One line that Finch says to Josie in the Legacies season 4 premiere could foreshadow the character’s future in The Originals spin-off. Beginning in 2018, Legacies is the second spinoff of the popular ‘00s YA adaptation The Vampire Diaries. Following the story of its predecessor The Originals, Legacies is a supernatural soap that details the complicated lives of students attending the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted.
The spinoff has spent much of its early seasons focusing on its leads, Hope Mikaelson and Landon Kirby, at the expense of Legacies' supporting stars. However, Legacies season 3 saw the writers begin to rectify this and offered compelling subplots for MG, Lizzie, and particularly the terminal people-pleaser Josie. In the Legacies season 4 premiere, Finch and Josie played a game "Would You Rather?” and, in the process, Finch delivered a line that could foreshadow the character arc in store for her co-star.
As the magazine quiz wrapped up, Finch got unexpectedly serious on Josie. When the ever-indecisive character answered "both," Finch sternly replied, "you can only pick one this time." While the line was directly related to Hope's decision between saving MG's life and finding Landon earlier in the episode, it was also one that sets up and foreshadows the arc of the entire season for Josie. As the pair kept watch over Malivore-Landon, Finch confronted Josie with the fact that her entire life until this point has been about trying to please everyone, particularly her hot-headed best friend Lizzie. However, Josie now has something great going with Finch and, not only is Lizzie jealous, Finch has made it clear that she won’t be willing to accept Josie’s usual indecisiveness.
Lizzie’s admission that she wants to find love (whether it is with Ethan, MG, or another love interest) makes it clear that she also has character growth in store this season. However, that growth can’t occur if she and Josie remain in the same time-honored but toxic dynamic. Thus, whether it is due to Lizzie always sabotaging Josie or Josie always caving to her friend’s demands, there will likely come a point later this season where Josie is forced (or at least feels forced) to choose between Lizzie and Finch.
In season 3, Legacies gave Landon a character arc that saw the once-helpless hero gain independence and agency, but the extent of his growth was rendered a little unclear by the revelation that his father Malivore had been masquerading as Landon for much of the season’s events. As such, the fact that Legacies seems to be giving Josie a compelling chance to choose Finch and gain some healthy distance from Lizzie could be undone by one of the show’s many goofy plot twists, and only time will tell whether the subplot results in real change for her character. Nonetheless, Finch’s coded ultimatum promises a solid character arc for Josie in Legacies season 4, whether or not the show can follow through on this.