Vampire Diaries' Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert. The latest episode, "Salvatore: The Musical!" is basically a 45-minute homage to both series. However, the episode falls flat, especially compared to another supernatural series that adopted a musical format for one of its best all-time episodes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Legacies' musical episode was originally scheduled to air during season 2, but after filming was abruptly shut down due to the coronavirus, "Salvatore: The Musical!" was pushed to Legacies season 3. The episode showcases the Salvatore School's first musical, the brainchild of the latest creature to emerge from the Malivore pit, a sprite named Mr. Goodfellow. Posing as the new guidance counselor, Mr. Goodfellow suggests that Landon Kirby write a musical chronicling the events that led to the creation of Salvatore School. It's vaguely reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Once More, With Feeling" when a demon named Sweets wreaked havoc on Sunnydale by causing its residents to burst into revelatory self-introspective song (and sometimes flames), only Goodfellow's intentions are pure.
"Once More, With Feeling" used the musical numbers to move integral Klaus actor Joseph Morgan, have already said they won't do Legacies cameos.
Legacies' musical numbers, penned by staff writer Thomas Brandon, fail to leave a lasting impression, with the only exception being the duet between Kaleb and Jed titled "Hello Brother," a nod to the iconic line spoken by Damon to Stefan in the pilot and referenced throughout The Vampire Diaries' eight seasons. Kaleb actor Chris Lee, who played the roles of Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette in the original Chicago cast of Hamilton, perfectly captures Damon's more diabolical side when he delivers the final lines of the song "Watch what I'll do next. Guess what I'll do next." It's the musical equivalent of Damon's season 1 efforts to taunt Stefan by warning, "That's for me to know, and for you to dot... dot... dot..."
Buffy the Vampire Slayer's creator Joss Whedon wrote all the songs for "One More, With Feeling," a catchy mix of musical genres that, even upon multiple viewings, leaves the audience humming the likes of Anya and Xander Harris' foreshadowing duet "I'll Never Tell." Although most of the musical episode of Legacies is uninspired, the cast displays considerably more singing talent than Buffy the Vampire Slayer's stars. Lee, Ben Levin (Jed), Jenny Boyd (Lizzie), and Kaylee Bryant (Josie) are strong vocalists, so this may not be the last time Legacies tackles a musical format. Unfortunately, unlike "Once More, With Feeling," "Salvatore: The Musical!" will not go down in history as one of the best musical TV episodes ever made.