'Legacies' Season 2: What does the Salvatore School look like in the absence of Hope Mikaelson?
In the first season of 'Legacies', Hope Mikaelson was trying to more or less find the purpose of her life. After the devastating final season of 'The Originals' where Hope loses both her mother Hayley and her father Klaus, Hope is feeling the brunt of those deaths in the first season of the latest 'The Vampire Diaries' spinoff. Eventually, she reasons that her being a tribrid leads to the moment in the finale when she realizes that to stop Malivore from coming back, she has to jump into it. Her being a descendant of witches, werewolves, and vampires means that she is the solution to keep Malivore contained. Before she jumps in (taking Clarke with her after putting a mimic spell on him), Hope tells Alaric to burn every record he has of her at the school, which Alaric does begrudgingly.
But what does a world without Hope Mikaelson look like? And will no one really remember? The answer to the second question might be simpler. A heartbreaking love triangle involving Hope and Landon and the latest trailer for the upcoming season suggests that the third corner of that triangle could be Josie Saltzman. In the preview, Josie and Landon seem to be quite close and spending a lot of time with each other. But it does look like they think something is missing, with Landon asking Josie if she is happy. At one point, the two are seen over what seems to be Josie performing a locator spell.
Now the locator spell could be for something they suspect is missing, aka Hope, but it could also be for Rafael. Remember, Rafael turned into his wolf form at the end of the last season and it was revealed that he would need Hope's help to turn it back. With Hope gone, Rafael would be stuck in his wolf form. Rafael would not be forgotten and since Hope is gone, with all of her belongings seemingly burned by Alaric, Josie and Landon could be performing the locator spell to find Rafael.
Landon seems to be suffering more, however, as the preview also shows him standing before the lake. If you recall from the first season, Landon cannot swim. Unless he picked up lessons over the summer, this looks like Landon could be contemplating suicide and this seems likely. In another shot, Landon is seen emerging from the lake with flames in the background and interspersed is what looks like a vision of Hope. There is a theory floating online that Landon realizes there is something he has forgotten, and in an effort to remember, he is killing himself to get those memories back (remember, he's a phoenix).
Over to the adults, Alaric could be quite affected by Hope's disappearance as well, even though he wouldn't know it. Alaric and Hope formed a close bond over the past season (something his daughter Lizzie was not happy about). In a voiceover in the trailer, we can hear him saying "there's somebody out there who doesn't know what they've lost". We know the events of season 1 has affected him badly - when 'Legacies' returns for season 2, he will no longer be principal at the Salvatore School, instead he will be working at the Mystic Falls High School.
The people of Mystic Falls forgetting Hope is a lot like that 'Teen Wolf' final season storyline where Stiles is forgotten. It is Lydia who eventually remembers him and paves the way for him coming back. Could 'Legacies' pull off something similar or will it all be Hope who will work together with Clarke to get out of Malivore?
'Legacies' Season 2 will premiere on The CW on October 10, 2019.