#the only spinoff should be a landon and hope spinoff

[salvatoreschool]

Kaylee Bryant On "Legacies," The Importance Of Queer Rep On TV, Hosie, And More

"I have so many people constantly telling me that watching Josie on the show has made them feel more comfortable in themselves."

This week, Kaylee Bryant squeezed us into her schedule to talk about their role as Josie Saltzman on Legacies. As a huge Josie fan, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a morning than talking to Kaylee about The Vampire Diaries, Hosie, our favorite books, and more! Here's everything we talked about:

1. What was your audition for Legacies like?

My audition process was very interesting because they kept a lot of it a secret. I had no script and a fake character name. And then I had my second audition, a chemistry read, which Jenny Boyd [Lizzie] wasn't even at. I walked in and immediately just flat-out asked, "This is for the twins, right?" So it was long, but short and intense at the same time.

BuzzFeed: Wait, did you know which twin you were going to be playing?

I initially auditioned for Josie, and then during chemistry reads, they started asking me to read for Lizzie. And then we had our final callback where I finally met Jenny and we both read for both roles. They never told us [who was playing who] until Jenny had her appointment to go dye her hair blonde.

2. What's a typical day on set like?

Gosh, it changes every time. If it's a busy day on set, we're talking like 8 a.m. call time where we spend about two hours on hair and makeup and go straight into rehearsals. If it's a big sort of episode that involves stunt work and wire work, you're talking about doing maybe two scenes in a day. But if it's an average day, we can do anywhere from three to five scenes and we can start at 8 a.m. and wrap at 8 p.m. It really depends. I'm surprised if I'm not surprised.

3. You’ve said you’re a huge fan of The Vampire Diaries. Josie played Elena in the musical episode — what was that like?

It was surreal for sure. They had talked a little bit about doing a musical episode since Season 1. And I always thought that they were joking when they talked about doing Salvatore: The Musical!, so when they said Josie would obviously play Elena, I was like, "Hahaha." And then I got the script and realized I actually was playing Elena. The musical aspect of it was the easy part. The difficult part was, I think, getting into the iconic Elena attire and trying to feel normal. Because we have a lot of crew members that worked on The Vampire Diaries, and they kept coming up to me being like, "This is weird. I feel weird."

4. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve filmed with Courtney Bandeko (Finch) this season?

I really did love the scene that we had in the town square [when] we got on a moped. There were so many fans in the town square that were huddled in the rain — it was pouring rain, freezing cold — trying to snap photos of us. And it was kind of one of those surreal moments where it felt full circle, that I was on a Vampire Diaries spinoff in town square. It was a lot going on, but it was a lot of fun. It's always fun working with Courtney.

5. You and Danielle Rose Russell (Hope) also have amazing chemistry — what’s your favorite scene you’ve filmed together?

Oh gosh, we have a lot that are pretty amazing. Honestly, I'd say [Season 3] Episode 14 — we finally got to do a lot more scenes together. And it's always fun, especially when it's Josie, Lizzie, and Hope, because we have so much history character-wise. Any time you really get to dive into that, we love it.

6. I know Josie and Finch are working through some things right now, but I gotta ask — how do you feel about Hosie?

I love it. Danielle and I loved the idea of Hosie starting from Season 1, and we kept asking and asking and asking for it. So it's kind of funny and full circle that now the fans have kind of taken our side with things, and now they won't stop asking for it. All we want is this beautiful, dynamic relationship. And I think that the fans want that as well.

BuzzFeed: Yeah, I mean, people have even been asking me about Hosie, and I don't work on the show!

Oh, I'm sure! [Laughs] Obviously I love it, though.

7. Is there a particular Josie moment you’re really proud of?

Josie has a scene coming up in Episode 18 — or 19? — I don't know, but it's good. It's sort of the pinnacle of everything that Josie has felt over the past three years kind of culminating into one moment. So, I'm excited for people to see it.

8. You recently came out as queer. How has playing Josie, who’s pansexual, impacted you personally?

I felt a lot of pressure when I initially booked Josie because I was still figuring out who I was and what my label was. And playing a character who was so comfortable in who she was, it was inspiring [to me] in a way that I think a lot of other people watching the show have been inspired. I have so many people constantly telling me that watching Josie on the show has made them feel more comfortable in themselves. It's kind of amazing that we all have the same experience in that having queer representation makes you more comfortable.

9. You’ve been vocal about your Asian identity, and your character has spoken Japanese on the show. Did you have a hand in incorporating that into Josie’s character?

No, not at all! So, I spoke Japanese a few times on the [Instagram] Live and one of our writers, Penny Cox, saw me speaking Japanese and immediately went to Brett [Matthews] and was like, "We need to make this happen somehow." And then all of a sudden, I had a script in my hands. So it was a surprise, but a fun one.

BuzzFeed: Are you fluent in Japanese?

Gosh, no! I'm barely fluent in English. [Laughs] I would say I speak at the level of maybe a second-grader on a good day, though.

10. If you could pitch any storyline for Josie, what would it be?

I always joke that I want an episode that takes place overnight. That way, we all have to be wearing pajamas the entire episode. I just want to wear some comfy clothes for a whole two weeks, that's my main goal. So we can have a pajama episode, that's my pitch.

11. What's it like getting into character for Dark Josie scenes?

It's different in the sense that I know Josie so well. And knowing Josie in turn makes me understand Dark Josie. I have a whole different playlist of music that I listen to for Dark Josie — and I have the wig, which helps a lot with getting into character.

BuzzFeed: Well, now I have to ask what music is on that playlist!

I think "Bury a Friend" by Billie Eilish is a great one for Dark Josie. Also, "Villain" by K/DA is a prime example of a perfect song for Dark Josie, so I listen to that one as well.

12. What's your go-to Starbucks order?

Plain black iced Americano. Aria [Shahghasemi, who plays Landon] says I drink coffee like a sociopath. [Laughs]

13. What TV show are you currently binging?

I just finished watching Alice in Borderland, which is a Japanese show on Netflix. And I know Feel Good Season 2 just came out, so I think that's my next binge.

14. Damon or Stefan?

Stefan! They're both beautiful and I love them very much, but I'm Team Stefan when it comes to Elena.

15. If you could work with anyone from The Vampire Diaries, who would it be?

Ian Somerhalder has a lot of dogs. So, maybe I want to work with him for the sole reason of just talking about dogs. [Writer's note: Kaylee revealed she has two rescue dogs, one whom was sleeping right next to them during the interview! Kaylee described the dogs as "both complete and total nuts," but said she misses them about five minutes after getting into the car to go to work.]

16. Do you think you’re most similar to Josie, Lizzie, or Hope in real life?

I would say I'm an eclectic mix of the three. I can be very headstrong like Hope, very outspoken like Lizzie, and I try to be as loving as Josie, but sometimes that doesn't always work. But I'd like to think all three.

17. Is there a role people would be surprised to learn you auditioned for, but didn't get?

I've been auditioning since I was eight, so there's quite a few Disney Channel shows and movies. And I'm sure people would be surprised because I think I auditioned for like, all of them. It's very funny, one of the first jobs I ever booked in television was Kickin' It with Leo Howard [Ethan]. Talk about full circle — going from being 12 years old and having no idea what I'm doing to being a series regular on [Legacies] and welcoming Leo to the set.

