The Originals’ spinoff Legacies includes many storylines that I can’t believe made it to air. Like many young adults in the 2010s, I became obsessed with The Vampire Diaries, watching the original series and both spinoffs. Among the The Vampire Diaries’ fandom, Legacies is typically considered the butt of the joke due to its campy homages and Monster of the Week format. However, I grew to appreciate the show’s unique voice and exploration of the supernatural TVD world.

Despite this, the spinoff has weaknesses that even I cannot deny. The Legacies villains feel weaker than those introduced in the previous two shows, and some of the romances become dull over time. However, the biggest weakness is some of the storylines. Legacies includes many narrative arcs that either don’t make sense, defy established TVD lore, or fail the characters. These ten storylines left me shaking my head and understanding others’ criticism of the show.

10

Rafael Being King Arthur’s Descendant

The King Arthur Connection Was Pointless And Boring

One storyline that was equally boring and pointless is Legacies‘ introduction of the Nimue, the Green Knight, and the sword in the stone. While I love Arthurian lore, the choice to include these stories felt like a rushed decision, simply made because the show needed a monster. Sadly, the show provides zero reason to fear the Green Knight or trust Nimue. As such, the Super Squad’s choices seem logicless at best and reckless at worst. The story also moves as slowly as the Green Knight.

Moreover, the decision to make Rafael a descendant of King Arthur and the only one who can pull Excalibur from the stone seems pointless because he leaves the show in the very next episode. They had to have known prior to filming that episode that Peyton Alex Smith was leaving Legacies. I would have preferred they make a different character the royal descendant and use that as a throughline that influences character development.

9

Salvatore: The Musical Without Damon and Elena

The Vampire Diaries Characters Should Have Returned For Salvatore: The Musical

The Legacies episode with Salvatore: the Musical is one of my favorites due to the music, Vampire Diaries homage, and the hilarious subplot of MG trying to discover the monster. However, I cannot believe it went on air for one reason alone — they didn’t bring back Damon and Elena to watch Salvatore: the Musical.

Based on the duo’s personalities in TVD, there’s no chance Elena would miss the show, and Damon would probably go because she dragged him along. The chances of them showing up get even higher, considering it features Stefan as a major hero. Damon has a sweet spot for his brother, so there’s a good chance Elena wouldn’t even have to coerce him to watch the play.

The two’s appearance would make even more sense because Josie goes to live with them shortly after the episode. Even if they couldn’t get Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder back, they could have referenced their presence through dialogue and shown Stephanie Salvatore talking to Josie and Lizzie instead.

8

The Introduction Of Sebastian

The Sebastian Storyline Hurts Lizzie’s Character And Contradicts The Vampire Diaries

Lizzie deserved a romantic interest in Legacies, but they severely missed the mark with Sebastian. One major issue with this storyline is that it uses Lizzie’s mental illness as a plot device, which is not only poor writing but unnecessarily cruel to the character. There was no point in making Lizzie question her sanity other than moving the story forward. For a show that includes positive representations of mental illness, they really dropped the ball with this one.

Additionally, Sebastian’s existence frustratingly contradicts the events of The Vampire Diaries. In Legacies season 2, episode 5, “Screw Endgame,” Sebastian says he has been desiccating for centuries under the Salvatore School. There are two main understandings of this statement. First, his coffin has been in Mystic Falls the entire time. Second, his coffin was in the Armory until Alaric had all the artifacts moved to the school. Unfortunately, neither of these explanations makes sense.

If Sebastian’s coffin was under the Salvatore School all along, he should have been destroyed in The Vampire Diaries season 5 by The Travelers’ Curse. Alternatively, if Sebastian’s coffin had been in the Armory, Dorian and Alaric would have known about his existence through their records. I found myself too frustrated by the writing and plotholes to be able to enjoy Lizzie’s happiness.

