Chris24601

Well, as the one who spent several years talking about how I felt Hope going full Tribrid would be a mistake because as soon as they did they’d start the countdown to throwing her humanity switch for the “dramas” the only thing that shocked me was that they went immediately to it. Personally, I’m hoping the fix is just bringing Hope back to life somehow because it’s frankly more interesting if there were to be no fix for Hope’s humanity as long as she’s an active vampire… so that once brought back to life the idea of dying and becoming the full humanity-less Tribrid again isn’t an “oh well, if Hope ever dies she just gets a power-up” thing… it’s a “oh, crap, if Hope ever dies again she turns into a true monster.” I’m not expecting it though, because they’re apparently going the “god” route and so the protagonists will need the full Tribrid powerup, along with Kaleb’s Vampire-Dragon abilities, etc. to deal with it. Speaking of hybrids, I didn’t think they’d go there quite that quickly, but one of the twins becoming a Heretic was also probably inevitable from the moment they both were syphoners. I sense extreme Frenemy action coming up with Hope/Lizzie particularly since vampire heightens emotions and Lizzie has her condition as a starting point for those.

My favorite part of this… no idiot Canaries forcing their way into the story. Given Felecity walked off into the afterlife already in the future I say they just need to have Mia save William, snag up Connor Hawke and just stick around in the present in case there’s ever another good crossover idea.

What happened on Supergirl stays on Supergirl; doubly so since it’s ending with this last batch of episodes. The fact is the ONLY crossover all season to even put this show in the same universe as the Arrowverse was a cameo by John Diggle to deliver some tech and act disapproving of General Lane. Other than having clearly worked with Clark in the past, he could have been anyone. I am also solidly of the opinion that this served as a strength for the season rather than a weakness. The show didn’t require ANY real knowledge of the rest of the Arrowverse. There were oblique references to Crisis and multiple Earths, but that knowledge was applied directly to the plot as a foreshadowing of what could happen here. Frankly, if they really wanted to, they could still just declare the Diggle we saw was actually Earth-2 Diggle (very similar to Earth-1 Diggle) and say Superman & Lois actually takes place on the same Earth as Stargirl. It almost feels like it’d be a better fit there too. The shared focus on family and legacy, similar cinematography and shorter more focused seasons, easily explains all the differences between S&L and Supergirl, retroactively explains why the ISA didn’t just conquer the world after destroying the JSA (because Superman was around... he can’t be everywhere, but he does explain why they’d stay hidden). As to Nat showing up at the end; I’m happy for John and, given that this show has been very good about people acknowledging the doppelgängers are different people (but also that it IS weird because of the similarities) the healthiest approach for everyone would probably be to consider Nat to be Lois’ niece (i.e. her mom was basically Lois’ identical twin). That would allow them to have a relationship that acknowledges the connection but in a way that reinforces Lois is NOT her mother and is also easy to explain both among themselves and to other people (i.e. the boys can introduce Nat as their cousin and it’s even true from a certain point of view).

To be fair, Malivore is more Hope’s story. Landon is just a MacGuffin/love interest in said story. That said, I do think we’ve reached the logical endgame because Malivore finally has a voice and no longer needs to send intermediary monsters. Indeed, if you take a closer look at the season barely any actually were Malivore monsters. The only ones expressly sent by Malivore were the Gremlin and Banshee. Everything else was a headfake by Cleo (the Leprechaun, Charon, golemLandon) or completely unconnected (the Wendigo... because it had zero interest in anything but sheer murder) and several episodes had no monsters at all (or least didn’t appear to since Malivore was hiding in plain sight). Which tracks with Malivore basically already having mostly what he wanted; he was free of the pit and wearing his Landon skinsuit. The only thing he really lacked was that phoenix immortality he’d built into Landon and I suspect THAT is what he looking for inspiration about... that he’s still absolutely vulnerable to destruction by Hope so he’s basically been looking for a loophole to the loophole and now he thinks he’s figured it out. So my hunch is that basically season 4A will be the Malivore endgame with 4B being the start of whatever comes next as the side effects of ending Malivore; at least if past seasons of this show, TVD and TO are anything to go by (i.e. to solve one problem they end up breaking something else that takes the rest of that season and the front end of the following season to fix which breaks something else that they spend the rest of that season and front of the one after that fixing, etc.).

