Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) had a choice to make on this week’s episode of Legacies, and we can’t say we’re jealous of a guy who had to decide whether he wanted to be with Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) or Josie Saltzman (Kaylee Bryant). It’s kind of a win-win and a lose-lose at the same time. Sometimes, though, the easiest way out of a love triangle is to choose neither of your potential love interests, and that’s exactly what Landon did.
Though “Simu-Landon” (as Landon’s double was so fondly dubbed) did seem to have Hope on the heart and mind 24/7, Landon himself was much more conflicted about which of his girlfriends was his true love. While Josie and Hope not-so-patiently waited for him to make up his mind, Raf (Peyton Alex Smith) had other ideas about what Landon’s next step should be.
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Raf managed to convince his brother that rather than stick around a town where nothing was safe and their mere presence endangered all the innocent people between them and Malivore, it was time to hit the road and get as far from the Malivore pit in Mystic Falls as possible. Though that undoubtedly puts them both in a lot more danger, what without a super squad of witches and vampires to help them fight their battles, it did solve Landon’s conundrum over which girl to choose. After all, you can’t really choose anyone if you decide to hit the road, right? Too bad things aren’t so easy for the women he left behind.
“[Hope’s] heartbroken,” Danielle Rose Russell told TV Guide of the character’s emotional state after learning of Landon’s departure. “She never wants to see Landon leave, obviously. She still loves Landon and wants to protect Landon, but she also knows that she can’t anymore. So, I think she’s heartbroken. She’s scared. She, deep down, wanted him to choose her, and he didn’t choose anyone.”
While Handon and Jandon fans are no doubt smarting after this episode, those of us who have hated seeing Hope and Josie at odds over a boy are feeling pretty vindicated by the apparent end of this love triangle. And although both girls were left heartbroken, Landon’s decision to leave did end up easing tensions between the girls, who had previously started to grow pretty close.
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“I think, in a way, it kind of brings Hope and Josie together a little bit more,” Russell said. “There are good things that come out of it too… I think after the last scene you definitely see they are trying to make progress towards growth. It’s a journey, so it’s not just going to happen, but at least they’re taking that first step. I think that with Landon leaving, in a way it was kind of good because it opened the door for them to bond.”
We’re not saying all aboard the Hosie Express or anything, but we definitely prefer watching Hope and Josie love on each other much more than watching them fight over Landon. And who knows? Maybe when Landon eventually returns to Mystic Falls they can both tell him to suck it.
Legacies airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.
Additional reporting by Keisha Hatchett
(Disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.)
Danielle Rose Russell, Legacies