I know we’ve only seen three episode of the series so far, but “We’re Being Punked, Pedro” is my new favorite episode. It has all of my favorite things: a star-crossed love story, Ric in a sweater, downtown Mystic Falls, Jeremy Gilbert, female characters saving the day, and more. Plus, there’s a gargoyle. Yes, gargoyles are absolutely a thing now. There are also so many great callbacks to The Vampire Diaries and The Originals in this episode, so that makes my very happy.
Let’s break down some of my favorite things about episode three of Legacies.
Mystic Falls
Every time these characters venture anywhere near downtown Mystic Falls, my heart flutters. It truly does feel like coming home. Whether the buildings we’re seeing are original sets or not, I remember key moments of both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals in that Town Square. I can remember first kisses and fist fights, emotional reunions and heart-wrenching breakups that happened in or around the Mystic Grill. Mystic Falls is the home to some of my favorite characters and their stories. I’m glad that Legacies decided to take a trip to downtown Mystic Falls this week. A bunch of the Salvatore Boarding School teens have to do some public service as a punishment for starting a full-blown brawl at the flag football game. Lizzie is pleased to know that Hope is also required to attend this trip, since that means Hope isn’t in Ric’s good graces for once.
Anyway, one of the more interesting things to come out of the trip is Caleb feeding on Dana. He is the one who says, “We’re faster. We’re stronger. We’re better. And we ain’t got nothing to apologize for. Nothing.” He’s right to some extent. The supernatural beings don’t have anything to apologize. Being different isn’t a bad thing. Having their abilities shouldn’t be reasons enough to outlaw them. However, it doesn’t give Caleb the right to feed on innocent humans and rope M.G. into hiding his secret.
M.G. handles things in a much more respective way. When he compels Dana to learn why she is so eager to make out with him, he finds out that she’s doing it to make another guy jealous. Dana also knows that he’s making out with her to make Lizzie jealous. After M.G. registers all of that, he knows he can’t go back to making out with Dana as if he hasn’t heard all of that. That would be manipulative. M.G. doesn’t want to take advantage of Dana. He even says, “My momma didn’t raise me like that.” Thank you, M.G. For M.G.’s sake, I hope that Caleb’s secret comes out sooner or later and that he is seriously punished for it. Humans aren’t around for his wants and needs. They’re not disposable.
#Hosie
Welcome your new favorite ship! It may stay a friendship. It may develop into something more. I don’t know. I’m not making any promises. I do know that I’m fine with either because Hope and Josie are the dynamic duo this school needs. I wish that they could become a trio with Lizzie, but that’s going to take a lot longer to come to fruition.
Josie sides with Hope in cleaning up trash, which infuriates Lizzie and leads to Hope poking herself in her toe with the steel tip of her trash poker. Both of those things seem bad and like they would only lead to a worse outcome, but they actually break the ice and allow Hope and Josie to find some common ground. They talk about their crushes and how they weren’t the best people on the planet. They also discuss how much they miss their moms. Caroline Forbes, Josie’s mom, is out recruiting for the school and Hope’s mom, Hayley Marshall, has sadly passed away. It’s nice to see Josie apologize for not being a better “friend” when Hayley died. Hope also comes clean to Josie about pretty much everything.
Hope and Josie clearing the air helps them to take down the monster of the week. They’re able to put aside their differences and literally turn a monster into a thousand tiny pieces. Yes, Ric saves Hope by standing in front of her, but it’s pretty clear that Hope and Josie are the real heroes of this particular story. It will always be empowering to see two women join hands, share their magical powers, and defeat the Big Bad. Hopefully we’ll see more and more of that in the future.
The Gargoyle
The monster of the week is none other than the mystical and immensely creepy gargoyle. I already know I’m going to be dedicating a section of my reviews to the new creatures wreaking havoc on Mystic Falls every week. The most important information that comes from the discovery and destruction of this monster is that it was after the same knife the dragon was after. This knife can save the world or end it depending on who wields it. That brings so many questions and concerns to my mind. I want all of the students and faculty of this school to stay as safe as possible forever, and everything we learn in this episode tells me this knife is going to make that more complicated.
The Bromance of the Century
Rafael and Landon’s friendship is one for the ages. These two are so dedicated to each other that they’re willing to camp out in the woods of Mystic Falls and live off of cooked rabbit. Even though Rafael is hesitant to believe the story Landon is feeding him about stealing the knife, Rafael stands by his friend. He tells Landon, “You run. I run. Period.” These two are with each other until the end of the line – to reference another one of my favorite bromances. It’s endearing to see two guys who are best friends and don’t seem ashamed of leaning on their friend. It doesn’t make them lesser than the rest of the guys. It’s not a weakness; it’s one of their greatest strengths. It’s beautiful to watch. Landon and Rafael are all in with each other, and that counts for everything in a world when danger meets you at every turn.
Little Gilbert is Back
Of course I have to reserve a whole section of this review for the grand return of Jeremy Gilbert. Legacies newcomers won’t recognize Steven McQueen’s face, but fans of the The Vampire Diaries universe will squeal when he pulls his hood back. He’s sort of a big deal.
I’m sure a lot of the events in this episode were eerie to fans who didn’t know who Jeremy was or that he was making an appearance in this episode. Some weird, hooded man sending ominous texts to an unknown number about Rafael and Landon’s location would be off-putting. The threatening note on the cash would have made my heart race had I not had an inkling that Jeremy was behind it. Also, not knowing that Jeremy is great at archery and can knock Landon and Rafael out with darts without actually hurting them could make that scene come across more aggressive. Personally, I knew Landon and Rafael were in great hands. I also knew that’s why Ric wasn’t concerned with Landon and Rafael’s whereabouts this week. He had someone on the job. Like Jeremy says, “I’ve known Alaric since I was a kid, and now I work for him sometimes.” It’s like Ric passed the torch. Ric watched out for Jeremy when things got rough, and now Jeremy is watching out for other lost teenagers. It’s the perfect job for Jeremy.
On a completely different but equally important note, Jeremy introducing himself to Landon and Rafael as their new best friend was everything. Seriously, they should befriend Jeremy. He’s a good guy to have in your corner in a world with a whole lot of bad guys.
Other Spelltacular Moments:
- Hope mentioning her Aunt Freya put the biggest smile on my face.
- Dorian sitting outside at the Mystic Grill brought back ALL the memories!
- I’m sure Hope was referencing Landon when she mentioned her last crush, but I couldn’t help to think of Roman. The Originals fans, who do you think she was talking about?
- Pedro is the most adorable human ever. I like how he posed as Lizzie’s sort of Robin this week.
- This isn’t a spelltacular moment but I don’t think Ric continually rain-checking therapy is a good thing.
- Counselor Emma is a badass. I love her and I hope we get to know more about her soon.
- Josie mentioning Caroline is great and everything but I want more. When are we going to see Caroline again? Ric’s trying but I think that she’d be able to offer some personal insight to Lizzie.
