Reviews

Legacies Review: Playing the Dad Card

0
Photo: Mark Hill/The CW

Unlike its predecessors Legacies promised to showcase a monster of the week.

This week’s monster: a dragon.

Seriously.

A woman turned into an actual dragon.

I’m torn between being impressed and rolling my eyes. On the one hand: Cool unexpected twist! On the other: really?!

Photo: Mark Hill/The CW

After nine years and two shows, both featuring characters that lived for over 1,000 years, we’re supposed to believe dragons (and gargoyles) can suddenly exist in this universe?

Alaric shared my skepticism as Dorian pointed out they once didn’t know about vampires. Fair.

However, I still need an explanation.

Maybe the dragon lived in the knife. Maybe all the creatures did. Give me a believable reason no one in this universe knew this could happen and I will be on board.

Dragons aside “Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn” tapped into the true magic of this universe: its ability to dig into the characters’ emotional wounds and twist the knife.

Blinded by vengeance, and ignoring warnings from her therapist, Hope grabbed a death spell and set out with Alaric and Rafael to find Landon.

Photo: Mark Hill/The CW

While Ric dealt with the dragon, still in the form of a fire-breathing woman, Landon insisted to his brother and Hope that he didn’t kill everyone on the bus, he had no idea why he stole the knife, and he dropped it in the woods.

The last part proved to be a lie so it’s hard to know whether to believe the rest of his story. I still don’t buy that he knew he had supernatural abilities.

Maybe the knife called to him. Maybe he’s one of the never mentioned supernatural creatures. Maybe he’s mastered the art of lying.

For now he’s once again on the run with Rafael so those answers might have to wait. As for Hope, she’s left to deal with Ric and the ramifications of her actions.

Alaric pulled the biggest card in the deck: he accused Hope of being her father and insisted he wouldn’t allow it.

Photo: Mark Hill/The CW

He’s not wrong. Hope can’t give in to her dark impulses and kill everyone who wrongs her like Klaus. He wouldn’t want that for his daughter and neither would Hayley.

Hope knows that, too. Watching her cry alone with photos of her family was heartbreaking (Danielle Rose Russell is SO GOOD).

Speaking of family…Lizzie and Josie continue to hate their father’s constant need to rush into danger with Hope to the point they worry he might stop loving them.

Again, I’m torn on this. Teenage insecurities are the worst. But Ric’s entire life is about keeping his daughters—and other kids like them—safe.

(Okay, teenage emotions win that battle).

Photo: Annette Brown/The CW

The Salvatore Stallions (nice) faced off in their annual football game against the Mystic Falls High Timberwolves. Unable to use their powers, the supernatural kids end up humiliated every year.

And, because teenage insecurities are the worst, the townies mock what they believe to be spoiled rich kids who think they’re better than them, while the supernatural kids want to show off because the townies have the one thing they never will: a normal life.

If that’s not the most relatable thing ever, powers aside, I don’t know what is.

Dana, a nasty mean girl, mocked Lizzie at every turn. She made it personal when she sneered at her for needing prescriptions for her mental problems.

Photo: Annette Brown/The CW

Penelope, Salvatore’s resident mean girl, took the opportunity to manipulate MG into showing off in order to impress Lizzie.

It’s hard to get a bead on her. While she did whisper this week’s episode title to MG as motivation, it doesn’t quite add up.

Does she still have feelings for Josie? Did Lizzie play a role in their breakup? How does MG fit in? This is two weeks in a row where she’s used him to hurt the twins.

I trust the writers will tell us eventually. One of the many, many strengths of this universe has been fleshing out villains and their true motivations.

Photo: Annette Brown/The CW

Despite deploying magic, compulsion, and displays of supernatural speed and agility, the Stallions opted for skill in their final play, only to be thwarted by Josie’s last minute magical interference.

When they were alone, Josie confessed all to her sister, including the why: she’d rather disappoint Lizzie than risk Alaric not loving them.

Ouch.

Thankfully, Alaric returned home to hug both his daughters without lecture. He’s too busy worrying about what might be coming next.

(It’s a gargoyle).

Miscellaneous Musings

-Why doesn’t Hope have a photo of Hayley?

-Hope and Rafael have better chemistry than Hope and Landon.

-Please don’t drag out the mystery of what Landon is too long. His cut and run act is already wearing thin and it’s Week 2.

Photo: Annette Brown/The CW

-The twins’ fears over Alaric abandoning them make Caroline’s absence that much more glaring.

-The scenes at the school were far more interesting than the ones with the dragon. Emotional connections beat stunts every time.

-Lizzie and Josie’s love for each other is precious and their quiet scenes have been a highlight of the series so far.

-I know Hope is scarred from losing Klaus and Hayley, but why didn’t she have any friends before that? This doesn’t match with what we saw on The Originals.

-Violence isn’t the answer is an important message for real life. But watching Lizzie punch Dana was pretty satisfying.

(Also, her line was an apparent callback to The Vampire Diaries according to Twitter, but I don’t remember it).

Mandy Treccia
Mandy Treccia has served as TVSource Magazine’s Executive Editor since 2016, formerly as Editorial Director from 2012-2016. She is an avid TV watcher and card carrying fan girl prone to sudden bursts of emotion, ranging from extreme excitement to blind rage during her favorite shows and has on more than once occasion considered having a paper bag on hand to get her through some tough TV moments. Her taste in TV tends to rival that of a thirteen-year-old girl, but she’s okay with that.

Podcast S2 EP 8: Week in Soaps – Hollyoaks’ Perfect Storm

Previous article

Days of our Lives Spoilers: November 5-9, 2018

Next article

You may also like

Comments

Comments are closed.

More in Reviews