S01.E02: Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Alaric, Hope, and Rafael hit the road in search of Landon, whose sudden disappearance has raised some suspicion. Meanwhile, during an annual flag football game against Mystic Falls High, Lizzie and Josie’s plan to stay under the radar quickly gets derailed after Penelope gets involved.

Promo:

Original air date: 11/1/18

[Minneapple]

No comments on the second episode? I thought it was pretty good again. 

A dragon. Hah! They did pretty good with it considering it's probably a minuscule fraction of HBO's CGI budget for Drogon.

Why can't the flag football team just always play without their supernatural powers? Seems stupid to lose all the time on purpose.

[UNOSEZ]

Where did those horrible children come from??  The teenage movie school of obnoxious antagonists.. Why did they dislike the Salvatore kids sooooo much... I went to a pvt school and the townies weren't that cartoonish... I enjoyed everything else...  Landon is still a big bag of boring but he doesn't seem like a bad guy.. Just a character that feels familiar... Not sure if this was planned.. But there was some serious smoke coming off of Rafael and Hope.. Don't think the show was set up for those two with her all googly over Landon and him already in some kinda love pentagram with the sisters mg and Penelope... Who's awesome and horrible at the same time... Lizzy was much better this episode and Josie is sad.. Her comment about not failing so their dad would keep loving them was alarming... All in all I'm entertained so ima keep coming back

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hahahahaha, the mascot for the Salvatore is the stallions?! Julie Plec is just trolling us now, right?

Hope talked about sublimating which shows Caroline's influence (even though we still haven't seen her once on this show). It felt like the last two or three seasons of TVD, all Caroline and Stefan talked about was sublimation.

Oh, Alaric and Caroline, I am deeply disappointed that the Salvatore School of Hogwarts apparently doesn't teach proper grammar. It's not "had ran," Hope. It's "had RUN."

Part of me is surprised that Alaric was so hell bent on killing the dragon. First of all, he says he opened the school to protect supernatural beings like his daughter. That dragon/human was another supernatural being. Yes, she burned a busload of people but Stefan and Damon killed plenty of people and Alaric was just fine being friends with them. He didn't really make any effort to subdue the dragon so he could try to communicate with her and find out where she came from, why she wanted the knife, etc. I don't think it bodes well that his first instinct when he encounters a new supernatural creature is to keep stabbing it until it dies. Secondly, the fact that there aren't supposed to be any dragons in existence, let alone a dragon that can transform into human form, seems like all the more reason NOT to kill it. Then again, knowing how things work at the Salvatore mansion, if he hadn't killed it, he would have just kept it locked up in the basement dungeon so maybe it's better that the poor dragon was put out of its misery.

I didn't love the last season of The Originals or TVD so I was reluctant to watch this show, but so far I'm enjoying it more than I thought it would. I'm not really here for the high school crushes and melodrama, but I like the supernatural stuff.

I'm glad Alaric pointed out that Hope's plan to kill Landon was like Klaus and his neverending need for vengeance against everyone. She wants to believe that Klaus was a sweet cuddly daddy but she needs to accept what a violent murderer he was so that she can make a clear effort to avoid following in his footsteps (similar to the way anyone with a parent who has a history of addiction or heart disease take precautionary measures so that they don't end up going down the same path). The fact that she jumped from "Landon is a nice boy who wouldn't lie to me" to "I AM GOING TO KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER WITH BLACK MAGIC" tells me that she is definitely her father's daughter and that Alaric was right to warn her not to do that. On top of that, she's an impulsive teenager which just means she needs to make even more of an effort not to let her emotions get the better of her. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. She has a lot of power so she needs to learn how to control her temper and not be ruled by her emotions.

[ursula]

15 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

She wants to believe that Klaus was a sweet cuddly daddy but she needs to accept what a violent murderer he was

I thought that Hope seeing reason because Alaric used the "don't be evil like your Dad" argument kinda of showed that Hope knew that Klaus wasn't a role model? I mean, if she hero-worshipped Klaus, she'd have been more determined to complete the "Vanquish My Enemies" warpath she was travelling on.

