S03.E03: Salvatore: The Musical!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The students prepare to put on a musical about the founding of the Salvatore School at the behest of their mysterious new guidance counselor; Landon throws himself into writing the musical and Lizzie, Josie, Kaleb and Jed dive into their roles.

Promo:

Original air date: 2/4/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

OMG I am totally looking forward to seeing Jed and Kaleb play Stefan and Damon! I can only hope that the musical will depict the Salvatore brothers similar to the way that Cordelia and Wesley played Angel and Buffy.

 

[Diapason Untuned]

This is hands down the funniest episode of this show, ever.

I literally howled when they broke out with "Doppleganger". "Damon, don't do this" was another favourite. The writers must have been cracking up too when they wrote this stuff.

There being no Bonnie because there wasn't actually a black girl currently on cast to play her did not escape my notice, though the mentions of how Plec did her dirty were...interesting.

Also nice that they brought up the squickiness with Caroline and Alaric...and then did it again with Jade and Josie. I really, really wish they would stop putting all the girls that like Josie on a bus.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Diapason Untuned

[UnoAgain]

The musical was really nice... The songs really did hit on some of the themes of TVD... Jenny Boyd and Chris Lee got some pipes on them... Caroline's 1st song and Damon's intro song were real standouts... Once again ( and to be honest as usual since this show started)  I liked Hope and Landon... Seperated... Landon was so good tonight... Him weirded out by Alaric and Caroline.. Him being exacerbated by all the madness that was TVD... Hope was her usual crabby self and was kinda getting on my nerves until her talk with Puck... But still was engaging... Then they made up and Bleh.. Until the next fight.. Or dueling declarations of love.. MG and his quest against Puck was fun.. And I think Alyssa meant it when she told him she cared.. But he's gotta be a hero.. So I'm hoping she'll come around... I kept thinking this was filmed before they filmed RAF leaving... Seeing as it wasbt mentioned until one throwaway line at the end of the episode.. And no characters seemed fazed by his departure... Didn't like that one bit... But his name is still in the credits so I'm( probably foolishly and stubbornly)  holding out some cautious hope... I'm thinking Josie and Maybe Landon may transfer to Mystic Falls High.. As they've been de-powered... Plus this will help new Regular Ethan blend in... I'm sure that they'll somehow manage to write for him better than the regular who's in a prison world with a " I s"*t you not" tub of fried chicken 

[Kmr]

The episode was fun for the most part. I don't think they really gave Kaylee the best songs to show her range but Chris, Danielle and Jenny had some good songs to shine with. 

I can't stop shaking my head at some things I had read from fans before the episode especially about Kaleb being Damon. It really was racist while proclaiming there problem wasn't that he was black but just didn't have the right look/feel to be Damon but were also the ones who thought Landon would have been a perfect Damon. 

Yeah the Bonnie criticism is fair in her treatment but not being in the scenes we saw of the play. The criticism of not having enough female characters on the show is valid. 

So this was another episode that was written for last year which means that in season 2 hope and Landon would have had some kind of fight/break up like 4-5 times only to get back together an episode later. This is ridiculous. 

So Josie kisses another girl a couple of times and then the girl leaves. I have the bad feeling if the next love interest is a guy it definitely be more like her and Landon rather than her and Jade.

[twoods]

I would watch Mystic Falls the Musical as a full musical if I could. Make it happen Broadway! I loved it all, and did not realize that the cast were amazing singers.

It was a nice change to have the monster be a good guy. Too bad Alicia is an unredeemable twat. They better not hurt MG!

[RachelKM]

That was hilarious.  I enjoyed Landon lampshading the TVD issues.  It was like reading a list of most common complaints  compiled from this and the erstwhile TWOP boards. I also enjoyed the series of Damon auditions... And of course Landon is a Stefan!Stan. 

And yeah, that musical was great. I nearly fell off the couch at "Doppelgangers!!!!"  And, I'm not gonna lie, I really liked Caleb's Damon.  I tend to like Caleb, so that tracks.

