"Legacies" Is Bidding Farewell To An Original Cast Member, And Fans Are Really Upset
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🚨Warning: There are some MAJOR spoilers for Season 4 below!🚨
Let's cut right to the chase: This week, Legacies unexpectedly said goodbye to an original cast member.
On Thursday, Kaylee Bryant, who plays Josie Saltzman, announced that they would be leaving Legacies and that this week's episode (Season 4, Episode 9) would mark her last appearance as a series regular.
“As a fan of The Vampire Diaries universe myself, thank you to The CW and Warner Bros. TV for giving me this opportunity,” Bryant said in a statement to TVLine. “I am so grateful to the fans and will love them always and forever for welcoming and accepting me into this world. Josie has helped so many beautiful humans feel comfortable in their sexuality, and I hope her legacy lives on so that one day everyone feels free to love whoever they want regardless of gender.”
The sudden departure came as a shock to many fans, who had no idea this week's episode would be Bryant's last. The midseason finale, which aired Thursday, saw Josie leaving on a one-way bus to go find Hope.
It didn't exactly feel like a proper goodbye episode, especially for such a major character. There was no real closure, no big final scenes between Josie and her family. Just a quick goodbye to her girlfriend, Finch, and then, poof. Gone.
Josie was first introduced as a character when she and her twin sister, Lizzie, were born to Alaric and their surrogate mother, Caroline, in The Vampire Diaries. Josie continued to appear as a guest role in the spinoff The Originals. Eventually, the latest installment in the TVD universe was born, and Kaylee Bryant was cast as the now-teenage Josie. She was one of the core protagonists of the show, along with Lizzie and their classmate, Hope Mikaelson (Klaus and Hayley's daughter from The Originals).
Josie quickly became a fan-favorite character and was especially praised for pansexual representation. Throughout the show, Josie had numerous male and female love interests. While her latest relationship was with new student Finch, fans especially latched onto the idea of a relationship between Josie and Hope, which became known as "Hosie."
Both Kaylee Bryant and Danielle Rose Russell (who plays Hope) were supportive of the ship. Bryant told BuzzFeed in an interview back in June: "Danielle and I loved the idea of Hosie starting from Season 1, and we kept asking and asking and asking for it. So it's kind of funny and full circle that now the fans have kind of taken our side with things, and now they won't stop asking for it. All we want is this beautiful, dynamic relationship. And I think that the fans want that as well."
Despite the enthusiasm for Hosie, the ship never sailed. Some fans have accused the show of queerbaiting its audience with moments such as Hope and Josie admitting to crushing on each other, romantic music playing during their scenes together, and jokes about the characters' attraction to each other.
The sudden departure feels like a loss for many fans, especially queer ones. While recent years have seen growth in LGBTQ representation on TV, many shows still seem hesitant to fully embrace queer relationships, especially between two main characters. For instance, Supergirl fans held out hope for Kara and Lena (dubbed "Supercorp") 'til the end of the series, but it never happened. Other shows, like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, wait until the series finale to confirm a queer relationship with a last-minute kiss or declaration of love. Even in 2021, it's still pretty rare to see a queer relationship between two main characters develop organically and be given the same amount of screen time as the other ships.
From the early days of the internet, fandoms have been a safe haven for queer fans. Even when a relationship never becomes canon, like Hosie, many fans find comfort in fanfiction, art, or simply bouncing off theories and ideas with others. In other words, if the show doesn't deliver, the fans will create their own form of representation.
It's not known why Bryant left the show, or if they'll ever return for future guest appearances. Executive producers Brett Matthews and Julie Plec said to TVLine: “While it’s heartbreaking to say goodbye to such a beloved Super Squad member, we wish Kaylee happiness and success. We look forward to watching her career grow in the future, and our door at Legacies will always be open to her, because the world is simply a better place with Josie Saltzman in it.”
Basically, fans are pretty devastated over the news. Here are some of the reactions to Josie's departure:
1.
we really watched her grow up...
2.
Kaylee and Dani fought for hosie to happen since S1 and i will never forget that 😭 #LEGACIES #hosie
3.
no one can live up to the standard josie/kaylee has set. their character was the glue of that show. it will fall apart without her as a main
4.
i will never find comfort on any other character the way i did with you. the instant relief and the smile on my face is automatic whenever i see you every Thursday! i love you so much josie saltzman, i never thought i would lose you this soon i wasnt prepared 😭 #josieslegacy
5.
this being their last scene hurts cause the whole message of the talisman is to “make quiet things heard” and that’s exactly what josie did for so many of us
6.
i think i’ll truly lose it when i see “guest starring: kaylee bryant”
7.
josie deserves a better ending tho, she deserves to be happy or at least she deserves to say goodbye to her friends, to her family, to hope :( she’s not an extra, she’s josie saltzman, she’s part of tvdu i can’t just lose her like that
8.
sending a lot of love to the people who found a strong sense of purpose and comfort with hosie. genuinely sending so much love to all of you.
9.
it’s not often we get to see pansexual characters like josie saltzman hit our screens & take huge franchises like the #tvdu by storm. abruptly ending her story without giving her a proper conclusion would be such a detriment to the entire series, #josieslegacy is too important
10.
Legacies isn’t legacies without josie. Her being queer helped a lot of us realize who we are as a person sexuality wise and be proud of it. Topics like mental health and codependency where also touched. Y’all just took our comfort character and ship away from us #josieslegacy
11.
imagine being so loved that an entire fandom falls apart bearing the thought of never seeing your character again… and legacies let that go. #josieslegacy
12.
this is so much more than just losing a character. Kaylee/Josie made it so people like myself LOVED thursdays. It was the best part of the week. This character AND Kaylee themselves changed lives and that’s something that’ll never be taken away. We’ll see her again. #josieslegacy
13.
the worst part of loving someone is the day you lose them
14.
i don’t understand how josie is going to leave story wise, she’s very much involved in the main plot rn
15.
"It was us against the world,""The world won."
16.
I am the person I am today because of Josie Saltzman and Kaylee Bryant’s portrayal of her. She’s made so many people feel seen, loved, and appreciated. It is such a shame Josie is gone bc that same energy wasn’t reciprocated back. #josieslegacy
17.
wait wtf i’m sobbing🥺💗
Bryant tweeted a message to fans last night:
@josiexmikaelson 🥺 I hope you guys know you will always mean the world to me. Love you no matter what.
