HAUNTER OF RUINS RECAP AND REVIEW
Father and daughter finally reunite face to face in “Haunter of Ruins” and it was magical – literally! But it wasn’t that the father/daughter reconnecting that had me the most excited. It was the twist ending with Detective Kinney (the return of Jason Dohring).
RELATED The Originals: No Quarter Recap and Review – Operation Rescue Klaus
FATHER AND DAUGHTER
The Mikaelsons all agree that they need to put as much distance between them and Marcel as soon as possible. However, Klaus wants one quiet day with his daughter first.
Despite her initial nervousness, Hope quickly warms up to Klaus as they bond in the garden (and she shows him her magical abilities), he tells her stories from his past, and they paint together. He sweetly tells her that she is all that matters to him now.
But there’s a looming threat in the background. Something magical is hunting Hope, which by the end of the episode leaves her sick with a magical affliction.
Hayley finds a letter from Vincent telling them he can help. They have to go back to New Orleans if they want to save Hope.
FREYA AND HAYLEY AND KEELIN
Meanwhile, Freya continues to keep Keelin locked up as she creates more cures. But Hayley doesn’t agree with Freya’s methods and ultimately frees Keelin (with the help and backing up from Elijah).
But they underestimate Freya’s single-minded focus. While Keelin attempts to escape from her captors, Freya once again captures her. Keelin earlier revealed she had devised a medicine to suppress her werewolf traits which Freya thinks will come in handy.
Freya thinks they can find a cure to destroy the disease. If she and Keelin can work together, perhaps they can find a way to kill Marcel Gerard.
“My magic. Your medicine.”
It’s an intriguing idea which could lead to some intriguing storylines the rest of the season.
REBEKAH
Elsewhere, Rebekah and Kol contemplate what they will do with their time now that they’re free.
“True love continues to elude me…Perhaps we should use this one quiet day to decide what we want our new beginning to be.”
Ultimately, Kol and Rebekah decide to leave together. They want to go on new adventures away from the rest of the family. She wants to find love and start a family. And this time, she and Nik part on friendly, loving terms. It’s a sweet moment between brother and sister.
Together, Rebekah and Kol go on an adventure together. And, of course, killed a guy so they could take his car. (I love the irony of this show.)
THE NEW BIG BAD
We learn more about Vincent’s past as he remembers more about the ouroboros. During the time when Marcel reigned and slaughtered witches, Vincent and his pregnant wife Eva wanted to find a way to return New Orleans back to the paradise for witches it used to be. That way their child can grow up in peace.
In the process, Vincent discovers the book with the ouroboros. It’s a sacrificial magic instruction manual that comes from something older than the ancestors. But it’s also written in Vincent’s handwriting; something he doesn’t understand.
Together, Vincent and Eva begin to dabble in dark magic. But then Eva takes it too far and ultimately transforms from a sweet, loving woman into an evil murderer of children. The sacrificial magic requires the killing of children which Eva was willing to do. Vincent was not.
In the present day, Marcel and Vincent find the missing 4 kids who have been taken by a powerful witch. Marcel and Vincent fight and ultimately win, killing this mysterious man. But not before he gives clues to Vincent about the “thing” that resides in the city within all of them.
“You released it. And now it must be fed.”
With the man defeated, Vincent finds 5 totems which mean there is another child in harm’s way. They find a brush from the Mikaelsons. And then the truth hits them. Someone wants to sacrifice Hope Mikaelson.
Marcel agrees to let Vincent help Hope discreetly. We also learn that Vincent doesn’t know what happened to his child just that the baby must have died inside of Eva.
Vincent flashbacks between a moment between him and Eva.
“What lives in me, lives in you. You’ll be the one that gives it breath. It needs you for later,” Eva tells Vincent.
(Crazy theory…but what if the powerful entity has taken the form of Vincent’s child?)
In the end, the children on the way to the hospital are ambushed. And their new abductor? None other than Detective Will Kinney.
