Legacies tackles the past and two family affairs

Legacies has addressed its past before, but in “I Thought You’d Be Happier To See Me,” it is discussed and shown through Rebekah’s appearance in Hope’s life and Lizzie and Josie’s searches through Alaric’s memories.

Rebekah Mikaelson’s return to The Vampire Diaries Universe has been a long time coming. However, during Rebekah’s reunion with Hope, Legacies does not waste the opportunity for Rebekah to recall her past with Klaus and use that to deal with her niece’s lack of humanity.

While Rebekah does not list the events of her past, she gives just enough hints for even fans who had not watched The Originals to understand that the dagger was a significant part of the Mikaelson family’s past.

However, it also does the job of remembering Rebekah’s desire to renounce her vampirism and take the cure in a few decades. At that moment, it also shows Rebekah’s loyalty to her family, offering to give up her dream for Hope if she wished to take the cure instead.

Legacies also does not forget one of the biggest fears discussed on The Originals, that Hope would grow up to be exactly like her father. Hope relishes that description in her No-Humanity mindset, taunting Rebekah and Alaric, suggesting that Klaus’s daughter is precisely who Hope is.

Hope’s wish to leave a message proving that sets off the other major storyline of “I Thought You’d Be Happier To See Me.”

MG must use his vampire powers to allow Lizzie and Josie to discover what happened to Alaric by going into his mind. There, they learn Hope had been the cause of Alaric’s state and that she had turned off her humanity.

Afterward, Lizzie and Josie are sent through Alaric’s memories as they try to find him. Their search not only shows Alaric’s dilemma in allowing Hope to come to the Salvatore School but also addresses one of Lizzie’s most significant and consistent issues with her father.

Lizzie always called Alaric out for prioritizing Hope over his daughters. In “A New Hope,” during Josie, Lizzie, and Hope’s Star Wars hallucination, Lizzie acknowledges she did not believe Alaric would be there for her or Josie if he had the chance to help Hope instead.

These feelings are also addressed in season one’s “There’s a World Where Your Dream Came True.” In each of the worlds without meeting Hope, the Tribrid is prioritized above the twins once she enters the picture.

In Alaric’s mind, Lizzie and her father finally address this conflict when Alaric arrives at Whitmore Hospital, where Josie and Lizzie were born. In their conversation, Alaric reveals some of the disputes surrounding Lizzie and Josie’s births, including the Huntress, Heretics, and the twins siphoning from Caroline.

“I Thought You’d Be Happier To See Me” works in several factors. First, it addresses the history between Hope, Lizzie, and Josie and how that affected their relationships, as well as their dynamics with Alaric. It also highlighted some of the Mikaelson family drama and teased the type of relationship Rebekah and Hope had while Hope’s humanity was on.

But, while it balanced the past and family affairs, “I Thought You’d Be Happier To See Me” also sets up the next possible potential threat and villain.

Understanding the past and how it plays a role in everyone’s present-day is a significant factor in how the episode went about its stories.