The second episode of Legacies made me fall in love with the show even more. I found myself laughing and crying while watching it. “Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn” really invited viewers to fall in love with the characters. We got to know them better. Their desires, fears, and powers were at the forefront of this episode. The introduction (or re-introduction) to this magical world was last week. This week was all about seeing what these characters were made of – on and off the field.
Hope and Lizzie’s Rage
Even in 2018, it is still quite rare to see a female character on screen who is angry. Rage and an appetite for vengeance aren’t usually reserved for female characters. Angry women are unruly and uncontrollable. They’re untrustworthy and hysterical. Those are things I have been programmed to believe through the media I have consumed ever since I was young. Now, more than ever, female characters are created in the likes of real women, meaning they get mad.
Hope Mikaelson is a character with a very complicated relationship to rage. I believe it runs in her blood, and Ric points that out in this episode. When Ric tells Hope, “This hatred. This vengeance. This is your father. It can’t be you. I won’t let it,” he is referencing Klaus Mikaelson. To avoid a long history of the Mikaelson bloodline and Klaus’s personal past, all you need to know is that Hope being a Mikaelson gives her a predisposition to want to rip people’s heads off when they cross her. While Ric is right, most of that is her father, I do think a lot of it is Hope. She has been burned more times than I can count, so she jumps to conclusions to protect herself. Her anger sometimes presents itself as a defense mechanism. I am in no way suggesting that she should have killed Landon because that would have been wrong for more than one reason. Hope may benefit from learning how to express her anger in a less harmful way for herself and others. Leaning into mentors who clearly have her best interest in mind, like Ric, could help her. Of course, Hope is going to get mad again. It’s natural. It’s human. I just hope she learns to turn away from black magic and looks towards healthy outlets for her rage.
Lizzie, on the other hand, finds an outlet for her rage on the field. We have already seen what Lizzie is capable of when she’s mad, so it was compelling to watch her focus all of that energy into a flag-football game. She threw some verbal punches at M.G. for making out with her sister’s ex-girlfriend. Lizzie also threw an actual punch to some very mean girl from Mystic Falls High named Dana who told Josie to “suck it.” Lizzie also channels all of her rage into losing the game, before the plan changes, because she’s upset that her father seemingly loves Hope more than her. These are completely understandable reasons for Lizzie to be mad at the world. Taking it out on the field (not the punching part, the sports part) is a good resolution. It’s much better than destroying kitchens and nearly killing her father. There is no way we have seen the end of the road with Lizzie and her anger, so I look forward to what’s to come. Maybe there will be an unexpected alliance between Hope and Lizzie founded on the common ground of not knowing what to do with all the anger inside of them.
Dragons Are a Thing Now
I never thought this day would come. I have watched every episode of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals multiple times. I never expected the supernatural creatures to venture outside of the realm of variations of vampires, werewolves, and witches. Now there are dragons! DRAGONS. Remember how we were all blaming Landon for the bus nightmare? Turns out it was just a dragon. Casual, right?
It does make since that Landon doesn’t remember taking the knife, ends up hiding in the dragon’s lair, and then it’s revealed she (the dragon) wants the knife. The reason for all of that is still unclear, however, it is clear from the final minute of the episode that there is more than what we’re used to roaming Mystic Falls. Ric isn’t sure how to handle this news. His main goal is to protect these kids. Now he’s feeling as vulnerable as the unlocked gates to the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted.
Honestly, I was thinking about Matt Donovan the entire time the dragon was flying around Mystic Falls. How would he explain that one away? Did he? Is he okay? Is Matt having a good hair day? I spend a lot of my time thinking about Matt Donovan. He survived The Vampire Diaries as a human, and I hope he survives Legacies that way as well.
Sports Are Still a Thing
This episode spends a lot of its time focused on an epic flag football game. It’s the Stallions versus the Timberwolves. This causes me a lot of inner tension because my allegiances are complicated. While all of the people I know and love have graduated from Mystic Falls High, I still can’t turn my back on the Timberwolves. It doesn’t help that I’ve already fallen in love with Stallions either. Whatever, this isn’t about me.
This game was so much fun to watch. The Stallions go from losing to protect their supernatural secret, to wanting to win with their supernatural powers, to wanting to win fair and square. It’s an epic ride and I love every second of it. Josie failing to catch the football and then shrugging is amazing. We meet Caleb, a vampire, who seems to be really nice. We also learn some interesting information about a few of the characters during this game. Apparently Lizzie stopped visiting Dana’s mom’s pharmacy where she was getting medication. Also, M.G. has a major crush on Lizzie. They’re cute. He’s constantly trying to impress Lizzie during the game. I’m already the captain of the ship.
An Unlikely Alliance
As I wait for Hope and Lizzie to form an alliance, this flag football game gifted viewers an even more unlikely alliance. Penelope Park has had a plan all along and making out with M.G. as Josie watched was a part of it. According to Penelope, Lizzie being mad at M.G. for betraying Josie will make Lizzie notice him. If she notices him, then M.G. has the opportunity to impress Lizzie. Penelope saying, “Some people just want to watch the world burn,” when M.G. questions her motives makes me believe there is more to this plan than Penelope is letting on.
I hope that this complicated plan leads to some flashback scenes. I want to know what Penelope and Josie were like as couple, because in the present they do not seem compatible. I want to know if Lizzie liked Penelope before she broke her sister’s heart. We deserve answers.
Other Spelltacular Moments:
- All of Lizzie’s fantastic nicknames are incredible. Blair Bitch is my personal favorite this week.
- Hope’s family photos made me smile and shed a few tears. I miss those guys.
- A “twin sympathy hurl” sounds like one of the worst possible things, so I hope Josie stops the black magic.
- The use of the word “epic,” brought back so many memories. So much of The Vampire Diaries was described on and off the show as epic. It was nice to hear it again.
- “If he says ‘I swear’ one more time I’m going to melt him.” Hope is the best. Simple as that.
