We have finally made it to the season finale of the first season of Legacies. It was tense and jam-picked with twists and turns. I laughed until I cried and cried a little more than I’d care to admit. I cheered on some characters and booed very loudly at others. This was a beautiful and intense season finale for a show that has proved itself to be a modern and fresh take on the lives of teenagers, even in a supernatural world. There were tons of plot twists and cliffhangers we can take a closer look at and make some predictions about where they will take our favorite characters in the second season.
Let’s get into it!
Hope’s Sacrifice
Hope did something that solidified her arc this season; she sacrificed herself for the people she loves. Like Hope said, she questioned why her father scarified himself for her and she finally got to a place where she understood how someone could do that. Hope Mikaelson allowed herself to love and be loved, so she put the needs of others above herself. She also found a purpose in that moment. She felt lost for much of the season, like she was some “cosmic mistake.” Her existence was the key to keeping Malivore from destroying the lives of her loved ones and the world she knows. She was never a cosmic mistake; she was a cosmic miracle.
Obviously Hope Mikaelson is so much more than this loophole and she proved that in this episode. She is a hero and it is through her direct approach to saving the day that the other teenagers follow and save the day. Hope realizes that she’s stronger with her Super Squad fighting along side her. The moment when Josie, Lizzie, and Hope joined hands really symbolized this. They’re stronger together.
Like Lizzie said, “Well that is just not good enough, Hope. My sister is clearly dying, and we did not wait ten years to become friends with you for you not come through with your annoyingly perfect Hope Mikaelson heroics when we need you the most.” They need her, which brings me to what her absence could mean for season two. Clearly Rafael is stuck in his werewolf form until they find a loophole to bring Hope back or change Rafael back without Hope. Landon doesn’t remember the girl he loves. The Honor Council is missing one of its key members. More importantly, without Klaus Mikaelson’s hefty donation to the school upon Hope’s attendance, the school could not stand. In a world without Hope, will the school still operate the same way? Surely it won’t. Hope is an integral part of the foundations of the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. Will the school crumble without her? Let’s not forget that Josie still has that handy book that Penelope gave her with all of the information people wrote with the pens Penelope gave her. Maybe that will be the key to saving the day and bringing Hero Hope back.
Now Hiring?
Another cliffhanger of this season finale is Ric’s status as Headmaster of the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. We don’t get to see the factions vote on whether Ric will stay or go in this episode, so it could go either way at this point. The uncertainty of his job is a logical ending for Ric’s journey this season. Since the very beginning of Legacies, Ric has struggled with his control over the students and the school as a whole. He has had a lot to reckon with over the last 16 episodes. I love that Ric included the students in this decision. He recognized that they are smarter and more aware than some would like to admit. Specifically, I really liked when he told them, “Whichever way this goes. I want to thank you, all of you, for making me understand that the world my daughters inherit will be in better hands.” Ric knows he may not be the best person for the job anymore and that shows so much growth.
Where do we go from here in the second season? I believe that bringing in someone else may be a good idea, even if it is just for a short period of time. Ric needs a breather. He needs some time to figure out a new way to foster the growth of these incredibly smart, intuitive, and powerful generation of kids. He can’t do that on his own; it’s virtually impossible. A new voice may be best for the school at this point. Maybe Ric could step down to a Vice Headmaster for the time being. What do you think? Do you think the Salvatore school should start posting Now Hiring listings online?
Raining Rose Petals
Triad and more specifically Burr came into the Salvatore Boarding School hard and fast. Weapons were drawn on children without a second thought. Guns were point at kids inside of the school and on buses outside of the school. Burr and some of his team members were out of control. The way this episode provided commentary about this topic through the lens of the show moved me more than I could ever explain in this review. It was so powerful to see the teenagers rise up and fight back to save their own lives. Even Pedro joined in on the revolution. I was moved to tears when the witches turned the Triad guys’ guns to rose petals. That alone holds so much weight.
I knew the show wasn’t going to shy away from the implications of pointing a gun at the teenagers hold from the start of the episode when Hope asked Burr, “That’s your plan? You’re gonna shoot a kid?” And he did. He shot Josie for fun. He is sick and twisted and Victoria Greasley realized that way too late. I loved that MG didn’t that accept that answer from his mom. That wasn’t enough because Burr was in the wrong but he wasn’t the only one. The whole operation didn’t consider the lives of the children the would be using and abusing to get what Triad wanted. When MG told his mom, “If this is our family’s legacy, we cannot be family anymore,” I FELT THAT.
MG drives the point home of choosing goodness over violence again when he spoke to Kaleb. MG said, “These Triad guys are just scared bullies, lashing out because they think they’re losing control over something they had no power over in the first place. Like you told me once, we’re faster, we’re stronger, we’re better. Deep down they know that. So just be better. We don’t need to prove it by killing them.” That speech is relevant to MG and Kaleb and what they had experienced, but it is also so relevant to the lives of so many in the real world right now. Legacies may be a show about supernatural teenagers living in a boarding school, taking on the world one monster at a time, but themes like this make it stand out. Legacies isn’t afraid to provide commentary about the modern world. It’s inspiring and important, and I hope that as the show streams on Netflix, more and more people realize how incredible it is to have a show like this one on the air.
To Merge or Not to Merge
The twins found the ascendant.
If you are a fan of The Vampire Diaries, then you know exactly what this means. Well, technically we don’t really know… not anymore. Josie and Lizzie say that the ascendant seems familiar but they’re not sure why. I don’t think this much of a spoiler since TVD has aired and been streaming on Netflix for quite some time and Julie Plec has talked about it in interviews, but that ascendant has popped up in the twins’ life before. They helped their aunt Bonnie Bennett make that ascendant to lock their psychotic uncle Kai Parker in a prison world.
Now, I have thought about this merge probably too much and I’ve come to a logical theory. Caroline Forbes has been on the road for the past 16 episodes and even before then looking for a loophole so one of her daughters doesn’t have to be absorbed by the other at the age of 22. Caroline has come up short because there are no Geminis left. As far as I know, the only one that is left is the one that is locked in a prison world; the only one that is left is Kai Parker.
As much as I know Kai will only cause endless mayhem upon his hopeful return, I cannot stop thinking about all of the possibilities. I also can’t stop thinking that maybe there will be a way to save Josie and Lizzie after all if they do find this loophole.
Other Spelltacular Moments:
- Someone better not have blown up Wickery Bridge. If they did, then they better find a way to fix it. I have too many precious memories tied to fictional characters and that bridge.
- “For the love of Frodo, go rescue your Hobbit.” – Lizzie Saltzman
- The Headless Horseman has always been such a fun character to me, especially from growing up, so it was really cool to see it portrayed on Legacies.
- Clarke’s “Dick move, brother.” felt a lot like Damon Salvatore’s “Hello, brother.”
- “I’m sorry. We can’t all be born with resting concerned pouty face.” – Lizzie Saltzman
- “This is a dark object, creating by a group of extinct witch-like people called the Travelers. Anti-magic was kind of their thing.” – Alaric Saltzman
- TVD fans, do you remember the Travelers?
- “But I trust you more than I trust anyone. I wish I would have figured that out sooner too.” – Hope Mikaelson to Alaric Saltzman
- “Suck on that, Tim Burton.” – Landon Kirby
