Since the character’s introduction in The Originals, and through the first three seasons of Legacies involving the character’s connection to Malivore, there has been a promise and destiny waiting to be fulfilled. “We All Knew This Day Was Coming” offers the calm before the storm with Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) living her last day among family and friends before choosing to end her life, triggering her vampire side, and truly taking on the mantle of the tribrid.
The episode allows Hope to spend some time with several of the core cast and her Aunt Freya (Riley Voelkel) who arrives in time to help with her transition. Despite Alaric (Matthew Davis) concerns, there is no last-minute change or twist as the characters and show itself come to terms with the big looming change (while also making note of another). We also get a cameo from Rafael (Peyton Alex Smith) who gives Hope the permission she didn’t need, but was hoping for, to go on with her plan. Being a Legacies episode, however, there turns out to be a twist as Malivore makes a move to steal Hope’s body before her spirit returns.
“See You On The Other Side” offers what should be the final Malivore episode of the series as his various minions continue to wreak havoc, Hope escapes captivity and fulfills her destiny, and Josie (Kaylee Bryant) is able to use magic to pull Cleo (Omono Okojie) out of Malivore before the creature is destroyed. There are a couple oddities to the show’s endings where the mind-controlled minions return to their lives without knowledge of what happened but both Ethan (Leo Howard) and Kaleb (Chris Lee) not only remember but keep their Malivore power-upgrades.
The triumphant Hope also makes a decision to leave her humanity behind and move on to a new stage of her life, although her friends may have something to say about that. While the show is skirting any repercussions or consequences necessary for the townies, allowing it not to spend the next episode compelling people to forget recent events, it seems Hope is going to need time to come to terms with her new reality and give the show time to explore this new version of the tribrid.
