Legacies ventured into the 1980s by way of video games and a themed school dance for Season 2’s “Screw Endgame,” but the biggest shocker came when Vardemus revealed himself to be Ryan Clarke. Though Clarke's grudge against Danielle Rose Russell’s Hope is an issue, Legacies executive producer Brett Matthews and writer Thomas Brandon tease that the biggest dilemma for Hope will come once more characters start remembering who she is.
In the Season 1 finale of Legacies, Hope sacrificed herself to save everyone from Malivore, erasing herself from the memories of her loved ones. It’s been like she never existed to them, but now that Jenny Boyd’s Lizzie knows about Hope again, writer and EP Brett Matthews says that it’s possible other characters could learn she’s back soon as well. In his words:
Yeah, that's the dilemma and it’s definitely the central dilemma that will play out over the course of the next couple episodes. Hope made the choice she did because she thought everybody was in a better place. And the reality is, if she comes back and everybody remembers her, it will be very good for some people and it will be very bad for others, and so that's sort of the Sophie's Choice of it.
It’s a tough call, since Hope’s return affects the minds of everyone, not just her own. What if Hope decides everyone is better off without knowing she's back? That an uncomfortable conclusion to arrive at, but who's to say it would be the wrong one?
Legacies’ Thomas Brandon told CBR that questions such as these will be on both Hope and Lizzie’s minds in the coming episodes. He continued:
That’s the plan. You would think if they’ve been able to fix Lizzie’s brain, why can’t we try it for other people? But the question becomes should we.... That’s what Lizzie and Hope are dealing with at the end, which is if people seem to be happy and they don’t seem to miss Hope, is it intruding upon someone to return yourself to their memories. So there’s almost an ethical dilemma to it, not just a ‘can we’ but ‘should we.’
Hope’s return to the minds of her friends and classmates at the Salvatore School will continue to play out, hopefully to everyone’s satisfaction. Sci-fi/fantasy properties can never seem to simply let characters be happy for once, after all. There’s always some moral dilemma they have to deal with. But who knows? Maybe Vardemus’ return will force Hope’s hand.
However, Vardemus may not be the only villain the Legacies characters will be facing in Season 2. Chris Wood is set to reprise his role as the villainous Vampire Diaries character Kai Parker soon, and the episode “Since When Do You Speak Japanese?” may have already offered up a clue as to how his return could happen.
Tune in for all the fun coming up on Legacies when the show airs with new episodes on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. When the show returns in the midseason, expect it to come packaged with another lead-in show at 8 p.m. ET. For more on that, be sure to check out The CW’s midseason schedule for dates and times of new and returning shows.