That was a solid soft-cliffhanger finale. No one in immediate imminent danger (we’ve already seen Hope, Landon and Clarke spend quite some time in Malivore so I don’t count Cleo’s situation). It really is refreshing that we’ve got actually heroic characters. MG and Kaleb really put the lie to all the “I can’t help myself, I’m a victim of this curse” attitudes of Damon, Klaus, Enzo, etc. They had hundreds of years they could have been helping and saving people. They CHOSE to treat people as disposable playthings and food. I pegged the twist on Landon actually being Malivore as soon as the locator spell led to him. All the pieces for this season slotted together really well. The early 3B (where season 3 would have started if not for Covid) monsters were all golems, then Hope uses the Ascendant and lets out Malivore in Landon’s body which means Landon IS the portal (hence why the mud never moved for Cleo’s spell). Malivore also has a vested interest in keeping Hope from becoming the full Tribrid and also being extremely vulnerable to Hope even in her present state. So even though he was behind Cleo’s kidnapping, as soon as he realized he was fighting Hope he “NOPE-d” right out of dodge and, when Cleo was trying to kill Hope to activate her vampire side, Malivore stepped in to save her in order to protect himself. Clarke being fully human now wasn’t unexpected; ever since they started teasing his return with the flashbacks I figured he was headed for a redemption arc (most likely for next season) just because he was portrayed slightly more sympathetically in his last s2 appearance and Hope’s ability to just about always be able to shut him down made him basically a villain with a “D” (at best) in villainy. Making him completely human doesn’t actually change much in his capabilities, but does make him off limits to Hopecide. Similarly, Lizzie’s efforts to convince Ethan to date Hope while inevitably charming him were textbook. Meanwhile, if Hope can’t get Landon back, I’d say she’s got far better chemistry with Clarke than any of her other potential. So, yeah, definitely coming back for next season.

My hunch is “Twist” because “Hope becomes a full Tribrid if she’s ever killed, but it’s NOT something she actually wants” is just a far better tool for adding tension than “Welp, she’s an immortal Tribrid now... wonder what will finally have her hit the inevitable Humanity switch and make her a bad guy for a while and have to go back to protagonist-centric morality.” It basically puts a limit on Hope where instead of her potentially dying being no big deal because it’s just a power up; it’s something she wants to avoid, something you can threaten her with and something she can risk in order to demonstrate her heroism. And it makes sense; her father’s spirit can’t find peace until she does... something an immortal bloodthirsty Tribrid who will never have children of her own might need eternity to find vs. say dying in your bed at a ripe old age of natural causes while surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Basically, this episode actually reinforced that Hope’s happy ending is Family and becoming the full Tribrid, while for a noble cause basically takes away her happy ending when even her Aunt Rebeka who’s lived a thousand years thinks it’s better to become mortal and live out a single human lifetime. So, given the general trend of this show towards the protagonists being ACTUALLY heroic, my hunch is “twist” where Hope will be prepared to fully activate her Tribrid nature, but something will stop that at the last moment and provide an alternate means of pulling off the same end.

Everyone else has touched on a lot of the interesting character development elements, but one I haven’t seen touched on yet is the story young Hope wrote and how she sees herself by way of her self-insert. She gathers up junk and fixes it. Josie isn’t a “service model” she’s a protector. She reminds Lizzie she’s the princess. Alaric has a change of heart and turns up to help the girls. She wants a happy ending where they’re all friends and the defeat of the Hollow means she gets her whole family back. Older Hope knows how that turns out, but the core is still there; Hope faces the monsters because she wants to fix things and if she can’t have a happy ending, then she’ll at least make sure everyone else can... which is why she’s the hero of the story (and of the story). Color me as one though who hopes she’s wrong about the “must activate her vampire side.” Because the show has also done a pretty good job of establishing that it’s NOT something Hope actually wants, it’s something she’s convinced herself is her duty. Narratively speaking, willing to sacrifice is good, but 9 times out of 10 what the hero thinks they have to do is actually wrong, they realize that at the last possible moment and course correct to save the day. So I think Hope is misreading the vision quest; because in it she DID defeat Malivore without activating her vampire side. I think the actual trick is right there in why young Hope wrote the story in the first place; to be friends with Lizzie and Josie... because at the end of the day, Malevore isn’t a natural creature; he’s an entity created by magic and we’ve already seen how big a spell a Siphon can drain down to nothing from their uncle Kai in TVD.

