The new CW series Legacies had the daunting task of joining The Vampire Diaries fandom one spinoff later. Combined, there are over 100 episodes of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. That is a lot of characters to remember, mythology to retain, and world-building to take in. Legacies can definitely stand on its own, but we want to provide some extra information for the more curious newcomers to the TVD Universe. That is why we have created a list of key episodes from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals that will provide some background information to enhance your viewing of Legacies.
WARNING: Spoilers for all three series below, although we tried to not to give away any of the really good stuff.
The Vampire Diaries
1×06 “Lost Girls”
While most of this episode’s information pertains specifically to Stefan Salvatore – the “good” Salvatore brother (though TVD fans know that both brothers had their fair share of demons) – it is a great episode to watch to understand how vampires work in the TVD Universe. Their abilities are explained and many myths are dispelled or proven true in this episode. Damon Salvatore, at the height of his bad boy days, clearly lays out the “rules” of becoming a vampire to a human he’s killed to turn, just for the hell of it. Stefan adds how it is possible for him to love garlic and drink holy water even though it is widely believed that vampires can do neither. He also explains how he is able to walk in the sun without burning to a crisp. It’s basically Vampires: 101.
Katherine Pierce meets Stefan Salvatore for the first time. (Bob Mahoney/The CW)
2×03 “Bad Moon Rising”
There are plenty of werewolves at the Salvatore school, including the very lovable Rafael Waithe. This episode takes us into the mythology of werewolves through the eyes of Tyler Lockwood’s uncle Mason. The Lockwoods were one of the founding families of the town known (by those in the know about the supernatural) to carry the werewolf gene. This episode lets you in on just what that means exactly, how the werewolf curse is triggered, and what happens to werewolves when they transform. Plus, it begins to explain the long-running rivalry between vampires and werewolves. Doppelgangers haven’t shown up on Legacies…yet, but this episode also touches on the compelling idea that in this world lookalikes from bloodlines appear every few hundred years. Series-main Elena Gilbert’s doppelganger was the irresistible and villainous vampire Katherine Pierce who was born in Bulgaria in the 1400s. After sinking your teeth into this episode, if you are still howling for more information about werewolves, we also suggest 2×05 “Kill or Be Killed.”
2×21 “The Sun Also Rises”
Hope Mikaelson is a tribrid (a witch, vampire, and werewolf) and her father, Klaus Mikaelson, was a hybrid (a vampire and a werewolf). This episode spells the end of some of our favorite characters from The Vampire Diaries but also shows the ritual Klaus needed to complete in order to become the first hybrid. The ritual must be completed in order to break the curse Klaus’ mother, Esther (the original witch), placed on him to suppress his werewolf side. Klaus needed a witch to do the spell to break the curse, the moonstone to channel it, the blood of a doppelganger, and finally, a werewolf and a vampire to sacrifice. Needless to say, there were a lot of boxes Klaus needed to check off in order to free his werewolf side. If Klaus hadn’t completed this ritual, Hope would be a totally different person today as she would not be “the mythical tribrid freakshow,” she coins herself as.
3×08 “Ordinary People”
Hope’s family has a very long and complicated history spanning hundreds of years of lives and loves lost. Rebekah Mikaelson, one of Hope’s aunts, lets Elena in on some of that history in this episode. The ultra-complex relationship the Mikaelsons have with their vampire-hunting father, Mikael, is the focus of her tale. The episode also explains how Hope’s family comes from a line of the first vampires (the original vampires – now you see where the title The Originals comes from) created in retaliation to a werewolf attack which resulted in the death of the youngest Mikaelson sibling. Lastly, the episode marks the first time the famous Mikaelson family vow of “always and forever” is uttered between the siblings.
Rebekah and Klaus Mikaelson mourn the loss of their youngest sibling. (Quantrell D.Colbert/The CW)
4×20 “The Originals”
Aptly titled, this is the backdoor pilot for The Originals. It introduces you to some of the key players in Hope Mikaelson’s upbringing and possible future (if “always and forever” holds up and some familiar faces decide to pop up on Legacies). From the magic behind Hope’s conception – how Klaus was even able to impregnate her mother, Hayley Marshall – to how all of the drama in New Orleans began. It also introduces the bar Rousseau’s, one of the major hangouts on the series and one that has already appeared on the Legacies mid-season finale.
