Alaric and Josie’s discussion at the end of Legacies 1×11 had me thinking: Do we know what each of these characters wouldn’t do?
“Some people think that the real you comes out when your inhibitions are lowered, but, in my experience, sometimes what really defines someone is what they won’t do.”
The line above was spoken by Alaric Saltzman at the end of Legacies 1×11, “We’re Gonna Need a Spotlight.” He said it in response to Josie’s question about whether her true self was the person she was without inhibitions. It’s true that when nothing is holding you back you can go after all the things you want, but that doesn’t mean that is the person you truly are. I think Alaric was onto something. If we define ourselves by the lines we aren’t willing to cross, then I think we could all have a better sense of what we value and how we live.
Here are the things I think our favorites wouldn’t do. Make sure to comment below if you agree or disagree and let us know what lines you think our faves wouldn’t cross. And it will be fun to look back at these at the end of the season and see if any of them have changed. I’d bet the Salvatore School operating budget that at least half of these will probably change slightly in the last five episodes.
Hope wouldn’t give up. From our first introduction to teenage Hope, we have watched her persevere through good times and bad. She’s endured losing both of her parents and done so without completely shutting down. She may have created a bubble for herself for a number of years, but that reeks more of self-preservation than quitting or disregard for others. She has put herself on the line a number of times in Legacies season one, standing firmly in whichever monster’s path to keep the school and her friends from harm.
Landon wouldn’t betray Hope. She is the person in his life that he’s known the longest now, and he has already put himself on the line for her in more ways than one. I don’t think there is any temptation in the world, including getting to know a birth parent or two, that would entice him to betray her. He has always been searching for someone to give his loyalty. Rafael definitely has a piece of it, but Hope has proven that she will go to whatever lengths necessary to keep Landon safe. She has earned his loyalty.
Rafael wouldn’t take love from his best friend. Landon is definitely still Rafael’s closest confidant. Even though Landon and Hope have grown closer now that he’s at the Salvatore School for good, I would still classify Rafael and Landon brothers at this point. While Rafael is pretty conflicted about his feelings for Hope and what it means for him, I have never doubted that he wants Landon to have everything even if that means he has to take a step back.
Josie wouldn’t hurt her family. She may have said some hard truths while under the slug’s control, but she never went out of her way to hurt Lizzie or Alaric. She is one of the most empathetic and caring characters to ever come out of the TVD-Universe, and I firmly believe that she would cut off her own arms before she knowingly put her family in harm’s way. And when I say family, I mean Caroline, Lizzie, and Alaric, but you could probably include any number of her closest friends in that number as well.
Lizzie wouldn’t let anything happen to her sister. Lizzie has her callous moments. She has downright bitchy and rude moments. She may even mistreat her sister from time to time, but there is absolutely no way that she would let anything happen to her sister. We saw the horror on her face in the jinnie episode when she learned that she was responsible for Josie’s death. I firmly believe that as this show goes on, the bond between the Saltzman sisters will only grow stronger, which will make the idea of the merge that much more devastating to them when they finally learn the truth of their coven’s cruel tradition.
Alaric wouldn’t let anyone else die to save him. We watched for years as Elena, Stefan, Damon, Jeremy, and more threw themselves in front of others to save them, and Alaric was definitely one of the most protected characters (particularly so in those times when he was human). Now that many of those supernatural friends have died or moved on, I am one hundred percent certain that Alaric sees the role as protector as his and his alone. It’s why he’s always so reluctant to let Hope take the reins in dangerous situations, even when she is best equipped to handle the chaos. He will not let anyone else sacrifice themselves for him. At least not if he can help it.
M.G. wouldn’t put himself above his morals. We’ve heard time and time again that M.G. is a pretty fierce feminist. He would never let anything come between him and his moral code. While we know a bit about M.G., he’s also one of the more mysterious characters. We have a list of facts and qualities that we know about him, but not a lot about who he holds closest in his heart, or who he would make sacrifices for. He had a bit of a crush on Lizzie, but that has seemed to fall to the wayside recently since it seems pretty clear that she doesn’t see him that way. Since his personal attachments are a bit unknown, it’s safe to say that he holds his moral code close to his heart. He knows how people should be treated and is pretty dedicated to changing the vampire way to adhere to a new set of moral standards.
Penelope wouldn’t sacrifice Josie. Penelope would definitely, assuredly, one hundred percent give anything to keep Josie safe. She has done so much to try and give Josie opportunities to shine, to step into the spotlight and take back so much of what Lizzie has drained from her. The last thing Ms. Park would let happen is Josie being hurt or killed.
Kaleb wouldn’t put his needs above M.G.’s. The only relationship we’ve seen develop for Kaleb is his friendship with M.G. He has been so focused on making the vampires more aware of how they are being controlled that he hasn’t had a lot of time for much else. But he’s made time to help M.G. So, when asked what Kaleb wouldn’t do, I can only say that I think he would prioritize helping M.G. over his own self-interest. Hopefully we will get to see him put M.G. first in the remaining season one episodes.
Emma wouldn’t let anything happen to the young students. Last, but most certainly never least, we should talk about Emma. She’s a bit of a puzzle, as we have only seen glimpses of her over the first eleven episodes, but the one thing we know she is dedicated to is her young students. She has been their protector before, when the gargoyle was stomping around the school, and I truly believe that she sees that as her calling. She would let the town of Mystic Falls burn down before she’d let anything happen to those precious young supernatural kids.