Legacies Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn
Justin Carreiro
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Dragons ... in Mystic Falls?! I never thought I'd see the day.
The Vampire Diaries universe has experienced its fair share of supernatural creatures over the years. From werewolves to ghosts to witches, the world is continuously growing with new additions. And, we can't forget the awesomeness of the first-ever tribrid (werewolf-vampire-witch hybrid).
So, you can imagine my excitement that Legacies Season 1 Episode 2 tackled a new interpretation of the supernatural being!
Before the big twist had been revealed, there were a lot of questions about Landon and how he caused the burnt bodies on the bus. No mortal could've done that, so being a supernatural character was the top theory.
The jury is still out on that theory, though. No answers were provided about how he avoided MG's compulsion, but at least the creature related to the attack.
I'm happy that Landon didn't turn out to be the villain.
Him stealing the knife and killing all the people would've been too easy of an answer. He's a complex character, and there is so much more to him that we don't already know still left to be uncovered. It will be great to explore his character history and his friendship with Rafael.
Losing him early on would've been a shame, especially with all these looming questions. Like, why didn't the dragon kill him? Is he supernatural or not?
We didn't get those answers now, but Legacies seems like it will explore them eventually.
The dragon twist pleasantly surprised me because it wasn't something I expected at all. Kudos to Legacies for keeping us on our toes!
A witch or demon would've been the obvious choice for causing the dead bodies. The plot looked to be going down that road before the red herring had been revealed. The pyromancer just seemed too perfect of a solution to be true, and the dragon's human-form lured us in with her silence.
Plus, a fire-breathing witch is an enemy that the group could easily defeat. The dragon, on the other hand, benefitted from being unknown, which thankfully added to the fight's tension due to all the possibilities.
Rafael: He’s not lying. I know him, if he says there’s a fire-breathing woman running through the woods. Then there is a fire...
Alaric: [Interrupting] There’s a fire-breathing woman running through the woods!
[Hope is speechless and Landon falls down relieved]
Alaric: Did I or did I not say don’t engage?!
Hope: He’s only dangerous if crappy apologies could count.
Alaric: Well, looks can be deceiving. Now our bus refugee ... turns out she’s a pyromancer.
Landon: What’s a pyromancer?
Hope: A fire-breathing witch.
With a few exceptions, the dragon fight overall had some enjoyable visual effects.
You could tell that time was put into creating the look of the creature. Sure, the dragon only appeared on screen for about five minutes, and the CGI wasn't the greatest, but the inclusion got the effect across to raise the stakes.
The downside, however, was the effects whenever the human-form dragon used her powers. The glowing orange eyes and the fire didn't translate as well as they should be.
Something seemed off when she used her powers directly at the screen. I noticed the fake digital fire, and it took me out of the moment.
"Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn" made it clear that Hope has big hurdles to overcome.
Firstly, she needs to start trusting people again. In every chat she had with Emma, Rafael, Landon, and Alaric, she looked at the world from a glass-half-empty mindset, and it exposed her bleak outlook on life.
Hope was the picture of teen angst, and at times I felt emotionally drained when she chastised the other characters.
Related: Legacies Round Table: A Worthy Successor to The Vampire Diaries and The Originals?
Yes, Landon wronged her by manipulating their friendship and lying about the knife, but she was ready to condemn him before even hearing him out. Once he crossed her, there was no going back on that betrayal.
Rafael, on the other hand, only defended his friend and yet still received the same cold, no-nonsense approach. Though, their debate also fueled with plenty of fire and chemistry. (Future love triangle or main romance?)
Hope: Why should I believe you?
Rafael: ‘Cause I don’t lie.
[Hope stifles a giggle and nods]
Hope: Everybody lies.
After all the evil and challenges she's experienced in her life, it's no wonder her approach had pushed people at school away. Hope is a stronger character because of it, but it's shown a change in the character that has developed ever since her introduction on The Originals.
At the end when Hope starred at the photos of her family, that moment was the perfect tie-in.
Hope's life was a culmination of actions that were caused by her family's misfortune. She's felt love, but also distance, pain, betrayal, and conflict.
Hopefully, she can overcome that to start letting people in and trust more.
Secondly, her use of black magic will cause nothing but trouble. Unless she knew Landon was a powerful big bad, a death curse was not the right course of action.
