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Legacies: The Little Spin-Off That Wouldn't

[Article translated into English below; access link above for original Portuguese version.]

With the first anniversary of Legacies' series finale long past us, it seems the appropriate time has finally come for us to reflect a bit on the various elements that led to the series not achieving the same kind of success as its predecessors. If you haven't seen this spin-off of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals in its entirety, don't worry; you didn't miss out on much. If, on the other hand, you followed the series and our reviews while it was on the air, you know we have a lot to discuss. So grab your favorite snacks, maybe a drink, and without further ado, let's get into it.

Created by Julie Plec, Legacies premiered in October 2018 on The CW. The spin-off provides a continuation to the story of Hope Mikaelson (played by Danielle Rose Russell since The Originals' fifth season), the descendant of some of the most powerful lineages of vampires, witches, and werewolves in the universe created by The Vampire Diaries. The teenager attends the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, a boarding school that aims to provide a safe haven for young supernatural beings, teaching them to control their powers and navigate the challenges of an adolescence which, albeit similar to that of ordinary mortals, isn't without its differences.

Despite a promising premise that had indeed worked in the past, Legacies came to an end after only four seasons, becoming one of the last series to succumb to the great purge of 2022. This cancellation was not received with much surprise by most of its audience, who, after a season marked by the departure of an original cast member, anticipated the inevitable. However, Legacies' failure can hardly be exclusively attributed to what happened during its final stretch, having the problems of "the little spin-off that wouldn't" started long before the final nail was ever hammered into its coffin.

The Forgotten Legacy

As a spin-off, Legacies inherited not only a well-established vast universe from its predecessors but also the obligation to find its own voice within it. It's quite the burden, but let's be honest: anyone who wanted to revisit The Vampire Diaries or The Originals could do so at any time, so something a little different wouldn't have been frowned upon. However, while there is much to be said about Legacies' distinct tone – and, believe me, we will get to it –, one of its cardinal sins will forever be the relationship of narrative neglect it maintained to the original series.

For a self-titled "legacies" show, Legacies always used its source material rather loosely, treating the inherited mythology and characters with carelessness. If its solid mythological foundation was disrespected and scattered with the introduction of the ill-fated "monster of the week," so were the very characters who were brought into this derivative of The Vampire Diaries. By name alone, Hope, Josie (Kaylee Bryant), and Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) are the "legacies" the series should've served. Instead, the baggage they had accumulated throughout both original series and its implications were often minimized to favor a more carefree plot, reducing the main trio to a mere shadow of what it could've been.

It's purely antithetical that Legacies sought to capitalize on the emotional connection its audience had to the source material all the while ignoring it entirely, but that didn't stop it from trying. This led to the existence of cameos and references that, in an attempt to evoke a nostalgic feeling, appeared at moments that contributed little to the plot. If, in The Originals, Hope's family moved heaven and earth for the young tribrid, in Legacies, they seemed too busy to provide any kind of support to the character until the ratings demanded it. As for Caroline's (Josie and Lizzie's mother, portrayed by Candice Accola) absence, although its reason was briefly explained at the beginning of the season, her mission hardly justified her being gone through circumstances that truly warranted her visit, with the character making her first and only appearance in Legacies' series finale.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

As previously mentioned, it's no secret that Legacies attempted to differentiate itself from the other series in its universe by adopting a lighter tone, opting for largely inconsequential narratives, caricatured villains, and a whole roster of stock characters. During its first season, this gave the show its own vibe, something akin to series like Legends of Tomorrow: a comic book series with a somewhat out-there premise, but still with rather captivating characters. However, Legacies quickly began to alternate between its decidedly camp style and a more serious tone in an attempt to rationalize its overall lack of seriousness. Thus, while one episode would present a more grounded reality, the next would return to its extravagant origins, giving rise to scenarios such as a musical, a dream world, and even an alternate universe.

This inconsistency in tone between episodes had a negative impact on the various storylines and how they were received. The constant change not only left the series' audience uncertain about what to expect from any given episode but also caused many important storylines to fall flat, their content and message often contrasting with the overall tone of that particular chapter.