Phoebe Tonkin as Hayley Marshall in The Vampire Diaries. (Skip Bolen/The CW)
6×08 “Fade into You”
Josie and Lizzie Saltzman come from a long and powerful line of Gemini-coven witches. Their “bio mom,” Josette Laughlin, and their psychopathic uncle and fellow siphoner, Kai Parker, are another set of twins in their family full of twins which comes with a lot of murderous drama. This episode tells us how Kai attempted to kill his entire family in order to gain magical powers since he wasn’t born with any himself. This is important viewing for fans of Josie and Lizzie Saltzman because it shows the deadly “merge” that they will have to encounter on their 22nd birthday. The merge is key because Josie and Lizzie are now first in line to lead the coven. Since only one witch can lead the coven at a time, the the stronger twin absorbs the magic of the weaker one, who sadly dies after being drained of all their magic. Unless their mother, Caroline Forbes, can find a magical loophole out of this destiny, one of the twins is doomed to kill the other.
7×06 “Best Served Cold”
This one is key to understanding how Caroline Forbes was the one to carry Josie and Lizzie. After Jo’s untimely death at the hands of Kai (finally finishing the job) on her wedding day to Alaric – the bloody wedding dress in Legacies episode 1×06 “Mombie Dearest” makes sense now, right? – the Gemini coven had a few cards up its sleeve to ensure its line would continue. That plan involved having the babies magically planted inside Caroline. It certainly took some adjusting, but Caroline came to accept the twins as her own children.
8×16 “I Was Feeling Epic”
The epic series finale of The Vampire Diaries is a good one to watch to know where all of the characters on the show ended up, like Sheriff Donovan, for example. It also shows how Alaric and Caroline created the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. Beyond that, this episode is the perfect bow on eight years of supernatural happenings in the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. It marks the return of Nina Dobrev (portrayer of Elena Gilbert, Katherine Pierce, and other doppelgangers of that bloodline) who left the series after Season 6. This episode also highlights many reasons why millions of people fell in love with The Vampire Diaries throughout its run. Most of the characters on the show were teenagers when it all began, trying to find their place in the mortal and supernatural world together. TVD was great because of its displays of love, friendship, brotherhood, sisterhood, magical connections, and everything in between and beyond. It was one hell of a ride and this episode is the perfect conclusion.
The Originals
1×01 “Always and Forever”
This episode is the continuation of The Vampire Diaries episode “The Originals.” It is the very first episode of the Mikaelson family spin-off which took place in New Orleans. It takes everything we know about the Mikaelsons and complicates it with Hayley’s pregnancy. With more flashbacks and world-building, this episode is a nice refresher about the Mikaelson family history and a further lesson on those closest to Hope as well as the city she grew up in.
Klaus Mikaelson being his usual smug self. (Bob Mahoney/The CW)
4×08 “Voodoo in My Blood”
Not only does Matt Davis (Alaric Saltzman) appear in this episode as a special guest star, it’s also a must see for the origin story of werewolves. Yes, a lot of the episode is dedicated to the backstory of that particular season’s Big Bad, but Hayley’s tie to the Crescent werewolf bloodline is crucial to the story. The villain, the Hollow, actually created the original werewolf curse that started with the Labonair bloodline, which happens to be Hayley’s bloodline. There is a chance Hayley’s bloodline may be taught in something similar to a “History of Werewolves” class at the Salvatore school.
5×12 “The Tale of Two Wolves”
This episode has it all: a trip back to Mystic Falls to introduce the world of Legacies, old faces returning one last time before The Originals series finale, and Danielle Rose Russell (as Hope Mikaelson) stealing the show. Josie and Lizzie – although played by different actresses than the ones who would appear in Legacies – and Hope’s love interest Landon Kirby, are also in this episode. It’s a final love letter to Hope’s relationship with her mother, but it’s also an introduction to Mystic Falls through a new lens. This one’s definitely a must-watch.
Danielle Rose Russell as Hope Mikaelson in The Originals. (The CW)
With its monster-of-the-week format and new class of fresh faces, Legacies can be enjoyed as a standalone series. But we hope that this list can give you the information you need to fall even more in love with the newest addition to the TVD Universe.
Catch Legacies Thursdays at 9 pm on The CW. You can stream the entire series of both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals on Netflix.
