The Legacies season 4 premiere saw the return of Finch, and audiences playing catch up have been wondering who plays her and what her story might hold. Finch Tarrayo was introduced in season 3, initially only with a few appearances, but toward the end of the season, she became more integrated into the story. Now that she's at the Salvatore School and in a relationship with Josie in Legacies season 4, she looks to have a much bigger role to play this season.
The Legacies season 4 premiere picked up where the narrative cliffhanger of last season left off. Initially, the first few episodes of this season were meant to be in season 3, so at least the first part of this season will be dealing with the Malivore arc. With Malivore still hijacking Landon's body and the real Landon (Aria Shahgahsemi) and now Cleo (Omono Okojie) trapped inside, the Salvatore School gang thought up an admittedly smart plan to get inside Malivore and out again without being detected. While Kaleb (Chris Lee) used his vampire mind meld powers to get him and Alaric (Matthew Davis) into Malivore's subconscious and keep him distracted, MG (Quincy Fouse) then used his own vampiric powers to sneak him and Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) deeper into Malivore's subconscious undetected.
Meanwhile, Josie (Kaylee Bryant) and Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) sat watch outside Malivore's cage in order to use their powerful magic to keep him in check or pull anyone out should the plan go awry. Predictably, the plan did go awry when Hope selfishly abandoned the team's plan as she always does, alerting Malivore to what was happening in his head. As Siphoners, Josie and Lizzie had to perform a powerful and dangerous Siphoner spell that unfortunately necessitated the need for them to siphon energy off someone in order to corral him and save their friends. Finch bravely volunteered and the spell worked, though she was terribly drained and sick afterward.
But the events of the episode weren't all magic casting and danger. The Legacies season 4 premiere also went a long way to further cement Finch and Josie's relationship. Finch proved her loyalty and how much she cares about Josie, not just with volunteering to be the siphoned person but also earlier when convincing Lizzie she's a good fit for Josie. Clearly, she's in it for the long haul. That got audiences curious as to who plays Finch, what her werewolf background is about, and what season 4 might hold for her.
Who Plays Finch In Legacies & Where You've Seen Her
Finch is played by actress Courtney Bandeko. She joined the cast for Legacies season 3, and it was rumored even before the season premiered that not only would she be a new character, but she'd potentially be a love interest for Josie, as well. The first half of Legacies season 3 found Bandeko appearing in a guest role–she was little more than Mystic Falls High student that Josie had a crush on, and her enigmatic nature kept her from being little more than an occasional flirtation for Josie. However, Bandeko appeared more regularly as last season went on and now she looks to be a full series regular in Legacies season 4.
Bandeko, who has been acting since 2013, has had previous roles in a number of movies and TV series. Before Legacies, her steadiest and most well-known role was playing Emma in the Snap Original zombie horror series Dead of Night - perfectly preparing her to step into Legacies' world of monsters galore. She's also guest-starred on Frank Grillo's MMA series Kingdom, as well as in the movies Ms. Purple (2019), Adolescence (2018), and Paula & Jeff (2018). She's currently prepping for the role of Riley in the tense drama Pastor's Kid and was recently added to the cast of the upcoming psychological thriller Circle.
The One Thing Legacies Does Better Than The Vampire Diaries & The Originals
Finch's Werewolf Origin Story In Legacies Explained
Clearly, Bandeko is no stranger to working in the horror and supernatural genre. In Legacies, however, she gets to go a step further and actually be one of the supernatural creatures. Finch Tarrayo is a werewolf, but her backstory and origins vastly differ from the rest of the Salvatore School's tight-knit werewolf pack. In the Vampire Diaries universe, lycanthropy itself is quite different than most portrayals of it in pop culture. Humans can not be turned into a werewolf from being bitten or scratched by a werewolf. Instead, lycanthropy is a genetic condition passed down in families. More, the werewolf gene stays dormant, only triggered if the werewolf kills another person. It doesn't have to be murder–if a person with the werewolf gene causes the death of another human, whether intentional or accidental, their latent lycanthropy will be triggered.
