The Originals season 5 episode 2 review: One Wrong Turn On Bourbon

Klaus returns to New Orleans to track down Hayley and reunites with his daughter Hope. He wrestles with his inability to be a virtuous father and takes responsibility for the questionable actions of his daughter.

On this week on The Originals, the episode title “One Wrong Turn on Bourbon” is taken from the lyrics of the song Knives of New Orleans by country music artist Eric Church. It is an ambiguous song about a man who has done something horribly wrong. The song may be interpreted as a lament of regret, or simply as a man’s admission that he has crossed a line and that is just who he is.

In this episode of The Originals, however, everyone tries to remove ambiguity and package up themselves, and each other, into neat little parcels of good or evil. Hope is all good and brimming with positive potential according to Marcel and Vincent. She is broken and dangerous according to Klaus and Ivy. She also wants Klaus to tell her if he is a monster or a loving father.

Klaus finally reunites with his daughter

The episode begins with Hope remembering a time in her youth when she astrally projects to visit her absent father, Klaus. She discovers him in heart extraction mode, literally up to his elbows in the chest of his victims. Klaus is cemented as a monster in both the eyes of his daughter and in his own. In the present, Klaus arrives in New Orleans to search for Hayley. He goes to the Mikaelson compound and catches up with his human-witch sister Freya. He sees his daughter for the first time in 7 years. It is a brief and uncomfortable reunion, peppered with wilting flowers and an errant snake as the reunion of the Mickaelson kin causes the dark magic of The Hollow to escalate.

Klaus heads off to torment Hayley’s new beau Declan. After a brief interrogation, Klaus is unsuccessful in finding a lead on Hayley’s whereabouts. She has been missing for a few days by now. Klaus is successful at seeing how the self-righteous Declan has filled in as a father figure for Hope in his absence. Klaus loses it, and Hope walks in just as he is about to eat Declan. Oh no. Klaus straightens up and compels Declan to scamper off to the butcher.

Marcel tries to put his crown back on

At Poppy’s wake, Marcel makes a brief speech about the late vampire killed by newbie hybrid Henry. Marcel has lost credibility within the clutch of New Orleans vampires. They are reluctant to have him return to his throne. Marcel’s long absence, lack of interest in dishing out justice on Henry, and the fact that he is now a hybrid, does not gel well with the locals. Apparently, Josh has been doing a sterling job while Marcel has been off in New York.

Josh has not lost a vampire in 7 years — who knew he had it in him. Josh is little more confident, yet doth not protest too much about Marcel coming back and taking back the heavy mantle of responsibility. At at a time when blood is raining from the sky and vipers are sliding out of fountains, who wouldn’t be happy to pass back the keys to the kingdom. Marcel heads off to the Bayou to do some justice. After initial resistance, the Crescent Pack hands Henry over for punishment. A few years bricked up in the walls of Marcel’s prison Garden should do the trick.

The witches and their love interests

Vincent, the regent witch of New Orleans, is unsettled about the blood rain, the snakes, and Mikaelsons reuniting. Freya suggests that Ivy, the Oracle of Jackson Square, may be able to shed some light on the topic. Light may not be the only thing the seer can help Vincent with — wink, wink. Perhaps Freya is not really the one to give relationship advice. One minute she is listening to Keelin talking about having kids together. Next, she is dumping Keelin because she can’t commit to anyone beyond her family.

Vincent and Ivy share a seer session of swirling and burning tarot cards. It ends with Vincent having about the same information he had when he started. 1) Blood rain, dying vegetation, and snakes — indicate a plague of darkness is rolling into town. 2) Keep an eye on Hope — she could be the downfall of us all, or she could be the one to save the day.

Hope has hijacked Hayley

New boy Roman, the vampire from boarding school, arrives at Hope’s window. Apparently, he feels guilty about bullying Henry (apparently) to his death. He doesn’t mind telling off the red-head he came across when snooping around the compound.

We learn Klaus’ unhinged ex-love Aurora is contained under a sleeping spell. Hope tells Roman who she really is — a freakshow, trybrid Mikaelson. Roman tells Hope he is “rebellious and has a callow disregard for authority.” It’s a shame Roman spelled this out in dialogue rather than action.

Marcel figures out that minion Henry helped Hope kidnap Hayley. Klaus invades Hope’s mind to discover that Hayley is cloaked and under a sleeping spell in a coffin at St Mary’s. Klaus discovers an empty coffin at the church and signs of a bloody struggle. A mystery person pulls Henry from the Garden prison, pulls his heart from his chest, and hangs his corpse from a balcony in the middle of town. (Traumatic much?)

Toads and diamonds

The age-old fairytale of Charles Perrault, Toads and Diamonds, features characters with clear-cut features. The blessed daughter has diamonds and flowers spill from her mouth. The rude daughter vomits toads and vipers when she speaks. While Hope does vomit up a viper, for the folks of The Originals, there is no clear-cut divide. Gothic characters grapple with their duality. They don’t stay on one side of the line, nor do they cross over the line completely. There are battles with internal and external conflicts of good and evil. They straddle the line.

This episode was about searching. Searching for Hayley, searching for connections, searching for The Hollow’s intentions, and searching for moral compasses. Yet, it ended with few clear discoveries.

Hayley and Elijah were both absent from this episode. Fortunately, next week’s episode, “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” appears to be an Elijah-centric episode.

It may be another two weeks before we discover:

Where is Hayley?
Who killed Henry?
Could Aurora be the woman represented in Ivy’s tarot cards?

Home/TV