Legacies Season 3 Episode 9 Review: Do All Malivore Monsters Provide This Level Of Emotional Insight?

Can we keep the Gremlin?

After a string of bizarre monsters, Legacies Season 3 Episode 9 gave us a cute gremlin with a lot of sass, and it reminded me of Beebo from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

The early scenes with the monster of the week hurling insults at the teenagers, chucking Lizzie in the pool, and posing as Lizzie to say that Hope had scabies were all highly entertaining.

If you watch Legacies online, you know the series has had its fair share amount of monsters through the years, but the Gremlin may be my favorite yet.

The hour was all about the fractured dynamics of the Super Squad, and it’s hard not to think that the mysterious being in the woods wanted them to fix things before they got ever more nefarious.

Lizzie’s anger at Hope was warranted. Hope’s actions on Legacies Season 3 Episode 8 could have left multiple people, including Josie, dead.

But there’s still a sisterly bond between Hope and Lizzie that doesn’t appear to be subsiding anytime soon. I’m not a fan of how many of the students are skipping the school for Mystic Falls High, but I did enjoy Hope and Lizzie putting their beef aside.

Even when they’re arguing over nothing serious, it’s clear that these two merely like to be in control when it comes to taking down monsters. That’s largely why they’ve clashed for so long.

The animosity between them could have been needlessly dragged into future episodes, so I’m thankful it was brought to a halt relatively quickly.

But we need to talk about Landon. The fans have been vocal about this Landon not being the Landon we lost, and I’m starting to get that feeling, too.

He’s acting out of the ordinary, to the point that it’s becoming glaringly obvious there’s more going on behind those eyes. There’s a darkness he’s trying to mask with humor, and we can’t be far away from a reveal that there’s something much more sinister going on here.

This iteration of Landon doesn’t seem to be affected by what happened in the Prison World, including his battle with the Necromancer. A throwaway scene of him speaking candidly about what happened would have worked to alleviate my concerns.

But the writers are deliberately sketchy about all of this. Yes, it’s a teen drama, but I’m not buying the way Hope has welcomed him back with open arms.

She built a connection with him over three seasons, and if someone on the outside is picking up on him being completely different, then she’s in denial because she’s so scared at the thought of losing him.

Who would want to watch the Gremlins after almost being killed by one that changes shape and size exponentially?

Lizzie’s concern about a Josie-less Salvatore School may seem like the series is beating a dead horse, but Lizzie has struggled with severe abandonment issues since the series premiere.

Witnessing her struggle is heartbreaking, but it’s working wonders to cut through the icy demeanor of her character.

Hope is essentially replacing Josie now, giving Lizzie someone to get close to and open up to. It can’t be hard for Lizzie because she and her sister have been joined at the hip since birth.

Speaking of Josie, I’m not entirely fond of this Mystic Falls High arc. It’s nice seeing the place where the franchise started, but it feels like conflict for the sake of conflict.

Josie is understandably haunted by the world of the supernatural, but I’m struggling to believe that Mystic Falls High is that much safer.

If you watch The Vampire Diaries online, you know vampires always lurked in the shadows. By my calculations, with even more monsters on the loose,  there should be some scary things happening in that town.

Josie (finally!) opening up to her father, on the other hand, was a long time coming. The series sometimes forgets Alaric is a parent, and fans have been vocal about him being a horrible father.

Allowing him to parent while making better decisions for the school is a good move. The little nugget of information that Damon and Elena rebuilt the Gilbert home was a nice callback to the original series.

We already knew Delena resided in the town, and I wish Josie lived with someone we hadn’t heard from in ages. It’s still hard to believe that Mystic Falls is in more danger than ever, and Damon and Elena are just going about their normal lives.

I’d love to be a fly on the wall if Josie ever tells them anything about Malivore. That would be fun!

My biggest annoyance with this storyline is Josie said in a previous episode that a family friend would take her in. Damon is Alaric’s best friend. Has that changed in the years since The Vampire Diaries Season 8 Episode 16? Probably.

But there’s also the fact that the school threw a musical about Damon, Elena, and some other previous characters earlier this season. Continuity matters, you guys.

MG and Ethan’s friendship came out of nowhere, but it’s probably one of the most genuine connections on the series.

They have both suffered from feelings of inadequacy. It was about time there was some meaningful development for Ethan. He’s been on the periphery for too long now, and it’s starting to wear thin.

I’m oddly invested in this new friendship, but there’s a good chance the series will butcher it, much like all of the others.

Clark in the opening scene threw me for a loop, as did the company he was in. The artifact has clearly had its fair share amount of owners over the years, but what does it all mean?

Will Legacies Season 3 Episode 10 finally give us some clarity? I hope so.

What did you think of the monster of the week? Are you on board with MG and Ethan’s friendship?

Are you tired of the Delena teases?

Hit the comments below.

Legacies continues Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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