18. Who's your favorite Disney princess?

Oh, I love Mulan so much. She was, like, my first crush ever. I also love Moana, but it's Mulan 1,000%.

19. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I mean, I do eat rice every day. So maybe just white rice — you can make rice into candy and...yeah, let's go with rice.

20. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one book, what would it be?

Oh no! I recently read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and I really enjoyed that book. Oh god, Is that the one that I want to bring, though? I mean, I really enjoyed it and it has many different aspects to it. I don't know. Or should I go with Harry Potter? I go through different genres too, like right now I'm in a big sci-fi phase, but other times I'll go the opposite direction and only read biographies. Yeah, that's super hard. I don't think I would know!

21. On that note, what's your Hogwarts house?

Initially, when I was younger, it used to just be straight-up Slytherin. And now, I recently took the Sorting Hat Quiz and I got Ravenclaw. So I'm going to go with Slytherclaw.

BuzzFeed: What's Josie's house?

Josie would be Slytherin. She tries very hard and, you know, not everyone in Slytherin is evil. She just, you know, has her way of going about things.

22. Has anything super funny or embarrassing happened to you on set?

I trip a lot on set. I get scared very easily — if I come around the corner and somebody is walking the other direction, I get scared. Everybody knows to walk slowly around me because I get scared so easily.

23. What's your wildest fan story?

I've had people cry before. And I'm an empath, so if somebody starts crying, I immediately am like, "Please don't cry, because I'm gonna cry." And then it turns into this whole thing. Once we were shooting in the town square and this young girl with her mom started crying, and I just hugged her and I didn't know what to say. So there's a lot of that. There's also the occasional, "Where's your twin?" and...I don't have one, sorry! But yeah, I would say the people who cry always throw me for a loop.

24. How do you unwind after a long day?

I have an hourlong drive home from work, so I usually listen to a lot of music. And by the time I get home, taking off all of my makeup is very therapeutic. Because over time, we're working 13-hour days, 16-hour days, and it's just powder constantly building up on my face. So, washing my face is always very therapeutic. And then just laying back and reading a book and petting my dog is the best.

25. Is there a celebrity you get told you look like a lot?

Most recently, Sara Waisglass [from Ginny & Georgia and Degrassi]. We follow each other on social media now and I completely messed up because I don't know how Twitter works at all. I forgot that there's a DMing interaction, so we followed each other and I was like, "Oh, that's nice." And then just recently, I saw that she had messaged me being like, "We're twins! We should be friends!" And I immediately messaged back, "I'm so sorry, let's be friends!"

26. Who's your biggest celebrity crush?

Oh, I have so many. But consistently since I saw Orphan Black, Tatiana Maslany. Hands down.

27. Finally, have you ever caught someone watching a TV show or movie that you're in on a flight or anywhere else?

We were all, as a cast, flying to — was it New York Comic Con, or San Diego Comic Con? — one of the Comic Cons. And we were all sitting there and we saw that Legacies was actually on the airplane as an option. And we were all just uncomfortably staring at each other. Yeah, that was surreal.

Be sure to catch Kaylee in Legacies, which airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW!

[handonhaven]

I wasn't planning on talking about this, but ever since the trailer and the summery of episode 1 came out certain people have gone into overdrive. Pretty much all the same stuff they always say. "Hope should just dump Landon, he doesn't deserve her love and devotion" 😑😑😑 and "They made Hopes whole story just be about a boy. Why does Landon/Handon get so much screen time over all the other characters?" Etc etc.

Okay look Landon is the only one who's actaully earned Hopes love and devotion. Everyone else just acts as if they're entitled to it. With how they always treat her(very unpopular opinion I know but it's true).

Hopes story has never been all about Landon. It's always been about saving everyone else, doing what's best for everyone. Even if it means sacrificing herself and what she wants/what makes her happy. Season 3 was the first season she actively put herself and what she wants first(and even then she still was doing what was best for everyone else at times). And a part of that just so happens to be Landon because she loves him and he's the one who makes her the most happy. And in 3x05 when Hope was in the therapy box was a whole give a way. That she's just tried and done always putting herself last and sacrificing what she loves(ie Landon and what else she just doesn't want to sacrifice anymore) just to save everyone else. And I honestly don't blame her for some of the things she did in s3, not excusing what she did not at all. But at the same time I don't blame her.

Now what I'm about to say might upset some people but there's two reason why Landon/Handon gets so much screen time is bc 1. Landon is a lead and at the very core of legacies is Handons story, so of course they'll be getting more screen time. And I think 3x16 was trying to drive that home of a lot of people. As well as about a 100 other that have been shown/said throughout the show.

2. The other reason why other characters don't get much screen time or even a storyline is bc more often than not is bc the writers/showrunners just don't really care all that much for those characters. One example of that is Rafael. And as much as I love his character, you can just tell the feeling wasn't the same for them. Bc he was gone for must of s2 and when he was around they made him be all about his feelings for Hope. Same thing goes for the twins. You can just tell that they didn't really want to have them in the show in first place(even Juile herself said she didn't want the twins. But things change I guess). Because they've haven't been doing anything with their characters, they've done more with Cleo's character than they have with the twins. I think the most I've seen them do with the twins was the whole dark Josie storyline. The rest of the time their storylines have been about love interests. I'm not sure if I forgot any of their other storylines bc once s3 hit I just kind of stopped paying attention to their storylines(not bc I don't like their characters but bc their stories just kind of just keep going around in circles and I really don't want to watch the same thing over and over again). And idk if in season 4 they're going to start giving the twins and other characters more screen time/ more storylines but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't.

Wow sorry that got long haha. But any thoughts on this?

It’s just the same old thing with the antis, can they really not think of anything else to say? But yeah, everything you said. What is it Landon has to do to earn Hope’s love and devotion? You’re so right, he treats Hope far better than any of the other characters do, unpopular opinion or not, that’s the truth. He’s not done anything that’s made him undeserving of her love. And for them to even say that after he went his whole life without being loved is horrible. And I’m so tired of them saying Hope’s storyline revolves around a boy (especially when all most of them want is for her storyline to revolve around Josie), because exactly! They must not be paying attention to the show if they don’t see that Hope’s storyline has always been about her being the hero and saving everyone. Which is why them saying that Landon is all Hope cares about and all she thinks about contradicts her actions throughout the show when she has continuously been there for everyone. And yep, to the point where she has sacrificed her own happiness with Landon for the sake of everyone else. And yes, I loved Hope’s development in s3 because she was finally putting herself and her happiness first. And that didn’t mean that she no longer cared about her friends because, like you said, she was still trying to be there for them and do what was best for them too. And exactly, Landon is the one who makes Hope happy, and I felt so bad for her in the therapy box in 3x05. That really did say it all, you could definitely tell that she’s so tired and just wants to be happy for once. And same with in 3x10, when she said “we can never just be happy,” it never seems to end for her. And I don’t blame her for what she did in s3 either. And you’ve also gotta consider that everyone had pushed her into a position where she was most desperate and left with no other options. Plus she also didn’t even think Lizzie or Josie would be in danger in 3x08, and she believed they could make it until the dark magic started to infect them and then she apologized. But what she did still ultimately ended up saving Landon from the prison world, otherwise they may never have found another way if they hadn’t created a rift.

