Legacies Boss Explains What Hope's Finale Sacrifice Means for Season 2

Hope Mikaelson followed in her father’s footsteps on Thursday’s Legacies season finale — and not in a good way. After rescuing Landon from Clarke (and a headless horseman) and finally dropping the L-bomb, Hope did a cordless bungee jump into the pit, correctly theorizing that her tribrid nature would stop Malivore (also the creation of a witch, vampire and werewolf) from being revived.

Unfortunately, things weren’t any better back in Mystic Falls. An army of Triad goons — including MG’s mom and a handsome devil named Burr — stormed the Salvatore School, using a dark object to nullify the students’ powers. Though the good guys eventually prevailed, Josie nearly died after taking a supernatural bullet meant for her sister. As for Burr, MG’s gorgon girlfriend turned him to stone before skipping town, so he can fill in as the garden’s new gargoyle statue.

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Once the madness subsided, Alaric delivered a passionate apology to the student body. He brought the Travelers’ dark object into the school as a back-up plan in case the world ever needed protection from one of his own. He shared that plan with concerned parents (including MG’s mom), putting everyone at risk with his ignorance. The honor council will decide his fate.

And here’s the kicker: Because Hope dove into Malivore, all memory of her existence has been erased from her friends’ minds. This presents an immediate problem for Rafael, who used Hope’s magic jewelry to turn into a wolf… and only she can turn him back.

Below, series creator Julie Plec answers our burning questions about the finale, including what really happened to Hope:

TVLINE | I have to get this first question out of the way: Did you name this villain Burr because of Hamilton?
I cannot take credit for his name. I almost think his name is too over the top because of Hamilton. Whenever someone says his name, I go, “Are you Aaron Burr, sir?”

TVLINE | OK, onto more pressing matters: Is Wickery Bridge really gone for good?
[Laughs] They’re going to have to do something, especially because the people who run that bridge charge us an arm and a leg to shoot there. So it’ll have some cosmetic upgrades.

TVLINE | Well, I appreciated that callback. And you mentioned the Travelers, which are among the less-memorable Vampire Diaries villains. Do you just have a list of references at your disposal?
Honestly, Brett [Matthews] and I have just been in that world for so long and have loved it so much. We think half the fun of Legacies is the nostalgia, paying honor and homage to where we came from and the roots of the show. That stuff comes naturally, which is great.

TVLINE | Speaking of deep cuts, was that an ascendant that Josie and Lizzie found?
Oh, it sure was. And if you recall, when Bonnie Bennett put Kai in the prison world, it was because the twins — at age three — spelled that ascendant for her.

TVLINE | And here I am, proud of myself just for remembering what an ascendant is.
That was an easy-to-forget detail. The reason it looks familiar to them is because they magically whammied it to make it work when Bonnie needed to put Kai away. … Ultimately, they’re going to need to figure out how that ascendant works and what it means for them.

TVLINE | You keep mentioning Kai. Do you have plans for him if Chris Wood agrees to return?
Yeah. It’s funny, and I’m really being cruel to myself and to Chris — but I’m basically Secret-ing this into happening. I’ve put it so much into the universe, it’s going to end up an inevitability. He just doesn’t know it yet. [Laughs]

TVLINE | Fair enough. Shifting gears entirely, is Hope dead or just in that Malivore dimension?
I think that’s the question. In her mind, jumping into the pit would destroy Malivore. And it appears that Malivore — at least in its physical mud-pit form — is gone. So where the hell is she, and why can’t anyone remember her? The fact that no one can remember her probably means she’s in that blackness, which the monsters described as being this terrible place.

TVLINE | Another mythology question: If Hope dies, she’ll come back as a vampire?
We’ve had a lot of fun asking those questions in the writers’ room, and we’ve realized that there are no rules just yet. We get to live them as we go along. If Hope dies, she presumably comes back as a vampire. But if the monsters didn’t die in the pit, did she? And if she comes back as a vampire, does that make her no longer a witch? Or is she now truly a tribrid with powers of all three creatures? Lots of questions, and lots of seasons.

TVLINE | Will Malivore take on a handsome, CW-appropriate form someday, or is he always going to look like that weird golem creature?
His intentions, as Clarke explained, were to inhabit Landon as his physical human form so he could procreate and not walk around as a monster. If Landon is able to prevent that from happening, who knows what opportunities await for Malivore?

TVLINE | I also want to know about MG. Any chance he’s going to keep in touch with his gorgon lady friend?
[Laughs] He certainly does seem smitten, doesn’t he? Maybe they have a future as pen pals.

TVLINE | And Rafael? He seems like he’s in a pretty bad spot.
He’s f–ed, basically. Hope had said in a previous episode that he can use the ring to turn into a werewolf, but she’s the only one who can turn him back. He doesn’t realize that the one person who can fix him is no longer in existence. Rafael will start Season 2 still as a wolf, which will do a huge number on him, psychologically speaking. It’s going to affect his relationship with everybody.

Your thoughts on the Legacies finale? The season/series in general? Grade the episode in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full review.

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