STANDOUT ROMANTIC MOMENT
Elijah and Hayley share a few sweet moments in “Haunter of Ruins.” But their most romantic moment came as they discussed each other’s goodness. Both believe they’re “bad” and have done unforgivable things. However, Elijah attempts to convince Hayley that she’s “good.”
“I was wrong when I said you’re a Mikaelson. There’s just too much good in you. That’s why I love you,” he tells her.
“I love you, too,” Hayley replies.
And with that, the two kiss and share an intimate moment.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“You are her fairy tale prince, Klaus. And now you’re real. You have a lot to live up to.” — Hayley
“You were the only one who never treated me like a misfit.” –Klaus (to Rebekah)
THEORIES, THOUGHTS, AND QUESTIONS
I have so many theories this week, I’ll just have to focus on a couple.
Jason Dohring was back as Detective Will Kinney as was Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Vincent’s ex-wife, Eva Sinclair. Both characters I wouldn’t mind seeing more of. The Originals often gets things right, but sometimes it doesn’t. Yes, I’m still thinking of the Cami and Davina deaths which left the female presence of the series rather anemic. But I’m also referring to the underutilization of scene stealer, Dohring. When you have the chance to have Jason Dohring on your show (and a vampire one at that), you make the most of it, right? And yet, the writers failed to follow through with many promising setups last season in regards to Cami and Will. That is, until now.
At the end of tonight’s episode, in a surprise twist, Detective Will Kinney turned out to be connected to the ouroboros and kidnaps the four kids. Um…what? So, my theories last year about Detective Kinney being up to something, were actually right? So what does this all mean?
My Impossible Moonlight Theory Revisited
Back in season 3, after “I Will See You in Hell or New Orleans” aired I began to discuss my “impossible” Moonlight theories. (For those of you unfamiliar, Moonlight was a vampire series that aired from 2007-2008 where Jason Dohring co-starred as the vampire, Josef.) Or rather fantasies. My wish that my favorite vampire show of all time would somehow appear on one of my other favorite vampire shows was not something I ever thought realistically would happen. And I still don’t. But isn’t it fun to theorize and discuss?
Think about it, though:
Both Moonlight and The Originals are connected to French history. Both use the fleur de lis as a symbol.
Both universes have a vampire with the last name of St. John (far from being a common name). No, really! Mick St. John from Moonlight AND Enzo St. John from The Vampire Diaries. And yes, they both are guitar-playing vampires who are ultimate romantics. Not to mention, that the Armory is run by the St. John family. (And with Alaric soon to be making a guest appearance bringing an important ancient relic from the armory, that’s enough to make one go HMMMM.)
Both vampire shows have an elite vampire system (the Strix and the French Royal vampires), an interest in bloodlines, etc. Also, both shows have aired as companion vampire shows with The Vampire Diaries (the CW aired reruns of Moonlight in 2010; CBS co-owns the CW so rights likely wouldn’t be an issue if they did want to do a crossover). But most of all…both shows have Jason Dohring! Dohring was even cast because of Kevin Williamson’s admitted love for Moonlight.
And then you have some interesting aspects introduced tonight. One, the return of the Strix mansion. Two, the discussion by Keelin about studying supernatural creatures as biological organisms. If you’re a Moonlight fan, then you might remember that the vampires on that show also studied “supernatural” creatures as biological organisms – which is how they created a temporary cure. While Josef and Coraline were able to use a temporary cure to hide during the French revolution (therefore “suppressing” their vampiric genes) and appear human, Keelin was also able to appear more human by learning to suppress her werewolf genes through science.
The similarity is rather uncanny.
Now, what makes these impossible theories so much fun and easy to explore is that with the early cancellation of Moonlight there were many questions left unanswered, leaving numerous story possibilities still open. What was Josef keeping from Mick the whole series? How did Coraline and Josef both survive fires which should have left them dead? Why is Beth and her unique blood connected to a cure for vampirism? What is the group that hunts and culls vampires?
