He's back!

Legacies Season 2 Episode 12 brought back Chris Wood as Kai Parker, and we have a lot to discuss. 

Below, TV Fanatics Jillian Pugliese, Lizzy Buczak, and Paul Dailly discuss that big return, Alaric's decision, and so much more. 

Kai escaped the prison world. React!

Jillian: I love Kai. I’m not surprised he found his way out. He’s always one step ahead. I mean seriously, what was Josie thinking telling him about Malivore? 


Lizzy: Not surprising in the slightest. It is Kai Parker. He's manipulative and clever. Since Josie is so similar to her mom (and his sister), Jo, Kai knew exactly what to say and do to get his way with her.

I was more surprised that Josie and/or Alaric didn't think to harness Malivore's powers in some shape/form.

Paul: It had to happen, right? The execution of this plot has worked well. One episode in the prison world and one episode in the real world sounds about right to me!


Alaric has been sending teenagers to the prison world. Does that explain why he was against teaching the students defense?

Jillian: I still can’t believe this. It makes no sense that Alaric would give up on these kids so easily. His best friend Damon killed way more than five people, and Alaric never batted an eye.

And don’t forget when Alaric turned into the original vampire hunter and went crazy in the early seasons of TVD. He’s being a hypocrite and is too afraid to admit it. He won’t teach the students offensive magic because he doesn’t care about them as much as he pretends to.


Lizzy: I have to agree with Jillian here. Alaric is not the type of person to banish disobedient students to a prison world. His decision to send Sebastian made sense, but the others could have been helped had they been given the chance.

Alaric is also someone who has dealt with rippers previously, lived through Klaus' reign, and befriended Damon Salvatore. He knows change is possible if given the chance, so the decision didn't seem true to character.

Paul: I agree with Jillian and Lizzy. It was a contrived plot to give us a reason to enter the prison world, and the creative minds behind the show should have done better.

I do think the incident with the banished group harkens back to his apprehension about teaching the students defense. 


Now that Josie has broken the mora miserium, what do you want to happen?

Jillian: I’m super excited to see Dark Josie. We’ve been building towards this storyline for a while, so I’m hoping the payoff will be worth it. I want it to be as fun as when Elena turned off her humanity in TVD.

The sweet, caring, selfless girl suddenly stops worrying about her actions. That can make for some good moments. I would like to see her go head to head with Kai and maybe be the one to finally beat him at his own game.


Lizzy: Again, I have to agree with Jillian. Josie has been painted as an Elena, the goody-two-shoes who always puts everyone else above herself, so it'll be fun to see her take control and gain some confidence even if it is caused by the darkness inside of her.

And they're going to need that dark magic if there's any chance of surviving or getting out of the prison world. It'll also come in handy for the eventual confrontation with Uncle Kai. The only person that can defeat him is someone who is just as twisted as he is.

Paul: This plot is very Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I'm here for it. Josie needs to find a way to get Alaric and Lizzie out of the prison world. I want her to have witty remarks like Lizzie, and to cause a lot of drama. 


Lizzie and Sebastian's relationship hit a major snag when he tried to turn her into a heretic. Would you like Lizzie as a Heretic? 

Jillian: I would love Lizzie as a Heretic. The Heretics are so powerful, and it’s a great way to avoid the merge. Also, for a Vampire Diaries spinoff, this show is severely lacking in vampires. MG and Kaleb barely get any screentime, and we could really use a female vampire in the mix.


Lizzy: Yes! Lizzie needs to tap into her powerful side instead of hiding behind insecurities and thinking of her flaws as weaknesses. Plus, this is a nice way to avoid the merge, though, it cannot be that easy, can it?

Paul: It would be a great direction for the character. Caroline was infinitely more likable the moment Katherine turned her into a vampire, so I'd love to see what Jenny Boyd brings to the table with a new direction for her character. 


Which The Vampire Diaries characters should have returned to be a part of the prison world storyline?

Jillian: Bonnie should’ve returned for this episode. I would’ve loved to see any combination of Damon, Caroline, or Elena too, but the prison world storylines have always been centered around Bonnie. If she was there, she would’ve been able to prevent Kai from getting out.


Lizzy: Bon-Bon! She's pivotal to the prison world, and she was instrumental in locking Kai in there. Bennett blood is also the key to getting out of the prison world, so her return sort of wrote itself.

Damon would have been awesome, but there's a slim chance Ian Somerhalder would ever return. Also, he's a human, so I don't think he'd be much help. I would also love Caroline to become involved in the series in some way.

Her girls are in danger, don't you think she'd come rushing to help. If we're going to avoid the merge, the writers need to find a way to bring Caroline back for at least an episode.

Paul: Bonnie should have been a part of it. There's no getting away from that. I would appreciate if these storylines only occurred when they can lock in the talent to make it feel necessary. 


The Kai episodes have been darker. Do you like this direction, or do you prefer the campy school setting with mostly new monsters every week? 

Jillian: I like the darker episodes. The school setting was an interesting idea for another spinoff, but it doesn’t seem to be working too well. The monster-a-week format got old really quickly, and the monsters keep getting cheesier. I know Kai won’t stay around forever, but I hope they keep this momentum going after he leaves.


Lizzy: It's a nice change of pace from the monster-of-the-week formula and infuses the series with that authentic TVD feel that has been lacking at times.

I'm not opposed to the monsters because they're fun on occasion, but I also don't want the series to get stuck in a rut where they introduce a new monster and slay it without barely breaking a sweat by the end of the episode, which is what the last few episodes have been about.

The show can still be set in a school and take on a darker nature, especially with powerful witches, vamps, and wolves. The unexpected, violent, and non-apologetic nature of villains like Kai, Klaus, and even ripper Stefan is what many of us loved about TVD and The Originals.

Paul: The monsters of the week are growing stale. The longer arcs, including the Necromancer's return, have made the storyline more immersive. I don't mind the school setting, but some of the storylines are too young-skewing for my liking. 

Okay, Legacies Fanatics, what did you think of the episode? Hit the comments with your take on the questions. 

Remember you can watch Legacies online right here via TV Fanatic. 

Legacies continues Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW. 

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.