7

Hope’s Being Defined By Her Love Interest

Hope Mikaelson’s Identity Shouldn’t Have Revolved Around Landon Kirby

The Originals did a great job setting up Hope Mikaelson’s personality, background, and flaws. The character struggles with her lack of familial support and strives for their attention. She has a contentious relationship with Lizzie and Josie. She has a strong, albeit naive, sense of justice, using her tribrid abilities to protect the people around her. Yes, she had a crush on Roman, but that didn’t define her. Unfortunately, Legacies explores almost none of these aspects of Hope, centering her story around Landon instead.

Despite Julie Plec creating both series, the two versions of Hope feel entirely disconnected. The version in Legacies feels regressive. She seems like what a male writer would imagine a teenage girl to be – obsessed with a boy. Hope is always framed by her relationship, or lack thereof, with Landon. Meanwhile, all the other girl characters explored the different aspects of their personalities and identities. I think Hope Mikaelson – the most powerful supernatural in the TVD world – deserved better than that.

6

Josie Never Getting A Happy Ending

Josie Saltzman Deserved Better Than Her Story Ending

Of all the Legacies characters, Josie is the one I find most relatable, which makes it all the more frustrating that she never gets a happy ending. Josie is repeatedly shortchanged throughout Legacies. First, she is the ignored child because Alaric focuses more on Lizzie and Hope. She spends her time managing her sister instead of focusing on her well-being.

Josie finally starts growing as an individual when attending Mystic Falls High and living with Elena and Damon, but she’s quickly forced to return to the Salvatore School. When Josie gives up her magic, she’s coerced into retaking her siphon powers. The show undoes every bit of agency she exerts.

On top of this, every one of her love interests gets cut short. Despite her immense growth, she never gets the happy ending others earn. Then, Legacies season 4 writes Josie off in the most unsatisfying way – suddenly putting her on a bus. The writers should have given Josie more respect and care as a character instead of writing off her happiness.

5

Santa Fighting The Krampus

The Christmas Episode Of Legacies Includes The Most Ridiculous Monster Fight

Of all the Legacies Monster of the Week episodes, the worst has to be “This Christmas Was Surprisingly Violent.” The storyline was pretty good up until the point where the Krampus came. Hope’s team-up with Clarke is an exciting choice, and the two characters bounce off each other well. Rafael’s interactions with his father are essential to his character arc. Additionally, it’s beautiful any time Chris Lee, who plays Kaleb, sings in Legacies. Unfortunately, the episode’s climax ruins all the good things up to that point.

Santa has a throwdown MMA fight with Krampus in one of the most ridiculous scenes that has possibly ever occurred in The TVD Universe. Just writing that sentence feels like I’m talking about poorly written fan fiction. Though the campiness of Legacies is part of what makes the show a guilty pleasure for so many, this scene takes the silliness too far.

4

The Hope And Josie Queerbaiting

Legacies Played Into The Potential Relationship With Hope And Josie

While Legacies is widely considered the most inclusive of the TVD shows, the show is guilty of queerbaiting when it comes to Hope and Josie. Queerbaiting refers to a story hinting that a character is LGBTQ+ while leaving it ambiguous or hinting at an LGBTQ+ relationship without exploring it. Unfortunately, the show does both of these things. Legacies leaves Hope’s sexuality ambiguous while playing up the potential relationship between Hope and Josie.

Hope is shown flirting with and nearly kissing Josie in an alternate reality. Then, in Legacies season 2, episode 6, “That’s Nothing I Had To Remember,” Hope confirms that she had a crush on Josie. Finally, in Legacies season 4, she’s shown flirting and dancing with a woman while her humanity is off. However, I found myself frustrated when she never confirmed her bisexuality by the finale.

