How is The Vampire Diaries connected to The Originals and Legacies? Explained

The Vampire Diaries and spin-offs like The Originals and Legacies were created because of the success of the original. All three series are interlinked. The Originals and Legacies, just like The Vampire Dairies, revolve around centuries-old immortals.

In the television series The Vampire Diaries, Elena Gilbert is a vampire who develops feelings for Stefan Salvatore, a centuries-old vampire, and his brother, Damon Salvatore. Elena and her friends are drawn into the paranormal realm of Mystic Falls as a result.

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Timeline of events happening in The Vampire Diaries and its spin off shows

To understand the connection between all three shows, it's recommended for fans to first watch The Vampire Diaries, followed by the stories of The Originals, and then the stories of their kids in the Legacies.

The first spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, follows Niklaus Mikaelson and the Original Family of vampires as they return to the paranormal hotbed of New Orleans' French Quarter.

The third Vampire Diaries season, Legacies, follows the next generation of supernatural creatures at The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, including the twins of Alaric Saltzman, Lizzie and Josie Saltzman, and Klaus Mikaelson's daughter, Hope Mikaelson.

In season 2 of TVD, Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson—two of the world's longest-surviving vampires at over a millennium—make their first appearances. In a season 4 episode of The Originals, Klaus finds out he has impregnated werewolf Hayley Marshall while travelling to New Orleans.

This sets up the plot of the spin-off, which connects the timelines of Vampire Diaries and Originals. Despite having similar timeframes to The Originals and The Vampire Diaries, Legacies takes place years after TVD concludes.

To understand the continuation of The Legacies, married (and human) couple Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore are still residents of Mystic Falls, where Elena works as the town physician, according to Legacies Season 1, Episode 10. Stefanie Salvatore, their daughter, attends Mystic Falls High School.

Hope is born in the penultimate episode of season 1 of The Originals, and she goes on to play a major role in Legacies.

Several important characters are attending the fictional Whitmore College during the events of seasons 5 and 6 of TVD, which effectively connects the TVD and Originals timelines. The first two seasons of The Originals take place in 2011–2013.

This confuses, to understand the characters' stories until the fans complete The Vampire Diaries and the Originals.

Josie and Lizzie Saltzman, Jo and Alaric's twin kids, are featured in TVD season 7 as infants. The girls are the model for the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted.

They are siphoners and part of the Gemini coven. The timelines of The Originals and TVD briefly overlapped during season 3, which aired concurrently with season 7.

Caroline, a TV producer and mother of two young kids, was once a drama major. She gets to New Orleans in search of Klaus as he has always been in love with Caroline and offers her to seek help whenever in need.

She finds out that no one has seen him in three years. Alaric and Caroline are shown getting ready to launch the Salvatore School in the TVD season finale.

The chronology of The Vampire Diaries spin-offs is confused by The Originals' season 4 premiere, which takes place five years after its season 3 finale.

Hayley and Hope get back together with Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, and Freya after being apart for years. The season centres on 8-year-old Hope, who has only enough time to meet her father before "The Hollow" causes all of the immortal Mikaelson siblings to disperse.

To shield Hope from her family's adversaries and to control her Tribrid daughter's developing abilities, Hayley enrols her in the Salvatore School during the epilogue.

The Vampire Diaries spin-off timelines become even more muddled when the fifth and final season of The Originals opens with a seven-year time jump to 2026, introducing viewers to a teenage Hope.

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However, the program provides happy endings for each of the main characters and makes the audience care for Hope outside of her family. After Klaus and Hayley's deaths, two years have passed before Legacies season 1 begins, making Hope 17 years old and Lizzie and Josie two years her junior.