MG's round and round with Puck was fun. Speaking of MG, WTF?  Alyssa's one redeeming quality (aside from occasional quality snark) was her appreciation of MG. Boo if she really offered him up as a sacrifice. 

I always like Hope and Landon better when they aren't together. Which is why they, of course, had to get back together immediately. UGH I can't have nice things.

I completely forgot Jade existed and totally missed that she decided to stay at the school... and then she left.  Can Josie have ONE relationship last for more than an episode or two? Apparently she can't have nice things either...

Edited February 5, 2021 by RachelKM

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Just about everything in this episode was A+ from Kaleb's audition of wordless runs to everyone, including the girls, wanting to play Damon (although I did find it weird that people got to choose which role they were auditioning for - at my high school, there was an audition process of singing, dancing, and acting and then the director chose who to cast in which roles without anyone telling him which part they wanted to play).

I loved Dr. Goodfellow telling MG repeatedly that he was the monster and MG looking shocked every single time. The post it note with "funny accent" cracked me up. I totally loved that when MG figured it out AGAIN near the end of the musical, Goodfellow shushed him because he wanted to finish watching the show.

Every actual thing about the musical itself was a good reminder of how batshit crazy TVD was. When Landon said there was too much going on for him to make sense of it all and put it into the musical (travellers, sirens, Bonnie disappearing, Elena being asleep but not dead), I was like bro, that was just the last two seasons!

And OF COURSE since Klaus got mentioned in this episode, Hope had to retreat to her room to paint because nothing says "I am pouting like a Mikaelson" like breaking out your art supplies. I was really hoping for a painting of a pony.

Ha, weird how the musical featured a bunch of students we've never seen before! I'm not complaining though - I'd rather they hire people who can sing and dance for this episode than having subpar performances from cast members who aren't great at either (not that singing was an issue for Kaleb, Jed, Hope, Josie, or Lizzie). I laughed so hard at "Doppelganger! Doppelganger! Doppelganger!"

Josie with Elena hair reminded me of Evil Willow. But Lizzie's Caroline costume? Girl, please. Caroline wouldn't have been caught dead in that outfit.

I understand Hope being sensitive about her family and not wanting all their family secrets exposed (mostly her dad murdering people left and right for no fucking reason), but it was a bit much for her to demand that Landon not include her family in the musical at all. The Mikaelsons' repeated interactions with the Salvatores and the doppelgangers over the years would be pretty hard to leave out entirely, but even if Landon cut all of that, Klaus still donated some of the money to start the school.

So now Caroline communicates with Lizzie via Harry Potter's flue network?

Please make Landon's musical an annual tradition at the school going forward. I need to see some version of this every year. The "Hello Brother" song was probably the most accurate depiction of Damon and Stefan's relationship told in 90 seconds. I know the MOTC sent Alaric away for most of the episode, but I would love to hear his take on the musical depiction of the Salvatore saga. Landon's description of how Alaric USED TO BE a badass made me laugh as much as when he was weirded out by Caroline being Alaric's student.

My favorite line this week may have been Goodfellow telling Hope that Klaus was a terrible painter.

I am going to be furious if they kill off MG. I don't want that to happen at all, but to do it right after they got rid of Raf? Come the fuck on, show.

Edited February 5, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[UnoAgain]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I am going to be furious if they kill off MG. I don't want that to happen at all, but to do it right after they got rid of Raf? Come the fuck on, show.

Even THEY couldn't be that Tone-Deaf to kill MG... 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

22 minutes ago, UnoAgain said:

Even THEY couldn't be that Tone-Deaf to kill MG... 

You'd think so, but this is the Plec-verse we're talking about so any characters with melanin are always at risk of being killed or otherwise shunted off for Reasons.

[mommalib]

1 hour ago, UnoAgain said:

Even THEY couldn't be that Tone-Deaf to kill MG... 

Oh yes they could be, the surprise would be if they weren't.