 

16 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Part of me is surprised that Alaric was so hell bent on killing the dragon. First of all, he says he opened the school to protect supernatural beings like his daughter. That dragon/human was another supernatural being. Yes, she burned a busload of people but Stefan and Damon killed plenty of people and Alaric was just fine being friends with them. He didn't really make any effort to subdue the dragon so he could try to communicate with her and find out where she came from, why she wanted the knife, etc. I don't think it bodes well that his first instinct when he encounters a new supernatural creature is to keep stabbing it until it dies. Secondly, the fact that there aren't supposed to be any dragons in existence, let alone a dragon that can transform into human form, seems like all the more reason NOT to kill it.

I love everything in this post. Hope showed more willingness to try to reason with her than Alaric who just came stabbity-stab-stab. And WORD at the irony of him being headmaster to a school of Misfits, but apparently, only the "right" kind of Misfits? And double WORD at how ridiculous that he's surprised/worried at a dragon showing up from nowhere but he doesn't try to find out why a dragon is showing up from nowhere from the dragon. What an idiot.

Also, can I point out the supreme irony of Alaric going all "Don't be a killer like your father" but when it came down to it, it's him, not Klaus Mikaelson's evil spawn that goes knife-happy? Also, Alaric is very "worried" about Hope becoming the violent monster her father was ---- but Alaric sure loves using her as his one-man army/bodyguard. So basically, as long she's violent on his terms, then he's fine with it? 

1 hour ago, UNOSEZ said:

Not sure if this was planned.. But there was some serious smoke coming off of Rafael and Hope..

I thought I was the only one noticing them vibing off each other. Honestly, I'll be far more down for that than Raf in a love triangle with the twins, or Landon/Hope. (Landon should turn out to be the season's Big Bad/traitor if the show knows what it's doing). But he's black and this is still a Julie Plec show, so I'm not even sure he won't die randomly next episode.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

4 minutes ago, ursula said:

Hope showed more willingness to try to reason with her than Alaric who just came stabbity-stab-stab. And WORD at the irony of him being headmaster to a school of Misfits, but apparently, only the "right" kind of Misfits? And double WORD at how ridiculous that he's surprised/worried at a dragon showing up from nowhere but he doesn't try to find out why a dragon is showing up from nowhere from the dragon. What an idiot.

Yes, I totally appreciated that Hope at least tried to ask the dragon why she wanted the knife and pleaded with her to speak. Alaric's reaction was more along the lines of "how many times do I have to stab you before you finally die?"

It was clear that the dragon couldn't speak English so they could have tried speaking with her in a few other languages or researched different ways to communicate with her instead of just killing her. When they figured out she was a dragon and therefore liked treasure, they probably could have just brought out shiny scrapbooking paper and kept her occupied for hours while they did some more research.

And if there are no more dragons, it seems like it would be a good idea to find out where the hell this one came from and what role the knife plays. I'm not necessarily saying they should have just handed over the knife to see what happened, but what if from her point of view that was HER knife and she was just trying to get it back from humans who stole it from her? What if there's some hellmouth or portal that opened up and there are even more dragons who are going to come to Mystic Falls looking for their knife and their missing friend/mother of dragons?

The fact that she was able to appear in human form makes it all the more disconcerting that Alaric dismissed her as dangerous and decided that the solution was to kill her. What if she was something similar to vampires, werewolves, and witches in that she's a supernatural creature that's at least partly human? He doesn't go around killing any of those things (anymore), but hey let's kill the only known dragon in the world!

Honestly, I thought that with all the supernatural research he did in TVD (and wasn't he a history teacher too?) that he would want to study the dragon for academic purposes just out of curiosity. I thought he was going to have Hope try to use a spell to put the dragon to sleep or something a little less stabby.

