SBG 157: Legacies with Kristina Pupo

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Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that is deeply tired of queerbaiting, but will be continuing to fall for it every time.

This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with return guest, director, actor and screenwriter Kristina Pupo (@kristinapupo) to talk about why Legacies, Should’ve Been Gay(er). This CW spinoff to the infamous Vampire Diaries and The Originals, stars Danielle Rose Russell as Hope Mikaelson, the tribrid daughter of vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson and werewolf Hayley Marshall. If you’ve seen Legacies, you’re probably thinking, “but guys, Legacies has actual gays in it”, and you’re not wrong– but somehow, the representation just falls short. We’re sorry to the Posie shippers and the Landon lovers, but respectfully, making actual unicorn Hope Mikaelson and a boy made of literal mud endgame was inexcusable; and Josie’s storyline is a master class in bisexuality tropes that ends with actor Kaylee Bryant (now Kaylee Kaneshiro) leaving the series early. 

Legacies had a chance to do something so iconic with all-powerful tribrid Hope and twin witches Lizzie and Josie Saltzman. Their backstory is richly built and makes for the perfect slow burn. The girls have all known one another since they were children and Josie even admits to having had a crush on Hope in the past. We could have gotten the most powerful love triangle between Hope, Josie, and Lizzie but instead of giving fans the ship we wanted, they gave us Landon. I mean what was the point of telling us that Josie was into Hope and then going nowhere with it? The tendency of shows to shy away from allowing their titular character to be queer in favor of tossing in some random man is exhausting. Let your main characters be gay, please! Especially if those characters are deeply complex, highly powerful women that are very clearly into one another the entire time. 

We know one thing for sure, Legacies Should’ve Been Gay(er).

Stream Kristina’s brand new web-series Death Is A Babe on Youtube for more spooky, magical, very gay vibes and zero queerbaiting.

Give us your own answers to our Q & Gay on Instagram and follow along on Facebook, TikTok, and BlueSky @lezhangoutpod. Email us @lezhangoutpod@gmail.com. Connect with us individually: Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster).

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