Legacies – This Christmas Was Surprisingly Violent

By starrymag | December 19, 2019

By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

 

 

When we open there is a lot happening. Clarke (Nick Fink) is alive for the moment, but Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) assures the audience and him that he’ll turn into a pumpkin and get tossed into Malivore at midnight. Not one to go down without a fight, he’s still trying to plead his case.

 

Elsewhere all festive hell is breaking lose. It’s snowing in Virginia, mind you, and kids are sledding and there is caroling. It’s Christmas cheer all over the place. Kaleb (Chris Lee) is into it, but Hope reminds him that there’s one major problem – it’s October.

 

With that Ric (Matt Davis) goes dashing to The Salvatore School to talk to Dorian (Demetrius Bridges). He considers this an emergency and tells Dorian that all around town everyone believes it’s Christmas, despite it being the Fall. However, there’s another problem – Dorian has gotten into the spirit. He’s decked out in an ugly Christmas sweater and insists that Alaric drink some hot chocolate.

 

Kaleb is singing (extremely well), the students are swapping gifts and whatever was in that hot chocolate convinced Ric that it’s Christmas. This leaves Hope as the only person without that mistletoe feeling.

 

Hope, now panicking a bit, goes running to Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) who promptly tells her to get lost, which makes Hope really happy. Everyone else is “Pleasantville” levels of cheerful. This means for whatever reason Lizzie hasn’t been infected. Josie (Kaylee Bryant), though, has and in a morbidly cheerful voice she comes in with cookies and apologizes to the girls for being “naughty.” Hope discretely begs Lizzie to go find Landon (Aria Shahghasemi).

 

Speaking of Landon, he and Rafael (Peyton Alex Smith) are on a bus to South Carolina. But why? Because during Raf’s werewolf summer Landon asked Josie to do a lineage spell the results said he has parents somewhere on a map Landon gave him as a sort-of birthday present. Fun fact, apparently Raf was born sometime in October and the people who raised him until he was ten years old weren’t biologically his parents. Landon says it’s totally his call, but maybe the people on the other side of the map can give him some answers.

 

Back at school none of the faux Christmas spirit is getting into Hope. There are three caroling goths that she scares away by threatening with a pencil. Kaleb tries to get to cheer her up and offers her some eggnog. He also mentions, he needs to make it onto Santa’s nice list. There’s something he really wants for Christmas. Hope kind of ignores this and says there has got to be someone around as miserable as her, which takes her back to Clarke.

 

She’s right, but being locked up and a dead golem walking he’s less than inclined to help. Clarke wonders why is Hope such a scrooge. She explains there was a time when she loved the holidays and then a good chunk of her family died. Clarke says at least she’s had a family. Apparently, he’s never even had a Christmas. He says he’ll help, but only if Hope let’s him celebrate.

 

Raf is less than thrilled about a possible family reunion and reminds Landon that his last attempt at reuniting parents and children didn’t go well. Like at all. Landon says when Josie did the spell and he didn’t just remember Hope. He remembered Selah (his mother). He admits that meeting her wasn’t everything he’d hoped for, but he’s glad to have done it. That doesn’t seem to be the case for Rafael. He gets so upset talking about it his eyes go werewolf yellow and says he needs to leave. Landon finally yields, but it’s too late. A man with a gun demands the boys go with him.

 

Pedro (Reznor Malaiik Allen), Josie and Kaleb are writing down their Christmas wishes on ribbons. Clarke is annoying Hope and eating cookies like there’s no tomorrow, which technically there isn’t for him. Hope presses him for answers and he tells her it’s probably a Krampus doing all this.

 

For the unfamiliar with the tale of “Krampus,” in the U.S. Santa gives good kids presents and bad kids lumps of coal. In Germany and other Eastern European countries Sana Claus has an evil twin called Krampus. Krampus comes to the houses of naughty children, stuffs them in a sack and eats them. In “Legacies,” he feeds on anger and sadness people, too.

 

Hope points out they’re surrounded by peace and joy. Clarke throws a piece of paper into the fireplace and says, “Not for long.” He tells Hope to be proud of him as he found another loophole. With some violent magical persuasion Clarke tells Hope his wish: a savior. Now, Krampus is going to protect him instead of going after Landon. He’ll kill anyone who comes after him now. With everyone drunk on Christmas cheer he says that Hope doesn’t stand a chance.

