Summary
The Originals’ spinoffLegaciesincludes many storylines that I can’t believe made it to air. Like many young adults in the 2010s, I became obsessed withThe Vampire Diaries, watching the original series and both spinoffs. Among theThe Vampire Diaries’fandom,Legaciesis typically considered the butt of the jokedue to its campy homages and Monster of the Week format. However, I grew to appreciate the show’s unique voice and exploration of the supernaturalTVDworld.
Despite this,the spinoff has weaknesses that even I cannot deny.TheLegaciesvillainsfeel weaker than those introduced in the previous two shows, and some of the romances become dull over time. However, the biggest weakness is some of the storylines.Legaciesincludes many narrative arcs that either don’t make sense, defy establishedTVDlore, or fail the characters. These ten storylines left me shaking my head and understanding others’ criticism of the show.
Everything We Know About Legacies Season 5’s Canceled Story Plans
Legacies was canceled after season 4, but plans for season 5’s story were already underway. Here’s the Legacies season 5 that never was - explained.
10Rafael Being King Arthur’s Descendant
The King Arthur Connection Was Pointless And Boring
One storyline that was equally boring and pointless isLegacies' introduction of the Nimue, the Green Knight, and the sword in the stone. While I love Arthurian lore, the choice to include these stories felt like a rushed decision, simply made because the show needed a monster. Sadly, the show provides zero reason to fear the Green Knight or trust Nimue. As such, the Super Squad’s choices seem logicless at best and reckless at worst. The story also moves as slowly as the Green Knight.
Moreover,the decision to make Rafael a descendant of King Arthur and the only one who can pull Excalibur from the stone seems pointlessbecause he leaves the show in the very next episode. They had to have known prior to filming that episode that Peyton Alex Smith was leavingLegacies. I would have preferred they make a different character the royal descendant and use that as a throughline that influences character development.
9Salvatore: The Musical Without Damon and Elena
The Vampire Diaries Characters Should Have Returned For Salvatore: The Musical
TheLegaciesepisode withSalvatore: the Musicalis one of my favorites due to the music,Vampire Diarieshomage, and the hilarious subplot of MG trying to discover the monster. However, I cannot believe it went on air for one reason alone —they didn’t bring back Damon and Elena to watchSalvatore: the Musical.
Based on the duo’s personalities inTVD, there’s no chance Elena would miss the show, and Damon would probably go because she dragged him along. The chances of them showing up get even higher, considering it features Stefan as a major hero. Damon has a sweet spot for his brother, so there’s a good chance Elena wouldn’t even have to coerce him to watch the play.
The two’s appearance would make even more sense because Josie goes to live with them shortly after the episode. Even if they couldn’t get Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder back, they could have referenced their presence through dialogue and shown Stephanie Salvatore talking to Josie and Lizzie instead.
8The Introduction Of Sebastian
The Sebastian Storyline Hurts Lizzie’s Character And Contradicts The Vampire Diaries
Lizzie deserved a romantic interest inLegacies, but they severely missed the mark with Sebastian. One major issue with this storyline is that it uses Lizzie’s mental illness as a plot device, which is not only poor writing but unnecessarily cruel to the character. There was no point in making Lizzie question her sanity other than moving the story forward. For a show that includes positive representations of mental illness, they really dropped the ball with this one.
Additionally,Sebastian’s existence frustratingly contradicts the events ofThe Vampire Diaries.InLegaciesseason 2, episode 5, “Screw Endgame,” Sebastian says he has been desiccating for centuries under the Salvatore School. There are two main understandings of this statement. First, his coffin has been in Mystic Falls the entire time. Second, his coffin was in the Armory until Alaric had all the artifacts moved to the school. Unfortunately, neither of these explanations makes sense.
If Sebastian’s coffin was under the Salvatore School all along, he should have been destroyed inThe Vampire Diariesseason 5 by The Travelers’ Curse. Alternatively, if Sebastian’s coffin had been in the Armory, Dorian and Alaric would have known about his existence through their records. I found myself too frustrated by the writing and plotholes to be able to enjoy Lizzie’s happiness.