And then there are the questions you could come up with. Did Coraline and Mick accidentally cross paths or did she seek him out? Did Josef become friends with Mick because he liked him? Or did he seek him out for other reasons? By connecting the crazy dot to The Originals, could Josef’s initial interest in Mick have been his family’s connection to the Armory? Watching Moonlight, you always feel like Mick and Beth are left in the dark about much of the vampire history. Whereas Josef (played by Dohring) always seems to know more than he’s letting on.
So, if we were going to go completely wild in creating a theory, what would the reality of it all look like:
In the series finale of Moonlight, the vampire group responsible for culling vampires showed up in L.A. with a name of vampires on a list. Josef and Mick’s names included. After that, the show ended. But what could have happened was that Josef, Mick, and Beth all leave L.A. Perhaps they find the temporary cure so they can hide among humans like the vampires did during the French Revolution and they age. Meanwhile, Josef decides to go undercover as a human to New Orleans to unearth some clues in connection to Cami, her family’s bloodline and artifacts, as well as the Strix, the New Orleans witches, and the ouroboros. And as all Moonlight fans know, Josef always knew more than he let on. Information Mick, Beth, and by extension, the audience, never find out.
I said this in my crazy theory before:
“With this impossible thought – couldn’t another witch like Esther have created another strain of vampires? Similar but different? And what if Josef was secretly investigating this other strain because they have the key to some compound he needs ? Or what if there is actually an ancient war between vampire strains? The Strix do seem eerily similar to the French noble vampire bloodline in Moonlight. What if these two strains knew of each other and The Strix started the French Revolution to wipe out much of this other strain of vampires?
Or what if the noble bloodline connected to Louis the XVI from Moonlight didn’t know about these other vampires? And what if Josef found out? Plus, we did never find out how Josef and Coraline survived fire and regenerated. How did they have more “superior genes?” than other vampires? And who was Coraline going to see in France when she was taken? Could this also be about revenge? An act of war to eliminate the ones who started the Reign of Terror?”
To add to that old theory, what if this new big bad, this powerful witch not connected to the Ancestors, was the one who created this second strain of vampires? It’s not like Esther is the only powerful witch who has ever lived. Perhaps Josef discovers this and is attempting to find a mortal cure. Or perhaps he’s simply trying to get to his “vampire creator” for reasons unknown.
I could go one with more ways on how this could play but you get the general idea!
Second Impossible Moonlight Theory
Now, let’s say that The Originals is connected to the Moonlight universe. CW has become obsessed with crossovers. But let’s make it less complex. Could Detective Kinney simply be a doppelganger? Then he could be an entirely separate character while still keeping both shows in the same universe.
The More Realistic Will Theories
If you look back at Will’s very first appearance in season 3, Vincent mentions that his relationship with him (and the other New Orlean cops) goes all the way back to his time with his ex-wife. Has Kinney’s arc been planned from the start? And if so, was he actually the one behind last season’s prophecy? An answer that I never felt was actually resolved.
But then, who is Will, if not the kind Detective Cami befriended? Is Will this powerful magical being? A pawn in the game? Or could he be a human who’s getting vengeance against all the supernaturals? Perhaps he’s even trying to destroy all supernaturals. Plus, we never did learn what his interest in Cami and her family’s bloodline was. At this point, he could also turn out to be a red herring.
I said this about Will last season, which, this season has so far turned out to be true:
“I still feel Will’s placement in the whole story just feels a little too convenient. Is he really who he says he is? Or is there more to him than meets the eye? Has he been faking this whole time? There’s something cagey about each of his scenes that make me think he isn’t completely telling the truth. And now he’s placed himself in Vincent’s inner circle. So either he’s going to be the new rep for humans – taking Cami’s place – or he’s not who he says he is.”
One thing’s for certain, Will is back and I, for one, am hoping he sticks around so Dohring’s talent won’t continue to be wasted!
Well, what did you think of “Haunter of Ruins?” What are your theories about Detective Kinney? Did you enjoy the Klaus/Hope reunion? Let me know in the comments!
Till next week…
Photos: CW
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