 

Sebastian (Thomas Doherty) and Lizzie share a tense car ride. Lizzie made him a daylight ring. Sebastian questions why he’s there and Lizzie replies that it’s because he keeps her perpetually “unjolly.” Sebastian says he’s there because Lizzie fancies him. Lizzie stops the car and tells Sebastian to go hunting, but for a deer. Then, she drives off.

 

Back at school the Christmas party is in full swing until Hope comes in. She tells the party that Krampus is coming. The students and faculty are unbothered. She then decides to deploy the nuclear option. Hope magically blasts the lights off the Christmas tree, trashes the record player and announces that Santa isn’t real and tells everyone to grow up. Ric snaps out of it and tells Dorian to study, Josie and Kaleb to set a trap and sends the kids to bed.

 

Landon and Rafael are taken back to a house in the middle of the forest. He then surprises them by giving Raf the gun. The man shows the boys a werewolf cage. It seems that he’s not a wolf, but he was in love with one named Lucia. Lucia happens to be Rafael’s birthmother. She was a soldier who triggered her curse in Afghanistan where they met and fell in love. Lucia ran off when she found out she was pregnant.

 

Meanwhile, it turns out Clarke was naughtier than he realized. When Krampus (Dante Ha) comes he slashes him with a scythe and tries to eat him only to be stopped by Hope. He then tries to make another deal, but will Hope accept it?

 

Raf and Landon talk to Walt (Jason Turner). Rafael explains how he triggered his curse and why they left the school. Walt says he gets it. Landon goes outside to give father and son some bonding time only to be stopped by Lizzie. She demands he get in the car or else.

 

At school the kids catch Krampus with Christmas lights and Ric’s crossbow. But why is everyone still cheerful? And there’s something in Krampus’s bag: it’s Santa Claus (Jeff Pillars)!

 

Hope and everyone else over the age of ten years old is super shocked that Santa is real. Santa says that he’s real because people believed in him. He explains Krampus kept him from spreading Christmas cheer and thanks them. Unfortunately, it seems as though Krampus isn’t dead.

 

Lizzie and Josie talk. Well, Lizzie does most of the talking. She says it was cowardly to ghost Hope and Josie and now it sucks that he’s about to do the same to Rafael. He says the monsters are after him, so he needed a safe place for Raf. Lizzie implores him to come back to school and deal with things. Sebastian snaps Landon’s neck and says they all just talk too much when action is required.

 

At school there is a brutal fight between Santa and Krampus. Santa is very fast as it turns out, but he gets thrown into the tree. But Hope throws Santa the scythe and Santa cuts out Krampus’s heart. Merry Christmas to all.

 

Lizzie and Sebastian stuff Landon in the trunk and argue in front of Walt’s house. Lizzie is still miffed that he let her think she was hallucinating. Sebastian calls her out for wanting to ditch him. Then, they sleep together.

 

Clarke calls Hope and says he doesn’t hate her. In fact, he envies her as she’s loved despite how screwed up that she is. He also wishes her a Merry Christmas.

 

Rafael realizes Landon went back to school and wants to go after him. Walt says the soldier mentality is in Rafael’s blood as he’s always moving forward. He offers him a ride, but Raf decides it couldn’t hurt to stay the night. He says Landon is good at surviving and there are things he could learn from Walt.

 

Lizzie and Sebastian talk. Lizzie doesn’t understand why he wants to stay. Sebastian is over five hundred years old and he has no one. He tells Lizzie the world isn’t kind to broken people and that The Salvatore School, for all its brokenness, is the kindest place he’s seen in a long time.

 

Santa gives Alaric the headmaster position back and gives Kaleb the red Corvette he’s wanted since he was a kid. As for Hope? She is given a moment with Landon. Sort of. He asks her to wait for a minute and goes to break up with Josie.

 

Landon tells Josie she’s amazing and he doesn’t regret their time together, but he loves Hope. They share a tearful goodbye. Afterwards he apologies to Hope and tells her he loves her and always will. Hope loves him back. They share a kiss under the mistletoe.

 

But it’s not all Christmas cheer! The cloaked figure in red we’ve been seeing turns out to be the Necromancer (Ben Geurens) who chops off Clarke’s head before he can jump into Malivore.