When Legacies began, it made perfect sense for viewers to expect the remaining Mikaelson family or members of the Mystic Falls gang to appear at the Salvatore Boarding School. After all, the show focused on Hope Mikaelson, Lizzie, and Josie Saltzman, who were all essential to the other characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. But, while some appearances were quiet, such as Matt’s return as the town sheriff or Jeremy’s search for Landon and Rafael, others played a far more integral role in the plot. For example, although it may have taken a while, Hope finally reunited with her family, and Josie had an unpleasant reunion with her sociopathic uncle Kai.
Meanwhile, other long-awaited surprise guest appearances by Klaus and Caroline helped bring closure to the series. While the various guest appearances had the previous central or supporting characters interact with different Super Squad members, some significantly impacted the story as a whole. Of course, bringing so many characters back was exciting for nostalgia. Still, it also helped connect the three shows, continuing to understand it as a shared universe with so much history shared between everyone involved. But, who had the best guest appearance?
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10 Matt Donovan
Warner Brothers Television Distribution
Matt Donovan appears twice in Legacies during its first season, and then it is mentioned later that he was elected Mayor. Matt Donovan remained human throughout all the chaos that occurred in Mystic Falls during his time as a teenager and young adult. Seeing Matt as town sheriff shows he continued to be involved in town and put Vervain in the town’s water supply to protect humans from vampires and the students at the Salvatore Boarding School. While it is fun to see Matt during his brief appearances, they are pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of things.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
9 Jeremy Gilbert
Jeremy appears early in season one after Landon and Rafael leave the Salvatore Boarding School. Jeremy’s job is to find the duo and return them to school. Jeremy explains to Rafael and Landon that Alaric had taken care of him as a kid, further linking the two shows. Unfortunately, Jeremy’s reunion with Alaric is a background moment that never gets a forefront feature. Given Jeremy and Alaric’s history, it is a shame that Legacies did not give the duo a moment to allow the audience to see them reconnect.
8 Kol Mikaelson
Kol returns to New Orleans with the rest of his family in a plan to give Klaus a funeral, which doubles as a scheme to turn Hope’s humanity back on. For the most part, Kol’s only appearance on Legacies is to remind Hope that her family is there for her and confirm that he and Davina are still happily together, even if she could not be present for the reunion.
7 Marcel Gerard
Marcel is in a similar boat to Kol, only appearing once in the same episode. However, Marcel recalls moments from Hope’s childhood and confirms he and Rebekah had married. Marcel, along with the Mikaelsons, pushes Hope to confront her feelings toward her father’s death, nudging her toward her humanity. At the end of The Originals, Marcel promised to be there for Hope whenever she needed him. In this episode, Marcel finally makes good on that promise after being absent for so long.
6 Rebekah Mikaelson
Appearing twice in Legacies, Rebekah’s first appearance is filled with fun at a bar. However, it takes Rebekah a while to learn the plot twist. Rebekah thinks Hope is having trouble adjusting to being a full Tribrid, but once she knows Hope’s humanity is off, it is a slightly different meeting. Rebekah’s appearance involves fun jokes about country music, callbacks to Klaus daggering Rebekah in the past, and the emotional recalling of Klaus and Hayley’s deaths. When Rebekah returns, it is to help return Hope’s humanity.
5 Freya Mikaelson
Of all the Mikaelson siblings, Freya appears the most. Her first appearance occurs in season two, and although she spends next to no time with Hope, her storyline is primarily with Josie. Josie had traveled to New Orleans to get Freya’s help with a spell to return everyone’s memories of Hope. When Freya reunites with Hope, all her memories intact, they share an emotional hug. Freya returns to Mystic Falls later on to stop Hope’s heart to activate her vampire side. Freya’s third time on Legacies is for Klaus’ funeral. Each time Freya has appeared on Legacies, it has been for a significant time in Hope’s life.
4 Kai Parker
If the monster-of-the-week formula was not doing it for long-time fans of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, Kai Parker’s return reminds viewers precisely what a well-crafted villain is capable of. Kai is as psychotic and charismatic as ever when Josie meets him in the Prison World. Yet, he is still dangerous with a darkly comical twist. Kai’s return sparks two of the highest-stakes episodes in the series.
Although it could be argued that Kai’s death felt like a rip-off so that Alaric could finally have his moment against Kai, Kai’s impact remained after he left. Kai’s influence encouraged Josie to break the sand clock to help her family escape the Prison World, placing together some final pieces of the Dark Josie arc.
3 Aurora De Martel
Given that Aurora stuck around for several episodes in the final season, she certainly had an impact. However, she also earned character development and conversation that The Originals never gave her. On The Originals, Aurora was waved off as being “crazy,” and her mental health was never discussed. Given the time she grew up, mental health discussions were not as often discussed as in the present day. However, a thousand years after her transition, her brother still resorted to cruel acts while the Mikaelsons wrote her off.
In Legacies, Aurora’s mental health is gifted with more conversation as she bonds with Lizzie through the trials and tribulations of having to work at mental health, especially with the heightened emotions of vampirism. Aurora’s appearance even resulted in her choice for redemption, refusing to kill Hope and ending the circle of violence Klaus had initiated.
2 Caroline Forbes
Given that everyone knew Caroline was alive and searching for a way to prevent the Merge, it seemed like only a matter of time before Caroline appeared. But, for a while, she never did, with the twins explaining they had gone to visit Caroline without her ever appearing. Finally, in the series finale, Caroline returns to Mystic Falls and reunites with Lizzie and Alaric. Caroline’s return was even suggested to be longer, with Alaric officially revealing Caroline would step in as temporary Headmistress following his departure. Had the show continued for another season, Caroline would possibly have continued to be a presence at the Salvatore School. However, in the show’s final moments, under Caroline’s leadership, the Salvatore School finally seems to be back on track toward gaining more students.
1 Klaus Mikaelson
Klaus certainly had the most emotional return as Hope finally gets a sense of closure she so desperately needed. Although Klaus is only on-screen for a few minutes, that is all he needs to encourage Hope to live her life and know that he loves her and does not regret a thing. Klaus’ final speech is not only something Hope required, but also for the long-time fans.
Klaus’ death had come without closure, as his and Elijah’s mutual deaths had not been gifted the certainty of Peace that Stefan and Damon had been given. Instead, the Necromancer had told Hope that Klaus would not find Peace until she did. The Legacies series finale showing that Klaus did find Peace also concluded his arc from The Originals.
