I’ll say this much for the unexpected departure of Rebekah; it made just about everyone other than Klaus and Elijah seem far less safe than they had before.  There was just enough doubt in my mind that I wasn’t sure if Cami would survive.  Quite frankly, I’m not sure she should have; I think having Klaus’ “son” kill Cami would have further underscored the rift between Klaus and Marcel.

 

Father Kieran’s hex-induced frenzy, eventually fueled by an infusion of vampire blood and proto-vampire status, made for some horrific moments.  Kieran’s status was so severe that options like electro-shock therapy and vampirism were suddenly on the table.  You know a guy is willing to do anything when he bites off his own thumb to get out of shackles!

 

And while waiting to offer up the notion of vampirism as a cure to the hex is oddly deferred until the critical moment, it made a certain sense given Kieran and Cami’s view on the matter.  Klaus put it best: it was nothing more than a means to allow Cami and Kieran to have a proper parting.  That it masked the depth of the hex, and very nearly led to Cami’s death, was a shocking turn of events.  As I said, the recent cast changes also made me wonder if Cami would survive at all.

 

That’s hardly the only horrific aspect of the episode.  What used to be isolated terrorist activities in hot spots around the world have become, justified or not, an underlying concern in all of Western society.  And that means that the calculated bombing of the werewolf camp was very difficult to watch.  The sense of helplessness was palpable, and it brought out the nobility in Elijah from the very start.  That it turned out to be the result of internal power struggles, rather than Marcel, was equally surprising.

 

If anything, this episode was very good at showing that the Mikaelsons, when they want to be, can be awfully generous individuals.  I prefer it when Klaus and Elijah take the stance that they don’t have to be draconian, bloodthirsty monsters.  OK, usually that’s just Klaus, but when he is civilized enough for Elijah to raise a toast in brotherly rapport?  That’s what I want to see more of, not the Ever-Changing Moods of Klaus Mikaelson.  A calculating vampire warlord is a lot more interesting than an impulsive one.

 

I have to also give kudos to how the writers have quickly elevated Hayley’s status.  The pregnancy is still a questionable plot point, and I can’t help but wonder if the writers are setting up a way to keep Hayley around without falling prey to the mind-numbing depths of the usual “baby plot”.  Now that the werewolves are back, Hayley’s expanded role makes sense.  It’s hard to consider her expendable now.