While Lara was possessing Lana she mentioned that after the Kryptonian consciousness was removed the powers would begin to fade; i.e. it wasn't a lightswitch on the powers, just the Kryptonian consciousnesses. Basically the energy wave hit, the consciousnesses were wiped away and the people dropped out of the sky, but would have still had the invulnerability for a few minutes (or maybe longer); long enough to not splatter on impact.

I feel generally the same, but I’d make an exception for Star-Girl and a reveal that Superman & Lois is actually taking place on Earth 2. His initial costume is right out of the Golden Age, putting it in line with the original JSA’s looks and both have similar higher production values which would make a crossover feel less jarring between them. It would also explain various casting and history changes without needing “Crisis” as the excuse. In the comics, Superman didn’t actually join the Society or League until many years later, but said he’d come if they ever needed help... which could be used to explain his absence when the ISA attacked (they never got the call out), but also why the ISA wasn’t just able to take over once the JSA was out of the way because Superman was still around and, as seen here, REALLY REALLY GOOD at what he does. Also of note, even though it’s now part of the Earth Prime continuity; the adventures of “Mr. & Mrs. Superman” were a longstanding staple of the Pre-Crisis Earth-2 where Superman and Lois had been married for many many years before it happened on Earth-1/Prime. Finally, both series have a similar focus on family and legacy which make them a stronger match where they explore similar issues from different viewpoints. So, yeah, I think they should scrap the plans to put this show on Earth 1, especially with Supergirl and Black Lightning ending and Flash and Legends both being long in the tooth. With those factors in play I think it just makes more sense I’d think to put Superman & Lois into the same universe as the show that’s only a year older than it and let those grow their own group of linked series.

Yeah, the biggest issue with a lot love interests in a lot of shows (not just Josie’s) are that they appear to exist solely in relation to the protagonist; no friends or relationships or any apparent interior life beyond the relationship. I think one of the things that made Hope/Landon suffer a lot was that by removing Raf and then removing a bunch of other supporting characters due to working around the Covid restrictions was that it basically stripped Hope and Landon of much of anything beyond their relationship. So, yes, seeing Finch used outside of Josie’s orbit and see the underrepresented werewolf segment of the school and allowing a bit more development for Jed goes a long way towards alleviating that feeling. Another point worth bringing up again in relation to this show is how unlike its predecessors it is in terms of presenting our protagonists as genuinely heroic. If this were TVD or TO, I’d fully expect that MG had gone Ripper and they’d have to take him back to dry out and have some sort of Dorian has to compromise his principles thing because of “protagonist-centric morality.” But on this show Dorian is wrong about MG (while still being right about Rippers in general), who’s actually been going around trying to use his powers to be a genuine hero and is even applying knowledge he gained at the Salvatore School to do it. Similarly Hope can be a hothead and Lizzie a real bitch and Josie has her repressed dark side, but they’re unquestionably heroic in nature. The same, after a little character development with Kaleb and even Wade. I just keep feeling the need to express how refreshing it is that pretty much all the main characters remain genuinely sympathetic and moral rather than trying to make excuses all the time for why they aren’t actually so bad. Or as I like to say, if most of the TVD/TO characters turned up on Legacies pulling their usual behavior, Hope would have eliminated them by the end of act four in the same episode because that’s how this show rolls... and I love it for precisely that reason.

I’ve been leaning that way as well; though I’m hoping they simplify it from the comic version as there was a lot of needless details added to him because the event he showed up in was a crossover with Supergirl and the then current Kon-El/Superboy so they tossed in details to make him relevant. The straight forward version would be Jor-El’s lab assistant/“adopted” son who was sent into space by Jor-El on a mission to preserve and protect Kryptonian culture by any means necessary (which fits with the slightly dickish Jor-El AI we met in prior episodes). This also would align with John Henry’s Earth... Superman on that Earth was more distant from Humanity because he didn’t meet Lois and have a family. He had the sense of duty, but not the sense of belonging to Earth that our Superman has. Then an adopted older brother who remembers Krypton and offers up family and a way to restore Krypton. I think this may have been partially shown too in that JH’s Superman was always in black. There was no “what is Superman wearing?” associated with him just before the attacks. A common trend in depictions of Krypton starting with the Donner films has been as a cold and reserved society that favored a white/black color pallet. Post-Crisis they were basically emotionless monsters who wore black bodysuits and everything good about Superman’s nature and heroism (and his bright costume) came from the Kents. The DCEU similarly featured the main Kryptonians wearing muted colors over black bodysuits and Clark’s blue, red and gold version was a relic from Krypton’s golden age of exploration. In other words, John Henry’s Superman in black could be a way of referencing that he always identified more with his Kryptonian heritage than humanity on that Earth and, in keeping with the show’s title, the difference that saves this world is Superman AND LOIS (and kids).

