Is Alaric Really [SPOILER]? His Future Explained

Alaric Saltzman's story in Legacies seems to have ended in disaster, but things are rarely what they appear with Alaric. Here's his fate explained.

Warning: SPOILERS for Legacies season 4, episode 5, "I Thought You'd Be Happier To See Me." 

Legacies has just killed off a major character in Alaric Saltzman, but whether he's really dead is up in the air; here's his future explained. The second spinoff series of The Vampire Diaries, Legacies has had somewhat of a tumultuous last few seasons as it's struggled to get out from the shadow of TVD and previous spinoff The Originals to forge its own identity. Where the teenage characters of Vampire Diaries always felt like adults, Legacies takes care to ensure its teenage characters are actually treated like teenage characters in their adventures, with Alaric often being the only adult in an episode.

It's why his death in Legacies season 4, episode 5, "I Thought You'd Be Happier To See Me" was so shocking. One way the show has established the teenage bent of its characters is through the character of Alaric Saltzman, the headmaster of Legacies' Salvatore School. The character went through enormous growth and change during his years on The Vampire Diaries (and appearances in The Originals). Alaric started out as a mess, a borderline alcoholic who turned to vampire hunting to avenge his wife having been turned, but grew up. Now, he's the steady hand that guides the Legacies ship. Without him, his supernatural students would surely be lost, not only for his vast wealth of knowledge about monsters and lore, but also because he has become a father figure to them all.

As such, it's hard to believe that Alaric is truly dead in Legacies. There has been no hint or indication that actor Matthew Davis had planned to leave the show, and IMDb shows he's listed in upcoming episodes. Not all news leaks and IMDb isn't always the most reliable source, however. The Legacies season 4 episode went the distance in making Alaric's death certainly seem real and permanent. Unlike previous deaths on the series that have all been through supernatural means (meaning there's a loophole) or that have immediately cut to show the character in an alternate prison world, Alaric's death in Legacies was framed as medical, not magical, with him dying after sustaining what seemed to be extensive brain damage. Still, longtime viewers of The Vampire Diaries shows are likely right to doubt his death is permanent, considering Alaric's history.

Dying and then coming back to life was Alaric's thing in The Vampire Diaries. That show quickly saw a number of its human characters turn into supernatural creatures or gain innate supernatural abilities. Alaric, however, remained an entirely non-magical human and thus mortal, but his saving grace was that he had a ring that protected him from death by supernatural means. As a result, Alaric dying and then coming back to life a few hours later became a running joke and plotline in the show. Even when he was killed after losing his ring, Alaric was resurrected. In fact, he died so many times throughout The Vampire Diaries that it's a little surprising that he hasn't yet died in Legacies. Now that he has, it would be out of character for him not to come back; he's the Loki of the Vampire Diaries universe, seemingly unkillable.

The past two episodes of Legacies season 4 (originally meant to be the season 3 finale and season 1 premiere) have returned the spinoff show to its roots in the world of The Vampire Diaries. Characters from the previous two shows have made appearances, story elements that have been largely non-existent in Legacies have suddenly become important once again, and the show seems to be remembering who each of the characters are at their core. It would be remiss for the show to suddenly erase Alaric's legacy as the man who always cheats death. Hopefully, the next episodes of Legacies will clarify his fate.

Next: Legacies Finally Remembered What TVD Vampires Are Supposed To Be Like

Legacies releases new episodes every Thursday on the CW.