Legacies Series Finale: Get the Story Behind Those Long-Awaited Cameos — ‘I Didn’t Think They Could Pull It Off’
Well, look who finally decided to show up!
Thursday’s series finale of Legacies welcomed two of the most beloved characters (according to our ranking, anyway!) in the Vampire Diaries Universe: Klaus Mikaelson and Caroline Forbes, albeit under very different circumstances.
Let’s start with Klaus, who delivered a tearful message to Hope from Peace through the magic of a projector screen. As you probably guessed, Joseph Morgan filmed Klaus’ monologue separately from Hope’s reaction to it, so we regret to confirm that Morgan and TV daughter Danielle Rose Russell never actually crossed paths. Heck, she’s impressed that the emotional moment came together at all.
“I wasn’t convinced that [Klaus’ speech] was going to make it into the episode,” Russell tells TVLine with a laugh. “I didn’t think they could pull it off. I was acting to a blank screen, which was fun for me. I did have the little clips of Hope’s life playing on repeat, which production set up, but I was mostly acting to a blank projection screen.”
Fortunately, Morgan’s scheduling worked out such that he was able to step back into Klaus’ shoes, if only for a brief cameo. Russell says she “bawled” at the scene when she finally got to watch a completed version.
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“Hope had been carrying such tremendous survivor’s guilt,” series creator Julie Plec says. “It has informed everything about her — her inability to love too fully or act too freely. There’s this adult responsibility that was put on her shoulders attached to the death of her family, more specifically the loss of her father. The Necromancer told her that Klaus would never find peace until she did, so if we had to end the show without being able to give her that closure, I would have been devastated.”
And it didn’t take much convincing to get Morgan, who’s currently filming the fourth season of HBO Max’s Titans, to reprise the role.
“Joseph as an actor is committed to the craft of building a character, so when he sees something is the right move for that character, he wants to come do it,” Plec says. “And that’s all it took. We told him that what Hope needs to gain closure for her character is directly tied into his character’s closure. He was very gracious and very willing to do it, and he was very happy with the speech we wrote for him. When I saw the cut for the first time, I burst into tears.”
Caroline’s role in the finale was considerably larger than Klaus’, with the character becoming the school’s new interim headmistress following Alaric’s departure. And it’s entirely possible that she would have gotten relatively comfortable in her new position.
The possibility of King returning in a recurring capacity “was meant to be a conversation that Candice and we could have if there was going to be another season,” Plec says. “I think she was open to the conversation, but we never actually got that far.”
What did you think of Legacies‘ one-two punch of nostalgia with Klaus and Caroline? Grade the finale below, then drop a comment with your full review.
I feel like the show ended with enough closure considering that when they wrote it, they weren’t sure if they were coming back or not. I’m more of a Vampire Diaries and Originals fan than Legacies. I’m 42, so I’m definitely not in their target demo. So, maybe that’s part of it. But, I couldn’t help but to think as Alaric was leaving that he better stop to say goodbye to Damon on his way out. Or, maybe he was going to spend the night at Damon and Elena’s. I mean, where the heck was he just driving off to since he’s been living there for years? And, I’m fully believing that Caroline and Elena will be having at least weekly catchup dinners while Caroline is the headmistress. The thing that got in the way of me enjoying Legacies as much as maybe I could have is knowing that in the timeline, Elena and Damon are literally living in town and are involved in not a single thing. Matt, too. He’s the sheriff. So, just knowing those characters are still alive and living in town, just feels like a plot hole to me. Though, I’ know it’s technically not. It’s too bad the actress who plays Josie wanted out this season and had to miss out on the series But, one final thought. I think this was good season to end on because had they not been able to get Caroline to come back as the headmistress for next season, how would they have continued to explain her absence? Lizzy becoming a heretic negated the Gemini merge. So, they lost the excuse of Caroline being out trying to find a way to stop the merge as the reason she was gone. Now at least there won’t be some less believable reason. I was sort of bummed that there wasn’t much of a mother/daughter scene with Caroline and Lizzy. I think Caroline had more lines directed at Cleo and Hope than she did Lizzy. And Caroline and Lizzy didn’t even say goodbye to Alaric? Of course they could have, off screen. But, that seems a bit out of character, too. Ok, I think I’m done now. I really did like the little bit of Klaus we got. And, I thought Hope’s ending line was perfect. I watched TVD and TO from their premiers to their last episodes. While Legacies was something I might wait and catch up on a few episodes of at a time, I did enjoy it. It is odd that there will not be a show in this universe on the air for the first time in quite a while.
