‘Legacies’: Who Is Landon Kirby, Really?

One of the big mysteries of Vampire Diaries and The Originals spinoff Legacies‘ first season has been the identity of Landon Kirby (Aria Shahghasemi). Landon is a seemingly normal human who has no supernatural powers, yet also an intimate connection to the season’s Big Bad, Malivore. So what’s the deal? Who — or what — is Landon Kirby?

Follow along, because we’ve got a theory.

Spoilers for this week’s Legacies, “We’re Gonna Need a Spotlight” past this point.

When we first met Landon, he was compelled for reasons we still don’t quite understand to snag a mystical knife from the Salvatore School. The knife is one of three keys that will unlock Malivore, a mystical land that contains supernatural beings who aren’t vampires, werewolves or witches. Every other being in there was wiped from the world’s collective memory, and if three keys are thrown in a pit of goop, Malivore will open and they’ll all return to the world. One by one, beings were sent out to snag the knife — eventually successfully — before turning to the second key, an urn. And as of the end of this week’s episode, it looks like the urn is headed to Malivore as well, after Alaric (Matthew Davis) throws it in the river while under the influence of a mind-altering worm thing.

Anyway, back to Landon. Along the way, we’ve discovered that Landon has no supernatural blood or powers. We’ve also learned that his Mom, monster hunter Seylah Chelon (Ayelet Zurer), went to Malivore and came back pregnant with Landon. We also know as of this week that Landon still has a weird relationship with the supernatural creatures Malivore is compelling, as the worm things infected everyone except him.

So with that backstory out of the way, what’s Landon’s deal? Who — or what — is he? To throw it out there, I think the answer is pretty obvious: Landon is the third key to Malivore. He doesn’t technically have a Dad, because his father is Malivore. The knife and the urn also aren’t so much supernatural as they are keys to locks, which would explain Landon’s lack of powers. Also, sure, a hell dimension immaculate conception-ing a human baby is a little out there, as is sending the baby out just so it can come back in; but that’s sort of tried and true antichrist arc, so why not?

But I think the biggest clue that Landon is the final key to the lock that opens Malivore is that his relationship with Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) reached a turning point this week. He opened his heart to her, singing a song outside of the school’s talent show. She cried. They kissed, and found a new level of trust and intimacy. Have you ever watched a supernatural show where they didn’t end up in heartache and tears? And what would be worse than Landon getting thrown into his Daddy, Malivore, losing all memory of Hope, and releasing a supernatural apocalypse at the same time?

Nothing, is the answer to that.

Also evidence? This quote from series creator Julie Plec about whether we’re going to meet Landon’s Dad, via TV Line: “I would say yes and no,” Plec said. “Yes, it is something that is going to be unraveled. … We’re meeting-ish.”

Tough to meet a dimension face to face, right?

Legacies airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW

Where to stream Legacies