Legacies Season 2 Premiere Review: Hopeless in Mystic Falls

It’s good to be back in Mystic Falls.

Legacies kicked off its second season with the Salvatore School students scattering for summer vacation, leaving only Landon, Josie, and poor Rafael, still trapped in wolf form, on campus.

Hope, meanwhile, awakened in a void only to discover Clarke by her side, which was not what she expected. She thought she would find peace after she jumped.

Seriously, is there anyone else more deserving of a constant hug than Hope Mikaelson?

“I’ll Never Give up Hope” mostly gave the monsters a rest while it set up several storylines and potential relationship perils for the season.

Kaleb followed through on his promise to be MG’s family by inviting him to spend the summer in Atlanta with his family.

Can we take a moment to celebrate Kaleb, who started out with a stereotypical jock/alpha male persona, and then immediately proved himself to have a heart of gold?

MG misses his family, but he started to get his groove back, and lean into his new surroundings. He even found a potential girl who made him forget about Lizzie for a minute or two.

And here’s where things got dicey: she turned out to be Kaleb’s sister and he did not want MG anywhere near her. In fact, he offered to help him land Lizzie, a relationship he vetoed earlier.

Really? We’re going down this sexist route with Kaleb of all people (see above)? He cares about MG so much and he will protect him from anyone, but MG can’t date his sister?

And does his sister have any say or agency in this scenario? It’s time to retire this trope.

Speaking of Lizzie, she’s across the ocean with Caroline. She’s getting extra therapy because she’s determined to be better for herself and for Josie.

The twins communicated via astral projection (because they can and it’s cool). At first, Lizzie played up her summer of fun, but then she confessed to Josie that it’s all therapy all the time, and she’s sorry she lied.

Growth, ladies and gentlemen.

As for Josie, she stayed behind to take care of Ric. She worried he was having a full blown midlife crisis after being ousted by the Honor Council.

But, surprise! He was doing better than he let on. He spent his summer trying to figure out the secrets of Malivore and why it disappeared.

He knew there were two other people with Landon when it did (via hair and fiber samples), but Josie pointed out it couldn’t be someone they knew—there would have been traces of the person.

(Hope’s planning was too smart for her own good).

Landon did his best to communicate with Rafael; he cooked meat for him and arranged movie nights in the woods.

That is when he wasn’t trying to kill himself to see glimpses of Hope.

Here’s the thing: are we supposed to see this as romantic? Or maybe as a teenage boy trying to come to grips with his newfound immortality by testing its limits?

Neither answer is great. And that’s why Josie discovering what he was doing and telling him to knock it off was the best thing to happen.

First, he doesn’t know if there is a limit (there should be—nature demands balance) and second, self-harm is a cry for help even if he doesn’t think he’s in danger.

Josie and Landon agreed they both needed to stop living for other people and try the happiness thing for themselves. And by the end of the summer, they sealed that happiness with a kiss.

(We’ll get back to that).

In Malivore, Hope had no interest in the assistance offered by Clarke—at first. But when voids started opening up all over the place and monsters they’d defeated lurked, company didn’t seem so bad.

Except Hope noticed something peculiar about Clarke’s help: it only came after she used magic, and when the voids appeared, he always latched onto her.

She cast another spell that forced him to tell the truth and he admitted his father wanted her out and him to stay.

Despite Clarke’s begging, Hope left him there. And Clarke, who swore he wasn’t a villain, decided to become one in order to get his ticket out of the pit.

And it seemed to work—as a figure in a red cloak did something shady in a cemetery.

Hope made her way back to the Salvatore School. Dorian didn’t recognize her, but she headed inside anyway, desperate to see her friends.

Naturally, she arrived just in time to witness Landon and Josie’s kiss.

How much heartbreak can this girl take?

MISCELLANEOUS MUSINGS

• Ric accused Dorian of failing to back him when it came to the council vote—the results were three to one in favor of ousting him. But Dorian didn’t give an explanation. My guess is he did vote to keep him, but Josie didn’t. Dorian’s protecting his feelings and Josie’s guilt is what kept her in Mystic Falls for the summer.
• Since there’s a new sheriff, does that mean we never have to see Matt Donovan again? Because I would like to live in that world. As for Sherriff Mac, she should be careful getting close to Ric. It never, ever ends well for the women in his life.
• Hope just came back and Raf wandered away from school so I don’t blame her for not remembering what she did to him. However, is it possible Raf will remember her? Animals are more in tune with nature and have heightened senses. Maybe the Malivore erasure won’t work on him.
• Also, Hope couldn’t destroy Malivore because she never died and became a vampire. Is this a Chekhov’s gun situation? By mentioning it in the premiere, does that mean we may see vampire!Hope for real this season? And will she get to keep her magic since she’s a magical miracle baby and not a regular vampire?
• The Landon/Josie summer montage was adorable. And not just because they had good lighting. I hate that Hope is hurt now and that Josie will likely be hurt once Landon sees Hope again, but these two do make sense as a temporary ship.
• I’m not proud of it and I see how problematic it is, but I think I shipped Hope and Clarke for a minute there (okay, fine. Multiple minutes). It was sweet when she protected him and at first it seemed like he was protecting her, too. Plus, excellent banter.
• (He wouldn’t be the first villain who earned redemption in this universe—just saying).
• That said, Hope and her subconscious Landon are too cute for words. And even though he’s fake, it’s nice to see Hope sharing her true feelings and not hiding anything to protect anyone. She deserves so much happiness.
• Lizzie mentioned Penelope and Josie seemed to enjoy the thought of her being jealous. I hope she pops up this season. In the meantime, her spy diary remains in the school…which means there is a record of Hope there. Another way she might be remembered if the Raf theory doesn’t pan out.
• Every episode should start with a glimpse of Pedro. The cutest.
• I hope Julie Plec is on the phone with Chris Wood at least once a day offering him the moon and stars because I need Kai Parker back on my screen. I’m not sure how much help he’ll be to the twins because he’s a true villain, but still. Such a fun villain.
• The monster of the week is my least favorite part of the show so it was nice not having one until the end. Is it a troll? Guess we’ll find out next week…