When The Originals & Legacies Are Set In The Vampire Diaries Timeline
The Vampire Diaries inspired two spin-offs: The Originals & Legacies. Here’s how the timeline between the shows intersects and where they diverge.
7Hope’s Being Defined By Her Love Interest
Hope Mikaelson’s Identity Shouldn’t Have Revolved Around Landon Kirby
The Originalsdid a great job setting up Hope Mikaelson’s personality, background, and flaws. The character struggles with her lack of familial support and strives for their attention. She has a contentious relationship with Lizzie and Josie. She has a strong, albeit naive, sense of justice, using her tribrid abilities to protect the people around her. Yes, she had a crush on Roman, but that didn’t define her. Unfortunately,Legaciesexplores almost none of these aspects of Hope, centering her story around Landon instead.
Despite Julie Plec creating both series,the two versions of Hope feel entirely disconnected.The version in Legacies feels regressive. She seems like what a male writer would imagine a teenage girl to be – obsessed with a boy. Hope is always framed by her relationship, or lack thereof, with Landon. Meanwhile, all the other girl characters explored the different aspects of their personalities and identities. I think Hope Mikaelson – the most powerful supernatural in theTVDworld – deserved better than that.
6Josie Never Getting A Happy Ending
Josie Saltzman Deserved Better Than Her Story Ending
Of all theLegaciescharacters, Josie is the one I find most relatable, which makes it all the more frustrating that she never gets a happy ending. Josie is repeatedly shortchanged throughoutLegacies. First, she is the ignored child because Alaric focuses more on Lizzie and Hope. She spends her time managing her sister instead of focusing on her well-being.
Josie finally starts growing as an individual when attending Mystic Falls High and living with Elena and Damon, but she’s quickly forced to return to the Salvatore School. When Josie gives up her magic, she’s coerced into retaking her siphon powers. The show undoes every bit of agency she exerts.
On top of this, every one of her love interests gets cut short. Despite her immense growth,she never gets the happy ending others earn.Then,Legaciesseason 4 writes Josie offin the most unsatisfying way – suddenly putting her on a bus. The writers should have given Josie more respect and care as a character instead of writing off her happiness.
5Santa Fighting The Krampus
The Christmas Episode Of Legacies Includes The Most Ridiculous Monster Fight
Of all theLegaciesMonster of the Week episodes, the worst has to be “This Christmas Was Surprisingly Violent.” The storyline was pretty good up until the point where the Krampus came. Hope’s team-up with Clarke is an exciting choice, and the two characters bounce off each other well. Rafael’s interactions with his father are essential to his character arc. Additionally, it’s beautiful any time Chris Lee, who plays Kaleb, sings inLegacies. Unfortunately, the episode’s climax ruins all the good things up to that point.
Santa has a throwdown MMA fight with Krampus inone of the most ridiculous scenes that has possibly ever occurred in TheTVDUniverse. Just writing that sentence feels like I’m talking about poorly written fan fiction. Though the campiness of Legacies is part of what makes the show a guilty pleasure for so many, this scene takes the silliness too far.
4The Hope And Josie Queerbaiting
Legacies Played Into The Potential Relationship With Hope And Josie
WhileLegaciesis widely considered the most inclusive of theTVDshows, the show is guilty of queerbaiting when it comes to Hope and Josie. Queerbaiting refers to a story hinting that a character is LGBTQ+ while leaving it ambiguous or hinting at an LGBTQ+ relationship without exploring it. Unfortunately, the show does both of these things.Legaciesleaves Hope’s sexuality ambiguous while playing up the potential relationship between Hope and Josie.
Hope is shown flirting with and nearly kissing Josie in an alternate reality. Then, inLegaciesseason 2, episode 6, “That’s Nothing I Had To Remember,” Hope confirms that she had a crush on Josie. Finally, in Legacies season 4, she’s shown flirting and dancing with a woman while her humanity is off. However, I found myself frustrated when she never confirmed her bisexuality by the finale.
The show also plays into the Hosie ship (Hope and Josie) while never having the characters address it. The chemistry between the two is immediately apparent. ByLegaciesseason 2, the show directly confirms the requited feelings. The show continues to play up their potential relationship by having Lizzie joke about Josie having a sex dream about Hope. Then, there’s the fairytale episode where Hope only won’t kiss Josie because it’s unconsensual. I wouldn’t care if the two agreed they were better off friends, but the show simply strings along LGBTQ+ viewers, never addressing their potential relationship.
