her way to Kinney’s house, Klaus — white knight/bodyguard — follows her. And it’s a good thing he does because he’s able to bust down the door before Kinney can shoot himself. Turns out, Lucien’s compulsion about feeling worthless is really sticking. 

In what might be the nicest Klaus scene ever, the hybrid tells Kinney that “there is beauty in the courage of a fragile fighter, those who persevere despite all they’ve been through, those who still believe there is good in the world.” As he looks at Cami, he tells Kinney, “Us dark things often find we need that light the most.” The kicker? “What you do not see in yourself, others see in you. You do matter.”

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