Tristan and the Strix came out swinging in the mid-season premiere of The Originals, capturing Hayley and Jackson in the first moments of "A Ghost Along the Mississippi." Hayley and Jackson fought hard after being ambushed by vampires from the Strix, but they were both captured. When Hayley woke up, she was chained next to Jackson, and both were incapacitated by injections of wolfsbane. The Strix wasted no time, ripping out Jackson's heart right in front of Hayley and mailing it to the Mikaelsons with a note, asking to meet in exchange for Hayley's life. But, as we learned with Cami, who was brought back to life as a vampire in this very episode, it's rare that characters actually stay dead in this town. So, is Jackson really dead on The Originals ? And, if Jackson is dead, does that mean there's hope for Hayley and Elijah?
I'm not going to sugar coat this: it looks like Jackson is pretty dead. (Sorry to all you Hayley/Jackson shippers out there!) Not only did he say a romantic goodbye to Hayley before being attacked by the Strix, we also saw his heart get ripped out, and then saw Hayley set his corpse on fire in the bayou with all the other werewolves there to pay their respects. The death comes at a particularly difficult time for Hayley, as she had just told Jackson she loved him and convinced him to move back home with her. With Jackson gone, she feels guilty for bringing him into her crazy world.
As for what this means for Hayley's potential romantic future with Elijah, one can only guess. At the end of the episode, when Hayley helped Elijah and Klaus lock up Tristan, she didn't seem to feel that the Mikaelsons were to blame for Jackson's death, but that could change. After all, if she feels guilty for getting Jackson killed, and the only reason he got killed was specifically so that Tristan could get to Elijah and Klaus, then it's not a big leap to assume that Hayley might be feeling a bit resentful towards her baby daddy and his family. That said, now that Jackson is dead, Hayley might be free to finally explore her undeniable chemistry with Elijah — something Haylijah fans have been waiting to see that since the series began.
Elijah, always the gentleman, attended Jackson's funeral to support Hayley, so, it seems likely that, if Haylijah does happen, it won't happen for a while. Hayley needs time to grieve, and Elijah isn't one to rush. Still, I'm hoping Jackson died so that Haylijah to live. It seems like a fair price to pay.
Images: Eli Joshua Ade/The CW; queenchamberlain/tumblr