Legacies Didn’t Fix Season 3’s Biggest Problem Until It Was Too Late
Legacies season 4 took an age to break up Landon and Hope even though season 3 of The Vampire Diaries spinoff ensured that the couple couldn’t work.
3The Merge That Didn’t Matter
The Merge In Legacies Was Pointless And Retconned The Vampire Diaries Lore
Dark Josie is one of my favorite character arcs besidesHope becoming the true tribrid inLegaciesseason 4. Unfortunately,Legaciesended this character arc by retconning a significant plotline inThe Vampire Diariesseason 6 – the Merge. The ritual is meant to be performed by Gemini twins when they reach the age of 22, at which point one will absorb the other and become the leader of the coven. The Merge was always going to be a big question throughoutLegaciesbecause Josie and Lizzie are Gemini coven twins.
Unfortunately,Legaciesthrows the original lore out the window, saying that The Merge can happen whenever the twins want. The shoddy excuse that the age is more of a guideline infuriates me. If the Geminis knew that The Merge could happen at any time, they would have forced Luke and Liv to merge much sooner than their 22nd birthday, as that would’ve prevented Kai from taking power. Ultimately, this retcon created a more extensive plot hole and wasn’t even worth it becauseThe Merge was only solved inLegacieswhen Lizzie became a heretic.
2Kai Parker’s Anticlimactic Death
Legacies Wasted One Of The Best Vampire Diaries Characters
Kai’s return inLegacieswas one of the most exciting plotlines, followed by the biggest disappointment. Like The Merge, Kai’s return inLegaciesfelt inevitable. Rather than killing the villain, they locked him away in a prison world at the end ofThe Vampire Diaries. Considering his homicidal ways and his vendetta against the twins, he had to return at some point.
The firstLegaciesepisode where he appears, “Kai Parker Screwed Us,” was exciting, fast-paced, and a fascinating look at the parallels between Josie and Kai. Unfortunately,Legaciesfailed theVampire Diariesvillainin the second episode, “You Can’t Save Them All,” by giving Kai Parker one of the most anticlimactic deaths in theTVDUniverse.Alaric beheaded Kai while he was tied up in a warehouse.
At no point does Kai try to do magic, which he’s capable of after returning to life inThe Vampire Diaries, or fight back. This is the same man who siphoned the Travelers’ Curse and tried to massacre his siblings. His passiveness is painfully out of character. There was no reason forLegaciesto kill him off quickly and with little gravitas. I found myself wishing they’d just not brought him back rather than giving him such a dissatisfying death.
1“Hold On Tight”
Legacies Season 3, Episode 4 Is A Mess
There are very few episodes ofLegaciesthat I completely dismiss. Even the worst episodes usually have a redeeming quality – whether that be a character or subplot. Unfortunately, there’s little positive to say aboutLegaciesseason 3, episode 4, “Hold On Tight.” This episode is, quite simply, a mess. Starting with the most egregious storyline,Lizzie, Josie, and Alyssa create a new prison world with the unending supply of Bennet blood and the supernova– which miraculously continues despite the last episode taking place over multiple days. They somehow move all the monsters into the world, but nobody else except Hope. It’s confusing and doesn’t make much sense.
Additionally, it feels like a letdown that the battle against the monsters occurs offscreen. The episode also has Alyssa change sides without explanation. The show ignores the fact that Hope and Landon should have forgotten about each other when going through the portal. Then, the second-worst part of the episode occurs – the sex scene between Hope and Landon.
I don’t mind sex scenes when they fit within the story and are well-written. Unfortunately, this scene doesn’t meet this criteria. The scene went on for too long. They make Hope suffer another trauma when her boyfriend turns into Malivore mud after their first time having sex. This is also a plothole. If swapping fluids with Hope could turn Landon into mud, he would have melted when they kissed. If it was her blood, he should have turned into mud in the middle of sex. Ultimately, I think this episode ofLegaciesshould have been rewritten entirely.