I'm pretty sure the entire reason for the "tripping balls" sequence at the end was all about concealing the identity of who came out of the pit for another episode; though its obviously Clarke since... A) Hope while under the effect of hallucinogens is obviously going to associate Clarke with "bad Darth Vader expy." B) Clarke has been turning up in cameo shots for the last several episodes. C) The cameo at the start of this episode had him making a deal with the very witch who was our antagonist because her deal required her to resurrect someone. As for Dorian's reaction with MG... MG is a Ripper like Stephan, aka the guy who murdered his whole family. They can lose themselves in the blood pretty easily and MG was right in the location where a bunch of people were dying/going missing. If you're already paranoid about potential Ripper situations because of what happened to your own family, its understandable to jump to conclusions... Plus, as they all pointed out; It's NEVER a Wendigo.

My guesses are either Zod, Superman from John Henry Irons' Earth, or an original character whose Kryptonian name was Mor-Gan. 😁 Actually, I think they did a really good job explaining that. In order for a Kryptonian to be able to employ super-breath they'd need to suck in a massive volume of air. So you're compressing a massive amount of air and that air will initially heat up (because temperature is energy per volume... less volume, same energy equals more heat), but if you let it sit it will cool back down to room temperature (or body temperature in this case). When you go in the reverse direction and expel the air though its the opposite (same energy, more volume equals way less heat; enough to turn it into a liquid... which is why pressurized liquid nitrogen canisters can be stored at room temperature; it only gets cold when its allowed to expand after leaving the pressurized canister). Hence why Superman's super-breath isn't just massive in volume, but is also super-cold. Fun trivia from the Post-Crisis comics, this is also how Superman could operate in space. Its not that he doesn't have to breathe, its that his lungs can hold enough air that he's basically got a 30-60 minute (depending on the comic) oxygen supply compressed in his lungs. And in Jordan's case, the issue was that his lungs were also filling up with fluid... that was freezing when he was exhaling and starting to clog up his lungs.

First observation; this was definitely filmed after most of the COVID restrictions had been lifted... the increased number of extras in the school hall for breakfast, the wolves in the gym and the tribal village was quite noticeable (as was the cult in the promo for the next episode). I should probably go back and do a count, but with a school population of exactly thirty (30 w. Cleo and Wade’s friend - MG + ‘Landon’ + Josie + Finch - Cleo - Landon = 30) we actually saw a significant percentage of the students in this episode. Second observation; Finch has more chemistry with Jed and unnamed wolves than she does with her girlfriend. Third observation; Cleo absolutely taught Malivore how to create Clarke. Fourth, I know that its unlikely to stick, but I’ll take Hope and Landon interacting with people who aren’t each other while I can get it. I wish the writers would figure out that they have better chemistry with everyone else (and that they would have done so before they decided to write Raf out of story), but at this point they’ve pretty much written themselves into a corner where there is no alternative love interest for Hope to even tease... which is okay, but risks the same problem that Josie’s been having of One thing I am grateful for is that they’re using Hope’s “full tribrid” bit as not just a potential power up, but what Hope would lose in the process and Hope likely wanting a family given her background is a pretty realistic desire. Also appreciated is that Alaric didn’t spin Hope’s loss to Cleo as “everyone.” Frankly, I think spelling out that she lost her mother, father and uncle in the span of a few months actually personalizes her damage (and how she copes with it) in a way that makes it more relatable than the clearly hyperbolic “everyone” can. Honestly, I think on a Netflix binge watch I think this season will actually hold up quite favorably with the first two. The main thing that made this season feel so uneven was that we actually got last season’s finale dropped smack dab in the middle of it which won’t be an issue with a binge rewatch where the end of last season will flow right into this one like the continuous story it was meant to be and “This is What it Takes” is the obvious launchpad of a new season/story arc.

