Caution: Minor spoilers ahead for Legacies season 4.

Josie and Finch’s relationship has been an issue for Legacies before, but the show’s attempt to make their separation tragic fell flat for several reasons. Broadly speaking, The Originals spinoff Legacies has historically been a lighter show than its franchise predecessor. For its first few seasons, Legacies relied on campy humor more than The Originals or The Vampire Diaries, as the show followed the stories of the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted’s supernatural student body.

However, since Legacies season 4 began, the show has shifted in tone and now feels far closer to the earlier hits of its predecessors. Legacies season 4 brought back The Vampire Diaries' most annoying recurring trope (body swaps), revived some long-gone characters, and even breathed new life into some of the earlier hit’s running gags. However, the darker tone and increased focus on character development are what really make Legacies season 4 feel more like The Vampire Diaries.

Related: Legacies Brought Back One Of Vampire Diaries' Recurring Jokes

Not all of this character development has been consistent, and some of Legacies season 4’s attempts at pathos smack of lazy manufactured drama. For example, the revelation that werewolf Finch couldn’t skip town alongside her love interest Josie fell flat for numerous reasons—mainly that Finch was the one who suggested it in the first place. Moments after Josie revealed that she was leaving with Finch (with series regular Kaylee Bryant actually exiting the show), Finch found out she was her pack’s new alpha and had to stay for their sake. Josie’s exit means Hope’s humanity is now likely doomed since the character was one of few supporting stars who believed that the Tribrid’s emotions could still be turned back on.

Finch from Legacies

However, her leaving was not as sad as it could (and should) have been, since Legacies season 4 didn’t establish any stakes that forced her to go. If Josie had been the one to suggest leaving, the twist might have been a more tragic separation but as it stood, Josie was mainly leaving town to join Finch and be with her, so she could have stuck around when Finch’s plans changed. Admittedly, Josie was also attempting to give Tribrid Hope and Lizzie’s showdown a wide berth, but this wasn’t her driving motivation. As a result, Josie’s decision to leave without Finch fell flat and seemed more unnecessary than tragic or poignant.

Since early season 4, everyone but Hope has been growing on Legacies and Josie was no exception, shifting from the indecisive people-pleaser she had been for the show’s first three seasons and becoming a more pro-active version of herself. However, this development was undone when Josie picked the wrong decision to stick with, leaving town without Finch despite this not being necessary (or particularly helpful). Finch was instrumental in making Josie a more self-actualized version of herself, helping the character emerge from the influence of her sister Lizzie and make her own choices. As such, it was disappointing to see Legacies season 4 split up the couple without much in the way of meaningful justification.

More: Legacies: The Squad's Backup Plan For Hope Is TVD's Most Brutal Punishment

New episodes of Legacies air Thursday nights at 9 PM ET on The CW.