I am a complete sucker for a road trip in real life and in my favorite television shows, so this episode of Legacies was such a treat for me. There’s something compelling about seeing all of your favorite characters shoved into what one of them deems a “retro” minivan and watch all of the secrets start to spill out. Other than the bugs, because gross, this episode was a lot of fun to watch. It made me laugh, cry, and excited for the next episode.
Let’s get into all of the details!
Deputy AJ Clarke
Yes, the mummy is scary in its own right, but Deputy AJ Clarke is on a whole other level. At least we know the mummy needs to take the urn to the portal to Malivore in order to secure a chance to find real peace. We have zero idea at this point in the series why Deputy AJ Clarke, if that is even his real name, is dropping artifacts into the gooey portal like it is no big deal. Sure we could believe he just wants to be the one to put an “end to all supernatural beings,” like Ric says unlocking Malivore will do. However, I am sure there is more to Deputy AJ Clarke than meets the eye. Even Big Bads have to have a motive, right?
It is also even scarier that I can understand a point he made to Ric. When Deputy AJ Clarke said that he is trying to help people by wiping their memories and essentially suppressing the true identities of supernatural beings, I believed that he believes he is doing the right thing. The line that really drove that point home is when he said that compelling the citizens was the least the Salvatore Boarding School kids could do because they were “Kids with magic in a town full of innocents without it.” This implies that Deputy AJ Clarke wants to protect the innocence of the general public. Essentially, he is a wild card and I am on my the edge of my seat to see what his next move may be.
Hearts on Fire
Lizzie decided that a stuffed minivan would be the best place to make Hope finally own up to ruining all of her spring breaks. Instead, we learned that Josie is quite the fire-starter herself. On top of that, we finally got an answer to a question I have been writing about for weeks. This episode finally, directly addressed Lizzie’s mental health. She has bipolar disorder. And through learning this, Lizzie’s animosity towards Hope made much more sense. Not because Lizzie has bipolar disorder but because Lizzie was under the impression that Hope had started a rumor at the expense of Lizzie’s struggles with her mental health. Hope eventually assured Lizzie that is not the case. Hope specifically said, “But with a father and grandfather like mine, I’m probably not immune to those issues myself. I don’t take it lightly and I would never make fun of you for it.” Lizzie’s reaction to Hope saying those words is one of the most genuine scenes between Lizzie and Hope that I’ve seen on the show this far.
The walls between Lizzie and Hope are broken down even more when Josie revealed that she had a crush on Hope when they were younger. There were so many things about this that stand out to me, so I’m going to mention a few of them. Josie didn’t want to tell her sister that she had a crush on Hope out of the fear that Lizzie would try to get with Hope, because Lizzie has done that multiple times before. Lizzie doesn’t react to that moment of honesty with anger and an assertion of her heterosexuality. Lizzie’s “straight by default” status is struck down in that moment. Josie didn’t assume that Lizzie wouldn’t go after Hope because she was a girl and Lizzie didn’t suggest that she wouldn’t. Hope’s “straight by default” status is also questioned because she was visibly flattered by Josie’s crush and doesn’t assert her heterosexuality in retaliation either. Labels aren’t important in this conversation or many others on Legacies. Yes, there is a love triangle with Alaric/Emma/Dorian, but there is a much larger love heptagon with Landon/Hope/Rafael/Josie/Penelope/MG/Lizzie. All of the combinations in that heptagon are wonderful in their own right, because labels are dated and sexuality is fluid. I’m glad to see Legacies promoting that love is love.
Accountability & the Conscious
The series thus far has made it abundantly clear that Alaric Saltzman is someone who prides himself on his accountability. He holds himself accountable for everyone and everything all of the time. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, which is why I have been begging for him to go on vacation. In this episode, Ric and Emma battle their own respective struggles with accountability and their conscious since that is what’s keeping them apart. What boggles my mind is that it takes a near-death experience on Dorian’s end for anyone to be up front about the kiss between Ric and Emma. Something tells me if they really valued accountability and their conscious that they would have been honest with Dorian as soon as it happened, or, hear me out, they wouldn’t have kissed at all. I know people make mistakes and then usually grow from said mistakes. To each their own, I suppose, but Ric and Emma are going to have a lot more to be accountable for and to hold on their conscious now that Dorian knows the truth.
Also Ric’s deep need to be accountable of all of the supernatural kids he can fit under the roof of the Salvatore School and beyond led to one of my favorite scenes in the entire episode. The scene I am talking about is when Ric boldly stood in front of Hope, Josie, and Lizzie, crossbow in hand, and stated, “I have to protect you. All of you.” Hope stood should-to-shoulder with the Saltzman twins and granted Ric yet another reprieve. Hope told him, “No offense, Dr. Saltzman, but you and your crossbow are kind of man-spreading in front of three powerful witches.” This scene embodies all of my favorite things: bad ass witches doing there things, calling out the patriarchy, and a man realizing it is okay not to be the strongest one in the room.
The Good But Complicated Fight
Kaleb, who has been pushing for a more naturalistic lifestyle for the vampires at the Salvatore School, helped me better understand his argument in this episode. Of course, there is no perfect way to be a vampire for too many reasons to list; the most important of which being they aren’t real. However, in the context of the show, there are certain aspects of vampirism that should be monitored, like doing anything without consent and killing innocent people. With that being said, Kaleb’s point of needing to be stronger to fight the fight when Ric calls on them is very valid. Ric stands by no vampire powers outside of school grounds, unless there is a specific situation in which Ric desperately needs vampire powers. So the vampires have to be prepared for any trying situation at any time, yet they are denied the blood that makes them the strongest. Witches are expected to be on the front lines, yet they aren’t being taught offensive magic.
It is beneficial to take into account that Kaleb is a teenager and probably has his best interest partially in mind, since he is a vampire who would very much like to feed on human blood. However, we should not discount his perspective and his ideas because he is a teenager. The young generation is changing the world, even in the supernatural world of Legacies. Kaleb said it best when he told Ric, “Times are different, Mr. S. The rules should be too.”
Other Spelltacular Moments:
- Ric geeking out over the bugs was adorable.
- Hope is a snack girl, which I respect.
- Everyone needs to know that Alaric Saltzman jams to Iggy Azalea during road trips.
- Kaylee singing and playing the ukulele in the minivan actually has a very heartwarming backstory that Julie Plec tweeted about.
- Kaleb dishing out free life advice while compelling the citizens of Maple Hollows made me laugh out loud.