My feeling is that Ethan’s story is most likely done because ending the friendship with the painful lesson that Alaric was right means that MG has nothing keeping him at MFHS which frees him to return to the Salvatore School along with Josie (and Finch... which, meh... I think Josie managed better chemistry with Ethan in the hallway lunch scene). Which is good, because they’re still hovering right at the bare minimum required students and I suspect Cleo won’t be attending much longer. One of the benefits of always having vampire blood in her veins is that Hope has super healing; when Hailey was pregnant with her she also got the same super healing and it’s been addressed in the show as early as S1:E3 when she put a poker through her foot and into the ground beneath it and yet was fine as soon as it was pulled out. That’s also why killing her would just turn her into a vampire instead of sticking (though I doubt she’d be able to keep her magic if that happened so it’d be a net downgrade I think). Another random observation; with Landon being the masked guy covered in monster trophies (which they made a point of remarking on) it means he’s gotten a fairly solid offscreen upgrade to his ability to fight... which means he’ll much better hold his own going forward... which might also cause friction with Hope actually since she’s always been about keeping him safe and he won’t need her protection anymore.

Okay, sometimes I call things correctly, but I've been on FIRE this season. To which I say "Excellent work, Legacies writers." These days setting up foreshadowing five episodes ahead and making it clear enough you could predict it ahead of time without being 100% certain takes real talent; particularly when the trend in a lot of entertainment is to go for the subversion for the shock value. The first quote up there is from all way back in Cleo's second episode and it was already clear she was up to something and, as it turns out now, there was actually a reason for the creepiness of Cleo's actions with the statue made from clay and Landon goo being used as a golem by Cleo. And we've seen a Landon golem made before with Josie and Lizzie's attempt to destroy the season two Malivore Pit using clay and blood so GolemLandon here was actually set up entirely by previously established elements. We also have confirmation that all it takes for Hope to become a vampire is die and that she really doesn't want that even though it will make her, in her own words, even stronger than she is now and Cleo's convinced that Hope dying to activate her vampire side is what it will actually take to permanently destroy Malivore and that Cleo (or Clio) needs that to happen to be free of the object that's been the season's McGuffin. With Finch and Josie going back to the Salvatore School and Ethan finally getting compelled to forget, I suspect this is the end of Ethan's arc. Without Josie at Mystic Falls High, MG sticking around without anyone else to really interact with doesn't make much sense so I give it maybe one episode before he comes back to the Salvatore School. Even the Leonardo DaVinci bit got paid off with an appearance and as the reveal that Cleo was old enough to be known to a guy who's been dead for five centuries. So, while it had a bit of slump after the leftovers of s2 were played through and the real s3 was kicking off, the slower burn setup of those early episodes was paid off quite well this evening.

One thing I appreciate about this show is the degree to which it plays tropes straight instead of subverting them which means all the foreshadowing viewers can catch will actually be paid off (which is satisfying to those who caught onto said foreshadowing. In this case, the audience paying attention gets their suspicions confirmed with Wade sharing his concerns about Landon with Hope and, given Necromancer bits in the prison world and the thing that feeds on dead flesh wanting “Landon” (not to mention his spot on Necromancer impersonation) pretty much confirms not only that Landon isn’t Landon, but that “Landon” is actually the Necromancer in a new guise (which also means the masked demon figure is probably the real Landon who is keeping his distance due to some yet to be revealed trauma and likely time shenanigans). And speaking of revealed trauma, we FINALLY got the inklings of a backstory on how he became a vampire... no wonder he wanted to play Damon in the musical, seduced and turned by a femme fatale probably hits quite close to home. And then there’s the other traumas of the night. First, Finch don’t be upset you killed your grandpa on a technicality... the dude was a jackhole for manipulating you as a little girl into triggering the curse without even understanding what you were doing. Second, it’s a good thing vampire blood can heal or MG’s sidekick would be absolutely hosed. It’s a bad thing because it means MG is probably about to compel him to forget for his own safety, but also that Ethan’s probably going to end up dying with vampire blood in his system in the very near future so that everyone ends up under the Salvatore roof by the end of the season. Final two thoughts... first, so apparently Leonardo deVinci was a witch in the TVD-verse. That would mean he was stuck on the Other Side in Ketsiah’s purgatory until just a decade or so ago and, if anyone could have found a way out before it collapsed, it’d be Leo the mad genius. I would not be surprised to see him eventually. And speaking of seeing eventually... that’s a second episode in a row we’ve seen Clarke in a flashback. If it isn’t The Necromancer pretending to be Landon, I’d lay money on it being Clarke. Because not only was The Necromancer last seen still trapped within Malivore itself, but they also made a point that every monster ever in Malivore seems to return to it in death (hence the gargoyle and swamp monster sightings in the prison world) and Clarke was literally made FROM Malivore and his head got dumped into the portal in Mystic Falls during the s2 Christmas episode. Basically, if they’re paying for the actor specifically, it seems likely they have plans to reintroduce him, at least temporarily, in the present. His turning up in these flashbacks and acquiring specific knowledge about the box during his encounter with it strongly suggests that our heroes will need to encounter him in order to finally deal with the box.

