After more than three seasons, exit from Legacies as Josie Saltzman, it was a story Legacies needed to resolve – and to do it, they turned to The Vampire Diaries.
A common audience complaint for the first three seasons was that Legacies seemingly forgot it's part of the Vampire Diaries universe. Elements and recurring themes that were core components of both Vampire Diaries and The Originals were largely nonexistent in Legacies. But during season 3, Legacies suddenly ed it was part of that universe and, as such, brought back characters from the other two shows for cameos. More importantly, it started to incorporate some of the established mythology regarding supernatural creatures and magic.
Legacies season 4, episode 9, "I Can't Be the One to Stop You," continued that trend. The midseason hiatus finally solved the problem of the Merge, with Lizzie being killed by Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) but being resurrected as a vampire. According to the established supernatural rules of the Vampire Diaries universe, theoretically, since Lizzie died and severed her connection to Josie, the Merge was no longer necessary. But while people dying and coming back as vampires was a regular occurrence on the other two shows, Lizzie is a special case. She and Josie are Siphoners, already considered abominations by witches. Because of that, Lizzie can still be a witch and use magic even though she's a vampire. Siphoners are the only witches able to do this, so these vampire-witch hybrids were first introduced in The Vampire Diaries as Heretics. As with all magic, Lizzie becoming a Heretic is a loophole and one that changed her Legacies character arc forever.
Why The Lizzie Legacies Loophole Is Problematic
Unfortunately, this plot twist underscores the problem with Legacies having been so disconnected from the previous two shows. The concept of Siphoners has barely been explored, so it may not be clear to audiences who haven't watched the other shows why Lizzie becoming a vampire and Heretic is important. Siphoners are rare witches who are born without the ability to create magic of their own; instead, they pull magic from other sources. As Siphoner witch-vampire hybrids, Heretics can technically tap into their own supernatural vampirism for a magical boost or if no other source of magic is handy. With their special powers, Siphoners can do things that other witches can't; for example, they're able to siphon the magic out of werewolf venom, curing vampires from an otherwise fatal bite. Previously, it was only Klaus Mikaelson's (Joseph Morgan) blood that could cure a werewolf bite. Heretics can even cure themselves, tapping into their vampiric magic to siphon the werewolf toxin out of their system.
Currently, there is only one other known Heretic in the world: Valerie Tulle (Elizabeth Blackmore), who was Lizzie's Legacies season 4 path could have been very dark indeed.
How Lizzie's Return as a Heretic Helped Her Personality Grow
Instead, Legacies managed to use Lizzie's transformation into a Heretic to offer her some solid moments of character growth. The transition from Siphoner to vampire-witch hybrid amplifies all of Lizzie's personality traits and emotions, taking her already tempestuous personality and making it even more extreme. This leads to significant problems, but it also helps Lizzie empathize with the likes of Hope and Aurora like never before, to the extent that she is finally able to extend them some forgiveness and begin to atone for past mistakes. Thus, while Lizzie remains a snarky and emotionally-charged character, her instability is finally channeled into some productive moments of healing and growth. This may have merely been a side effect of her transformation into a Heretic, but it was actually just what the character needed to have a more nuanced and fulfilling journey in Legacies.