And very true about screen time for Handon. People still refuse to believe that Landon is the male lead despite Aria’s name appearing right after Danielle’s in the credits and Julie literally saying that they casted Aria to be the leading man of Legacies when he auditioned for TO. Both Hope and Landon are the leads of the show, and yep, their story is the main story, so obviously it’s gonna get more focus. And yes, that’s been made clear throughout the show.

It does seem like the writers don’t care as much about the other characters. And I love Raf too, don’t get me started on the way they treated him. And it’s so weird because it seemed like they had bigger plans for him at the beginning. It took them a while to find Peyton, if I remember right. And I thought he and Landon were gonna be the brothers of the show, it seemed like they were setting up a love triangle of sorts with them and Hope (not that I wanted that), but then, like you said, he was hardly in s2. It’s like they scrapped any plans they had for him and didn’t know what to do with him after s1, even though there was so much potential.

And yeah, same with the twins. But idk if Julie said she didn’t want the twins on the show? I just thought having them on the show, at least as mains, wasn’t always part of the plan. They had always talked about a “Hope spinoff,” no mention of the twins. Julie had said Hope and the twins wouldn’t be friends because of the age gap. And from 5x12 of TO, I’d guess they hadn’t planned on them being mains for Legacies at that point either, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the age gap so obvious. And they had no interactions between Hope and the twins either, yet they made sure to establish a relationship between Hope and Landon in that episode. So I do feel like Handon was always part of the plan and they most likely decided to have the twins be main characters later on. And that really does show because they don’t seem to know what to do with them anymore either. True, they definitely did more with Cleo last season than the twins, and I do feel like the dark Josie storyline was the last real storyline they had. And I agree, their storylines now mostly have to do with love interests, and they do feel repetitive or just like they’re not going anywhere. And people will complain about Handon being repetitive, but look at what they do with the other characters, it’s far worse. Despite there being some repetition with Handon, like with them being separated and being put through horrible things all the time, there’s still development and progression. But with the rest of the characters, I feel like there’s hardly any progression at all. I feel like they’ve even gone backwards with some of the characters as well, especially last season. I actually thought the writing for the twins, and all the characters, was pretty good in s1. I liked all the characters and was interested in their storylines, but now, especially after s3, I’m just not interested anymore. S3 really changed my mind about some of the characters tbh, mostly because of the way they treated Landon and Hope. So idk if they’re gonna give the other characters more screen time or better storylines in s4 either. But honestly, because some of the characters have kinda been ruined for me, I’m not even sure if I’d care much if they did give them more of a storyline. I’m really just watching for Hope and Landon at this point, ngl. But hopefully, for everyone else’s sake, they can do more for the other characters next season that other fans will enjoy.

[tawneybel]

Note: Top ten hottest cartoon characters, part two. Previous part. I haven’t been watching a lot of cartoons or reading comics lately, and I’ve realized there’s a scarcity of guys I like in animated movies. 

10. Rob from Black Hole 

Boy, what that extra mouth do? 

9. Nod (Josh Hutcherson) from Epic 

Not a huge fan of his personality but, gosh, is he cute. 

8. Mysterious Stranger (Michele Mariana and Wilbur Vincent) from The Adventures of Mark Twain 

Masks are hot. Distorted voices are hot. Possessing a morality beyond human comprehension is hot. “I can do no wrong, for I do not know what it is.” Gah. 

7. Sammy Lawrence (Aaron Landon) from Bendy and the Ink Machine 

Dorky mask but he is an ink-encased fanatical cult member. So that cancels out.  

6. Hierophant (Paul Williams) from Stakes 

Yes, you may come in. 

5. Deckard Wizard (Kent Osborne) from Bee & PuppyCat 

He has a crush on a womanchild and can cook? THERE’S HOPE FOR ME US AFTER ALL! 

4. David Kawena (Jason Scott Lee) from Lilo & Stitch 

I also like his butt and fancy hair. 

3. Phillip (Bill Shirley) from Sleeping Beauty 

Sure, he’s a little handsy and quick to fall in love but, like, how many men would go to that length for a woman they just met? Also, he gets tied up. 

2. Howl Pendragon (Takuya Kimura) from Howl’s Moving Castle 

Show me the preen. 

1. Little Creek (Daniel Studi) from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron 

Where’s his spinoff?? 

Note: Apparently Myster. Stranger’s part gets cut in TV broadcasts, which is a shame ‘cause it’s the only part of the movie I like. Sammy also has a sexy voice and I should get around to watching a let’s play of the third chapter. Howl’s avian form is arguably sexier than Little Creek but his human form isn’t.

[chuckclayton]

what are all the teens shows youve seen and your thoguhts on them?

that’s an extremely long list that i cannot remember in its entirety, but i will try for you. i forgot some but i remember a lot that i’m sure most people forget or didn’t know existed. 

awkward: entertaining at first but slowly got boring, by the halfway point of season 3 i was so over it that i stopped watching and never cared enough to find out what happened in the final 2 seasons.

faking it: i actually loved it even with the yikes premise. i think it deserved another season or two to really flesh out the characters and give them a proper send-off.

riverdale: we all know what i think about riverdale. i really don’t want a season 4 but i’m still gonna watch it.

pll: i surprisingly didn’t give up on it… i even liveblogged it for a season or two (you’re a trooper if you remember me doing 3 liveblogs a week and 2 on the same day back to back). i think it i didn’t deserve 7 seasons and that it was terribly written esp the last 2 season because it felt like they just pulled random ideas out of a hat and there was so many plot holes… whew. i’ve seen both spinoffs and ravenswood was… um… interesting. that’s all i’ll say about it. the perfectionists was absolutely a mistake… like why did freeform think giving marlene another show was a good idea. i’m over the all-knowing anonymous stalker/killer thing so it’s not my favorite thing.

famous in love: laughably bad but it had potential. also keith was great in to it. i will never get over how bella found out that it got canceled on twitter gjhghjgjh.

glee: the source of all my problems. i don’t know if it was always bad and i didn’t notice but god… some of the stuff ryan murphy made them do should’ve gotten him sent to prison.

scream queens: not sure what that was but i know for a fact that it didn’t need a season 2.

gossip girl: i lived for those messy bitches. i don’t think it needs a reboot at all. i didn’t like every plot but it is a show i like to revisit. i do think the ending was terrible and i’ll never stop thinking that. i did think for a new york setting it was all too white and way too straight even though it was supposed to be upper class or whatever it was still too white and straight. like dan lived in brooklyn for fucksake… i get that gentrification is a big issue there but how did he only know one black person? how in 6 seasons did they only encounter like 4 or 5 black people? and one asian person?

one tree hill: a show that i’ll always adore for many reasons. it put me through emotional peril but i really loved it. i know everyone loves brooke, and don’t get me wrong i do too, but i always liked peyton just a little more just because i related to her more. i saw a lot more of myself in her than i had any business doing. the superior scott is jamie and that’s that on that. overall great even though they underutilized skills and mouth.  

the 100: yeah i only made it to the episode before l/xa was killed… i think i’ll revisit it because it was something me and my best friend watched weekly before he spent all his time in the hospital and unfortunately passed. i really stopped feeling it after like 3x02… it just became too much and i also just didn’t like the showrunner so that made me not want to watch more than the actual plot.

