Legacies - Someplace Far From All This Violence

 

Discussing Ep. 4.7 - So this was a really weird episode that I wasn't a fan of during the beginning but I came to somewhat respect by the end of it. I'm always a bit weary when the writing staff go on these goofy theme episodes but they made it make sense in the end, especially for Lizzie.

So I guess I'll get this part of the episode out of the way first. I was really wondering where the hell they were going with this and if it was all just for the sake of having them all dress up like the Old West. But by the end of it, I liked the symbolism and the revelation that Lizzie came to. I liked how she separated Alaric, her father, with Ric, the Hunter, and felt that he had lost his edge, so to speak, and he should have held onto that and focused on teaching the students how to fight instead of how to be meek and quiet members of society. Clearly he did not prepare them for the dangers that came with fighting the supernatural and Lizzie is now well aware of that.

I also wonder if they're trying to hint at something here with Josie becoming a vampire in Lizzie's therapy session. Had it not been for Baby reminding me that the option of turning one of them into a vampire to escape the Merge was an option on the table, this part would not have made much sense. But it seems like it could be Josie that would take that leap....AND/OR....Lizzie realizing that she is capable of doing what perhaps Josie cannot. That being, kill the other one in the Merge because it is what has to be done. Lizzie was able to do it here and she has seemingly become more resolute as a result of her epiphany that perhaps mercy and forgiveness are not always the right path to follow. So, I was impressed with the character development that Lizzie got by the end of this.

As far as that whole American Idol thing went....what the fuck was that?!? That was pure cringe! I totally empathized with Hope on this one. I suppose I got the point of it, that being that Hope was too far gone that conventional tactics weren't going to work on her. And let me say how MONUMENTALLY STUPID it was that these fools had to even RESEARCH HOW TO TURN A VAMPIRE'S HUMANITY BACK ON in the first place!!!!! What in the actual fuck?!? Josie had to read Caroline's diary to get a clue (and I completely forgot how it was that Caroline got her humanity back....every season after S4 on TVD is a complete blur to me!). But beyond that, Finch had to do some research as well and that just blows my mind! Shouldn't all this information be like second nature to them at this point? And why didn't Freya or Rebekah or anyone else WHO KNOWS ABOUT A VAMPIRE SWITCHING OFF THEIR HUMANITY not tell them ways on how to turn it back on?!? No, they had to go and research it like a bunch of students!!! The fuck is this?!?

I will say that the one development that came out of this that I thought was good was the lesson that Hope gave to MG. That in and of itself tells you that Hope still cares, even if she was rather brutal about it. MG didn't have what it took to be the complete leader that the Super Squad needed. And I can see them tying this together with Cleo's dilemma of telling them all about the red oak tree and also with Lizzie's new found determination to kill Hope rather than save her. The pressure will definitely be on MG as to which path to take and I can totally see it that he's going to have to make a choice, a choice that Hope will force upon him where he will have the fate of his friends on the one hand and the fate of Hope (and possibly Lizzie or Ethan) in the other. So I like the build up they're doing here!

The Kaleb and Jed storyline was just pure filler. I don't even know what the point of it was, other than to bond these two to each other. Why was that monster there in the first place too? Was he looking for Hope? For Clarke? Also, I suppose it's handy to know that Kaleb is now more durable or impenetrable than most because he has 'dragon scales' for skin? And what the hell was the point of having Jed meet up with those werewolves in the wilderness, only for them to all run away when they saw that monster? Like....what?!? First, it was daytime....why are there werewolves around in wolf form? Secondly, if it was a full moon, then why weren't Jed and Finch transformed into wolves? And if they were just regular wolves....what was the point of them being there? That was such a useless scene that I don't even know why they spent the money on horrible CGI wolves in the first place! 

And of course, we get to this showdown. I liked this! Dark Josie vs No Humanity Hope! First off, they both look sexy as hell! The black leather, the dark hair....I don't know, I like Morticia Addams so this really appealed to me! But beyond that, I liked the strategy, essentially fighting fire with fire. If Hope couldn't be reached using kindness and love, perhaps it was a cold hearted bitch slap that she needed, and who better to deliver that than Dark Josie? And it seemed to have worked, given the fact that Josie was the only one (beyond Finch and Ethan) who Hope directly attacked (they're lightning battle reminded me a bit of Star Wars, to be honest! LOL!). But she did show the chink in Hope's armour, and so this wasn't a lost cause by any means. I suppose it will be interesting to see why Hope put Josie into that therapy box rather than kill her or torture her. 

And as far as Hope herself goes, I can't help but wonder that she specifically went back to SS mainly to interact with all of them. She could have gotten weapons from anywhere, let's be honest. And the fact that she didn't completely decimate Pedro to his face meant that...yes...there is still a part of her that cares! I will say that I kind of like this version of Hope, if only because she's more honest with people and is basically just telling it like it is! But where I think they're dropping the ball with her is that her run as a no-humanity Hope isn't really that threatening. What she did to Alaric was a great start, but she hasn't done anything horrible beyond that and in a lot of ways she is indeed mirroring both Caroline and Elena!

I think that's what frustrates me with how they handle these characters. They give them just enough of a evil streak to make them interesting, but not enough to make them irredeemable where you're truly intrigued and curious as to if and how they can ever be truly redeemed! When Stefan got his humanity turned off by Klaus, he went on a killing spree! Hell, I give them credit with Kaleb's backstory, with how he ripped apart that school band! That was brutal! But it helped to solidify them as monsters and it gives the other characters a real reason to find a way to stop them and truly reach that point of desperation as to whether or not they can help them. Hope hasn't done anything of note that requires the rest of the Super Squad to stop her. At this point, I can see why the Mikaelson family is stepping back and not giving a damn! Why should they when Hope isn't doing any damage at all?

Now she's preoccupied with Triad and that is what is taking up most of her attention. With that being the case, what real threat is she to the rest of the world? She's a threat but we haven't been SHOWN that, other than in those simulation battles with the Super Squad. I'd have preferred that she followed in Klaus' footsteps, where she had a goal of creating her own gang (like Lizzie imagined in her therapy session) and started turning werewolves and vampires into hybrids. Have witch covens come up against her and be decimated in record time. Have a trail of bodies lie in her wake! When Klaus became the hybrid, he did just that. He took Stefan with him and left a trail of bodies behind them, be it human or werewolf. Elijah's fears were all coming to pass! With Hope, we get more a threat of a threat, not any actual danger that has been seen and needs to be stopped!

So some worthy developments that occurred in this episode. I'm intrigued with Lizzie's new found attitude and how that will play out with both MG and Cleo. Josie will be out of the picture and I can only guess what her therapy session will look like. I do wonder if Finch did indeed overhear Cleo talking to herself and now knows about the red oak tree. It was rather stupid of Cleo to do that in front of a passed out Finch! 

And I suppose I'm rather curious to learn about the original Triad lines. What connection will they have with the Mikaelsons? I'd imagine that they'd have to have some kind of connection considering Klaus' lineage as a werewolf and the Mikaelsons being the originator of the vampire line and Esther being one of the most powerful witches in existence. It would be ironic if the witch line was actually a Bennett witch! 

Nah! They would never do that! 

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