UPDATE: Welp, Hope Mikaelson didn't go full vampire after all -- but her tribrid status was indeed an important loophole in the Legacies Season 1 finale! Since Malivore was created by a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf, Hope recognized herself as the loophole that could stop Landon's Malivore dad. Hope jumped into the Malivore pit with evil bro Ryan Clarke. Before doing so, she told Alaric it was the only way, and that they would all forget her -- since people forget about the supernatural beings in Malivore. Sure enough, after she fell into the pit, phoenix Landon revived himself again and had no memory of Hope. Alaric, Josie, and Kaleb also had no idea who she was.
So THAT should make Season 2 interesting.
Also, Josie and Lizzie found a link to Uncle Kai Parker. Alaric had an Ascendant in a box at the Salvatore school. Lizzie, Josie, and Bonnie had used the relic to imprison Kai in another Prison World back in The Vampire Diaries Season 8. You need an Ascendant and some Gemini magic to create a Prison World, and that's what they did. So that's why the twins vaguely remember it, because they did it when they were young. Kai is the twin brother of Josie and Lizzie's biological mother Jo. Kai killed Jo on Jo's wedding day to Alaric. So, yeah, having Kai Parker back in the mix would be high-key drama and I know it's what Julie Plec and Kaylee Bryant (Josie) have said they want.
Original post:
Legacies Season 1 only has one episode left after this week. The Vampire Diaries spinoff's finale is meant to "shock" fans, and end with multiple cliffhangers. Will one of the shocks have to do with Hope Mikaelson becoming a full vampire, as part of her status on The Originals as the first tribrid (werewolf/witch/vampire)?
Maybe, maybe not. You can come with me down the rabbit hole of speculation in a minute. Let's start with what we actually know.
Here's The CW's synopsis for the Season 1 finale, Episode 16, "There's Always A Loophole":
"There's Always a Loophole" - When a group of unwelcome visitors descends upon The Salvatore School, Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) leads the charge to keep her friends safe. Meanwhile, MG (Quincy Fouse) uncovers a secret about his mother and Josie (Kaylee Bryant) finds herself in a dire situation.
There's a lot to think about there, but let's move on to what Hope actress Danielle Rose Russell told Collider about the finale:
I had heard rumors about how our season was gonna end, since the middle [of] the season. We all talked about it and said, "Oh, my god, if the season ends that way, that would be so cool. It makes total sense." Like everything, so much information had already been revealed, at that point, so it was something that made the most sense, for Hope and this entire world. So, when I finally got the script, I was very, very happy to see that that’s what happens, and I can’t wait for the audience to see it, too. I think it’s gonna really, really shock people.
That line about something that made the most sense for Hope got me thinking about another thing she recently said to TVLine. It was a quote on whether Hope would ever really see The Originals character Roman Sienna -- who is back -- as a potential love interest again.
In Hope’s right mind, I’ll say, there would be no world. But Hope is also not a vampire yet, but she could be. There are many mistakes she could make if things go sour.
Was that a hint? Was Danielle Rose Russell not-so-subtly reminding fans that Hope hasn't vamped out yet, but she could, and that could get messy? She already teased that Roman returns and that relationship comes to a head. It never occurred to me that there could be some vamp action between them, but maybe. That's pure pull-it-out-of-my tush speculation, but bless my heart I'm not even done.
Part of why I'm on The Originals train of thought is the "Loophole" of the title. Do you remember when it was first announced that Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin) was pregnant, and Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) thought it was a lie? "Vampires cannot procreate!" But since Klaus was born a werewolf, and later became a vampire, he was the original hybrid. "And this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes."
I miss Klaus' passion. So Hope is not a full vampire at this point, but she does have some vampire traits from her father. The exact mythology of Hope's tribrid state confuses me -- and even if it makes sense to you, it could still use further explanation on Legacies, to remind Originals/Vampire Diaries fans and get newbies up to speed. But I did find this interesting detail on Hope's Wiki page:
...If Hope were to die, she would become a vampire which should negate her ability to practice magic and would likely make her a vampire-werewolf hybrid, like her father. However, this is conjectural and the product of such a circumstance is unknown.
So it's just conjecture, but interesting. If true, do you think that's something Legacies might explore -- killing Hope in the season finale and seeing her reborn (almost like her phoenix boyfriend) as a vampire? Is that even how it would work?
Speaking of Landon, it's possible that "Loophole" thing is also connected to a different pregnancy -- Landon's mother Seylah. We're not done with that story.
The Vampire Diaries Universe ruler Julie Plec already gave some details on the finale, including a note about Landon finally connecting with his father:
The end of the season truly brings everything to a head. We take Landon all the way, face-to-face…ish with his father. We really pay off Hope’s character and her journey from being solitary and not wanting any friends to being a girl in love who’s sort of built a squad around her. We pay that off in spades. We also leave Alaric’s future hanging in the balance. We leave a lot of questions, but it’ll be very clear that we’ve been building to a big reveal and a big moment, and we’re really excited about the cliffhanger.
Again, a lot to unpack there -- poor Alaric?! -- but it does show that we're going to delve into Landon's relationship with his father. Is that Triad Industries guy named Ryan Clarke actually Landon's dad, or just somehow connected to his father? He looks too young to be Landon's father, but he might be supernatural himself.
What if Landon was born through some kind of supernatural loophole, just like Hope?
So we know the season finale is going to shock people, but also culminate in a cool way that made sense to Danielle Rose Russell and the cast. It may have nothing to do with Hope becoming a vampire, or that guy being Landon's father. Those are just guesses.
But what's up with Josie Saltzman being in a dire situation? Would that be connected to The Merge ritual, which she appears to find out about in this week's episode, thanks to her tip from Penelope Park (COME BACK TO US)? And why would Alaric Saltzman's future be left hanging in the balance? That still worries me.
The Season 1 finale is meant to leave a lot of questions, as Julie Plec said, and I already have quite a few. But she did also say that we've been building to a big reveal and a big moment and an exciting cliffhanger. So bring it on.
Legacies has two episodes left as of this writing: "I'll Tell You a Story" on March 21, and then "There's Always a Loophole" on March 28. Both episodes air at 9 p.m. ET on The CW, which has already renewed the show for Season 2.