The show also plays into the Hosie ship (Hope and Josie) while never having the characters address it. The chemistry between the two is immediately apparent. By Legacies season 2, the show directly confirms the requited feelings. The show continues to play up their potential relationship by having Lizzie joke about Josie having a sex dream about Hope. Then, there’s the fairytale episode where Hope only won’t kiss Josie because it’s unconsensual. I wouldn’t care if the two agreed they were better off friends, but the show simply strings along LGBTQ+ viewers, never addressing their potential relationship.

3

The Merge That Didn’t Matter

The Merge In Legacies Was Pointless And Retconned The Vampire Diaries Lore

Dark Josie is one of my favorite character arcs besides Hope becoming the true tribrid in Legacies season 4. Unfortunately, Legacies ended this character arc by retconning a significant plotline in The Vampire Diaries season 6 – the Merge. The ritual is meant to be performed by Gemini twins when they reach the age of 22, at which point one will absorb the other and become the leader of the coven. The Merge was always going to be a big question throughout Legacies because Josie and Lizzie are Gemini coven twins.

Unfortunately, Legacies throws the original lore out the window, saying that The Merge can happen whenever the twins want. The shoddy excuse that the age is more of a guideline infuriates me. If the Geminis knew that The Merge could happen at any time, they would have forced Luke and Liv to merge much sooner than their 22nd birthday, as that would’ve prevented Kai from taking power. Ultimately, this retcon created a more extensive plot hole and wasn’t even worth it because The Merge was only solved in Legacies when Lizzie became a heretic.

2

Kai Parker’s Anticlimactic Death

Legacies Wasted One Of The Best Vampire Diaries Characters

Kai’s return in Legacies was one of the most exciting plotlines, followed by the biggest disappointment. Like The Merge, Kai’s return in Legacies felt inevitable. Rather than killing the villain, they locked him away in a prison world at the end of The Vampire Diaries. Considering his homicidal ways and his vendetta against the twins, he had to return at some point.

The first Legacies episode where he appears, “Kai Parker Screwed Us,” was exciting, fast-paced, and a fascinating look at the parallels between Josie and Kai. Unfortunately, Legacies failed the Vampire Diaries villain in the second episode, “You Can’t Save Them All,” by giving Kai Parker one of the most anticlimactic deaths in the TVD Universe. Alaric beheaded Kai while he was tied up in a warehouse.

At no point does Kai try to do magic, which he’s capable of after returning to life in The Vampire Diaries, or fight back. This is the same man who siphoned the Travelers’ Curse and tried to massacre his siblings. His passiveness is painfully out of character. There was no reason for Legacies to kill him off quickly and with little gravitas. I found myself wishing they’d just not brought him back rather than giving him such a dissatisfying death.

1

“Hold On Tight”

Legacies Season 3, Episode 4 Is A Mess

There are very few episodes of Legacies that I completely dismiss. Even the worst episodes usually have a redeeming quality – whether that be a character or subplot. Unfortunately, there’s little positive to say about Legacies season 3, episode 4, “Hold On Tight.” This episode is, quite simply, a mess. Starting with the most egregious storyline, Lizzie, Josie, and Alyssa create a new prison world with the unending supply of Bennet blood and the supernova – which miraculously continues despite the last episode taking place over multiple days. They somehow move all the monsters into the world, but nobody else except Hope. It’s confusing and doesn’t make much sense.

Additionally, it feels like a letdown that the battle against the monsters occurs offscreen. The episode also has Alyssa change sides without explanation. The show ignores the fact that Hope and Landon should have forgotten about each other when going through the portal. Then, the second-worst part of the episode occurs – the sex scene between Hope and Landon.

I don’t mind sex scenes when they fit within the story and are well-written. Unfortunately, this scene doesn’t meet this criteria. The scene went on for too long. They make Hope suffer another trauma when her boyfriend turns into Malivore mud after their first time having sex. This is also a plothole. If swapping fluids with Hope could turn Landon into mud, he would have melted when they kissed. If it was her blood, he should have turned into mud in the middle of sex. Ultimately, I think this episode of Legacies should have been rewritten entirely.