Throughout Legacies season 1 and 2, characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals return to reprise their roles. Legacies follows the lives of a new generation of supernatural teens who attend the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted in Mystic Falls, as they learn how to hone their powers while fighting a series of magical creatures.
In the series finale of The Vampire Diaries, Caroline Forbes and Alaric Saltzman start a school for young vampires, werewolves, witches, and an assortment of other mystical beings. Their primary goal is to provide a haven for their daughters, Gemini witches Elizabeth "Lizzie" Saltzman and her twin sister, Josette "Josie" Saltzman. The school teaches its supernatural pupils how to utilize their powers for good and gives them refuge from a world that views them as a threat.
The school is mentioned during season 4 of The Originals by Alaric Saltzman, who thinks it would be a good fit for Klaus and Hayley Marshall's tribrid (witch-wolf-vampire) daughter, Hope. Hayley enrolls her at the close of season 4 to keep her daughter safe from the Mikaelson's many enemies and give Hope the tools to keep her destructive tendencies in check. The school is featured prominently during season 5 as 15-year-old Hope deals with typical teenage rebellion, battles the ancient evil known as "the Hollow," and deals with her mother's death.
The final seasons of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals establish the premise of Legacies. The spin-off introduces a host of fresh faces, including members of the staff and student body as well as a long list of bad guys. But among new characters, there are familiar faces that viewers have encountered in the two previous series.
Hope Mikaelson
Hope Mikaelson is a vampire-wolf-witch tribrid - the only one of her kind - thanks to her parents' powerful supernatural lineages. Hope is introduced as an infant during season 1 of The Originals. As a firstborn Mikaelson witch, Hope yields great power and along with her werewolf aggression, she's viewed as a potential threat to mankind.
Following the death of her parents, Hope remains at the Salvatore School. During much of Legacies season 1, She's a loner, and her tight-knit bond with Alaric causes conflict between Hope and Alaric's daughters. When Hope reunites with Landon, she slowly lets her guard down, and the two fall in love. As Hope's relationships evolve, it allows the series' creators to spend more time on other characters, but Hope remains the school's resident superhero, sacrificing her safety to protect those she cares about.
Josette "Josie" Saltzman And "Elizabeth "Lizzie" Saltzman
The twin daughters of Alaric Saltzman and Josette "Jo" Laughlin, a member of the Gemini Coven, Lizzie and Josie begin to reveal their siphoning powers while still in utero. Determined to nurture Lizzie's and Josie's powers, Caroline and Alaric open the Salvatore School. The girls appear in season 5 of The Originals, removing the Hollow from Hope and placing it into Klaus.
In Legacies, Lizzie starts as a superficial, self-centered mean girl who has inherited mental illness from her biological mother's family. Josie grows increasingly frustrated living in her sister's shadow in an attempt to placate Lizzie and prevent her "episodes." As the series progresses, the two drift apart as Lizzie tries her hand at self-improvement, and Josie becomes consumed by black magic. Like centuries' worth of the Salvatore's and Mikaelson's familial conflict that came before them, Lizzie and Josie's complex interpersonal dynamic keeps sibling rivalry remains an ongoing theme in the Vampire Diaries universe.
Alaric "Ric" Saltzman
Alaric appears in season 1 of The Vampire Diaries and is a central character throughout the series. He is Damon Salvatore's best friend and acts as a guardian to Elena and Jeremy Gilbert. After enduring a series of gruesome deaths and other atrocities, Alaric finds happiness raising his daughters and his purpose when opening and overseeing the Salvatore School. His appearance on season 4 of The Originals foreshadows Hope's fate, and he returns during season 5 to keep his daughters as far from the Mikaelson drama as possible (and fails).
While Caroline is off searching for a way to stop the Gemini twin merge, Alaric serves as headmaster for the school. He has his hands full keeping his daughters and the rest of the students safe from humans and evil supernaturals alike. He often takes a backseat when it comes to fighting demons since his daughters and Hope are determined to keep him alive, and the show's focus is on a new generation of heroes.
Roman Sienna
Roman is a classmate of Hope's during season 5 of The Originals and Hope's first crush. Roman's mother, Greta, recruits her son to get close to Hope, and he ultimately betrays her, resulting in Hayley's death. Consumed by the Hollow, Hope tortures Roman, who apologizes for everything he's done. Hope spares him, realizing he was just a pawn in Greta's plan to make vampires the apex predators.
Roman appears during season 1 of Legacies in time for the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. He spends most of his time away from the school on recruiting missions trying to redeem himself. Hope has forgiven him, but his presence causes friction between Hope and Landon, who doesn't believe Roman's a good guy given his history. Roman pulls a Damon Salvatore when he steps in as Hope's escort at the last minute. Roman proves himself once again when he helps Hope locate a kidnapped Landon, and he leaves to continue his work for Alaric, paving the way for a possible return.