[UnoAgain]

29 minutes ago, mommalib said:

Oh yes they could be, the surprise would be if they weren't.

 

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

You'd think so, but this is the Plec-verse we're talking about so any characters with melanin are always at risk of being killed or otherwise shunted off for Reasons.

I know y'all both right... But come on man.. Sometimes I gotta force optimisim or I'd be on the warpath all damn day and I got stuff I gotta handle.. So ima take a page from my forever president abd assume better angels on this one and pretend that (Dolls, Jimmy, RAF, AJ, Chuck on riverdale, Bonnie, Aisha from that new Wind Show,  whatever that black vampire lady's name was on Wynonna who threw herself off a train in the name of White Lesbian Love... I guess I could go on.. That was just black folks off the top of my head..)  They didn't happen 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

15 minutes ago, UnoAgain said:

 

I know y'all both right... But come on man.. Sometimes I gotta force optimisim or I'd be on the warpath all damn day and I got stuff I gotta handle.. So ima take a page from my forever president abd assume better angels on this one and pretend that (Dolls, Jimmy, RAF, AJ, Chuck on riverdale, Bonnie, Aisha from that new Wind Show,  whatever that black vampire lady's name was on Wynonna who threw herself off a train in the name of White Lesbian Love... I guess I could go on.. That was just black folks off the top of my head..)  They didn't happen 

It's okay - I get it. That's why I was rooting so hard for Raf's new royal blood storyline to be the beginning of a new journey for him and not a short straight road to death. I'm trying to enjoy the remaining POC on the show before they inevitably get shoved aside for the sheriff's kid.

Speaking of other characters, I had honestly forgotten who the hell Jade was when she popped up again in this episode. Even after google told me who she was, I thought ehhhhhh, okay, I remember that storyline but so what? I don't know why she had to make out with Josie before leaving. If she had just disappeared and never been seen again, I wouldn't have noticed or cared. I'd rather the show focus on the original characters and give them better storylines instead of bringing in more students who I don't really care about. I'd much rather see Kaleb or Jed get a new storyline than see the sheriff's kid some more. Do we really need plots for the townies at Mystic Falls High? To quote Mean Girls, "He doesn't even go here!"

[UnoAgain]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm trying to enjoy the remaining POC on the show before they inevitably get shoved aside

 

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Speaking of other characters, I had honestly forgotten who the hell Jade was when she popped up again in this episode.

What's wildbis how even tho those two statements weren't for one continuous thought... As at first you were speaking about the sheriff's kid ( well just the white son... Dunno about his Latina sister).. That scene with Jade had a black girl..who she is I dunno prob a witch.. Who didn't seem to say anything and only existed to help Josie and then leave when jade showed up... I had to pause my tv.. Get up and laugh/scream at the absurdity of it.. 

[tennisgurl]

The Vampire Diaries musical was truly everything I ever wanted and more, I honestly forgot how batshit crazy that show got, especially in the last few seasons. Sirens and travelers and Bonnie just disappeared and the sleeping curse! I cant decide what my favorite part was, the song with the long list of every one of the trillions of town festivals that Mystic Falls has every year, or the "Doppelgangers!" song. "Doppelgangers! Doppelgangers! Doppelgangers!" Everyone sounded great, especially Caleb as Damon, and Josie really was channeling her inner Elena with those outfits. 

Landon's reactions to learning about all the crazy stuff that happened in the Vampire Diaries era was hilarious, and of course Landon is on Team Stefan. "Alaric used to be a badass vampire hunter? And Caroline was his student which is...weird." You could tell the writers were really enjoying this, and that they have read a LOT of the criticisms and commentary about the OG show and were having fun with them. 

This episode just continues to conform the fact that Hope and Landon are both great...just not really great together. Hope's family angst was pretty good and I love auteur director Landon, but whenever they start talking, the action just grinds utterly to a stop. Hope might be upset about Landon wanting to take a break, but Landon also just lost his best friend and his powers in one day, its been a lot, so I cant blame him for wanting to take a second. 