Welp, I called it on Cleo (or perhaps we should spell it Clio after the actual one) being a Muse and I think the explanation behind the mystery box is that Cleo was actually trapped inside it... serving as inspiration for everyone who possessed it she’s older than she seems. Second, Invisible Lizzie is one way to get around Covid and Dorian basically doing the equivalent of munching popcorn as Lizzie explains her ingenious dating plan to Josie was rather hysterical. Also, Kudos to those who called Finch being some type of supernatural. My hunch is Lizzie told Jo that Finch was seeing someone instead of the truth because she thinks her sister will be happier with her non-magic life (not unlike her bio-Mom actually)... but it’ll definitely come back to bite her (couldn’t resist the wolf pun). Side-bar: The Banshee was right; someone did die in the Salvatore School that night... the mortal host of the Banshee. There’s always a loophole (I also love that Hope said that that phrase is basically the School’s motto now). Also, further confirmation to me that Masked Guy is probably the real Landon. A) Laws of drama say the only point of a mask is to conceal someone we’d otherwise recognize (or because you can’t get the original actor back). B) Hope found him familiar and thinks they’ve fought before and Hope spent a bit of time trying to train Landon to fight... and the disconnect is she’s thinking real fight with a real monster and not sparring practice. C) Landon came back way too easily and the one who came back being fake or a split off part of the real Landon would meant it wasn’t actually the easy feat it appeared. D) Mask guy snagged locks of Hope and “Landon’s” hair, but didn’t eliminate the girl who’s been such an absolute pain in Malivore’s behind when the opportunity was right there means Mask Guy’s agenda doesn’t 100% align with Malivore’s and at the extreme range he may even have been trying to take Cleo so that Malivore doesn’t get her. Basically all signs point to “No, I am your father Landon” as the big pre-finale episode reveal (akin to MG’s mom working for Triad). Either that or it’s a resurrected Clarke and they’ve only got the real actor for X episodes and plan to save him for closer to the finale while using Mask Guy stunt double to make it seem like he’s been more involved from earlier in the season. We also got more reinforcement that our protagonists see their purpose as fighting monsters now; both with Hope’s crew continuing to do so and MG/Ethan wanting to be crime fighters (and they might drag Finch into it when all’s said and done)... and fighting monsters is basically what Alaric does best (i.e. making that the school’s main purpose is a way to resolve Alaric’s midlife crisis). Side-bar two... so presently MFHS has a temporaryly depowered witch, a vampire, a werewolf, a mortal occult expert and a human sidekick (because despite MG saying otherwise, Ethan is still a sidekick)... basically a mini-Super Squad. The actual Super Squad and Version 2.0 will DEFINITELY clash at some point. The laws of drama demand it. Also noteworthy is that with Cleo being Malivore’s target, they’ve gone from Malivore as having a very basic plan (grab artifact to unlock the pit, grab Landon to use as a meatsuit) to one who’s now working on plans with intermediate steps (get Cleo to provide inspiration to figure out how to escape the prison world).

I lean more towards Alaric getting his mojo back by the end of the season simply because the midlife crisis elements are coming mid-season-ish vs. the last episode or two (where resolving the crisis with a final blaze of glory might fit). Ultimately though, I lean against death for Alaric because Legacies just isn’t the same type of show that The Originals or Vampire Diaries was. It just doesn’t kill off its leads or even supporting cast, even when writing them out. Triad attacks and not a student is lost. If this were TVD or TO, Wade would have never survived Sebastian’s wake up feeding. Dorian would have died taking the arrow for Landon (particularly since it was his last appearance until turning up as MFHS’s new principal), Alyssa Chang and Raf would have died as they exited the series. The real Professor Vartimus wouldn’t have been found alive in a locker. This show just doesn’t rely on shocking deaths of the main/supporting cast for drama the way it’s predecessor did (he says just hours before the episode with a Banshee drops) so even if they were writing Alaric out it is unlikely they’d do it via death... particularly when they’d need even wilder excuses than before for why Caroline isn’t turning up to check on her girls after their father has died.