skam: i had to stop watching bc vilde pissed me off whenever she spoke hhfkjdhfjd… i’ve seen the american remake and her american counterpart pisses me off too. otherwise, i did enjoy it even though it was slow for me bc i’m used to shows with crackhead energy. i liked sana the most but i never finished her season bc i couldn’t get the google drive video to work.

skins: honestly a classic. i do revisit it from time to time because of all the teen shows i’ve seen it’s the most realistic and i like that about it. i’ve seen the american remake, and i liked one character because we have the same name hkjhfkjsh

misfits: a great show with a very fun concept but when the original cast except on of them it just wasn’t as good.

some girls: UNDERRATED AS HELL! i fucking love it… it was hilarious.

sex education: i love it. i adore maeve and jackson as a couple and seperately. i hate that the show is doing the uncool guy/cool girl thing as their potential engame because maeve x jackson is great and otis x ola deserves a chance. i also love amy.

end of the fucking world: the whitest white people shit to ever exist.

the get down: this show was soooooo fucking good and i’m not saying that because i love jaden smith. i genuinely thing everything about it except fat annie was great.

my mad fat diary: absolutely perfect. would not change a single thing about it except maybe add a black character… or 3.

teen wolf: fell off after the 3rd season. the darkest show i’ve ever seen… like i literally could not see a thing. wish that they let scott be single for at least half a season, he didn’t need a love interest all the time. overall has a special place in my heart but JEFF DAVIS CAN CHOKE.

recovery road: i don’t think it should’ve been canceled. it was good and deserved more opportunity to thrive. could’ve done without the phony jamaican though. she should’ve been written out…

the vampire diaries: i liked it for the first 3 seasons but after that i was watching it out of habit, even doing that i only made it to season 6. i just don’t think it made season without elena. i like bonnie deserved better. i watched the finale and the only moment i liked was the moment with all the bennet witches… that was dope.

chilling adventures of sabrina: SOOOO GOOD. i don’t know how ras managed to get me to like it but i genuinely love it. hkily (harvey kinkle i love you). i hope ambrose and prudence get to kill father blackwood next season… it’s what they deserve.

degrassi: i’ve seen the entire franchise and i revisit it a lot when i feel nostalgic. my favorites in the franchise are degrassi high and the next generation. i like the first 6 seasons and season 12 the most. i think next class tried a little too hard to be socially aware. it’s something that i associate most with my pre teen and teen years.

elite: an interesting mash of a lot of american teen shows i’ve seen but in spanish.

the oc: way too white. i thrived off of marrissa’s wild behavior but i didn’t care for anything else. i think the storyline with alex was out of place and rushed as hell.

secret life: world’s worst show. like seriously should not have existed.

legacies: i like it so much right now, but i think landon is as interesting as a piece of white bread.

grownish: the plot and characters leave little to be desired but the clothes… oh my god… the clothes. wow. that is worth watching the show for.

cloak and dagger: i would give my firstborn for another season. it’s so good.

runaways: can’t wait to see my babies this winter. i love everything about this show.

twisted: WHY WAS IT CANCELED? I LIKED IT… I LOVED LACEY AND DANNY.

dead of summer: i can’t remember anything that happened but eli goree was absolutely gorgeous in it.

the lying game: the plot confuses me to this day. i can’t remember if i liked it.

10 things i hate about you: idk why freeform did that… it was so bad hkjhsjfkhs

kyle xy: i remember liking it a lot but i don’t remember but else. the lead guy has the cutest little family. he and his husband have a cute little youtube channel.

90210: the reboot was just a bunch of unnecessary drama but i did enjoy some of it. the plot where they made dixon, the only black guy and the nicest guy in the group, a villain was ugly and unnecessary. i liked ivy, raj, and dixon the most. it did lack the after school special feel of the original though.

13 reasons why: shouldn’t exist. period. but ross was good in it.

on my block: i absolutely love it and hope the cast negotiates a pay raise so they get what they deserve.

scream: i liked it but i don’t think it had the same appeal as the movie it spawned from. i think the recent revival had a fun twist and some funny one-liners and i loved that both final girls were black and so was the final boy.

hard times of rj burger: as dumb as it sounds with terrible jokes.

finding carter: i thought it was a good show and would have survived had it been on a network like freeform. mtv just wasn’t the best place for it

boy meets world: a show that’s very close to my heart that i will continue to love forever. shawn and angela deserved better. 

saved by the bell: my fav show to watch when i’m having a panic attack. it helps me calm down. also 90s mario and mark could GET IT ANY TIME, ANY DAY, ANYWHERE!

south of nowhere: i can’t remember much but i think i liked it.

gigantic: absolutely boring. that shit was boring as fuck.

open heart: boring.

smart guy: iconic.

sister, sister: LEGENDERIC.

one on one: hilarious and heartwarming.

[ettadunham]

okay, so i went down the rabbit hole and finished s1 of legacies, and as someone who only ever watched 3 eps of tvd and none of the other spinoff...

are you guys okay? did all these things they keep referencing actually happen on a television show written by human beings? do i even want to know the answer to those questions???

also... also!! not to be a smartass adult watching a teen show because i am clearly not the target demographic here and my opinions don’t matter, but imo, the show should try to find a core cast they can feature in every episode and stick with it. i understand that managing a relatively large cast is hard, and having some of them sit out episodes that don’t focus on them makes the story more streamlined, as well as the production cheaper, but it also means that the show is cramping those character storylines into a few episodes, as opposed to letting it develop more naturally. even as a background element.

this somehow also manages to both emphasize and NOT emphasize hope being the protagonist, as she and ric are basically the only ones appearing in each episode, but she’s often not the actual focus of the story.

and yeah, there’s a lot of the show that’s more concerned with upholding a certain style and atmosphere and genre expectations (a lot of which reminds me of teen wolf the most), but there are also some genuine character moments that work and actually get me hooked to these people’s stories, so nice job there.

i feel like one of the biggest strength of season 1 is that it’s a complete story with a nice arc to it. on the other hand though, i wish that they stretched out some things a bit longer.

one of the strongest moment of the season for me was at the end of 1x10, when lizzie realizes that she won’t remember what happened in the alternate reality, after the jinni’s spell gets reversed. that moment of desperation and the fear that history would repeat itself and that she would kill her own sister is the angsty content i live for.

(mostly because fictional sisters are one of my catnips. as well as broody magic girls. huh, i guess it really isn’t that much of a mystery why i let myself succumb to this show after all.)

and then the reveal happens by the end of the season, and nothing extreme comes out of it. the storyline itself isn’t done, sure, but the reveal part alone was the source of this big tension, and they could’ve milked that shit for so much more content. oh well.

also, they really wanted me to believe that they killed of landon at some point. again, i’m not the target demographic, so i don’t know, maybe i did watch too much television compared to some of the other potential viewers of the show, but that definitely didn’t work on me, and they failed to get me emotionally invested in any of it.

so yeah.... those are some unnecessarily long snapshots of some of my thoughts. i actually really enjoy the show, some of it just goes right through me, but you know what, sometimes that’s exactly what i need. so it’s officially part of my rotation now i guess.