So I guess now that Raf is gone, we can almost entirely pretend he never existed! Landon can only mentioned him once, but for everyone else, its like he was never there at all. Why yes, I am salty, why do you ask? I also totally forgot that Jade was around, its too bad she is now apparently leaving just after she does something. I guess we need to get rid of the actually interesting characters so that we can focus on these boring townies. Seriously, why should we care about these random people who have always only seemed like assholes whenever we see them? Don't we already have enough underused characters that we can actually focus on? 

Not too surprising who the guy named Robin Goodfellow really is, but what was surprising was that he actually wasn't a bad guy and was actually trying to help, in a weird kind of way. MG trying to figure out who the monster was, figuring it out, Dr. Goodfellow telling him who he was, and then forgetting it, was pretty hilarious. Poor MG, you sweet summer child, always playing the hero. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by tennisgurl

[mommalib]

6 hours ago, UnoAgain said:

 

I know y'all both right... But come on man.. Sometimes I gotta force optimisim or I'd be on the warpath all damn day and I got stuff I gotta handle.. So ima take a page from my forever president abd assume better angels on this one and pretend that (Dolls, Jimmy, RAF, AJ, Chuck on riverdale, Bonnie, Aisha from that new Wind Show,  whatever that black vampire lady's name was on Wynonna who threw herself off a train in the name of White Lesbian Love... I guess I could go on.. That was just black folks off the top of my head..)  They didn't happen 

I admire the optimism maybe I should try it. lol

[Terrafamilia]

It was fun seeing T.J. Ramini in a lighter role, I've usually only seen him in more serious ones. Plus one with a British accent.

[paulvdb]

I thought he looked familiar but I had to go to IMDB to remind me where I'd seen him before. He was Vikram on Twisted.

[luckyroll3]

On 2/5/2021 at 1:30 AM, twoods said:

I would watch Mystic Falls the Musical as a full musical if I could. Make it happen Broadway! I loved it all, and did not realize that the cast were amazing singers

Yes! I need to see the full version of this musical. The songs were great!  That damn "Hello Brother" song almost brought me to tears.

Lack of Bonnie in the musical was another slap, but I did notice the 2 random black girls who were background dancers in the musical cast and was wondering where the heck they came from and why we've never seen them before.

Interesting to learn that this was the first time the actress who plays Hope has sang.

On 2/6/2021 at 2:00 AM, paulvdb said:

I thought he looked familiar but I had to go to IMDB to remind me where I'd seen him before. He was Vikram on Twisted.

Ooh, I just watched that show (also batshit crazy) sometime during last year's lockdown. Thanks for connecting the dots in my brain of where he was from.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 2/5/2021 at 11:00 PM, paulvdb said:

I thought he looked familiar but I had to go to IMDB to remind me where I'd seen him before. He was Vikram on Twisted.

 

12 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

Ooh, I just watched that show (also batshit crazy) sometime during last year's lockdown. Thanks for connecting the dots in my brain of where he was from.

OMG I watched Twisted too but I didn't recognize him as Vikram. Thanks for telling us!

[BK1978]

I really hate musicals with a passion.  I did not like it when they did it on Buffy all of those years ago and I skipped this episode.  My question is, did anything of note happen during this episode or was it just a filler?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 2/5/2021 at 6:26 PM, Terrafamilia said:

It was fun seeing T.J. Ramini in a lighter role, I've usually only seen him in more serious ones. Plus one with a British accent.

What I enjoyed about his character is that, like the Necromancer, he was clearly delighted to be messing with people. He was having so much fun every time MG came to him with his suspicions and then figured it out and he was totally enjoying the musical. It's a nice change from the angry bad guys.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

How Legacies pulled off that Vampire Diaries-inspired musical episode

They talk about how much got cut (including a song where Klaus sings to Hope) and apparently the show released the soundtrack (including cut songs) online!