Legacies Season 2 Episode 1 Review: I'll Never Give Up Hope
Paul Dailly
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There is more to Malivore than meets the eye, but we already knew that.
Legacies Season 2 Episode 1 struggled to keep up the tremendous pace that made Legacies Season 1 such a success.
It tried to fill in the blanks with too many characters, which ultimately took away from those that actually felt needed on "I'll Never Give Up Hope."
Hope's trip to Malivore felt like it was cut short in the name of creating some drama. It's hard to believe that Landon's father let her leave while being fully aware that the moment Hope activates her vampire side, she'll be able to kill him.
The journey to Malivore was actually the most frustrating part of the premiere.
It's difficult not to have high expectations when you consider that everything that came before was building to that moment.
Even more bizarre was that Hope's magic worked while in the pit. Surely, if the being who wanted her dead was as powerful as we were led to believe, he should have been able to get rid of her powers.
Then again, we know that Hope is one of the most powerful beings around and that she will stop at nothing to do what's right even if it means sacrificing her life for the good of the many.
Josie: Mom didn't tell you anything else about this thing?
Lizzie: Only that it's called an ascendant. And you and I made it with Aunt Bonnie when we were 5.
Josie: Does it have anything to do with the merge?
Lizzie: I don't know. Mom keeps being cagey about it.
Hope is a smart young woman, but the development about her vampire side needing activated to shut down Malivore for good felt a little too convenient to continue this particular storyline.
It takes a particular type of person to sacrifice their happiness for everyone else, and Hope has proven she wants to do the right thing in any scenario.
Her very existence is an abomination to some, and that's partly why she leaped into the pit on Legacies Season 1 Episode 16. After the death of her mother and father, she's struggled to find a sense of belonging in the world.
She was starting to find that thanks to her relationship with Landon and building friendships with other people at the school, so forgive me for being mad as hell that the slate has been wiped clean.
Landon and Josie's blossoming relationship felt forced, and there's no way in hell I'd get on board with that. It would have been more powerful to have Landon and Josie helping each other as platonic friends.
Related: Legacies Season 2 Spoilers: Everything We Know
They are both going through horrible things, and the urgency to pair them felt like a contrived way of throwing yet another love triangle into the mix.
If you watch The Vampire Diaries online or watch the Originals online, you know that Julie Plec loves a good love triangle, but there was no foundation beyond Landon and Josie for this one to take flight.
Lizzie: Sorry, mom almost busted me.
Josie: You know, we can face chat like normal people.
Lizzie: We are not normal. And we need to keep our magic sharp this summer.
Josie: How's therapy going?
Lizzie: Fine. There is this sexy Swedish guy whose session is after me on Tuesdays. I think he's Swedish, maybe Polish. Anyway, it doesn't matter. He's hot and crazy and the language barrier will make it impossible for us to communicate. Just how I like it.
Josie: Should really work on that.
Lizzie: I'll add it to the list of broken pieces to glue together. What about you? Any hot summer dates.
Josie: Dad's been like my plus one ever since he got the master boot. I honestly think he's going through a midlife crisis.
Lizzie: Gross. Hair growth?
Josie: Bushy?
Lizzie: Weighty prospects?
Josie: Lacking.
Lizzie: Are you not having any fun at all? What about wee willy winkle?
Josie: Landon's been keeping to himself mostly. He's off with Raf.
Lizzie: So, ditch it all and come to Europe.
Josie: No, I don't want to leave dad alone. I think he's going to go out and buy a red car.
Lizzie: I thought we aspired to be less co-dependent?
Josie: We are. There's co-dependent and then there's leaving dad with his alarming mustache growth.
It's evident Landon and Josie will still share feelings even when the truth about Hope's existence gets revealed. But Landon will likely rush back into Hope's arms because he's already thinking about her.
While she was in the pit he killed himself, and right before his passing, he had visions of the young woman who became his love interest and helped him through many difficult times.
It was understandable for Landon to seek solace in the arms of anyone who gave him attention.
He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders as he fought tooth and nail to save Rafael from his permanent werewolf state.
Yes, sing to me, baby. Sing to me like a vamp without his daylight ring on hot Georgia summer day.
Kaleb
This was one of the storylines that was actually exciting.
There's no telling what Rafael was feeling, but it appears the werewolf is done waiting around for a miraculous cure, and he's well and truly given Landon the slip.
It was a painful realization for Landon, but if he can't turn him back into a human, there's really nothing that can be done.
It's possible that Hope will encounter Rafael and be the one to save him, but only time will tell.
Alaric has spent far too long trying to hide the truth about the merge from his daughters that he runs the risk of having them split and leave the school behind.
Related: Legacies Season 1 Episode 16 Review: There's Always a Loophole
Both Lizzie and Josie are curious about what will become of them, so it's about time he started to be more straight-up with his daughters.
Josie was very mature in her assessment that giving her father the ascendant would be the best course of action. Kai is a dangerous man determined to cause problems for anyone related to him.
All of the Kai teases make me want Chris Wood to sign up to appear on the show in a recurring capacity.
He is one of the best villains in the franchise, and it's entirely possible that his years of solitude in the prison world could make him change his ways somewhat.
But the very fact that he murdered Jo makes him too much of a liability for the twins to trust.
It's back to the drawing board for Alaric and Caroline as they try to save their children, but something tells me they're going to regret being so secretive with the twins if they do, indeed, merge.
"I'll Never Give Up Hope" was the worst episode of the series. For a show that had so much going for it last season, I hoped the premiere would expand the mythology in a way that would make it worthwhile.
Instead, we got needless relationship drama.
What did you think of the season premiere? Are you tired of the lack of resolution to some of the plots?
Hit the comments below.
Remember, you can watch Legacies online right here via TV Fanatic.
Legacies airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
