#Legacies Season 3 Episode 14 Review: This Feels A Little Cult-Y

Every series jumps the shark at some point in their run, but damn, Legacies is doing it on a weekly basis.

Legacies Season 3 Episode 14 could have been one of the better episodes of the season if it actually did right by its characters and stopped telling these dark stories with a Disney Channel lick of paint.

A witchy cult should have made for a dark central plot, but it was saddled in cheap humor and, well, mediocrity. Julie Plec gets a lot of stick for her creative choices, but it’s somehow gotten worse without her on the show on a day-to-day basis.

The series once excelled when Josie, Lizzie, and Hope worked together, and while the cult finally allowed the show to acknowledge Hope’s power, so much more could have been done to make it enjoyable.

Andi was decent enough as the cult leader because, deep down, she was a prisoner from Malivore sent to Earth with a mission. These monsters have no other purpose other than to serve the laughable being that is Malivore.

I know the monsters are being sent to cause chaos, so I can understand why they’re a bit being watered down to lure the Salvatore students into a false sense of security, but would it hurt for the show to have stakes associated with these monsters?

Hope, Lizzie, and Josie high on whatever the heck was leftover from Triad was completely and utterly absurd, but what was worse was the way they hung out at the pit, waiting for the next being.

Why even bother when everyone survives, and someone manages to save the day in any given scenario?

Ethan: Hey, Dr. Saltzman. I’m sorry I can’t help, Mr. Williams, but if I see M.G. I’ll let you know.

Dorian: Yeah.

Alaric: I had M.G. compel Ethan to steer clear of him weeks ago, those two should not be hanging out.

Dorian: Yeah, Ethan said they’re not, so I doubt that’s the reason M.G. skipped school the last three days.

Don’t even get me started on the Darth Vader-lookalike monster emerging from the pit at the episode’s end. What even was that, and how the heck is Disney allowing this show to go full Star Wars?

The teaser for Legacies Season 3 Episode 15 confirms the show is going full Star Wars for the penultimate episode of the season. This isn’t Legends of Tomorrow, this is supposed to show superhumans straddling the fine line between good and evil.

I appreciated the scene with Hope touching the crystal because of how shocked Andi looked at the power embedded in this soon-to-be (hopefully!) tribrid.

We need badass Hope to turn this narrative on its head. The stakes continue to be few and far between, but at least we did get to see Hope react to her fraught relationship with Landon.

As much as Hope wants to make people believe she’s fine and dandy, she’s hurting. Anyone she welcomes into her life, she loses, and that makes it difficult for her to build connections with people.

There’s so much trauma behind those eyes, and it’s about time we started working our way through it.

You know an episode is terrible when Alaric gets the most meaningful arc. If you watch Legacies online, you know his decisions have been questionable since the beginning of the series.

He’s consistently had this notion that the students need to be locked up in the school because there isn’t much good they could do in the world.

Wait, I hate that I have to do this because all I’ve ever wanted for you is happiness, but just because Andi’s a fraud, even though she is, you’re lying to yourself because you’re mad at Landon.
Josie

It’s been frustrating, but as dull as the whole “Is MG a ripper?” plot was, at least it allowed Alaric to realize that his rules are no longer working. What happens when the kids are of age and leave the school?

It’s weird not to check in with alumni because, let’s face it, the school was opened long before Lizzie and Josie are the ages they are now.

Now that Alaric is open to the possibility of MG continuing to help the residents of Mystic Falls and beyond, we may finally get some movement in a clear direction that veers away from the stupid side of things.

People like Kaleb will welcome some changes because Kaleb has taken Alaric to task on multiple occasions, but how far will this safety net really be?

Josie: That crystal doesn’t work on you and blue isn’t your color.

Hope: I appreciate the feedback.

Andi: I don’t. Hope, throw them both in the hole so we can get this party started.

Legacies is a bit like Under the Dome. The characters are typically restricted to the school and its surrounding grounds and not much else.

Finch’s struggle to fit in was predictable, as was the development she allowed Jed to win to keep his title as the Alpha of the werewolves. I wouldn’t have minded a new Alpha because the writers clearly don’t want to flesh out the character of Jed.

He merely exists as a plot device when the writers need someone to stir the pot. Why make Ben Levin a series regular to give him even less to do?

This show, you guys.

Hope: Lizzie, we’re all pandas. We’re in this together.

Josie: We’re in complete pandagreement.

Lizzie: We’re all seeing the same thing now. Oh, good. Unless that’s bad.

Hope: Guys, we have to pull it together in case we have to fight.

Lizzie: We are tripping balls, man.

As a whole, this was probably the worst episode of the series. The only saving grace was some of the one-liners from Lizzie as she tried to get the upper hand at every turn.

Beyond that, the episode felt empty, like the bulk of what happened will not be relevant when we get to the season finale.

Oh, and the season finale is not the actual season finale, which makes it even worse. Four episodes are being carried over to Legacies Season 4 in the fall, so don’t hold your breath for much resolution.

What are your thoughts on the show tackling Star Wars?

Do you think Alaric was right to talk to MG about allowing him to help people?

What do you think will happen next?

Hit the comments.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.