'The Originals' Season 2 Spoilers: Who Died In Episode 1? Premiere Recap Of The Gruesome Deaths

Awooo! Our favorite wolves, vampires and hybrids returned to the small screen when “The Originals” aired its Season 2 premiere on Monday, Oct. 6. And dare we say episode 1, “Rebirth,” was even bloodier than we had originally anticipated. But before we get to the gruesome aspect of tonight’s episode, let’s discuss what happened leading up to the show’s climatic battle between wolves and witches vs. vampires and hybrids.

The Season 2 premiere began with Auntie Beks (Claire Holt) telling baby Hope a haunting fairy tale that mirrored their family’s current, gloomy situation. But can Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) make New Orleans safe for their little princess to come home? Or will the ending to their story be anything but a happily ever after?

Klaus is anxious to spill wolf-blood when episode 1 begins, but his plan to seek vengeance is put on hold because Francesca’s (Peta Sergeant) hounds are currently sporting moon rings. The rings, created by witches, weaken the hybrid on every full moon. And tonight, during “Rebirth,” the moon hovering over NOLA just happened to be illuminating ever so brightly.

While the Mikaelson brothers plotted their revenge, Marcel (Charles Davis) decided to build an army. But no one seemed to meet his standards. “I’m not looking for a tough guy,” he explained, “I’m looking for a warrior.”

That’s when Klaus appeared, his first time leaving home since the “death” of Hope, to give an explanation of what being a true warrior means. “A warrior fights for what he believes in. A warrior fights for his family.”

Marcel questions Klaus, asking why he and Elijah (Daniel Gillies) have been staling. Klaus admits that he’s afraid Francesca has the white oak stake, the only weapon that can kill him. “That thought makes me very nervous – especially on nights like this,” he said. But after careful examination Klaus comes to the conclusion that the werewolves can’t possibly have the stake or else they would have used it already.

That’s when the blood-soaked wheel in Klaus’ head begins turning. “Tonight we’re going on a wolf hunt,” he said.

Klaus explains his plan to Elijah but his levelheaded brother is looking at the attack from all angles. However, Hayley doesn’t hesitate at the thought of war against Francesca. “Her head will be delivered to you on a silver platter, little wolf,” Klaus promised her.

Their plan? To have Marcel, Elijah and Hayley gather the rings from their foes to strengthen Klaus. While Hayley goes to more civil route, killing her victims quickly, Marcel retrieves the rings by tearing off the limbs of the wolves sporting them. The dead bodies are then dragged back to Klaus for him to fulfill his desire to paint with their blood.

But it was Elijah’s attack on Francesca that had us gripping our couches. Her only protection was the sanctuary of her home. As we all know, vampires can’t enter a house without getting an invite. But as it turned out, Francesca’s home is actually public domain, or so Elijah revealed when he explained the technicality.

But the head wolf managed to get away. “You let her escape?” Klaus asked, clearly frustrated. “Well, not exactly,” Elijah replied. Episode 1 then cuts to a scene of Hayley tracking down Francesca and killing her viciously.

But killing Francesca didn’t give Haley peace. “I killed eight wolves,” she revealed to Elijah, admitting the number of members from her former pack she murdered. “Nothing about what I am is natural. Everything has changed. I was a mother and now I’m a monster.”

After Hayley’s heartbreaking admission, Elijah pushed his brother to comfort her, which is when the hybrid explained that they only way the can get their daughter back is for them to gain control of the city – together.

But it was the ending of the Season 2 premiere of “The Originals” that had us up out of our seats. With Francesca dead, Esther is now able to control both the witches and the werewolves. And with the help of her sons, gaining power will be piece of cake. Oh, didn’t we mention? Davina’s (Danielle Campbell) schoolgirl crush just so happens to be on Esther’s son Cole (played by Daniel Sharman)!

“We have a family reunion to plan.” Esther said, concluding episode 1.

What did you think of the Season 2 premiere of “The Originals”? Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts.