Despite what The Originals spinoff seems to have implied so far, Legacies’ long-awaited Tribrid could be Hope, Lizzie, and Josie using their combined powers together, rather than just Hope alone according to one fan theory. Debuting in 2018, Legacies is the second spinoff of the CW’s massive ‘00s hit The Vampire Diaries. A supernatural soap like its predecessors, Legacies continues the story of The Vampire Diaries’ first spinoff series The Originals through the eyes of the show's young heroine Hope Mikaelson.
However, despite managing to last for three seasons, Legacies is not as popular as The Vampire Diaries and The Originals among fans. The series has struggled to match the ratings of its predecessors and its writing has been criticized for, among other issues, focusing on Legacies’ two lead characters at the expense of the supporting cast. However, one fan theory proves that the show may have a secret use for two of Legacies’ most underrated cast members.
Until now, heroine Hope and her on-again, off-again love interest Landon Kirby have been the two leads of Legacies, and much of the show’s action has centered around their attempts to stop the evil Malivore once and for all. Malivore is a golem and, awkwardly enough, Landon’s father, but Hope’s status as a Tribrid (a witch/vampire/werewolf hybrid) means she is uniquely positioned to take him down. Or so fans of Legacies were led to believe, at least. According to one fan theory, Hope is yet to access her vampire powers not because she can’t do so without dying, but because the Tribrid is actually not her alone but her, Lizzie, and Josie combined, with each character's powers needing to be used in unison to take on the series villain.
Through the three seasons of Legacies (as well preceding seasons of both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals), it has been explained that Hope is the "loophole" that is fated to bring about the end of Malivore. Her ultra-rare Tribrid status provides much of the justification for this often-repeated claim, and Hope has proven a capable heroine in the many times she has saved Landon and company from seemingly certain death. However, helping her dude-in-distress love interest alone is not proof that Hope is the only one who can stop Malivore, and if anything, Legacies has made it clear that she is even stronger when she has help from her friends.
Despite the series focusing on Landon and Hope more than its supporting cast, Legacies has also shown that Hope has always been stronger when she's joined forces with Josie and Lizzie. The times that they have used their magic and abilities together, as seen in Lizzie and Hope’s brief collaboration during “Do All Malivore Monsters Provide This Level of Emotional Insight?” (season 3, episode 9), the characters have been all-but unstoppable. Meanwhile, although they may not be as rare as Landon’s human/Malivore/Phoenix hybrid, it should not be forgotten Josie and Lizzie are both rare creatures, too. Not only are both of the pair Siphoners, meaning they can utilize the powers of nearby beings, but they are also Gemini who managed to survive the Merge, which has never happened before. Their level of power is not often dwelled upon in Legacies (presumably for fear of detracting from the show’s focus on Hope), but the fact that the show rarely addresses this could make it all the more surprising and satisfying if Lizzie and Josie were called upon to help Hope become the Tribrid.
It is entirely possible that the "Tribrid" fated to defeat Malivore is not Hope alone, but that it means another thing entirely: Hope, Lizzie, & Josie with their forces joined. It is unlikely that Lizzie and Josie could become Tribrids themselves via werewolf bite as the Tribrid must be born with their powers according to series lore, but there has been nothing in Legacies so far to suggest that the Tribrid has to be one person. Not only that, but the combination of Lizzie and Josie’s Siphoner and Gemini powers with Hope’s werewolf and witch abilities could make for a far more formidable Malivore opponent than Hope alone, even if she does manage to access her vampire powers too.
Season 3 of Legacies has improved the show’s approach to Hope, with the character receiving more independent stories that are not reliant on her romantic relationship with Landon. However, she is still somewhat unstoppable compared to the rest of the cast, and instead of Legacies focusing on Hope’s many powers, the series could benefit from playing down her abilities and playing up her vulnerabilities. Making Hope work together with her sometimes-enemy Lizzie and Josie could humanize the overpowered heroine and give her a compelling relationship outside of her love life, something Hope needs more than another supernatural power to add to her growing list of skills. Viewers have now seen Hope use healing powers, witchcraft, and a string of other abilities, but this has come at the cost of seeing her collaborate with her classmates at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted.
Breaking up Hope and Landon was good for Legacies season 3 as it allowed the series to flesh out supporting cast members and give the heroes more to do than merely break up and make up repeatedly. Landon’s season 3 arc was his most compelling story on the show so far, and Hope deserves the same from season 4. Ironically, giving the character more power would not achieve this, as Hope already boasts an impressive array of abilities. What she does not get as much of is meaningful interaction with her co-stars, and revealing that Hope must work with Lizzie and Josie to become the Tribrid could bring about exactly this. The character development that could come from Josie, Lizzie, and Hope working together to take down Malivore would provide a promising core story for Legacies season 4, and the most interesting potential path for the series to take as it continues.
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July 25, 2021 at 11:30PM
