I once again feel compelled to share my thoughts and concerns about the current state of #Legacies given its season premiere, so... Time for a commentary thread.

Tagging @tsbrandon, @brettwmatthews, and @julieplec.

I believe it has come to a time where I have to admit, with the utmost respect for the creative process, that Hope, as a character, has outgrown the need (a word I use very loosely in this context, for I believe it was never a need) for a romantic relationship with Landon. (+)

At this point, it very much feels like Landon is hindering Hope's growth as a character and thus the development of the show itself. Hope is supposed to be the lead of the show, the reason so many of us decided to tune into it in the first place (alongside the twins). (+)

They are, on all accounts, the legacies the show so proudly names itself after. Yet more and more, it feels the core three characters of the show are being pushed aside to favor narratives that are just not as interesting or compelling to us viewers. (+)

With Hope, in particular, it almost feels as if the show has forgotten her to be its lead, and forgotten her beyond the capacity of Landon's girlfriend and, most of all, his savior. (+)

Personally, I have, at some point in time, felt the appeal of the relationship, and I will go as far as saying I understand and value Landon's influence on softening Hope's harsh edges. But he isn't the only character who's helped Hope in such a way. (+)

And that's exactly where the show has been lacking.

Coming from a universe where relationships, whether familial, romantic, or between friends, have always been at the core of the plot, Legacies sticks out like a sore thumb in showcasing little to none of that, (+)

despite its great potential to do so. And all because it would rather spend its time on a relationship that, at this point, adds little to nothing to the story, serving as nothing but a disservice to both the characters and the show. (+)

As a consequence, not only has Hope and Landon's relationship became quite unberable – a thought now shared by many critics and fans of the show – but the fact that the characters seem to only gravitate towards each other while all other characters gravitate towards them, (+)

has created a rather noticeable imbalance in character dynamics. For one, Rafael has been done an immeasurable disservice by having his scenes so entertwined with Landon's that whenever something does happen to him outside of that scope, it just doesn't land. (+)

On the other hand, it's impossible not to notice the moments the show fails to recognize Hope's connections to the remaining characters, as it very clearly happened with this season premiere, where Hope acted very out of character by both refusing to wake up because she (+)

somehow sensed Landon to be dead (a conversation for a different day), and then by not immediately checking up on her friends for whom she'd gotten herself in that situation to begin with. (+)

It's not the first time the show's incessant need to place Hope and Landon's relationship at the center of the narrative has caused harm to the plot, as I've previously mentioned in regards to S2 and how Hope's storyline got derailed in order to rush the two back together. (+)

But with this being the season premiere, and even taking into consideration it was supposed to be a part of the previous season instead, its become an unavoidable issue.

That, and the show's refusal to let go of the "monster of the week" format. (+)

I understand wanting to stick to an idea, but while MOTW worked reasonably well during S1, it's proven to have had a negative impact on the show's second season, making it harder to keep track of the main plot, and it'll surely do the same for S3. (+)

In fact, the only reason MOTW worked during S1 is intimately connected to the fact that S1 also had a very clear overarching storyline, rather than being built on what feels like an episode-by-episode basis. (+)

Personally, I wouldn't like to get rid of this format entirely, as I quite appreciate the rather goofy opportunities it provides the show. But I would love to see it being revamped, with monsters maybe not showing up quite as frequently but instead have multiple-episode arcs, (+)

preferably connected to the aforementioned overarching storyline.

On a final note, even though I do appreciate the general lightheartedness of the show, I would also love to see it dive into it darker subjects, given the characters at hand. (+)

Lastly, I would just like to close this thread by saying that, while I'm sharing thoughts of my own, I know them to be shared by a fair amount of fans of the show who, in a similar capacity to myself, would love nothing more than to see it improve. I know this season has just (+)

begun, so I genuinely hope these concerns will be addressed and dealt with before its end, otherwise I unfortunately don't see a bright future awaiting Legacies. // End.