True. But too be fair, all the musical talent was more a happy accident than something pre-planned for the series (if I recall it was mostly a result of one of the showrunners hearing then still a guest star Kaleb’s actor singing that gave them the idea of actually adding some serious musical numbers). Sitting back in the original planning meeting when probably the only for certain actors being the ones for Hope and Alaric (Jo and Lizzie needing to be re-cast from the definitely still kids from The Originals episode and Dorian and Landon being possible, but not required) I can’t see “easier to have high school musical numbers with the leads” being a key feature of the discussions. And regardless, my point was more about where the show is going now than where it could have gone... and with the present ages either shifting focus to the leads as junior faculty or dropping the pretense of school for full time monster hunting are pretty much your two choices. Because, to review... Jo and Lizzie turn 18 this season and Hope will turn 20. Landon is supposedly just slightly older than Hope (nature let her be conceived because Malivore conceived Landon as a way to break loose). MG is probably the same age as Jo and Lizzie and just based on behavior (and his ability to legally drive in s2) Kaleb is at least MG’s age and probably a year or two older. Jed is also probably 18+ at this stage and Wade doesn’t feel particularly younger than the rest... which leaves Cleo as perhaps the only one who might be younger than 17 at this point (presuming she’s not some millennia old monster in disguise). And a related point to this is... Alaric and Caroline started this school for their girls who are now nearly grown and the new class for the present year consisted of just two students. So is the school even really something Alaric wants to continue for its own sake? Which again is probably why Alaric is staring at a midlife crisis. My hunch is that towards the end of this season they all come together and decide to continue the school. Kaleb has grown into someone with an EXTREMELY healthy perspective being a vampire, making him an ideal mentor for younger vamps. Hope, Josie and/or Lizzie would be fantastic magic instructors and, frankly, the school should have always had an adult member of the faculty as the school pack’s alpha which Jed might mature into. Landon, MG and Wade could teach more traditional classes.

I know it’s easy to forget since the last time she switched forms was early season two (and I think the Pilot was the only prior time), but Hope is ALREADY a werewolf (of the improved Crescent Moon variety which is why she can control her transformations). Her activated werewolf side is why she’s already got super strength and agility and the vampire blood in her system gives her fast healing (and is why she’d automatically turn into a vampire-werewolf hybrid if killed). Normally the activated werewolf curse would keep Hope from being able to do magic (all the werewolves are witch bloodlines cursed by the Hollow), but between being the Hollow’s host for a bit (not to mention being a blood descendant) and being Nature’s anti-Malivore loophole, Hope still has her magic. So, basically Hope is already a “were-witch” with magic healing blood (heals like vampire blood, counters werewolf venom, creates hybrid vampire-werewolves). Other than immortality (not actually that great), vampire speed and compulsion and the thirst for blood, Hope’s already got most of the benefits of being a vampire and, as indicated by Lizzie’s first genie wish, if she did transition to a vampire she’d probably lose her magic so it’d probably be a net downgrade to her abilities. There’s a reason I call Hope the Buffy Summers of The Vampire Diaries universe (and by extension Alaric is Giles, Josie is Willow, Lizzie is Cordelia, Landon is basically Xander, and Kaleb is Oz).