Her and Alaric had the best scene of Legacies Season 1 Episode 2 together, by far.
I loved that we got a closer look into their father-daughter relationship. While he's not her parent, he has taken care of her and treated her like one. You could hear the disappointment in his words when he discovered the death curse she brought to use on Landon.
Those words didn't come from a teacher-student place; they came from love. Alaric is worried about Hope's use of black magic, and the ramifications of where this could lead her.
That relationship might be the closest thing she has to a parent. I'm getting the vibe that Alaric will take a closer interest in making sure Hope doesn't fall down a dark path with magic.
Dana: Your sister sucks at football. You should’ve absorbed her in the womb.
Lizzie: You know what, we’ve been playing this game for years. And for years you have been digging at me. Is it because I’m prettier than you?
Dana: Honestly, I just get a thrill from tormenting all the crazies. Speaking of, it’s been a while since you paid a visit to my mom’s pharmacy. Maybe you’re feeling a bit delusional since you’re off your meds?
Over at the Salvatore school, the flag football game kept the teens busy while the others fought a dragon.
On the surface, the game seemed like a filler school drama plot. However, the match set the pieces for potential big plots ahead.
For instance, the huge rivalry between the Salvatore school and the townies of Mystic Falls looked very promising. Their school feud wasn't just about the game, but ongoing issues that developed over the years. Something must have caused the big rift, and I'm excited to find out what happened.
Particularly, the volatile feud between Lizzie and Dana.
Dana was less like a love-to-hate villain and more please-go-away annoyance. I love witty one-liners and retorts, but her animosity took every exchange to a whole other level.
There will be plenty of cheers whenever Lizzie gets her revenge. We will be here for it!
Lizzie: New plan: gloves are off! Let’s burn these b**** to the ground!
Josie: Lizzie, no!
Lizzie: We’re gonna give these townies a taste of what we’re really made of.
[Lizzie puts her hand in the center and M. G. places his on top]
MG: You can count on my steel.
Lizzie: Eww, gross!
Thanks to the game, Lizzie's rift with Hope also got new depth.
During Legacies Season 1 Episode 1, I wondered why Lizzie detested Hope so much, but it finally made sense: Alaric kept getting distracted by Hope's concerns. (Not to mention Hope's distant attitude toward Lizzie and Josie didn't help in the matter.)
Related: The CW Orders Additional Scripts for Legacies, Charmed and All American
Lizzie wanted to be the star and Hope kept taking that away. The theory could also explain how quickly competitive Lizzie became during the football game, both when they were intentionally losing and then winning.
She was going to get her victory one way or another. Lizzie is definitely the more dominant of the twin sisters.
Penelope: This is a long con, Milton. Trust me, Lizzie’s nemesis Dana liking you it’s the puzzle piece you need to crack Lizzie’s candy shell and get to her gooey center. Today was a total win ... for you.
MG: You hate Lizzie. Why do you care?
[Penelope leans in to his ear to whisper]
Penelope: Some people just want to watch the world burn.
MG should be very wary of Penelope. There is something majorly off about the character that gives me goosebumps.
Maybe it has something to do with her lack of emotion and motivation?
Though, her explanation of not having a reason for helping him could be a lie. Someone who consistently popped up to give advice and teased the characters wouldn't have done all that without reason.
Penelope is up to something, and she's going to use MG to get it. But, what could it be?
Last Legacies Thoughts:
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The gargoyle being at the school could mean that enemies are closer than we think. There might even be more of them within the school!
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What caused the feud between Penelope and Josie? I need ALL the tea here. There's gotta be more to this story.
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The dragon only wanted the blade to add to the collection, right?
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I get why Alaric was worried about the students using their abilities to play the match. However, the team didn't seem out of the ordinary. Wouldn't it have been better to teach them to play the match without abilities than to force losing?
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Landon is a strange conundrum. If he didn't remember why he stole the knife, then why did he lie about having it? If he's completely innocent and not evil, then why did he do shady things? He needs to get his story straight.
- Rafael is a good friend, but he needs to get back to school and bring Landon too. Hopefully, they'll come back instead of running away.
Now, over to you, Legacies fans!
What did you think of "Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn"?
Will Rafael and Landon return to the school? What is Penelope's master plan for working with MG? Should we be worried about Hope's quick use of black magic?
If you missed the latest episode of Legacies, you can watch Legacies online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments.
Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