[ursula]

Heck, what if the dragon needed the knife to become normal (i.e. less fire-breathing and more "human")? What if she needed the knife to go to Dragon-home?

He doesn't even try. He's only interested in research on how to kill it. 

5 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I thought that with all the supernatural research he did in TVD (and wasn't he a history teacher too?)

If I remember, he was a legit Occult Studies Professor in Whitmore University at some point. Which makes this triply frustrating!

[UNOSEZ]

22 minutes ago, ursula said:

But he's black and this is still a Julie Plec show, so I'm not even sure he won't die randomly next episode.

Mg Rafael and  Kaleb have already said more in 2 episodes than any black guy did in like 7 years on TVD... Im still salty over how they killed the brother with the green eyes that Caroline was hitting it off with.. But it was St.  Elena so she couldn't be mad

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Just now, UNOSEZ said:

Mg Rafael and  Kaleb have already said more in 2 episodes than any black guy did in like 7 years on TVD... Im still salty over how they killed the brother with the green eyes that Caroline was hitting it off with.. But it was St.  Elena so she couldn't be mad

I was pretty surprised that Legacies had several non-white characters so I was kind of expecting one of them to die in the first few episodes because yeah, I've seen what happens to most people of color in the Plec-verse.

Alaric's motto: kill first, ask questions later (maybe).

[ursula]

Meanwhile, has anyone brought up Caroline's absence? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I guess we're just supposed to assume she's busy running a part of the school where apparently Alaric and their two daughters never go. You'd think they would just slip in one line about where their mom is. Or maybe this is going to be like Pretty Little Liars where she is frequently Out of Town.

[paulvdb]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I guess we're just supposed to assume she's busy running a part of the school where apparently Alaric and their two daughters never go.

And in the finale she'll show up again like Minkus on Boy Meets World:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The hilarious thing is that when my friend and I were discussing Caroline's glaring absence and the complete lack of Alaric, Lizzie, or Josie mentioning her AT ALL, we were talking about how Caroline was always into school spirit and how she would not miss the annual Salvatore/Mystic Falls flag football game. Even as an adult, you know she would be all over any event with school colors and a cross town rivalry. She would be on the sidelines making sure that the big blue bows on Josie's head were perfectly tied and that everyone in the crowd was chanting along with the cheerleaders (and probably threatening detention to any students who didn't participate to her satisfaction).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

You guys, I just remembered that Dorian (of Puff the Magic Dragon research and substitute flag football coach) was Alaric's student on TVD!

[paulvdb]

Thanks for mentioning that. I checked the actor's IMDB and saw that he also played Dorian on an episode of The Originals.

[HunterHunted]

4 hours ago, ursula said:

Also, can I point out the supreme irony of Alaric going all "Don't be a killer like your father" but when it came down to it, it's him, not Klaus Mikaelson's evil spawn that goes knife-happy? Also, Alaric is very "worried" about Hope becoming the violent monster her father was ---- but Alaric sure loves using her as his one-man army/bodyguard. So basically, as long she's violent on his terms, then he's fine with it? 

I don't see what's wrong with Alaric using Hope, his surrogate daughter, as his muscle/enforcer, having another child who will do anything to please him, and a third child who is powerful and impulsive. It worked out so well for Odin in the MCU. Oh wait...

Alaric is a massive hypocrite.

He's also unbelievable in general. He has twice been an occult studies/history professor: when he was married to Elena's birth mom and later at Whitmore.

I'm also a little bit of two minds about the football game. I really think Caroline should have been there. I also think that she talked Alaric into it because this is just NOT something he would have thought of. I think Alaric and Caroline would have of course insist that none of the kids use their powers. However, Caroline wouldn't have insisted that the kids lose. every. single. time. She would have wanted the kids to practice until they could win fair and square. Because why would they still be going through this entire demoralizing exercise if their students have to lose every year and get made fun of by Mystic Falls students? There is nothing about losing constantly that helps build morale and school spirit. Furthermore, Caroline has also always been insistant that supernaturals can live fairly normal lives if they want to and if they are supported in that decision. So watching how this show is playing out makes me think that someone has Caroline desicating in a coffin somewhere because none of this really looks like something Caroline would have helped create.