Dorian Williams
Dorian first appears during season 8 of The Vampire Diaries. He's a graduate student with a troubled past who serves as Alaric's right-hand man. When Stefan takes the cure, everyone he's ever compelled regains their memories - including Dorian, whose family Stefan murdered while on a Ripper spree. Dorian shoots Stefan but instantly regrets it and tries to save his life. At Matt Donovan's urging, Dorian decides to move on with his life.
Dorian briefly appears on The Originals after its revealed Hope gave her blood to another classmate, so he could become a hybrid. On Legacies, Dorian works as the school's librarian and continues to be indispensable to Alaric. Dorian becomes the Necromancer's unwilling accomplice, tasked with delivering Landon to certain death. Instead, he throws himself in the path of the golden arrow and saves the day.
Connor
Connor makes his debut during season 5 of The Originals. He's the quarterback of the football team, and he loves to bully Landon. Hope releases some of her inner Hollow and destroys Connor's beloved car to get some payback for Landon (a very Bonnie Bennett move).
Connor returns during season 1 of Legacies in the same capacity as when viewers last saw him. He's a bully who doesn't just hate Landon, but all of the kids at the Salvatore School. Connor meets a grisly end when he's killed by an Arachne.
Landon Kirby
Landon is first seen during The Originals season 5. Like Matt Donovan, he's the local good guy with no supernatural skills. A foster kid who knows nothing about his parents, Landon is bullied by Connor and the other popular kids at Mystic Falls High School. There's undeniable chemistry between himself and Hope, but the romance stalls due to Hope's first werewolf transformation, Klaus' death, and Landon's rootless existence.
The two come together on Legacies when Alaric and Hope rescue Landon's foster brother, Rafael. Landon and Hope bond over their shared feelings of being outsiders. Landon believes he's unremarkable until he learns that he's both a Phoenix (good news) and Malivore's offspring (bad news). Both constantly put Landon in danger, but it's his brother who strikes the (possible) final blow. Their vow of "All in. Always," is eerily reminiscent of the Mikaelsons "Always and forever."
Freya Mikaelson
Freya is the eldest of the Mikaelson siblings and a powerful witch who first appears during season 2 of The Originals. Handed over by Esther to her sister Dahlia as part of a Faustian bargain, Freya joined forces with Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah to defeat Dahlia and save Hope. Freya and Hope's kinship stems from being firstborn witches, and the threat they pose when they're unable to control their emotions.
Freya appears during season 2 of Legacies. Josie travels to New Orleans to learn more about a spell that can restore everyone's memories not just of Hope, but of all the creatures who are erased by Malivore. Freya travels to Mystic Falls to see her niece who desperately needs comforting when dealing with everything that's transpired in her absence.
Kai Parker
On The Vampire Diaries, Damon and Bonnie encounter the ousted member of the Gemini coven during their season 6 stint in one of the prison worlds. When Kai escapes, he merges with Luke and becomes head of the coven. He's eventually banished again by Bonnie. To exact revenge, he casts the sleeping spell on Elena and murders Jo and his entire coven before succumbing to a werewolf bite. Kai is released from Hell during season 8 to help execute Katherine Pierce's plan to destroy Mystic Falls.
When Alaric, Lizzie, and Josie are sent to the same prison world where Kai is left to desiccate, it's revealed Kai isn't alone, sharing the alternate dimension with troubled former students Alaric banished. Josie unwittingly reveals another escape route to her uncle. Kai's pathological need to betray everyone results in him being decapitated by Alaric, ending the reign of terror of one of the greatest Vampire Diaries' villains of all time. Or not.
Matt Donovan
A hero in his own right, Matt Donovan survives eight seasons on The Vampire Diaries. Tired of supernatural lives taking precedence over the human residents of Mystic Falls, Matt becomes the town sheriff. He battles to take back the town and succeeds with some help from his magical frenemies.
Matt finds himself in familiar territory during season 1 of Legacies as he investigates the disappearance of several local teens. The mystery is quickly solved, and Matt disappears, being replaced during season 2 by Sheriff Mac. But Matt is now the mayor of Mystic Falls. Hopefully his time in office won't end as bloodily and abruptly as some of his predecessors.
Jeremy Gilbert
In The Vampire Diaries, Jeremy is Elena's little brother. Jeremy becomes a member of The Five - a group of vampire hunters with special skills created to find Silas and force him to take the cure. Jeremy leaves town supposedly to attend art school, but his real mission is to slay vampires.
Jeremy makes a cameo during season 1 of the Legacies. Alaric dispatches him to keep an eye on Landon and Rafael to make sure they stay out of trouble and winds up saving them from a werewolf hunter. Jeremy reveals he works for Alaric sometimes. He has yet to return for another episode.