(yes, i know that i have a lot of shows on my plate that i still haven’t caught up on, like i said - questionable life choices.)

[shaledirectory]

The NRDC China Connection: It’s Hiding Right in Front of You, Congress

Tom Shepstone Shepstone Management Company, Inc.

  Congress is investigating the NRDC gang’s China advocacy, but the NRDC China connection is hiding in plain sight for those who know the Rockefeller family.

The Hill tells us House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) have written a letter to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) asking why it is advocating for Chinese interests over US interests. The letter itself may be found here and it’s quite well done, better than I hoped, raising several great questions about why the devil the NRDC is so deeply committed to China’s welfare, compared to ours. Curiously, though, the letter doesn’t address what should be well known about the NRDC China connection.

Bishop and Westerman wrote a great letter as far as it goes. They start out by noting “the potential manipulation of tax-exempt 50l(c) organizations by foreign entities to influence U.S. environmental and natural resources policy to the detriment of our national interests.” They also properly raise several key issues such as these (emphasis added):

The Committee is concerned about the NRDC’s role in aiding China’s perception management efforts with respect to pollution control and its international standing on environmental issues in ways that may be detrimental to the United States. The NRDC’s relationship with China has many of the criteria identified by U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement as putting an entity at risk of being influenced or coerced by foreign interests.

The NRDC’ s involvement in China spans two decades and represents a significant investment of time and resources. The NRDC’ s ability to work in China is dependent on the goodwill of the Chinese government. The NRDC leadership regularly meets with senior Chinese and Communist Party officials. NRDC press releases, blog posts, and reports consistently praise the Chinese government’s environmental initiatives and promote the image of China as a global environmental leader.

When engaging on environmental issues concerning China, the NRDC appears to practice self-censorship , issue selection bias, and generally refrains from criticizing Chinese officials. For instance, a widely reported 2016 study by Greenpeace concluded that China’s government subsidized commercial fishing fleet threatens the viability of fisheries around the world. Just months after the Greenpeace study was released, the NRDC praised China’s “bold new reforms” on domestic fisheries emphasizing that “China has been the world’s largest producer of wild fish for over two decades.” Similarly, the NRDC has never condemned, or even mentioned, China’s illegal and environmentally destructive island reclamation campaign that has covered over 3,200 acres of coral reefs with runways, ports, and other military facilities. Of note, the NRDC collaborates with Chinese government entities that are deeply involved in Chinese efforts to assert sovereignty over the South China Sea in contravention of intemational law.

Coral reef destruction by China

By contrast, the NRDC takes an adversarial approach to its advocacy practices in the United States. In fundraising materials, the NRDC claims to have “sued the  about once every ten days” since President Trump was inaugurated. Over the last two decades, your organization has also sued the U.S. Navy multiple times to stop or drastically limit naval training exercises in the Pacific arguing that naval sonar and anti-submarine warfare drills harm marine life. We are unaware of the NRDC having made similar efforts to curtail naval exercises by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the NRDC sought to shape public opinion, in part, by attempting to discredit those skeptical of China’s commitment to pollution reduction targets or to honestly reporting environmental data. The disconnect between the NRDC’s role as “thought leader and trusted adviser to our partners in China” and its approach to environmental advocacy in the United States is disconcerting.

The Committee is concerned that the NRDC’s need to maintain access to Chinese officials has influenced its political activities in the United States and may require compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). “The purpose of FARA is to ensure that the U.S. Government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and laws.” In relevant part, FARA requires any person or entity, including non-profits, to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) if they act “at the… request… of a foreign principal or of a person any of whose activities are directly or indirectly, supervised, directed, controlled, financed, or subsidized in whole or in major part by a foreign principal ….”

These are serious matters. The Congressman have heavily footnoted their letter to back up each and every claim. Yet, they haven’t (perhaps for strategic reasons) touched upon the obvious foundation of the NRDC China connection. It’s the special interests of the Rockefeller family, which include not only making a wilderness of Upstate New York and environs but also pursuing interests in foreign investments.

The NRDC is, essentially, a Rockefeller enterprise. It was founded by John Adams, a bat boy for the family team, who continues to be affiliated with the organization as well as its Open Space Institute and Catskill Mountainkeeper spinoffs, the latter being a plaything for his son Ramsay and the former being headed by Rockefeller descendant Kim Elliman. Larry Rockefeller, Jr. is also involved, of course, and the family as a whole funds numerous other fractivist enterprises who collaborate with the NRDC gang. The NRDC does absolutely nothing that is not wholly aligned with the Rockefeller family agenda. They’re family, after all (see also this NY Post summary).

This is a chart I assembled five years ago to accommodate the EID article linked above. It show the Rockefeller family connections to NRDC at the time. Edward Ames was Trustee for the estate of Mary Flagler Cary, granddaughter of Standard Oil partner Henry Flagler.

That agenda, as I noted here, includes major investments in China, which I wrote about here, explaining the following:

This brings us to Steven Clark Rockefeller, Jr., the elder Steven’s son and well connected fifth-generation member of the famous family. As I noted in my earlier article, Junior (pictured to the right with his wife Kimberly, both idolized by the New York Social Diary as “good examples”) is, like his father, is a big Asian fan. He is Rose Rock Capital (part of the Rose Rock Groupheadquartered at Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan). This outfit is, through such vehicles as the Rose Rock Partners Fund, investing billions in China:

Steven C. Rockefeller, Jr., is Chairman and CEO of Rose Rock Capital, a family-owned holding company dedicated to fund management and real estate development in China. Family leadership is shared by his son, Steven III, and his nephews, Collin Eckles and Landon Eckles. The company’s current primary focus is on development, in partnership with Tianjin Innovative Finance Investment Company Ltd., of the Yujiapu Financial District in Tianjin’s special economic zone. Prior to founding Rose Rock, Mr. Rockefeller worked with numerous start-up companies across a range of industries, often serving on the Board of Directors. Industries represented by his focus included green energy and technology, educational television, specialty pharmaceuticals and robotics.

Junior, too, is heavily involved with Scenic Hudson (of Storm King infamy) and is busy bringing Chinese investment into favored areas of the Hudson Valley where development meets with family approval. Such relationships are behind his ability to ingratiate himself in Asian markets and make these sorts of arrangements (emphasis added):

Rockefeller has set up a venture with Tianjin Finance Investment Co to launch the funds, which aim to raise 5 billion yuan initially, including 2 billion yuan by the end of this year, the newspaper said.

Rose Rock, which controls 90 percent of the fund management venture, will be responsible for daily management and operation of the funds, while its Chinese partner will focus on government relationships, the article said.

Money raised will be used to build a landmark commercial property project in Tianjin’s financial district, while future investment will expand into other areas including infrastructure, culture and education, the newspaper said.

That infrastructure, I pointed out, was a new petrochemical import terminal in Tianjin,  “the first time in history” a Western company had a stake in a Chinese petrochemical port. “Rose Rock Infrastructure, Ltd. Is a subsidiary of Rose Rock Partners, LLC and is dedicated to development, ownership and management of infrastructure assets in China.” It has joint venture offices in Beijing, Tianjin and Hong Kong.

