A GHOST ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RECAP/REVIEW
Out of town and without the internet, I was unable to recap last week’s episode “A Ghost Along the Mississippi.” So, instead of a full recap and review, I thought I’d do a quick overview of last week’s episode with a few of my own thoughts to add before jumping into a quick recap of this week’s episode “Wild at Heart.”
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Last we saw the Mikaelson family, Cami was left dead with Klaus crying over her. It was quite the romantic and tragic cliffhanger. With the series return, we learned that most of the audience’s assumptions were, in fact, correct. Aurora compelled Cami to kill herself if she discovered that Klaus loved her. Cami also drank a vial of Aurora’s blood before she died so that she could become a vampire – as compelled, of course, by Aurora.
While Cami tells Klaus that she will not choose to become a vampire, Klaus tries to force her to change her mind. He can’t lose her. And it’s not until the end of the episode that Cami chooses to drink blood (from Vincent – who has freed himself from The Strix’s threats and control) so that she can use the strength of a vampire to save her city and continue her uncle’s mission.
Elsewhere, we saw the tragic death of Jackson (who gave a beautiful and romantic speech before his death about how much he loved Hayley). He was murdered by Tristan as a way to punish Hayley for torturing him.
Meanwhile, Klaus, Elijah, and Freya (after kidnapping Aurora for what she did to Cami) come up with a plan to defeat Tristan and the Strix. In a clever twist, Cami – who is in transition – helps Freya and the Mikaelson family pull off quite the ruse. With Cami spelled to look like Aurora, they trick Tristan inside the Serratura, defeating him. Since Cami is neither living nor dead, she could be inside the boundary without being trapped inside.
Elijah (being awesome as usual) then gets the Strix to stand down. Tristan isn’t worth dying for. Aya agrees and the war between the Mikaelson’s and the Strix seem to come to a temporary end.
“A Ghost Along the Mississippi” leaves us on Cami drinking a bunch of blood bags, seemingly on a high from the blood…and she likes it!
FAVORITE QUOTE
KLAUS: I’ll tell you what I know about death, Camille– Death dances silently in everyone’s shadow, and she doesn’t give a damn. So, why give a damn about her?
STANDOUT ROMANTIC MOMENT FOR “A GHOST ALONG MISSISSIPPI”
Could it be anything other than the final moments between Hayley and Jackson?
The romantic moment in question refers to Jackson confessing his feelings to Hayley with the knowledge that he probably wasn’t going to get out of there alive. After telling Hayley he loves her, he continues with this beautiful declaration:
“When I first saw you, I broke. You broke me, and nothing has ever been the same since. I just want you to know that it was all real. Every moment, every touch, every word.”
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m sad to see Jackson go. He truly was a great character and will be missed.
THEORIES, THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS
Someone helped Aurora escape. But was it really Lucien as we’re led to believe? Or the bigger player we’ve yet to meet? There’s a lot of underlying questions that haven’t quite been answered in the episodes with little clues placed here and there. I’m still wondering (or more like hoping) that Jason Dohring will be given a larger role and that his whole suicide attempt was really just a performance – and that he’s the big bad! That would be very entertaining.
Overall, I really enjoyed “A Ghost Along the Mississippi.” I’ll admit to being a little disappointed that Cami returned as a vampire. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted Cami to stay on the series. I was just hoping for something a little more original for her – rather than just the obvious choice. A magical connection to her bloodline. An angelic transformation. A ghost even.
Still, I’d rather have Cami as a vampire than not at all!
WILD AT HEART RECAP/REVIEW
After watching “Wild at Heart,” I find myself strangely conflicted. Mainly, I’m not sure how I feel about the episode just yet. I think it depends on the outcome of next week’s episode, “Dead Angels,” at least in relation to the Cami plot.
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In “Wild at Heart,” Cami goes a little wild with her first day as a vampire. While I was hoping for a little bit of a Beth like episode (from Moonlight) when she takes the drug and tries to seduce Mick, we instead got a rather angry and even manipulative Cami who uses her knowledge of psychology to lie and push people away – all with the goal to get back her family’s dark weapons.
