Despite its finale airing on June 16, 2022, Legacies has continued to stay in the top ten most-viewed shows on Netflix for weeks, proving that the fans aren't quite ready to let it go. A large part of this devotion goes back to the characters, many of whom pre-date the series itself.
While the characters are beloved by the audience, there have been several instances of the characters saying and doing things that go against their usual personality. Though this kind of thing could be used for character growth, fans found that the show often bent the characters to fit the plot, rather than the other way around.
Rafael Waithe
"If What The Alpha Says Goes, I've Gotta Be The Alpha."
Rafael never had the fierce devotion to the Pack that Jed did, so it was out of character for him to fight to become the Alpha. His reasoning made sense, as he wanted to get the wolves' vote to keep Landon at the school, but his way of going about it was unusual for the character.
Raf never wanted to be a leader, so it would have made more sense for him to make a deal with Jed than fight him. He never even wanted to be part of the Pack, to begin with, since his bond with Landon was stronger, so this plot felt shoehorned in to keep Rafael relevant.
Jed Tien
"It's Just Our Nature."
Unlike Raf, Jed's entire personality revolved around the Pack for most of the show. Yes, he was a bully, but he also always put the wolves first, as a leader should. At this moment, Raf was dying, and Jed said the Pack couldn't help him because wolves innately sought solitude when they were in pain.
Whether he liked Raf or not, though, Jed never would have let him suffer alone. Raf was a wolf, and Jed lived by the belief that the Pack was everything. Though he eventually came around to having the Pack comfort Raf, it never made sense for him to reject it, to begin with, especially when that contradicted how werewolves acted in The Originals.
Cleo Sowande
"It Is The Only Option."
Cleo was introduced to the show as an empathetic character, trying to help Hope deal with Landon's death. This was then fundamentally turned on its head when Cleo tried to kill Hope, asserting that making her the Tribrid was the only way to stop Malivore. However, this goes against everything fans knew about Cleo, and her every move after this point.
Cleo is a muse, capable of inspiring those around her to find new solutions. Later in the show, she becomes a Fury explicitly because she refused to accept the visions she received as immutable. Cleo consistently pushes for the Super Squad to find better solutions, so it never made sense for her to see killing Hope as the only path available to them.
Kaleb Hawkins
"Someone's Gonna Get Hurt No Matter What."
Though Kaleb was originally introduced as a foil to MG, focused on improving the lives of vampires at the expense of humans, he quickly becomes loyal to the group. He is a member of the Super Squad, Alaric's apprentice, and MG's best friend. So it made no sense when he gave up on all those ideals to work with Malivore.
Many characters betrayed the group for the sake of their love interests, but it didn't make sense for Kaleb. Furthermore, his fierce independence would never have let him work for Malivore. Kaleb believed in the mission of the school and had learned better than to believe hurting Hope would help Cleo.
Milton Greasley
"I'm Done Caring About What Other People Think."
MG cared about his friends more than anybody else on Legacies, consistently putting his needs aside for their sake. This was especially true when it came to Lizzie, who he'd been in love with for years. MG was a bit of a pushover, but learning to respect himself didn't mean he had to turn on everybody else.
Rather than learn to respect himself as much as he did everyone else, MG decided he wasn't going to care about anyone. He took the selfish path just because it was the selfish path, and actively hurt the people around him. While he did need to become more assertive, this method was completely out of character and was dropped only a few episodes later.
Alaric Saltzman
"I Knew You Were Killers. That You Wouldn't Change."
Alaric began his run on The Vampire Diaries as a vampire hunter, so it's not necessarily out of character for him to believe the worst out of Jade and her friends, but it was out of character for him to view them as irredeemable. The entire point of the Salvatore School was to create a place for supernaturals to live safely and learn to control themselves.
Trapping Kai in a prison world was one thing, but this was a gross overreaction. Alaric has always been a flawed character, but this felt more like spontaneous character assassination than a nuanced exploration of Alaric's failings.
Landon Kirby
"I Don't Feel Anything."
While the finale of Legacies successfully closed the TVD franchise, it provided a change in character for Landon that didn't work. After using his powers as the Ferryman to bring back several members of the Super Squad, Landon claims to not be able to properly feel.
While this could have been an interesting arc to develop over time, it just came across as out of character for Landon. Yes, it was a magical consequence, but Landon was chosen for the role because he did care so much, so it would have made more sense for him to be able to overcome it or suffer a different kind of consequence. As it was, it was too much of a deviation from the character who was praised for his empathy throughout the show.
Josie Saltzman
"I Had To Kill Josie So She Could Survive."
After dabbling too much in dark magic, Josie developed an alter ego who was intent on destroying her good side to survive the Merge. However, this split persona relied on Josie having no faith in herself, which didn't line up with the character fans knew and loved.
Josie may have grown up in her sister's shadow, but she lit Penelope's hair on fire and performed dark magic all on her own. The idea that Good Josie had to be killed by Dark Josie to make her strong oversimplified an interesting character and created plot holes for Legacies moving forward.
Lizzie Saltzman
"The Truth Is, You've Always Been My Problem."
Lizzie began the show deeply jealous of Hope, and this line might have fit in season one—when she wished away Hope's existence—but it didn't make any sense for the character several seasons later. Lizzie was the first person to remember Hope after she escaped Malivore, and she should have behaved more as she did once she became a Heretic.
Lizzie was always her problem, and she spent years learning that lesson. Taking her back to the little girl who was jealous of Hope ignored all of that development, and took away a moment that could have shown Lizzie being self-aware in a more empowering way.
Hope Mikaelson
"You're Great At Underwhelming Revelations. Am I Supposed To Be Impressed?"
Family means absolutely everything to Hope. Yet she barely registers Aurora as a threat and doesn't know what Papa Tunde's blade is, even though they were both problems during her lifetime. She hates how much time she lost with Klaus, so the idea that she wouldn't know everything he did for her makes no sense.
There may be many things about Hope's character that fans don't like, but this is the only thing that is truly out of character. Hope has a history of immature and selfish actions, so her single-mindedness regarding Landon, though disliked by many fans, isn't out of character. But the idea that Hope Mikaelson—who has devoted her entire life to her family's legacy—would be ignorant about her father's suffering is just unrealistic.