Even though Legacies may not have been the most popular series in The Vampire Diaries Universe, it still outdid its predecessors in some ways. In its choice to create a lighter tone, Legacies allowed for the show to occasionally take on a more satirical approach and self-awareness to the supernatural genre and the franchise itself, especially during “Salvatore: The Musical!” However, in other aspects, the show rose on its own. All the central characters are supernatural, so there is no element of waiting for a main character to discover the dangerous truths. Due to all the prominent characters being teenagers at the start of the show, Legacies also lacks characters with years of guilt like Stefan or centuries’ worth of paranoia like Klaus.
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The decades of toxic family dynamics exhibited by the Salvatore brothers and Mikaelson siblings during The Vampire Diaries and The Originals is not a highlighting factor in Legacies. While the Mystic Falls gang tended to be wrapped up in romantic struggles and entanglements, and the Mikaelsons faced constant family drama, the Super Squad remained steadily discussing the vitality of friendship and chosen family. Although Legacies may not have always been perfect, it did get some things right.
Focus On Friendship
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Legacies put a much bigger focus on friendship than on familial relations. Of course, the Super Squad is at the heart of the series, with one of season one’s biggest storylines being about loner Hope Mikaelson slowly making friends. The Super Squad’s friendship was one of the biggest centers of the show, with Hope’s relationships with Josie and Lizzie being at the heart of the series. But, Legacies also allows room to discuss the obstacles to the Super Squad’s friendship and how someone’s decision can have consequences that affect how others react.
As integral as the Super Squad’s friendship is to the show, the rest of the group is not afraid to remind Hope how her choices can harm the rest of them. After Hope’s decision to save Landon goes against the rest of the group and nearly kills Josie and Lizzie, everyone is weary of having Hope participate in a rescue mission if saving Landon is not the priority. Her actions have consequences. While the Super Squad is not thrilled with Hope immediately after her choices, no one turns their back on her entirely for long. While she is forgiven, the event is not forgotten, and part of the story allows Hope to see she needs to be a better friend rather than risking everyone’s safety for Landon repeatedly.
Healthier Sibling Dynamic
Stefan and Damon’s problems stem from the first time they met Katherine in 1864, and it takes over a century for them to recover if they ever return to where they were before she stormed into their lives. Throughout their time as vampires, even if they might try, Damon and Stefan are trapped in a perpetual set of the same issues. Stefan is constantly willing to sacrifice everything for Damon. Meanwhile, Damon never quite manages to do the same if it means giving up his potential happiness. Klaus spends centuries daggering his siblings on and off and keeping them in coffins until he decides otherwise. Elijah’s actions set Klaus’ course as believing himself to be a monster, unworthy of love, and paranoid. Kol was willing to betray his siblings. Rebekah brought Mikael to New Orleans. Finn was constantly ready to kill all of his siblings.
On Legacies, Josie and Lizzie admit to being co-dependent. However, their problems are not nearly as dangerous as the other primary siblings from the previous shows. The twins know they are co-dependent and work toward individual independence. While they want to be there for each other and help one another, Lizzie and Josie’s dynamic does not hold decades and centuries’ worth of problems and struggles. They are teenagers growing up, trying to figure out how to move forward with their lives and break harmful patterns in behavior. Landon and Rafael take the road of non-biological siblings. They consider each other brothers, looking out for each other and caring for each other deeply when no one else does.
Ignores The Never-Ending Love Triangle
In The Vampire Diaries, the love triangle between Elena, Stefan, and Damon lived for too long, even being hinted at after Elena had made a decision. The question still lingered in the background of if or when Elena would switch brothers again. It was the love triangle that never seemed to remain dead. Legacies does include love triangles, but they are never as in the forefront, long, or integral to the plot. The love triangle after Hope returns from Malivore between Hope, Josie, and Landon is relatively brief when looking at the overall length of the series, as was the short tease between Hope, Landon, and Rafael or Josie, Rafael, and Lizzie. Lizzie’s triangle with MG and Ethan plays as a subplot that does not get enough attention in the final season to qualify as an essential storyline for Lizzie compared to everything else she has going on.
Even though Legacies featured numerous relationships that fans hoped would come to fruition, even if the show never officially moved forward in that direction, wishing for those relationships did not mean legitimate love triangles were occurring. The most consistent romantic storyline comes from Hope and Landon. However, given Landon’s disappearance into Malivore, followed by his time trapped in Limbo, their relationship barely gets any screen time in the third or fourth seasons.
Introducing New Supernatural Creatures
For the most part, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals introduced new vampires, werewolves, and witches to the fold, or variations of them, such as Originals, Hybrids, or Heretics. The Vampire Diaries did expand slightly in its final seasons with a Huntress, Sirens, and Cade, the leader of Hell. The Originals also introduced the Hollow as being a potent entity. However, when branching out from vampires, werewolves, and witches, Legacies is the clear winner. Introducing the Necromancer, a Unicorn, a Dryad, Cupid, the Ferryman, Gods, and more, new supernatural creatures or monsters were constantly entering Mystic Falls. So many new supernatural elements allowed to broaden the spectrum of the lore within the franchise.
Builds On The Franchise’s Past
Legacies has a lot to work with when it comes to the history of the shows. Hope, Josie, and Lizzie have deep roots within The Vampire Diaries Universe, which come out to play occasionally. Josie is confronted by her sociopath uncle Kai Parker in the prison world, resulting in Josie taking in all the dark magic she had tried to dispose of. As the last remaining members of the Gemini Coven, Lizzie and Josie also have the Merge hanging over their heads for most of the show. As for Hope, she is well aware that everyone knows of her family. Aurora De Martel’s reappearance in season four is one of Hope’s most significant connections to taking on her father’s old enemies.