She compels a jerk to give a waitress a better tip, she indulges in a “little” bit too much blood, compels Will and rebels against Klaus’s advice. He wants her to be the same human Cami she was before while she wants to do whatever she wants without being controlled. Well, at least, she hasn’t killed anyone yet.
Hayley tries to step in to be a better mentor than Klaus (who really was playing the Cami role this time around by trying to get her down from the darkness), but right now, Cami just wants to be left alone. There is a true moment between them, however, when Hayley seems able to get through to her, so this mentor relationship may continue in future episodes.
Meanwhile, Elijah finds himself working reluctantly with the Strix to learn more about the weapon that could kill him and his family. Aya introduces him to Ariane, a new powerful witch who works with The Strix. Ariane looks inside Elijah’s mind and reveals more clues. The weapon is connected to “a pale horse.” She also tells Elijah that the worst is yet to come for their family. Later, Elijah kills her because she knows too many secrets from having looked inside his mind.
As it turns out, the “pale horse” is the horse Klaus carved for Rebekah when they were young. Part of it was made from a White Oak tree. Unfortunately, he realizes the puzzle too late. Cami too had figured out the puzzle and stole the horse as leverage. Klaus calls her, upset. She explains that he has nothing to worry about and just wants to get her family’s weapons. But Klaus does not look happy.
Elsewhere, Davina is approached by Aya to become one of the witches for The Strix. If she agrees to become a “sister” then they’ll help her bring back Kol. In an entertaining side plot, Davina uses a spell and poisons herself (with the help of Josh) so she can visit the Ancestor’s purgatory to talk to Kol. She wants to know if she should accept their offer. He doesn’t think she should, but Davina wants to bring him back no matter what. In the end, she decides to work for Aya and the Strix.
“Wild at Heart” ends on a poignant moment between Hayley and Elijah. He finds her sobbing while clinging to Jackson’s shirt. She makes a thoughtful statement with my favorite quote of the week: “Loving any of us is a death sentence, isn’t it?”
STANDOUT ROMANTIC MOMENT FOR “WILD AT HEART”
Honestly, I found the most romantic moment to once again belong to Hayley and Jackson (even though he wasn’t even in the episode). His presence was felt throughout, however, as Hayley looked at his flannel shirt lying on the chair. She avoids touching his shirt “Wild at Heart,” but in the end, grabs hold and cries. It’s her longing for Jackson that made it romantic. Sometimes the most romantic moments are the most heartbreaking.
THEORIES, THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS
The reason I feel conflicted relates to Cami’s transition into a vampire. If the show is going to take a turn toward Cami vs. Klaus, I’ll be a little frustrated. I don’t like or enjoy out of nowhere plot twists just for the sake of being shocking and different. I’m looking at you Smallville and the whole “Doomsday” season finale of season 8. Klaus and Cami have been steeped in a Beauty and the Beast arc and it would be frustrating to have the “Beauty” character suddenly completely change and not care about helping make the Beast better. And it’s one thing to take a look at someone’s dark side (which I’m okay with), it’s another to completely change character dynamics.
Cami is the light in the darkness. And even though she’s a vampire she should still remain who she fundamentally is. That said, I’m sure the writers realize that and I have faith that next week Cami will begin to re-find herself.
As the scripture on her twin brother’s tomb said (paraphrasing), the light shineth in darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. The light should always win out in Cami. I just hope it doesn’t create a permanent rift between Klaus and Cami in the process.
Well, what did you think of “A Ghost Along the Mississippi” and “Wild at Heart?” What do you hope to see in upcoming episodes? Let me know in the comments.
Till next time…
Photos: CW
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Well everything gets heightened when you become a vampire. Cami was good at getting into people’s head which was heightened but sadly in the form of manipulation. I’m not surprise though since this isn’t the first time she manipulated someone. Kieran did say Cami was always stubborn as a kid and didn’t like being told what to do. I guess stubbornness was also heightened. I’m glad part of her is still good. I didn’t like the constant personality change in Wild At Heart.