But, that isn’t all. Check out this story from March of this year and this, in particular:

New York-based Rockefeller Capital Management, formed through the acquisition of family office Rockefeller & Co. by its management team as well as an investment fund from Viking Global Investors and a Rockefeller family trust, officially launched last week, with $18.5 billion in assets under advisement in its existing asset management and wealth management businesses….

Viking owns a majority stake in the firm, while the trust representing the family owns about 10 percent. The firm’s board also includes Rockefeller family members David Rockefeller Jr., son of the family patriarch who died in 2017, and Peter M. O’Neill, a Rockefeller heir who has long overseen the family’s investments.

And, where is Rockefeller Capital Management focused? Well, perhaps this title block for an article on its website by Chief Investment Strategist Jimmy C. Chang provides a clue:

The article, to be fair, is much more fair and balanced than the subtitle, but the point remains; Rockefeller Capital Management is focused on China. And, the NRDC being as Rockefeller project, this is the real NRDC China connection. It’s also the one Congress ought to be investigating as it properly digs into the way 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations are being misused to advance private special interests. It’s the same with everything the supposedly “charitable” thing the Rockefeller family does. The time for busting up this cartel is long overdue.

The post The NRDC China Connection: It’s Hiding Right in Front of You, Congress appeared first on Natural Gas Now.

https://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/the-nrdc-china-connection-its-hiding-right-in-front-of-you-congress/

[salvatoreschool]

Wait, Is Legacies' Sebastian Connected To Vampire Diaries Or The Originals?

What is the deal with new guy Sebastian on Legacies Season 2, and is that deal connected to The Vampire Diaries and/or The Originals? Sebastian showed up out of nowhere and charmed Lizzie Saltzman, who also reminds him of someone he used to know. A hint? Also, is Lizzie -- excuse me, Elizabeth -- the only one who can see him?

To vampire MG, Sebastian is invisible, leading some fans to wonder if Lizzie imagined Sebastian or (more likely) if there's some other kind of supernatural magic at work. Is it possible that Sebastian has a connection to The Vampire Diaries, the show that started it all, and/or its first spinoff, The Originals? He's already been compared to TVD's Damon Salvatore. And we know Hope Mikaelson's Aunt Freya is coming to Legacies soon. Will Seb have anything to do with her arrival?

Thomas Doherty plays Sebastian on Legacies and he seems to be having fun teasing out answers. He did say that Sebastian's backstory will be revealed in Episode 5, which is titled "Screw Endgame" and airs November 14. There isn't a new episode on Thursday, October 31 for Halloween, unfortunately, but that means we only have the November 7 episode before getting to the truth about Sebastian.

After Thomas Doherty mentioned his initial interest in Elizabeth is because she reminds him of a past lover, ET asked if there could be another potential doppelgänger in the mix. That's certainly something fans have gotten used to from The Vampire Diaries.

Here's Thomas Doherty's attempt to deflect from that question:

Thomas Doherty: I don't think there is another Thomas wandering around the set, but you never know. [Laughs]

ET: Maybe not a Thomas or Sebastian doppelgänger, but could Lizzie have one, and that is why it reminds Sebastian of his past love?

Thomas Doherty: [Laughs] Maybe.

Ugh! He can't really confirm or deny anything, which is why he also played coy when asked directly if Sebastian had any ties to the Salvatores of The Vampire Diaries or Mikaelsons of The Originals -- you know, the founding families of our supernatural world. Here's what Thomas Doherty said about that:

Potentially [Laughs]. This is really hard! Wait and see.

Potentially! Sebastian was already described as something like Ian Somerhalder's Damon Salvatore of The Vampire Diaries. Thomas Doherty agreed both characters have a "kind of brooding, charming, mysterious thing about them."

The actor also said Sebastian will become much more present as the season progresses. It sounds like we're building toward a great reveal:

I really hope that I don't disappoint anyone. I don't really think [fans] will be. As I was reading the script, as I started, I was like, 'Whaaat?! Oh my god!' I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

Nice! Would it be too obvious for Sebastian to be the hooded figure in the Mystic Falls cemetery, connected to Malivore? I still feel like Vardemus is somehow connected to that, and maybe he's dragging Dark Josie into it. Still, we have to remember the timing of Sebastian's sudden appearance, right around when Hope escaped Malivore. Can Hope see Sebastian? I want to see them interact...

Thomas Doherty told EW we're dealing with something new in Sebastian:

The character’s written as someone that is very different than the vampires that we’ve seen before in Legacies.

I'm open to any and all Sebastian theories at this point, especially if they connect to the larger story being told from Vampire Diaries or The Originals.

Don't forget the Hope Mikaelson's Aunt Freya from The Originals is meant to be coming to Mystic Falls, and we've been told 1) Freya is supposed to show up in Episode 6, right after Sebastian's big reveal episode; and 2) Julie Plec said it's not Hope who goes and brings Freya to Mystic Falls. She said it's someone else and it'll be an interesting dynamic. I had been assuming Landon, but what if it's Sebastian?

I'm also fond of this fan theory connecting Sebastian to the Gemini Coven, which would connect him to The Vampire Diaries, The Merge, Josie and Lizzie Saltzman, their late biological mother, and their crazy Uncle Kai.

No clue if that theory holds water, but I like it. Plus, am I reading too much into things to notice Sebastian's ring? He and Lizzie go on some kind of picnic date in Episode 4, "Since When Do You Speak Japanese?" and the promo photo shows his ring. Is that just a classic daylight ring to protect him from the sun? Is the ring by any chance enchanted in other ways? I may be reaching.

So we know answers on Sebastian are coming in Legacies Season 2, Episode 5 (which is also the '80s decade dance episode). EW said Freya was scheduled for Episode 6. And Julie Plec said the hooded figure mystery would play out around the winter finale before the big midseason break.

We don't have a date on that yet, but it shouldn't be too long after Episode 6 -- since Episode 5 airs November 15, Episode 6 should be November 21, November 28 is Thanksgiving so I'm sure they'll be taking a break, and I imagine Episode 7 will air on December 5. Last year's winter finale was Episode 7, airing December 13. It's possible this year we'll get the winter finale in Episode 8 on December 12, if The CW sticks with that schedule. (Legacies is meant to have a big Christmas episode this year, but it's not actually set on Christmas, which is intriguing.)

At any rate, answers on Sebastian, Freya, and the hooded figure should be coming soon -- so now is the time to air your theories in case you turn out to be right!

Legacies returns with Season 2, Episode 4 on Thursday, November 7 at 9 p.m. on The CW. Keep up with everything still airing on TV this year with our handy 2019 fall TV premiere schedule.

[salvatoreschool]

'Legacies' EP & Writer Preview Freya & Kai's Guest Spots

As always, things are complicated on Legacies. So when better to bring in a couple familiar faces to the Vampire Diaries universe?

Riley Voelkel guest stars as Freya, Hope's aunt, in Thursday's episode, while Chris Wood takes another turn as Kai later in the season. And both could have significant roles to play in the lives of several characters on the spinoff. As TVD fans know, Kai's presence can't mean anything good.

But maybe he won't be dropping any bodies this time. "It's a Julie Plec show, so you should be worried about everybody's life at every given moment," executive producer Brett Matthews told TV Insider. However, "Legacies is a show about life and hope much more than it is a show about death. It is a show about friendship."

