As someone skeptical about the Salvatore School throwing a musical about some of our favorite characters from The Vampire Diaries, I expected to hate Legacies Season 3 Episode 3.

Fortunately, it was one of the best episodes of the series to date, featuring much-needed character progression and a surprise appearance from Candice King, albeit not in the flesh.

"Salvatore: The Musical" didn't go overboard on the campy factor, and everything happening behind the scenes kept me questioning what was really happening.

Goodwin, or whatever he goes by, was one of the most exciting monsters-of-the-week in some time. A part of me couldn't help but wonder whether he could be Landon's dad.

That theory, coupled with the way he planned to get Hope into the production, made me think that he wanted her to say a specific spell that would cause death and destruction to the school,

Goodwin being one of the good guys and actually wanting to fix things that were broken was a breath of fresh air, and I appreciated how it allowed Hope to get some clarity amid all the darkness.

Hope has been struggling with her past for some time, and her frustration started to boil over when she realized that the students were talking about her father being a deranged killer.

Klaus was evil at one point, but he slowly grew a heart, which could be attributed to him becoming a father. Somewhere along the way, he realized that killing innocent people was not the best way to act.

On top of that, he did send a lot of money to Caroline to help get the school off the ground, which means that these young and gifted students may not have had somewhere to call home if it was not for his cash injection.

Hope painting was another nice callback to The Originals. She needs to channel her rage somewhere else, but she's not going to be able to find her place in the world if she keeps shutting people out.

Her relationship with Landon has been on thin ice for a while now, but the straw that broke the camel's back was when she realized that he had no power anymore. He had become a human.

Hope's song at the end of the episode, which she sang to Landon, allowed him to realize his true thoughts, which should help solidify their bond.

Lizzie speaking about how her mother becoming a vampire was like her calling seemed to come out of nowhere, but when I think back to The Vampire Diaries Season 2, Caroline became way more interesting when Katherine turned her into a member of the undead.

This certainly suggests that Lizzie wanted to become a heretic, something that could make or break her. How does she know that she wouldn't go further off the rails with fangs?

It doesn't seem like she fully thought the whole thing out, but it was nice to hear Caroline speak to her daughter. Caroline is being portrayed as a terrible mother due to the show not wanting to recast Candice King, so this was a good way to give some more insight into Caroline's machinations.

I would still like Caroline to return in some capacity, but it doesn't seem to be in the cards, at least for now.

Josie's connection to Jade seems to be burning bright, but I'm not so sure they're destined to be together. Jade feels out of place at the Salvatore School, something that also plagues Josie.

It appears their storyline might take them both to Mystic Falls High. Josie is not using her magic, and Jade is putting her otherworldly urges to the side, allowing them to navigate a new school.

But nothing about their connection makes me think it's long-lasting. It seems like Jade wants to spread her wings somewhere other than Mystic Falls, and that could cause problems down the line.

If they wind up at Mystic Falls High, it could help bring Ethan back into the storyline. Leo Howard is a series regular, after all, but the series tends to forget about many of the characters for multiple episodes at a time.

Alyssa manipulating MG took me by surprise. I breathed a sigh of relief when she alerted her friend to what was going on in the school, but it was cold-blooded of her to use MG to be the vampire in the rewriting of the Triad spell.

MG is another character who doesn't get many storylines to work with, so if this is the beginning of his character's end, it would be unfortunate.

The action has been fast pace in these first few episodes of Legacies Season 3, which makes sense when you consider that these episodes were supposed to be the end of Legacies Season 2.

The only thing that really irked me about the episode was the lack of Bonnie. The Salvatore School uses Bennett's blood every other episode whenever they have a tough spell, but they couldn't even honor her in the play?

Okay, Legacies Fanatics.

What did you think of the play? Do you think it paid homage to both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals?

Were you surprised that Alyssa played MG? What did you think of Caroline's voice being used?

Hit the comments.

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

Catch new episodes of Legacies Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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