Alaric is on the phone with Caroline when the Dec. 6 episode of Legacies begin. She can’t be with the twins on their 16th birthday. This is a tricky situation because Alaric can’t tell them exactly what Caroline’s doing. Suddenly, Jo shows up in her wedding dress. Yes, the one she died in 16 years ago. Talk about a blast from the past!
Alaric is stunned and freaking out, to say the least. Jo claims she was “yanked away,” and the next thing she knew, she was here. Dorian says that Jo could be the next monster. Alaric begins interrogating Jo. The girls are on their way to confront their dad about Caroline when they run right into their “bio mom!” Josie is the first to figure out who Jo really is. Alaric explains to Jo that Caroline, who is overseas doing “very important” recruiting work, is Josie and Lizzie’s birth mother.
Meanwhile, Hope can’t stop gushing about Landon and his “low and smart sounding” voice. While Hope is still reminiscing about *that* kiss, Rafael is pissed at her for sending Landon away. Hope tries to explain that she just wants Landon to be safe, but she does apologize to Rafael. She reaches out and says she’s here if he needs him. He does need help before Saltzman twins’ Sweet Sixteen party — because he’s Lizzie’s date!
Lizzie spills to Josie that she had sex with Rafael. Josie is speechless. Lizzie thinks she and Rafael are the next power couple, but Rafael doesn’t think so. MG is head over heels for Lizzie, and Penelope doesn’t understand why he keeps trying to put forth so much effort when Lizzie clearly isn’t interested. She agrees to help him one last time. If Lizzie doesn’t bite, he has to let her go.
Hope teaches Rafael how to dance. He admits he’s not “proud” of sleeping with Lizzie. He needed someone, and Lizzie was there. But he doesn’t have those feelings for her. Penelope, doing MG a favor, locks Rafael and Hope in the gym together.
Josie starts to ask questions abut her mom and dad’s relationship. She begins to connect to Jo. Emma warns Alaric that Jo could do more damage than any dragon. She’s a psychological monster.
Josie finds a note from Hope that reads, “Hope your birthday wishes come true.” It’s a talisman. Josie puts it on. Penelope shows up and is brutally honest with her ex. “When are you going to take care of you?” Penelope asks Josie. She’s tired of Josie hiding behind Lizzie. Josie steps out and goes to Jo for help. In a touching mother-daughter moment, Josie asks her mom to braid her hair. She opens up about Penelope and Rafael. Jo gives her little girl some helpful advice. Lizzie clearly takes after Caroline, while Josie is more like Jo. “I honestly think that dad is pretty lonely,” Josie says to Jo, who urges her daughter to go to her 16th birthday party. Josie asks Jo to come with her.
Lizzie makes a grand entrance at her party, giving off major Caroline Forbes vibes. MG is there waiting for her, and Rafael is nowhere to be find. MG gets Lizzie out on the dance floor and makes her feel like the other girl in the room.
Apparently, only Penelope can undo the spell. Rafael knows that Lizzie probably thinks he stood her up. Hope doesn’t want Rafael to feel like he needs to exonerate himself for what happened with Cassie. It does no one any good to pretend to like someone you don’t. Hope also admits that she’s helping Landon find his birth mom. Rafael is peeved, saying that he’s Landon’s family. Hope doesn’t want deprive Landon of his biological family. “Family is always and forever,” she says.
As Jo and Josie are walking to the party, Jo suddenly turns into a zombie. She blacks out and finds Alaric. Josie is nowhere to be found.
MG and Lizzie are about to slow dance together when Rafael shows up. Lizzie ditches MG immediately, and he’s devastated. Rafael tells Lizzie that it’s over. “Last night was a mistake,” he says. A little harsh on her birthday, no? Lizzie begins to tear up and asks, “Where’s my sister?”
As Hope heads to find Josie, she comes across MG and Penelope. She asks them for help. The trio encounters a slew of zombies that they have to take down. They manage to find Josie. Thankfully, the talisman protected her. Jo knows that this is all because of her. She wants the twins to siphon the magic from her, even though it’s the only thing keeping her alive. As much as it’s going to hurt, Jo and Alaric know what they have to do.
Jo asks Alaric if the girls know what happens when they turn 22, referencing the Gemini ritual. Alaric admits that the girls don’t know yet. He and Caroline don’t want to tell them until they’ve exhausted all other options. Caroline is actually hunting down a lead regarding this ritual.
Even though Josie blames Penelope for what happened, she can’t fight her feelings. They have a nice makeup session that involves lots of kissing. “I hate you,” Josie says. Penelope claps back, “I know.” Rafael and Hope put aside their differences and share a dance in front of the fire. Are they going where I think they’re going with this?
Jo sits the girls down to tell them what they have to do. “I love that I had this, but it was a lie,” she says. Jo urges Josie and Lizzie to “be good to each other, fight for each other.” The tears are flowing. The girls are forced to watch their mother die. Alaric vows to find whatever monster did this and kill it. The monster he’s talking about? The Necromancer, who shows up at the end of the episode!