That being said, "death really packs a wallop in this universe in a way it didn't in The Vampire Diaries, so I think that's one of the meaningful differences between the two shows," he continued. "If we ever drop a body on this show, it's going to be a dark day."

Here, Matthews and writer Thomas Brandon preview those special guest appearances and what's to come in the next few episodes.

Rafael has been going through quite a lot since he's been back. What did you want to explore with his reentry especially compared to Hope's? Here's someone everyone remembers versus someone only a couple of people know the truth about.

Thomas Brandon: That's interesting you pick up on that parallel. What we really want to explore with Rafe is in our universe, people have chosen to be wolves for longer [than one day at a time], but it's very rare to be stuck as a wolf for this long. We really want to explore what that would do to your brain. When you've had to survive and you've had to be a feral animal for a long time, how do you reintegrate back into society?

Especially for Rafe, not just that he's back and alone, but now Landon's busy with a relationship and Rafe doesn't remember his good friend Hope, so a lot of the relationships he had that might normally ground him have been taken away — even Alaric no longer being the headmaster as someone who looked out for him. We're setting him adrift and seeing if that's going to affect his recovery at all.

What he really has to hang onto right now is this strange girl named Hope who seemed to rescue him and seems to know him. There's a curiosity and a friendship and a romantic tension that's all blending together and setting up Rafael on a collision course to find out, "Who is this girl and what happens if I ask her out?" Of course Rafe may have the worst timing of all time.

While Josie's right that Alaric needs his own life, can he do that, especially with Clarke around?

Brandon: Just as Ric is beginning to let go and saying, "Okay, I will trust the students are in good hands with you," is the dramatic irony of seeing the students are in worse hands than ever. What we're setting up is a story where yes, Alaric does want to give the students distance, but just like any parent has to figure out, you want to give distance and freedom so the kids can make choices, but at the end of the day, they're still kids and need guidance.

That's one of the things I like most about our show is there's a balance of yes, kids can be kids and they are smarter and braver and they understand more than adults give them credit for, but at the end of the day, we all need help. Alaric has been through a lot. His experience in this world is going to be a useful guide for the coming episodes.

Freya's appearing in this week's episode. What can you preview about her guest spot? [Note: The interview took place prior to the release of the Episode 6 promo.]

Brandon: We don't want to say who sees her, but let's just say it directly comes from Episode 5. There's one character who is left with some very big questions and might need some help from a very powerful witch.

Brett Matthews: And those questions may well drive her to New Orleans. We're very excited to see her. Riley's an amazing actress and it just tickles Julie and I and Thomas and our writing staff whenever we get to see old faces again. The door's always open.

Are Hope and Lizzie the ones who should be most worried about the truth-seeking monster?

Matthews: We have the secret of who Hope Mikaelson is, which they're keeping from everyone, so if a truth-seeking monster shows up in town, that puts them in a very precarious situation. But as with all monsters on this show, it's safe to say everybody needs to be worried and concerned because there's no telling who it's going to set its sights on next.

What can you say about Kai's appearance and what it might mean for Lizzie and Josie and the merge?

Matthews: Kai is Kai, so it's probably not going to be great when we get there.

Brandon: But what we did realize is the episode where we're going to reintroduce Kai into our world is going to be airing on Valentine's Day, which is the most wonderful irony knowing how exciting this episode is going to be.

Matthews: We are thrilled Chris Wood is coming back. ... He loves the character as much as the fans do. The one thing we all know about Kai Parker is you can't trust him, but what if you had to? That's the central question of the episode.

Legacies, Thursdays, 9/8c, The CW

[salvatoreschool]

Caroline? Bonnie? 6 Vampire Diaries And The Originals Stars Julie Plec Wants On Legacies Season 2

Legacies Season 1 just finished its run, with multiple characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals either stopping by or being name-dropped on the spinoff. (cough Caroline cough) Julie Plec is the ruler of The Vampire Diaries Universe, and she revealed that they will be writing Season 2 in June, and they'll start filming the new season in late July.

So this is the planning period, and also probably the time that they send out feelers to certain stars to ask/beg them to at least cameo in Legacies Season 2. The Legacies finale made it clear they'd love the twins' uncle Kai Parker to be part of Season 2, but Julie Plec also named a few more Originals/Vampire Diaries characters she'd like to see back.

“Aside from me totally secret-ing into existence Kai Parker's appearance on this show, there's plenty of people I'd love to see. I'd love to see Bonnie (Katerina Graham). I'd love to see Caroline (Candice King) obviously. I'd love to see Freya (Riley Voelkel) and Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) and Auntie Rebekah (Claire Holt). ... The door is always open, and it's just really a matter of being able to match up interest from these actors and story opportunity at the right time”.

As Julie Plec told TV Guide, it's a matter of matching up interest, availability, and storylines. Legacies Season 1 proved it's a great show in its own right, it's just a matter of whether the stars want to return to the characters they played for so long on shows that wrapped up their storylines only a year or two ago.

Julie Plec acknowledged her shameless plug for Kai Parker in the Legacies Season 1 finale, but added that -- beyond pressuring Chris Wood -- there is no guarantee that Kai will join Season 2 to continue Lizzie and Josie Saltzman's Ascendant/Gemini Coven/Merge storyline.

As for her other Vampire Diaries and Originals suggestions, most of her picks are the same folks I had also singled out as fitting in perfectly in the spinoff.

Caroline Forbes-Salvatore is the most obvious choice, as we all know, because she is the twins' mother and got name-dropped pretty much every week. Candice King was a no-show in Legacies Season 1, so now it's a question of Season 2.

Julie Plec tweeted some answers to fans' questions after the Legacies Season 1 finale, and of course she was asked about Caroline appearing in Season 2:

So far, it's only a hope for Caroline/Candice.

It might also just be a hope for Bonnie Bennett. Bonnie would fit in perfectly with how Legacies Season 1 ended, since Bonnie was the one who put Kai in his current Prison World, with the help of young Lizzie and Josie's Gemini Coven magic.

Kat Graham has been pretty busy since leaving The Vampire Diaries, and when Hollywood Life recently asked her about returning to the franchise as Bonnie, she was understandably hesitant:

“Eight years is such a journey, and I felt like I spent more time as Bonnie in my twenties, the age that you’re really learning who you are and going through self-exploration that we all have as women in our twenties, and I spent more time as this character than myself. I think I did what I could do and expressed what I could personally express through this character as much as I could. I’m never gonna say never because I think the universe has a funny way of putting you exactly where you’re supposed to be with exactly who you’re supposed to be with. But, I think right now I’m having a good time getting to know myself better”.

The Vampire Diaries only ended two years ago, and The Originals actually only ended not quite one year ago. So everyone gets that many of the stars are ready for a break.

That said, Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) is the main character of the spinoff Legacies. Season 1 ended with everyone forgetting Hope, but she has a long history out there and it would be great to have her Mikaelson family back in the mix to help fill in the gaps.

Julie Plec mentioned Hope's Aunt Freya, Aunt Rebekah (who was last seen engaged to Marcel) and Vincent. Plec already said Vincent was the Mikaelson family friend Hope sent Landon to see in New Orleans.

