Legacies premiered last week with its first episode and although it is a spin-off series, it is perfectly able to stand on its own.
This week’s episode starts by introducing the annual flag football game between the Salvatore Stallions and the Mystic Falls Timberwolves. The Stallions have to check their supernatural powers and get mocked as they lose to the Timberwolves, every year. And this year, Alaric tells his daughters that he can’t attend the game because he and Hope have to find Landon. Of course his daughters are upset as Alaric is choosing Hope over them.
Meanwhile, Hope is in the middle of a meeting with Emma (the school’s guidance counsellor?) who knows about Hope’s decision to use black magic and she is not happy about it. But Hope is too focused on revenge to care about the school’s rules. After she leaves her meeting, she runs into Rafael, who is breaking Alaric’s car so they have to bring him along. Landon is Rafael’s best friend and he doesn’t trust Hope. Alaric agrees to let him come, much to Hope’s disappointment.
The three head into the woods right where the bus was found. According to Hope, they tracked Landon to this area and it seems he didn’t get very far. But before they find him, they find a woman who looks to be in shock. Ric tells Rafael and Hope to go ahead, but the woman is a pyromancer (a fire-breathing witch). Ric dodges flames as Hope and Rafael find Landon hiding in a root cellar where he claims that he barely escaped what happened on the bus. He blames it on a fire-breathing witch, except Hope doesn’t believe it until Ric arrives and corroborates it.
They then come face-to-face with the pyromancer who wants the knife that Landon stole from the Salvatore School. He claims he lost it in the woods, but when the pyromancer holds out her hand to him, it’s obvious he still has it and they run back to the cellar. Ric uses one of the bus victim’s phones to call Dorian. When Dorian hears about the stolen possessions of all the victims, he realises they’re not dealing with a witch, but instead a dragon to which Ric uses the excuse, “dragons don’t exist.” Dorian reminds them that they all once said the same about vampires. He says they have to kill the dragon with a sword. Or a knife in this case.
Hope and Rafael work together in order to stab the dragon in the heart which takes her down, except she stands back up and goes full-on dragon. Dorian claims that you can kill a dragon by stabbing it in its ‘soft spot’, but they’re not sure where that is and then the dragon starts flying.
Alaric sends Rafael and Landon to the car and Hope plays the dad card to make Alaric get back in the cellar. She then uses a spell which takes the dragon down and knocks her out. Ric then re-emerges in time to stab the dragon in the neck which works.
Ric then realises that Hope has been using black magic and the spell that she just used was a death spell and it was one that Hope packed before she knew they were dealing with a dragon. So, was she planning on killing Landon? Ric reminds her that Landon did something stupid and possibly evil, but they don’t have enough information. He says that he’s a kid just like Hope and says that her hatred and vengeance is her father and it can’t be her. (Cue the tears.)
By the time Hope meets Ric back at the car, Landon and Rafael are long gone. Landon left Hope a note which attempts to explain how his upbringing led to his decisions. But he also wanted her to know that the time they spent together was one of the happiest in his life and apologies for ruining it all. He says that the secret of the Salvatore School is safe with him as he and Rafael have hit the road. Hope returns to her room where she has photos of her family…all the people she’s lost.
While they were dealing with the dragon, Lizzie is leading the school into a flag football game. Everyone is onboard to lose as Ric instructed them to do, but that fails as MG gets some influence from Penelope who promises to help him get Lizzie. Lizzie then announces that they are going to win after the Timberwolves insult them too many times.
They start to use their magic and skills to tie the game, but Josie then steps in. When the twins don’t agree, Penelope has an idea. She says they should win fair and square, without magic. However, just as Caleb is about to make the winning catch, Josie uses magic to make him drop the ball. She knows how important it is for them to lose this game and keep their cover.
However, the action keeps going as Dana (a terrible Mystic Falls High student) insults Josie again, Lizzie punches her in the face. Later, Josie comes clean about making them lose the game and also says she helped Hope use black magic to find Landon. They promise to start telling each other everything and wait in their room for Ric to come home. By the time he does, he isn’t angry and hugs them instead.
Penelope tells MG that their plan is working. That before MG knows it, Lizzie is going to like him if he sticks with her plan. Bad idea, she’s only working for herself. Kind of like Katherine Pierce.
It ends with Ric and Dorian talking by the front gates. Ric is worried about the school and checking to make sure their secure. He says that they’ve gotten cosy and he had forgotten that the world is full of ‘nasty surprises.’ He asks, “How am I supposed to protect them from stuff that’s not supposed to exist?” Then as they walk back inside, a creepy gargoyle (within the gates) opens its eyes…
Final Thoughts?
I am still enjoying this a lot. Also, adding in mythical creatures is so new and different and I actually love it!