Am I the only one not that impressed with the cameos? Having Klaus not even share a conversation with Hope was kind of lame to me. I get that it was the only way to get him to come back, but still. Also, why does Hope never want to speak to her mom? Would have liked to have a Hayley convo. Carolines cameo was much better but would have liked a longer scene with Lizzie and if they were getting canceled, maybe even two or three episodes this season with Caroline. If there was really a convo about her coming next season, that would have made sense.
Hayley is dead thats why hope doesnt speak to her mom
If death stopped characters from interacting with Hope, half of her scenes in the finale wouldn’t exist.
Joseph is filming a show elsewhere. There was no time for him to come and be on set in Atlanta.
Hayley found peace in The Originals and Hope knows that. She was worried that her dad would never find peace, which is why she wanted to connect with him so badly.
That’s why writers shouldn’t wait until the last minute to tell the stories they want to tell with their preferred characters to tell it. You never know when the axe is going to come down and while storylines need to have a natural progression, waiting to the end just leaves you with frustrated writers, an unhappy audience, and network executives that can’t stop thinking about all the money they hope the replacement shows are going to bring in.
Love danielle rose Russell, I hope she gets a new movie or show asap. Also the rest of the cast is talent bunch of kids. Hope they can all find new jobs fast
I love her too. She has the cops to go really big. Would love if she got a role in the MCU, maybe as Jean Grey.
Chops*
I was pleasantly surprised by Caroline’s finale appearance; it was nice to see someone from TVD.
Having previously read the rumors of Klaus’ cameo, the anticipation of whether or not it was going to happen haunted me until finally confirmed. While I was happy to take what I can get, i found myself only yearning for more. I’m sad this supernatural world has come to an end.
i think legacies had one of the better cw finales, probably as good with tvd, originals and black lightning which were my other favs
All three series should never have ended.. they were the best thing pkec an her crew ever did anything else can’t be compared ..too them ever..bad mustake finishing any one of them
BEEN WATCHING THE TVD UNIVERSE SHOWS FOR HALF OF MY LIFE . REALLY REAALLY GONNA MISS THEM :(
I have always been waiting for the episode to air. I really wish this could go on and on.
I wish another season comes .
They could do a whole new show just with Landon and Ethan ferrying all the dead souls from TVD universe. I don’t know what or where limbo is but it must be very overcrowded with restless spirits.
From the first episode of The Vampire Diaries on 9/10/09 to The Originals which first aired on 10/3/13 until the last episode of Legacies on 6/16/22, it was a great trilogy and a great ride. I can not believe that almost 13 years and 331 episodes have gone by. Thanks to Julie Plec and the entire casts and crews for all the wonderful (and sometimes not wonderful) memories! I will greatly miss you!
I loved how Hope got to see her dad one last time even if it wasn’t person to person. It showed her glimpses of them together from the time she was a baby til she was a teenager. As well as it showed us a softer side to her dad, that wad never really seen. Showing how much he did love her and was proud of her he was.
It was freaking awesome. Bring on season 5
KLAUS. KLAUS. KLAUS. oh, I cried. I loved Klaus. Why didn’t Jed tell the pack that he was no longer a werewolf? He might become one again if he kills someone? Maybe.
Bring back the originals
Legacies was embarrassing. I saved every TVD and TO episode. Legacies, I deleted every episode after I watched. It’s like they made it for 5 year olds.