Alaric mentions in the episode “Wow, they really did spare no expense restoring this place. It looks exactly like it did... well, maybe the shades are different.” So as ridiculous as it might seem, that is the explanation for why it looked identical. Regarding the kids aging out of school. Honestly, it’s been my contention since season one that the setup would have worked just as well if they’d timeskipped a couple years further and just made Hope, Lizzie, Jo and MG (Kaleb wasn’t a regular at the start of s1) into junior faculty at the school (sorta like Cyclops, Jean, et all were for the X-Men) as it would make almost no functional difference in the stories (instead of class responsibilities from the student side they’d be from the teacher side) and there’d be zero “what do we do when they graduate” issues. That said, my hunch is that’s probably what they’ll end up transitioning to going forward anyway. It’d just be a little easier if they’d started from there. I, for one, don’t want to see Hope as a vampire... because the inevitable next step for “the dramas” will be “let’s have her flip her humanity switch” and instead of the clearly heroic story we’ve been getting we’ll be back to the wretched “protagonist-centered morality” that was used to justify all the atrocities Damon, Stephan, Elena, Klaus, etc. visited upon random innocents. Because let’s be honest here; If a vampire like Damon or Klaus did actually turn up on this show and pulled one of those two’s trademark “woe is me” massacres... act four of the same episode would end with Hope standing over their staked/decapitated/incinerated corpse. Frankly, I think the THREAT of becoming a vampire if she ever does die is a far more interesting dramatic element to play with than another round of “how will they adapt to life as a vampire/when will they flip the switch and be a monster” we’ve already seen on two different series now. And to be fair... even Landon is calling out Hope for her “Landon, Landon, Landon” thing; so we should see a bit of a shift away from that going forward; at least for a bit. Lastly, as to why Landon is attending the Salvatore School? A) Alaric already decided he could attend back before he or Landon were even sure he was supernatural (the end of the ep where his mom jumped back into Malivore). B) They were at exactly the minimum (30)needed to stay a school before Landon returned and then MG left... if Landon left they’d have to either scrounge a replacement or shut the school down (i.e. 30+1-1=30). Related to Alaric’s midlife crisis; actually the above highlights how this season is about throwing everyone out of their comfort zones and forcing them to deal with changes.... Lizzie to life without her twin always around, Josie to life without magic, Hope to life without Landon (and now to needing to NOT make Landon her sole focus), MG is now making new friends at a new school, Kaleb is adapting to not having MG under his wing... and we’ve already discussed Alaric. Basically, this is the same thing as Puck’s deal... first you break everything apart (all those changes for all the leads) and then, presumably, the writers will put it all back together.

Presumably he does... off-camera because actor availability is a thing. Still, it’s a lot harder to do the drinking buddies thing when kids enter the picture. Given Elena’s career I wouldn’t be surprised if Damon is the one who does more of the day to day parental errands (i.e. get kids to after school practice, make sure homework is done, etc.) that make time for social drinking more of a special occasion than a Tuesday. I dunno about “dead man walking” for Alaric, but I definitely get the sense of a transition coming. His daughters are 17 and one has moved out of the house to live with family friends because of what amounts to a drug problem. Surrogate daughter Hope is 19 and, as the episode “Hope is Not the Goal” laid out... there’s layers of guilt involved in the whole “let already damaged Hope fight the monsters so others don’t have to” (which also explains why he lets her get away with way more than the other students too). He’s single and his last love interest packed up and left town after learning about the supernatural. His best compadre, Dorian, left the school for a safer occupation and roughly two-thirds of the student body got pulled out by their parents after the big battle with the Necromancer. They’ve also made a recurring point that he’s past his prime when it comes to confronting monsters directly. Kids on the verge of adulthood, career prospects looking iffy, lousy love life... basically, Alaric is staring at a midlife crisis. Given the specific references to the main cast as the “Super Squad” and that next season not just Hope, but all the other main characters should be out of high school, my hunch is the end result is going to be some sort of restructuring of the Salvatore School... perhaps a more overtly “X-Men-ish” direction where “we fight monsters” becomes an actual part of the mission statement vs. trying to pretend that “we educate supernaturals to be a part of ordinary society” is still viable in a world where all the monsters have returned. And really, what other organization on the planet has the sheer variety of supernaturals working together? The present “Super Squad” isn’t just vampires (Kaleb), werewolves (Jed), and witches (Chloe), but a siphoner (Lizzie), fairy (Wade), phoenix (Landon) and a tribrid (Hope). So my expectation isn’t “dead man walking” for Alaric, but rather that he’ll end up getting his groove back by realizing he still has a lot to contribute in mentoring this new generation of monster hunters.

My main reason is that, knowing the end is in sight, I may as well finish the ride and see how it ends on the off chance that some small part of it might be relevant to Superman & Lois... some actual proof that they occupy the actual same Earth maybe? Because you know who’d be the first person I’d ask for help with a busted Phantom Zone projector? Maybe the guy who actually built it and kept it stored in his Fortress? Who’s also Kara’s actual blood relative? Maybe? Just possibly? Nah, let’s find a random space vampire to fix it... and let’s not call Superman when Lex is on the verge of murdering half the planet and brainwashing the other half. That would be silly.

I’m not so sure on that part... the only references to her being a student at the Salvatore School come from a fanon site that lists her older sister, Jenna, as the main character on Legacies and a hybrid vampire-witch. It also says that Stephanie was born in 2020 and yet is 11 even though the present year in the show is only 2028. The real killer for this being accurate is that there is zero reference to actress mentioned and pictured on the page (Kennedi Clements) in her filmography while several other guest spots she’s been in the last three years are listed. Gotta be careful with those wikis; anyone can write anything in them.