[Terrafamilia]

Hope is on my s***list for tearing a page out of a book. Sure, it was a book of dark, evil magic and sure, she might be able to magically repair it, but still...

[ketose]

On 11/2/2018 at 9:30 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Part of me is surprised that Alaric was so hell bent on killing the dragon. First of all, he says he opened the school to protect supernatural beings like his daughter. That dragon/human was another supernatural being. Yes, she burned a busload of people but Stefan and Damon killed plenty of people and Alaric was just fine being friends with them. He didn't really make any effort to subdue the dragon so he could try to communicate with her and find out where she came from, why she wanted the knife, etc. I don't think it bodes well that his first instinct when he encounters a new supernatural creature is to keep stabbing it until it dies. Secondly, the fact that there aren't supposed to be any dragons in existence, let alone a dragon that can transform into human form, seems like all the more reason NOT to kill it. Then again, knowing how things work at the Salvatore mansion, if he hadn't killed it, he would have just kept it locked up in the basement dungeon so maybe it's better that the poor dragon was put out of its misery.

That dragon wasn't a teenager in need of an education, nor was she particularly willing to stop killing once she knew where the knife was. I see no problem with Alaric taking out a creature who already killed a busload of people. That was one of the things that sickened me about TVD, the constant redemption that ignored the hundreds of murders that redemption led to.

It also appears that this knife (re)animates mythical creatures / statues and that seems like we're in freak of the week territory. 

[AngelKitty]

On 11/2/2018 at 9:30 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

It's not "had ran," Hope. It's "had RUN."

This irritates me so much and I keep hearing it over and over on TV and in real life and no one seems to notice. I believe this is misused so much that it will become the norm just like how no one uses whom correctly anymore.

On 11/2/2018 at 9:30 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Part of me is surprised that Alaric was so hell bent on killing the dragon.

This surprised me too. And then they just bury the body in the unknown woods instead of taking it to the school to be studied or at least make sure it doesn't come back to life.

The school football story did not work for me. It didn't make sense that they had to lose every time. And as others have said, if this was a yearly event, there is no way Caroline would not have taken over and made it into a huge production. And this speaks to the problem of there not being enough adults to retain my interest.

[CheezyXpressed]

So they totally photoshopped Hayley out of the family picture. Seems odd that they're not mentioning Caroline and they erased Hayley...

[Bugs Meany]

On 11/2/2018 at 7:34 AM, Minneapple said:

Why can't the flag football team just always play without their supernatural powers? Seems stupid to lose all the time on purpose.

This was dumb! If one group of able-bodied, apparently athletic students defeats another group of able-bodied, apparently athletic students in a game of flag football, obviously it's because of...magic?

 

On 11/4/2018 at 9:10 AM, AngelKitty said:

On 11/2/2018 at 9:30 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

It's not "had ran," Hope. It's "had RUN."

This irritates me so much and I keep hearing it over and over on TV and in real life and no one seems to notice. I believe this is misused so much that it will become the norm just like how no one uses whom correctly anymore.

I would love to be some kind of Hollywood proofreader. I'm driven crazy by all the bad grammar and syntax foisted on millions of TV and movie watchers. I would also love it if 'who/whom' were the only thing we had to worry about. (I'm obviously OK with dangling prepositions.) 'Literally' has been stolen from sober, responsible users. (My new pet peeve is 'hone in on.')

Edited November 8, 2018 by Bugs Meany

[Rushmoras]

OK, so that was a mildly interesting episode that went nowhere in general. So, dragons are real, and demons now also. Or, somebody has found a fairytale book and is now reanimating mythical creatures in to the world. All in all, yeah, I think I'm going to quit after the first season, because if all of the episodes will be like this....