Legacies Review: This Can Only End In Blood (Season 4 Episode 19)
Final goodbyes are said for some on Legacies Season 4 Episode 19, “This Can Only End in Blood.”
For a penultimate episode that involves so much death, there’s surprisingly a happy ending for almost everyone.
However, that’s not to say that “This Can Only End in Blood” isn’t somewhat traumatizing in its first half. With Hope and the rest of the boarding school prepping for their fight against Ken, we’re slowly forced to watch as more of our favorite characters bite the dust.
When Ken uses his god magic to trigger the curse of the wolves in the woods, Lizzie and MG devise a last-second plan to trap them in the tunnels below the school. It begins smoothly and works, for the most part, until Lizzie finds MG at the last exit point covered in bites.
Last-moment plans are always messy and run the risk of not being executed properly, and that’s what happens. MG pays the ultimate price because their plan lacked cohesion and the time to think it out. It’s a devastating moment for Lizzie and the team all around.
Meanwhile, as MG and Lizzie start enacting their plan to trap the wolves, Alaric is forced to put an arrow in Jed. Instead of sticking with Finch and the rest of the pack, he has the bright idea to try and stop Lizzie and MG, ending in his death.
But all is not lost! Instead of staying dead, like the audience is under the influence, they meet again in purgatory, where Landon and Kaleb join them!
Death is a semi-permanent thing for many people on Legacies, and thankfully it’s not Jed, MG, or Kaleb’s final time. With Landon as the new ferryman of purgatory, the three rejoin the battle at just the right time.
After an entire season of dealing with Landon’s ridiculous purgatory storyline, it feels like Legacies is trying to justify not moving on sooner by using Landon as the winning factor in this scenario.
My thoughts towards Landon and purgatory have been somewhat controversial this season, as I have no care for either whatsoever, but that’s because I feel Legacies has only kept him on for fanfare.
The purgatory storyline is also just another excuse not to write Alaric off. We should have said bye a long time ago to both characters.
Where “This Can Only End in Blood” loses its momentum is when the battle against Ken begins. We see a glorious showcasing of the supernatural talent and abilities the Super Squad possesses, but we’re given virtually nothing from Ken.
Legacies is about to say its goodbyes once and for all, and its final battle is nothing more than underwhelming. Arguably, the most exciting aspects of the battle are the glimpses of power we get from our favorite characters.
Kaleb’s dragon breath, Hope’s tribrid eyes and powers, Lizzie’s siphoning of a god, and Cleo’s newfound abilities as a fury are all highlights. Ken, however, is not. He’s stiff as a board and has no emotional aspect. There’s no chemistry in the fight.
Typically when a series entertains and teases a battle for more than half the season, it’s one for the books, and the villain attempts their all.
Instead, we can be happy that we’re finally past the Gods storyline with Ken’s defeat.
In the end, the Super Squad gets a moment of relief. Ben and Jed are making up, Hope and Lizzie are giving Aurora the proper sendoff she deserves, and Cleo is reunited with Kaleb.
The question remaining now is what we will see the Super Squad deal with in Legacies‘ final goodbye? With no more Gods planning their demise, will we actually get an entire episode dedicated to giving these characters a proper and peaceful goodbye?
One can only hope.
Other Thoughts:
- I love that we see Aurora teeter on the edge of good versus bad throughout the season, but I wish we could have seen her join forces with Lizzie and Hope sooner.
- Ethan’s death is sadly the only one to evoke zero emotion out of me.
Favorite Quotes:
- “Our sire bond might be gone, Hope Andrea Mikaelson, but you and I are bonded for life.” – Lizzie Saltzman.
- “Aurora was a badass bitch. Our relationship was complicated, but she taught me complicated doesn’t mean broken, and I really hope she finds peace.” – Lizzie Saltzman.
- “The world may never know who rescue guy was, but I will never forget you and what you stood for because I will stand for it too. I promise.” – MG.
What did you think of this episode of Legacies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Legacies airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Cade Taylor
Cade Taylor is a television and film critic living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV. His love for television developed at a young age, with a concentration on queer stories, sitcoms, teen dramas, and science fiction thrillers. In addition, he works full-time as a news producer, telling the stories of Missourians and helming "Produced in the Bi-State," a segment spotlighting actors, musicians, and entertainers from the St. Louis area. He can be reached by email at cade@telltaletv.com.