It's fair to say Legacies tried to be a bit of everything: comedy, drama, fantasy, film noir, western – the list goes on. But thinking that this amalgamation of genres would result in a cohesive series was just another of the many mistakes made by the production. Continuing on this topic, whose inevitable conclusion is the maxim "less is more," Legacies was inconsistent even with its characters, introducing a too vast array of figures that, ultimately, it couldn't develop. Instead of focusing on the main and secondary characters it introduced during its first season, the series wasted its time not only with the monsters that appeared in each new episode, but also with so many figures whose impact on the narrative proved negligible. Eventually, this disregard was reflected in the loss of actors (such as Olivia Liang or Peyton Alex Smith) and characters of interest to the audience to more appealing projects.

A Wronged Protagonist

Werewolf, vampire, witch. These are the three factions from which Hope Mikaelson descends, making her the first tribrid in the The Vampire Diaries universe and one of the most powerful supernatural beings in its mythology. When dealing with characters as overpowered as Hope, there are several avenues writers can explore to lay the foundation for their conflict. They can create an even greater force to pose a challenge to the protagonist, or they can choose to present an internal struggle, for example. Ideally, good writers seek to develop both external and internal conflicts side by side. Legacies, however, relegated all of Hope's baggage to the background, neglecting all that made the character great in favor of a supernatural bulldozer that had little use beyond dealing with whatever threat was present at the time.

The primary conflict for a character like Hope Mikaelson should always be internal – that's a fact. In this particular case, Legacies had no shortage of material to work with, to the extent that it would be possible to write an entire article about its protagonist alone. Identity crises due to her unique position in the supernatural world, expectations associated with her lineage, the fear of becoming like her parents, ethical and moral issues related to her powers, the fear of losing those around her... These are just some of the many viable options the series had at its disposal but, unfortunately, chose not to explore.

Another criticism that must be leveled at how Legacies treated its protagonist related to the romantic relationship between the character and Landon Kirby (played by Aria Shaghasemi). For reasons that, in all honesty, I'm still unable to comprehend, higher powers believed it would be beneficial for the series to focus its narrative on Landon instead of Hope. Thus, storylines like that of Malivore – which initiated the external conflict of Legacies – gradually began to shift toward the character, placing Hope in a secondary position.

Finally, the very characterization of the protagonist suffered from the presence of Landon in her orbit. Any qualities or interests the young Mikaelson might've had faded over time. In a way (and taking the opportunity to make a Barbie reference), he was everything; she was just Hope.

The Risks Not Taken

The existence of a protagonist like Hope, all-powerful and always ready to save the day, was a factor that consistently contributed to the lack of perceived stakes throughout the series. Legacies had several other opportunities to raise the bar of its storyline but, like many other aspects discussed throughout this article, it chose the easiest path to tread. In general, whenever something a bit more daring happened, it quickly got resolved. This rule could be applied to almost everything within the show, from narrative threads that were concluded easily and inconsequentially to the deaths and subsequent resurrections of a handful of characters.

Combined with the fact that the narrative was almost circular in both its content and development, this regression in any kind of weighty decision resulted in a progressive loss of interest for an audience that, considering the unpredictability of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, concluded that the spin-off was entirely too mild.

In summary, the series made promises it simply couldn't keep. Its initial marketing and the premise set forth during its first season had little to do with what the spin-off eventually became. Instead of a drama about the trials and tribulations of supernatural teenagers with a special focus on a trio of female lead characters, the audience ended up with a clash of titans between these same young adults and Greco-Roman gods. No, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the production of Legacies lost the plot.

Even with months separating the end of the series and the date I finish writing this article, it's impossible not to feel a certain level of frustration with this spin-off. Legacies had everything it needed to become a successful series, including feedback from the audience and numerous opportunities over time to correct its many mistakes, but it never did. Whether out of pride or stubbornness, it continued to dig its own grave by reinforcing everything its fans and critics complained about. For this reason, Legacies will forever live in my memory not as "the little spin-off that could" (an allusion to the folktale The Little Engine That Could), but rather as "the little spin-off that wouldn't."

You can revisit Legacies on Max.