#Legacies Season 3 Episode 16 Review: Fate’s A Bitch, Isn’t It?

Malivore is back, and he’s ready to consume everyone in his path to get what he wants.

Legacies Season 3 Episode 16 was a temporary season finale that surprisingly worked as such as we head into an almost four-month hiatus.

There had to be a bigger reason why Malivore was still alive and kicking, so it should not have come as a surprise that he was posing as his son.

In hindsight, it makes sense, but there were so many moments of Hope and Landon’s reunion from a few episodes ago that now feel bizarre.

Malivore’s plan is still murky, and his warning to Hope leads me to believe he wants her to kill herself to become a full-blown Tribrid.

Hope has spent her time wondering whether the trick to killing the villain is to activate this other side of herself, but what if it will help him in the end?

If you watch Legacies online, you know the show has never been about consistency, but at least we’re finally getting some traction on the Salvatore Students vs. Malivore.

Hope working with Clark and, you know, taking his side and ditching Lizzie and Josie was not surprising. The youngster knew her back was against the wall, and it helped her come to some stunning realizations.

Hope: We want our friends back.

Malivore: There’s something I want, too. Fate’s a bitch, isn’t it?

Clark being back in the mix helped give the series a jolt of life. Nick Fink is a fantastic addition to the cast, and I hope we get to follow Clark as a human on Legacies Season 4.

Hope is now very much ready to go to extreme lengths to save everyone, but did anyone actually expect Cleo to be dead for good?

There was a lack of excitement in the supposed death. Maybe it’s because Alaric showed up just as Cleo was supposedly killed, but at least the show remembered that things in the Malivore pit are forgotten about.

Had Cleo truly been dead, there would have been much more emphasis on her, which harkens back to the overall issue with the show. Where are the stakes if these characters pop back up?

By this point in their respective runs, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals had killed off a string of characters, changing the very fabric of the show, so it’s disheartening to have Legacies play out like this.

Malivore has been painted as this big villain, but he’s a one-trick pony. Unless there actually starts being stakes next season, the series should evaluate what it’s trying to tell the audience.

Hope ditching Lizzie and Josie was unsurprising. Hope is known for going rogue if there’s a clear reason why, and it was the only way for her to prove to Clark she would work with him.

Lizzie and Josie scheming to get Ethan and Hope together came out of nowhere, and quite frankly, it was embarrassing.

Anyone who won’t dissolve into a puddle of goo when they have sex will do.
Lizzie

Ethan is not getting any meaningful plot progression, and the same can be said for many of the other characters.

The only positive to come from this is that Ethan asked Lizzie out instead of Hope. There’s clearly a connection between them and one that needs to be explored in the upcoming season.

Could this be the start of a new core couple? I hope so, but alas, Legacies likes to disappoint me, so we’ll see!

Josie’s apprehension about meddling with Ethan’s life was another worthy development.

Through no fault of his own, Ethan has found himself embroiled in the world of the supernatural, and there have been a little too many adverse effects for him.

When he inevitably learns the truth about everything, he’s not going to be thrilled and will probably revolt against the students.

Maybe he could wind up working with Malivore. There has to be a reason why the kid keeps popping back up without any actual movement for him.

One relationship that is flourishing is Josie and Finch. For some reason, they had a mature conversation that proved a solid foundation between them, something that surprised me.

The relationship started bizarrely and seemed more unhealthy than healthy, but at least there is a method to the madness for them.

Ethan: I’m kind of into someone else.

Lizzie: Whoever she is, she doesn’t hold a candle to Hope Mikaelson.

Josie is understandably struggling with Ethan’s situation, and Finch was as supportive as she could be.

Kaleb and M.G. teaming up as what can only be described as superheroes detracted from the otherwise dark portions of the episode.

This was a frustrating development because if the pair had continued with the mission at hand, they would have likely prevented Cleo from being consumed by Malivore.

The forced humor in their side mission was nauseating, and the powers that be could be giving them much more exciting and meaningful material to work with.

“Fate’s a Bitch, Isn’t It?” was far from perfect, but at least the storylines actually started progressing again.

As we head into Legacies Season 4, it’s time for the show to write out Malivore and take a much darker turn.

What are your thoughts on Hope teaming up with Clark?

Did you expect Ethan to ask out Lizzie?

Hit the comments below.

Legacies Season 4 launches October 14 on The CW.

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