Legacies season 4 episode 11 threw a spanner in the works for most of our characters and caused quite a stir at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted.
The episode sees a freaky carnival arrive in Mystic Falls. Two newcomers, Luna and Valentina, enter a tunnel of scares and both are rightfully scared. Moments later, Valentina is abducted by a mysterious man who forces Luna to tell people that she ran away. It’s pretty freaky, too be honest.
Tensions begin to arise at the school when a truth weed forces the characters at the school to open up — let me tell you, some pretty important secrets were revealed.
Vampire 101
Hope and Lizzie arrive at the carnival while Hope tests Lizzie and her abilities. Lizzie is a little cocky but is eventually shut down by Hope when she fails to compel someone into giving them free entry into a ride. Nonetheless, the creepy carnival is the perfect place for Hope to deliver vampire lessons.
Lizzie being the do-gooder tries to convince Hope into helping a young girl who claims her sister has been abducted. Hope isn’t too keen on the idea, though, and this causes the two of them to split up.
Lizzie eventually finds the younger girl’s sister but simultaneously finds herself enthralled in a vampire conspiracy and is neutralized by one of the vampire members.
Hope, meanwhile, comes face-to-face with another member of the vampire clan who isn’t too happy about her and Lizzie ruining their fun. Clearly, however, he doesn’t understand who he is dealing with and we see a true glimpse of Hope’s irrationality when she uses magic to decapitate him and throws him in the dumpster.
In a radical turn of events, Hope actually saves Lizzie from the other members of the vampire clan. This was a little surprising given her humanity is off, but nonetheless the two of them have fun whilst they take out the remainder of the clan.
Interestingly, Hope displays that she is able to compel vampires. Previously, this has been a feat we have only seen in Original vampires. It should be noted that Hope isn’t an Original, but this is merely one of the powers being the tribrid affords her.
The dynamic duo of Hope and Lizzie didn’t disappoint. I think there is definitely room for expansion between the two but I hope this doesn’t come at the cost of turning Hope’s humanity back on.
Aurora’s Return
Ben is finding adjusting to the Salvatore School difficult and is given a tour by Jed; there seems to be a friendship brewing between the two. Moments later, the interim headmaster announces — unintentionally — that someone at the school is drawing the monsters there. Jed makes a conceded effort to cover up the fact that this is Ben, however, who awkwardly stares into the distance.
Jed and Ben clash heavily when Ben questions what the two of them will do next. Jed tells Ben that he should go at it alone and when Ben pressures him, Jed snaps and tells him that he doesn’t want to be around him. Ben takes it pretty well but it can be seen from the look on his face that he is visibly hurt by the remark.
Meanwhile, Headmistress Eve Bloom arrives at the Salvatore School and things are about to get worse for the characters. The new headmistress is none other than Aurora de Martel.
Finch begins asking questions about Bloom when it becomes clear that she is only interested in the Red Oak Tree that was burned down. Cleo tries to investigate and, surprisingly, Aurora reveals herself and her intentions.
Cleo’s Troubles
Cleo has long maintained her role as the leader of the Super Squad since the departure of Hope and Josie, and now Lizzie, come to think of it. Once the truth weed got to doing its work, however, she revealed that she has been struggling with being the Muse for a long time.
It’s clear that being a Muse isn’t exactly the easiest thing, with many people leaning on you. Cleo seems to have hidden her struggles well for the better part, though, and we had no idea she felt this way.
When Cleo refuses to inspire Aurora, she dives inside of her head. Which unsurprisingly, is filled with stone artifacts much like the one she uses to conjure golems. Aurora forcefully removes the inspiration from Cleo’s head which is new, but also kind of weirdly satisfying.
Afterwards, Cleo finds that she is left without her ability to inspire and at times, finds it difficult to use magic without the associated pain. I guess this is a mixture of both Aurora’s actions and Cleo’s own resentment of her abilities. Nonetheless, she is left a broken shell as the episode winds down.
A Bond is Fixed
Fearing that something is wrong with Ethan, MG and Kaleb take a trip over to his family house. From here, the episode gets a little weird as both Ethan and MG try to put on a theatrical show for Ethan’s sister.
Ethan is reluctant to talk to MG but things are eventually reconciled between the two when MG admits that he killed Landon and everyone kind of moved on from it. The two exchange grief and guilt and their bond seems to strengthen.
Ethan tells his sister about his abilities and she seems kind of cool with it. It is interesting that his sister isn’t on vervain, though. Oddly enough.
Things for Ben become a little difficult after he is harshly brushed off by Jed. Ben is taken hostage by Aurora who wants to know how he can help her kill Hope. Ben is largely useless to her but eventually tells her everything she wants to know about the Gods when she threatens to kill the students at the Salvatore School.
Ben’s character is definitely something I want to see more of and the development opportunities are definitely there. He may be misguided sometimes but it seems that he really does care about humanity — I guess that comes as standard with his status as a God, but who knows!
Now the real prize in the episode: Jed’s announcement. Throughout the episode Jed largely pushes Ben away. It is not until the end of the episode in which he announces that he likes — yes has feelings for — Ben; this is why he has been avoiding him.
The moment between Jed and Finch is warming and I guess shows the closeness of the pack. Nonetheless, the friendship between the two is something I want to see more of.
As the episode winds down, Ben warns Cleo that they must work to protect mankind if Aurora’s plans to wake the Gods prove successful.
Overall, this was a pretty decent episode. Probably one of the best so far this season. What did you think of the episode? Do you think there is a potential relationship brewing between Jed and Ben? How will the power dynamic between Finch and Jed play out?
