From Nimue’s arrival to Rafael’s departure, the third season of Legacies it was full of surprises, although none were as lyrical as the jaw-dropping ones on Thursday’s episode, which featured the long-awaited debut performance of Salvatore: the musical.
Under the bright lights of the Salvatore School auditorium, Josie, Kaleb, Jed and Lizzie – like Elena, Damon, Stefan and Caroline, respectively – recounted the history of the institution’s foundation, reaching several iconic hits of the Vampire Diaries in the process: the first meeting of Stefan and Elena, the dramatic reunion of Stefan and Damon, the eternal comings and goings of Elena between the brothers, the seemingly endless doppelgangers parade and the donation of several figures of Klaus (played by the meddling monster of this week!) to school.
Speaking of Klaus, we even had a surprise performance of Hope’s “Always and Forever”, which spent most of the rally episode against the musical representation of your family. (But more on that later.)
Of course, no surprise was more, well, surprising than the letter Lizzie received from Caroline, especially since it was read in a narration by none other than Candice King (also known as Caroline Forbes), marking her first official “appearance” on the Legacies. (Click here for our crossover gallery on Vampire Diaries universe, which has now been updated to include this episode.)
And in case you missed any part of the letter, here are Caroline’s words in full: “Dear Lizzie, I hope this can give you a perspective on who I used to be. When I was your age, I remember feeling like a total mess, like I was waiting to become a better version of myself so that my real life could begin. But it wasn’t becoming a vampire that changed everything. Change is a series of small moments that accumulate, like steps on the side of a mountain. Your life is not on hold until you discover everything. It’s already happening. You are already changing, moment by moment. And Elizabeth, there is nothing wrong with you. Your brain chemistry creates unique challenges for you, but you are not broken. You’re growing and changing every day, and it’s beautiful to watch. “
Below, executive producer Julie Plec answers some of the burning questions from the episode on TVLine:
TVLINE | If there was a musical about my life and I still lived in the city, I would like to be there. Should we imagine that Damon and Elena politely declined the invitation?
[Laughs] Let’s imagine that they couldn’t find a nanny.
TVLINE | We finally got Caroline to appear, even if it was just a vocal appearance. What was the question there?
As you know, Candice is a good friend of mine and Brett, and there is a weak spot in her heart for this show. She has said over the years that, she will show up one day, but she wanted a break after the Vampire Diaries and The originals. She wanted to go out and live a life that wasn’t Caroline Forbes for a while. But she always said, “If you never need something small or simple, just let me know.” I just sent a message and she said, “For sure”. And then nine months passed before we really needed her to do that because of the shutdown of COVID.
TVLINE | I hope that singing at the end was a good surprise. How did I not know that she sang?
There are some actors who are very talented in singing, who may even be trained in theater, but just don’t like singing anymore. They just don’t like or don’t want to match [singing and acting]. When we did the talent show, Danielle [Rose Russell] it was like, “No. Hope has no talent that she is interested in sharing with anyone. “But when we were coming up with this episode, she said,” So, Brett, you know I sing … “And he said,” Oh, really? ” It was written in such a way that it came from a place of your character working at a time she was having, and it was just in the music. This is what worked for me. And I cry every time.
TVLINE | While we are talking about music, who do we give due credit to?
This was a collaboration between Thomas Brandon, the episode’s writer, who also wrote Josie’s and Landon’s songs from the talent show. He’s our little secret weapon for musical things. But since we were making a lot more songs than at the talent show, I asked him if he wanted to find a partner to do the heavy lifting. I looked for my friend Michael Gracey, who ran The greatest showman and spent years developing these songs with [Benj] Pasek and [Justin] Paulo. Whenever he came to town and passed by my house, I heard different versions of the demonstration for years. So I knew he had a way with it. I was like, “Do you know anyone who’s not as famous as Pasek and Paul yet?” He said, “Actually, I just did a project with this guy Chris Read in London and I think he’s the next Pasek and Paul.” So I said, “Send it my way,” and he did it, and it became a really incredible partnership. … I also need to thank our amazing choreographer Rhonda Kohl. She had the idea of this tango.
TVLINE | How familiar was Chris with this universe? All the songs seemed very faithful to that spirit.
Chris had never seen it, so he had to have a quick binge. But because he did it, it got really cool on his head and hit all the right notes.
TVLINE | This whole experience, revisiting where it all started 11 years ago, must have been cathartic.
I think so. You have a wide variety of people working on this team, some who have been with us since the Vampire Diaries and The originals. So there was a lot of fun nostalgia for them. And you also have people who are new, who may have been fans and viewers of the series in the past, so they had to bring their own perspectives to that. One of the reasons it works so well is because Thomas wrote from a fan’s perspective, not having written in [the original show]. He could be a fan of social media, making fun of us in a way that we wouldn’t be able to make fun of ourselves.
TVLINE | Finally, about the final twist: what comes after Alyssa’s apparent MG betrayal?
Nothing good comes next. Next week’s episode was written to be the end of season 2, so all the little things about characters that were lit up in the musical episode are getting ready for the finale. There are betrayals, tragedies, epiphanies. The next week is actually a big episode for all the characters, and so basically we’ll be releasing a new chapter.
BONUS SCOOP | We also talked to Kaylee Bryant about Josie’s kiss with Jade. Here’s what she says about that relationship: “Josie isn’t exactly the fastest with things. She needs to learn a lesson before making a big leap, and Jade was a great lesson for her. She said openly: ‘This place is not right for me’. Josie has been feeling this way for some time. She gave up her magic after really fighting her addiction. And now she is living in a place surrounded by magic. That’s all she knows, so hearing someone say they’re coming out of an unhealthy environment is something Josie definitely needs to hear. This is what really drives her to take the necessary steps to take care of herself.
What did you think Salvatore: the musical? Any favorite setbacks? How about that “cameo” from Caroline? Rate the episode below, then leave a comment with your full review.