Last we heard, Vincent had agreed to be the father of Freya and Keelin's kids. And Legacies recently referenced Freya as the one who actually explained The Merge to Hope over the phone.

Everything is happening off-screen at this point, but it would make sense to see more Mikaelsons on screen. Right now, Freya actress Riley Voelkel is still in The CW family with Roswell, New Mexico, so maybe she'll find time for at least a cameo in Season 2.

We'd all love to see Hope's father Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) again, but the Necromancer did update that Klaus has no regrets about his decision to sacrifice himself at the end of The Originals. We can probably expect to hear Klaus name-dropped a lot, but it wouldn't make sense to see him.

Same for Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Stefan sacrificed himself -- it's such a TVDU trend -- in The Vampire Diaries finale. However, Legacies Season 1 revealed that Elena Gilbert-Salvatore (Nina Dobrev) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) had a daughter Stefanie that they named in Stefan's honor.

Julie Plec was asked if we might see Damon and Elena's kids on Legacies, and here's her response:

That would be so great. The Vampire Diaries lasted for eight seasons and The Originals went for five. We don't know how long Legacies might last, so it's possible some past stars will show up in, say, Season 4.

Legacies Season 1 already saw plenty of returnees from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals -- Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis), obviously, as headmaster of the Salvatore school and father of Lizzie and Josie; Sheriff Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) in a couple of episodes; Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R. McQueen) in a cameo; Jo Laughlin (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) as the undead Mombie Dearest biological mother of the twins in her heartbreaking episode; and, for some reason, Roman (Jedidiah Goodacre) came back, although they didn't do enough with him to really justify that.

Legacies paid homage to The Vampire Diaries and The Originals all year, from The Merge references for the twins to the Klaroline dress that Klaus gave Caroline, which Lizzie then gave Hope for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

But one of the most asked questions after Legacies Season 1 -- beyond What's Going To Happen With Hope? -- was if Penelope Park (Lulu Antariksa) would return.

Penelope is a brand new Legacies character, showing that Legacies can stand on its own. It doesn't need to have Vampire Diaries/Originals characters return, but since it's a spinoff it does make sense to see certain past characters pop in.

Julie Plec said she can't make promises on any characters for Legacies Season 2 -- from Penelope to Caroline, Kai, and beyond -- because there are so many factors involved. But cross your fingers for good news as Season 2 filming approaches over the summer. That's when we should get more firm details on who might be back and for how long, before the fall 2019 premiere on The CW.

Who would you most like to see return for Legacies Season 2?

[salvatoreschool]

The Originals' Roman Isn't Done On Legacies, And It Doesn't Sound Great

Legacies is not done with Roman Sienna. The Originals character -- Hope Mikaelson's first boyfriend -- returned last week on The Vampire Diaries spinoff for Season 1, Episode 14. Hope actress Danielle Rose Russell said he'll be back again:

“You’ll see him again a little bit. That relationship will come to a head as well.”

Since there are only two episodes left to Legacies Season 1, we should be seeing him soon. But "that relationship will come to a head." What does that mean? In another interview, Danielle Rose Russell said the Roman/Landon/Hope dynamic was a "fun love triangle," so maybe we should expect more of that.

Honestly, the last thing Hope needs is another love interest. She's already dating Landon Kirby, but also has Rafael pining for her and Josie with her crush. I'd say all are better options than Roman. No major offense, man, but Hope is trying to move forward, not back.

Last week's episode was packed with nods to The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, and the appearance of Roman almost felt like a sidenote, or a red herring leading us, like Landon, to think Roman was possibly at the Salvatore school for ill intent. But it doesn't sound like that was the case, at least to this point.

Danielle Rose Russell dropped the Roman return scoop to TVLine during an interview dissecting Episode 14, "Let's Just Finish the Dance." The episode had a lot of character surprises -- including Hope getting along with Lizzie Saltzman, and Hope also getting along with Roman. Which was more surprising?

Danielle Rose Russell admitted she was surprised that Hope got along so well with Roman, considering his family connection to her mother's death, but here's how she explained it to ET:

“Right now where they stand, Hope has done a lot of work in trying to move on from the traumas in her life, and Roman was a huge part of that. I genuinely believe that she has forgiven him and has moved on from that chapter. And you see in the episode, he’s been around the school, so it’s not a shocker that he is around her. I’m sure that in the last several years they’ve seen each other and said hi to one another. I always loved the thought of the Roman/Landon/Hope dynamic. It's a fun love triangle. Maybe we will see more of Roman, never say never. Who knows?”

In that ET interview she was just teasing Roman's possible return, but to TVLine she did confirm we'd see him again "a little bit." Will she end up with Roman, not Landon? Will Roman help her track Landon -- who is in trouble, yet again -- and maybe they bond? Maybe the relationship comes to a head because Roman tries to make a move and Hope shuts him down.

TVLine found it hard to believe Hope would seriously consider Roman as a love interest at this point, but Danielle Rose Russell said she could see it:

“I don’t know. I go back and forth about it, actually. I always thought the dynamic between Hope, Roman and Landon would be an interesting love triangle. So I do have an idea in my mind of how that would happen, but I’m keeping it to myself in case it does. In Hope’s right mind, I’ll say, there would be no world. But Hope is also not a vampire yet, but she could be. There are many mistakes she could make if things go sour.”

Was that a hint, or just speculation about where things could go beyond Season 1, which has already finished filming? If Hope's relationship with Roman comes to a head, as Danielle Rose Russell teased it, what would be better to you -- Roman and Hope getting closer, or Roman and Hope blowing up in a dramatic way? I'm with the latter. I get that Hope doesn't want to still blame Roman for his connection to what happened to Hayley, but that doesn't mean they should be together.

Hope is probably still thinking about the update she got on her father Klaus Mikaelson in the afterlife. The Necromancer, if he can be believed, said Klaus never regretted his choice to end his life (as shown in The Originals finale) but he will never achieve true peace until Hope does. So Hope must be aiming for that true peace. This is Hope 2.0, she doesn't want to be the angry sarcastic loner anymore. Heck, she's even teaming up with Lizzie -- with Lizzie helping her with Landon, and Hope helping Lizzie with Josie.

Speaking of Josie, the March 21 episode doesn't just mention Hope and Lizzie teaming up, it also talks about Josie looking into a secret that her father Alaric had been keeping. That would be the secret of The Merge, the Gemini Coven ritual. Thanks to Penelope (COME BACK TO US), Josie now has information on that. I'm very curious to see what she does with that intel.

Since there are only two episodes left, that March 21 episode, "I'll Tell You A Story," will be followed by the Season 1 finale, Episode 16, "There's Always A Loophole." That episode sounds pretty dire, and it will end the 2018-2019 season on March 28.

The Vampire Diaries Universe ruler Julie Plec has already warned about a major cliffhanger (or two) in the Legacies season finale, but don't worry -- The CW has already renewed Legacies for Season 2. There's no premiere date yet, but they haven't even started filming it yet either. It would probably show up in the fall, just like last year. Would they up the episode count to 22 for the 2019-2020 season, or keep it at 16? We'll have to see.

Legacies' final two episodes air the next two Thursdays -- March 21 and March 28 -- starting at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. The Vampire Diaries/The Originals spinoff is one of the many shows now winding down in the 2019 midseason, almost exactly two years after the end of TVD.