From Nimue’s arrival to Raphael’s departure, the third season of Heritage was full of surprises, though no one was as lyrical as the jaw we threw at us in the Thursday episode, with the long-awaited debut performance of Salvatore: The Musical.
Josie, Caleb, Jed and Lizzie – like Elena, Damon, Stefan and Caroline respectively – retold the story of the establishment of the institution under the bright lights of the Salvatore School Auditorium and struck several iconic beats of The Vampire Diaries in the process: Stefan and Elena’s first meeting, Stefan and Damon’s dramatic reunion, Elena’s eternal back and forth between the brothers, the seemingly endless parade of doubles, and Klaus (played by this week’s intermittent monster!) To school.
Speaking of Klaus, we even got a surprising rendition of “Always and Forever” by Hope, which crammed most of the episode together against the musical’s portrayal of her family. (But more on that later.)
No surprise, of course, was more, well, surprising than the letter Lizzie received from Caroline, especially since it was read in none other than Candice King (aka Caroline Forbes), making her first official ‘appearance’ on Heritage. (Click here for our gallery of each crossover in the Vampire Diaries universe, which has now been updated to include this episode.)
And if you missed one of the letters, here are the full words of Caroline: ‘Dear Lizzie, hopefully you can give perspective on who I was. When I was your age, I remembered that I felt like I was a total mess, or that I was waiting to become a better version of myself so that my real life could begin. But it did not become a vampire who changed everything. Change is a series of small moments that build on each other, like stairs on the side of a mountain. Your life is not suspended until you realize everything. It’s already happening. You are changing moment by moment. And Elizabeth, there is nothing wrong with you. Your brain chemistry creates unique challenges for you, but you are not broken. You grow and change every day, and it’s beautiful to look at. ‘
Below, executive producer Julie Plec gives some of TVLine’s burning questions from the episode:
TVLINE | If there was a musical about my life and I still lived in the city, I would want to be there. Should we think that Damon and Elena politely declined their invitation?
[Laughs] Let’s think they could not find a babysitter.
TVLINE | Eventually we got Caroline to show up, even if it was just a vocal cameo. What was asked there?
As you know, Candice is a good friend of mine and Brett, and there’s a soft spot in her heart for this show. She has said over the years that she will show up one day, but she wants a break The Vampire Diaries and The originals. She wanted to lead a non-Caroline Forbes life for a while. But she always said, “Just let me know if you never need something small or simple.” Then I just texted and she said, “Absolutely.” And nine months passed before we needed her to do that because of the COVID shutdown.
TVLINE | Hope the song at the end was a nice surprise. How did I not know she could sing?
There are some actors who are very gifted in singing, who even have a theatrical background but just no longer want to sing. They just do not enjoy it, or do not want to combine [singing and acting]. When we did the talent show, Danielle [Rose Russell] was like: ‘No. Hope has no talent she wants to share with anyone. But when we came up with this episode, she was like, “So, Brett, you know I sing …” And he was like, “Oh, really?” It is written in such a way that it comes from a place of her character that worked through a moment and that it happened to be in song. This is what worked for me. And I cry every time.
TVLINE | To whom do we give the necessary credit while talking about the music?
It was a collaboration between Thomas Brandon, the author of the episode, who also wrote Josie and Landon’s songs from the talent show. He’s our little secret weapon for musical things. But because we did a lot more songs than we did in the talent show, I asked him if he wanted a partner to take on the hard work. I reached out to my friend Michael Gracey, who directed The Greatest Showman and developed those songs for years [Benj] Pasek en [Justin] Paul. Every time he enters the city and pops into my house, I will hear different demo versions for years. So I knew he had a skill for it. I was like, “Do you happen to know someone who is not yet as famous as Pasek and Paul?” He said: ‘In fact, I just did a project with this guy Chris Read in London, and I think he’s the next Pasek and Paul. So I said, ‘Send him to my side,’ and he did, and it became a wonderful partnership. … I also have to give a shout out to our amazing choreographer Rhonda Kohl. She came up with the idea for the tango.
TVLINE | How familiar was Chris with this universe? The songs all feel very true to that spirit.
Chris had never seen it before, so he had to binge quickly. But because he did, it was very fresh in his head and hit all the right notes.
TVLINE | This whole experience, which started again 11 years ago, must have been cathartic.
I think so. You have a whole range of people working on this crew, some have been with us ever since The Vampire Diaries and The originals. So there was a lot of nice nostalgia for them. And you also have people who are new, who in the past may have been fans and viewers, so they had to bring their own perspective to it. One of the reasons it works so well is because Thomas wrote from the perspective of a fan and did not write further [the original show]. He can be the social media fan, and mocks us in a way we might not have been able to mock ourselves.
TVLINE | Finally about the last twist: What’s next after Alyssa’s apparent betrayal of MG?
Nothing good is next. Next week’s episode is written as the finale of Season 2, and all the little characters highlighted in the musical episode are completing the finale. There is betrayal, tragedy, epiphany. Next week is actually a pretty big episode for all the characters, and then we essentially start a new chapter.
BONUS SCOOP | We also talked to Kaylee Bryant about Josie’s kiss with Jade. Here’s what she says about the relationship: Josie is not exactly the fastest with things. She needs to learn a lesson before she takes a big leap, and Jade was a big lesson for her. She openly said, “This place is not right for me.” Josie has been feeling this way for a while. She gave up her magic after she really struggled with an addiction to it. And now she lives in a place surround by magic. That’s all she’s ever known, and so it’s something Josie definitely needs to hear to hear someone say they’re removing themselves from an unhealthy environment. This is what really makes her shoot in the air to take the steps necessary to take care of herself.
What did you think Salvatore: The Musical? Any favorite referrals? And what about that Caroline “cameo”? Then rate the episode below leave a comment with your full review.