Legacies is putting “Dark Josie” front and center, and the show got some inspiration from its mothership series when it came to conjuring Dark Josie’s aesthetic. On The Vampire Diaries, Elena’s doppelganger (and ancestor), Katherine Pierce, was a recurring villain, with Nina Dobrev playing both parts. Fast forward to now and the chaos-causing Katherine is making her mark on Legacies.
Kaylee Bryant, who plays Josie Saltzman on The Vampire Diaries spinoff, has explained how Katherine impacted Dark Josie. It turns out the decision to have Katherine’s look influence Josie’s on Legacies has been a long time in the making. On what went into creating Dark Josie, Bryant reveals Josie’s darker self has been there all along, telling TVLine:
I’d been talking about Dark Josie with [Legacies executive producers] Julie Plec and Brett Matthews since I got cast in the role. Clearly, there was something in this girl that was really dark. I kind of had this image of what Josie going dark would mean to me, and that — mixed in with hair and makeup and wardrobe, plus Julie’s input — culminated into this gothic Katherine Pierce school girl look. It’s been a very interesting ride. As much as Josie is going on a journey, Dark Josie is also going on a journey.
Will this journey lead Dark Josie into the light? Out of Kai Parker’s nieces, Josie is the one he is said to “rattle” most. For now, Legacies fans will be getting a long look at Dark Josie as she draws on Katherine Pierce’s aesthetic for inspiration. After all of the conversations surrounding Dark Josie’s appearance were said and done, Katherine ended up making quite an impression.
Kaylee Bryant has also revealed that she has payed close attention to the darker versions of those in The Vampire Diaries universe. From the darker version of Josie’s surrogate (and off-screen) mom, Caroline, to her evil uncle, Katherine Pierce is not the only baddie she has paid attention to. Bryant said:
I had seen Caroline lose her humanity, Katherine Pierce, Kai Parker — all of these iconic characters in the TVD universe — that had very obvious darkness in them, and those were always my favorite characters. I knew it was in [the producers’] plans for my character to do that, but actually seeing it all and the fact that my character is now considered a monster of the week is exciting.
Exciting times for Kaylee Bryant and Legacies fans! And, she does have some solid inspiration for going dark. Caroline’s descent into darkness on The Vampire Diaries was caused by her mother’s death. Due to the pain surrounding her grief, Caroline opted to turn off her humanity. Thankfully, it was eventually restored. As for Kai, he showed up and was pretty much evil from the start.
Katherine’s backstory was complicated before she entered a life of full-blown villainy. Before becoming a vampire, she had a daughter, Nadia, in 1490. Despite pre-dating Elena by quite a bit, Katherine’s wardrobe choices did not deviate too much from her great-great (and many more greats) descendant. Meanwhile, the biggest difference between Josie and Dark Josie seems to be their hair.
Dark Josie is sporting long dark hair, while Josie’s is a bit lighter and shorter. Of course, attitude is going to be a major difference between the two personalities. Nina Dobrev played Katherine and Elena quite differently on The Vampire Diaries, and fans could often detect if Katherine was assuming Elena’s identity. Sometimes it rested in the simple flicker of an eyebrow.
It will be interesting to see Kaylee Bryant join her predecessors in playing this darker version of her character on Legacies, and I can't wait to see where it will go!
New episodes of Legacies are airing throughout this winter and spring on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. Legacies and The Vampire Diaries are both currently streaming on Netflix alongside 2020 content.
