The CWLegacies' first season just went out with such a bang that we're mad about it.
Mostly we're mad that we have to now wait months upon months to find out what happens now after Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) dove into that pit and was erased from existence, but we're also mad at how perfectly that was set up. There was even a whole episode earlier this season about a world without Hope, an obvious-but-not bit of foreshadowing the only solution to keeping Malivore down.
It really does make perfect sense. Malivore, the thing keeping all of the ancient monsters from roaming the earth, was created by a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf, so only the unlikely product of a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf could defeat him/it (if he actually is defeated, but we'll get to that).
Hope's entire life has been about fighting the fact that she isn't supposed to exist, and she's the only one of her kind. Now she's figured out a heartbreaking purpose for her existence, and we get to find out what the world is actually like without Hope Mikaelson.
The gist is that after Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) accidentally activated the final artifact that would unleash (his dad) Malivore from his pit, his stupid half mud brother Clarke threw the artifact into the pit, and Hope realized that the only thing she could do was jump into the pit. Her blood cured Josie, who was shot by a bullet made from the mud in the pit, so her blood could probably "cure" the whole pit. She called Alaric (Matt Davis), had him burn all records of her, put a spell on Clarke (Nick Fink) so he mimicked her every move, and then gracefully fell into the pit, which immediately dried up.
And back at the Salvatore School, which was just recovering from defeating Triad's merciless search for an artifact that was both useless and not even in the school, it seemed that Hope really had been erased. And we're stunned, to be quite honest with you. Stunned!
If that fall and the reasons behind it felt familiarly epic, like a nod to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her many self-sacrifices, that wasn't a total accident.
"The way it sort of ended up looking visually reminded me so much of the season where she took the swan dive to save Dawn, which I think was what, like almost season six of their show? So for us to kind of lead with that at the end of season one, hopefully we can come back as well as they did," executive producer Julie Plec told E! News over the phone. "This whole show is filled with all of our love for Buffy, specifically, and Harry Potter, and while we never go out of our way to take from anything that they did, there's certainly plenty of moments, whether it be homage or just born out of appreciation for those kinds of shows and what they do so well."
So where does Legacies go from the hero sacrificing her entire existence to save the world? The answer could only be pretty heartbreaking.
"Season two starts with a bunch of people who don't remember that a girl named Hope Mikaelson ever existed, and goes from there," Plec says.
Immediately after Hope's dive into the pit, Landon and Alaric seemed to know that they were missing something, but it sounds like we should not take any solace in that.
"I think that ultimately over time, that instinct fades to a place where your memories correct themselves, much like how Landon ultimately doesn't remember anything about what he went through with his mother, and Lizzie doesn't remember her alt universe adventure. The memory fills in its own gaps, so I think that what will feel very strange in that first moment will blend itself into a normalcy that will make it even more difficult for them to realize that they've missed someone from their lives."
Earlier this season, Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) wished that Hope never existed, and Plec says that episode was "a nice hint and a precursor to what happen in a world without Hope," but what we'll see in season two won't be that exactly.
"That won't be something that would happen right away, but I do think that there's going to be some holes in everyone's life that they aren't going to be able to recognize the root of, and those kinds of feelings can lead to other feelings, which can lead to bad choices, which can lead to all kinds of chaos. So hopefully somebody will be able to remember that she's gone and get her back sooner than later," Plec explains, and it sounds like all of that is going to be one hell of a season two journey.
"Given that the show might have to entirely move on without Hope Mikaelson and could, I think that it's going to be a great journey, because it's gonna be a question of, do they at any point realize that there's this person who mattered to them who's gone, and how does that happen? And then who remembers it first, and what does that person do about it, and I think there's so much story to tell about realizing that Hope is missing at all, much less where is she, that it should be a great launch to a season."
As we wait to find that out, Plec says there are a few specific questions we should be asking.
"If she was right and her being the tribrid fully destroyed Malivore, then why doesn't anybody remember who she is? But she clearly wasn't wrong either, because the pit is dry now. The Malivore pit is gone. So the big question is, where is she, what happened to her, and is she going to be able to get out?"
While we're pondering those questions, here's what Plec had to say about some of the other inhabitants of the Salvatore School as the show heads towards season two.
Landon
"Landon got pretty blind-sided in this episode when he realized that Malivore's intention wasn't just to be dear old muddy dad to him but to actually take him over, to use his body as a vessel for Malivore himself. So talk about daddy issues! he's going to have to work through whatever of that that he does in fact remember," Plec says. "I think with Landon, he's somebody who has deep, deep, deep love for Hope, and even if you don't remember who that person is, there's a feeling in your heart that has lost something. And I think he's going to find himself going through some hard times without even understanding why."
Josie and Lizzie
The twins finally know all about the merge, and Plec says "they have an entirely new dynamic to their relationship that they did not expect."
"Josie [Kaylee Bryant] has spent their entire lives taking care of Lizzie and making Lizzie feel OK, and now Lizzie's realizing that the assumption she made about the dynamic, the power dynamic in their relationship were totally and utterly wrong, so there's a big transition coming for the two girls," she says.
While the girls don't realize they've lost their pseudo-sister Hope, her loss will be felt.
"I think the absence of Hope in a psychological way does a lot to really mess with the heads of each of these kids, whether they realize it or not."
As for the other loss in Josie's life, don't count ex-girlfriend Penelope (Lulu Antariksa) out just yet, even if she seems to have left.
"Uh, when a character is that successful, I think there's a chance of seeing them again. It's really a matter of if it can happen and if so, when."
MG
MG (Quincy Fouse) just learned that his mother not only knew a whole lot about vampires, but she was leading Triad Industries in their quest to keep the supernatural world hidden from the regular world. He stood up to her at the end of the finale and basically said goodbye, which is the end of a long and difficult season for MG.
"One of my favorite arcs of this season was MG's arc, who started as sort of a little kid who was willing to follow the leader, follow the lead of other characters, and who wasn't really comfortable coming into his own power because his own power scares him, yet ultimately it gave him the ability to find his confidence and take a stand for himself and what he wants in his life and how he wants to be treated," Plec says. "And I think that was a really big journey for him and I love to see him, moving forward as he becomes more of a leader, doing the things that a character like him has to deal with. The fact that he doesn't get to be a vampier in the way that other vampires get to be, and that there's always a danger of what he's capable of that he needs to keep in control, and all those things. So he's going to have a lot of adult responsibilities and adult emotions that he's going to have to deal with."
As for whether there will be any fallout with his family, Plec says "We shall see. He made it very clear, and he took a very clear stand against his mom and said you can't be family anymore, and we'll see if she decides to agree with him or not."
Alaric
Headmaster Alaric's been through a whole lot this first season and came to quite the realization in tonight's finale. He made a grave mistake purposely keeping that magic-killing fountain in the basement and keeping the escape routes to himself, protecting the outside world from his students when he should have been protecting the students. Now, it's up to the honor council whether he remains the headmaster or not.
"I think this season was a huge realization for Alaric as he learned that all the choices he's been making to protect his girls and these kids have not evolved as these kids have evolved into teenagers and heading into adulthood. So it's that moment when you have to take a step back and say, am I the best person to be teaching them, and how can I be better? And that's really what Alaric's been going through this year."
The Monsters Will Return
Malivore may currently be nowhere to be found, but the kids will still face their monster of the week.
"We really enjoyed the monsters this season, and we found some really wonderful ways to keep them alive in this universe. So this is not the last we've seen of those kinds of creatures," Plec says.
And now, we wait.
Legacies will return to The CW in the fall.