This is exactly what happened to Finch. Not much is known about Finch's family life, but Legacies season 3, episode 11, "You Can't Run From Who You Are" strongly implied that her home life was abusive or troubled in some way as she emancipated herself at the age of 14. The only relative she was close to was her grandfather. Grandfather Tarrayo was good to her in many ways, but he failed her in regard to preparing her for the future by keeping the truth from her: their family had the werewolf curse. In the hospital with an unidentified, prolonged illness, her grandfather confesses to little Finch in the Legacies season 3 episode that their family has a "secret," explaining that some call it a curse, others a blessing.
Despite her grandfather's love for her and his desire to protect her, while on his deathbed, he changed the course of her life forever without ever giving Finch a choice. Nor was he fully honest with her. After telling her to bring him his "special candies," which were a bottle of pills, he intentionally overdosed and committed suicide. With him close to death, he clearly thought it would help Finch survive after he was gone, mentioning that it would help to protect her. Still, he manipulated Finch into unintentionally killing him and triggering her werewolf gene, all without ever explaining to the little girl what that would involve or making it clear it wasn't something she could take back once done.
One of the last things Grandfather Tarrayo told Finch before his death in Legacies season 3 was to "trust no one." This, combined with the fact that Finch was given no information about being a werewolf by her grandfather before he died, hardened Finch. She's tough as nails and didn't allow herself to get close to anyone for a long time, having to grow up so fast. But in recent years she's made an effort to get over the trauma of her past and let people in, and the Legacies season 4 premiere continued building on this.
What Legacies Season 4 Might Hold For Finch
Finch's story and Lizzie's story will be intertwined in Legacies season 4, and the premiere episode illustrated that. Finch is exactly who Josie needs to be her best self and it's Finch who will likely be the momentum driver in their relationship, at least for a while, as she gets Josie to confront her hangups. Finch has been surprisingly patient with Josie, perhaps because she understands what it's like to be closed-off and guarded. Patient or not, however, Finch isn't a doormat. Josie will have to get over herself if she wants to keep what she's found with Finch, and soon, and the premiere episode underscored that. "Would you rather have a relationship that's fun, easy, and stays the same or one that's honest, hard, and grows?" Finch asks Josie and when Josie says both in an attempt to avoid having to answer the question, Finch responds with, "You have to pick one this time."
The line is one that may foreshadow not just Finch and Josie's arc, but the general narrative arc for Legacies season 4. In order for her relationship with Finch to work, Josie will have to make a number of tough decisions: Will she choose to put her own happiness first or to deny herself to please others? Will she prioritize Finch's needs or will she cave to Lizzie if her sister gets jealous? Will she open up to Finch and tell her the truth of her dark magic or keep those parts of her life closed off to an increasingly frustrated Finch? But Josie isn't the only one who has to pick between two choices. At some point, Finch will also have to decide how much time she's willing to give Josie before moving on.
But Finch will hopefully (and should) have her own story independent of Josie this season, as well. Since Finch had no idea how lycanthropy works when her grandpa tricked her into triggering her werewolf genes, she was also equally unaware that other werewolves existed her entire life until recently. Even after arriving at the Salvatore School in Legacies season 3, becoming part of the school's werewolf pack wasn't easy. Finch didn't understand the concept of the werewolf hierarchy or how the norms in a werewolf pack work, as evidenced by her challenging the pack's alpha, Jed (Ben Levin) without having any clue how serious it was. This is the first time Finch has ever had a real community around her, much less been around fellow werewolves. Finch's werewolf nature hasn't been explored much at all, but it's possible that Legacies season 4 will reveal more about how she's survived as a werewolf all these years on her own. It will be a challenge for Finch to integrate herself into a real wolf pack and begin to understand the nature of her curse. Hopefully, Legacies will wrap up Malivore storyline soon because there are far more interesting stories to tell, not just about Finch, but about everyone.