Legacies is the second spin-off of The Vampire Diaries. It features some of the supernatural children of both The Vampire Diaries and the first spin-off, The Originals. These children, now teenagers, are lucky in that they have a supernatural school that informs, educates, and protects them. Additionally, they have each other. They work together (mostly) to fight villains that threaten them and others.
In Season 2, our main villain is the Necromancer. After having escaped the nothingness of Malivore, the Necromancer is back to make a name for himself. He thrills in his abilities and misses his former fame. Another villain who entered the scene in recent episodes was Kai, an OG villain from The Vampire Diaries, and one people shouldn’t trust or underestimate. While it seems that Kai’s story has ended, we’re never quite sure about him.
Both villains are smart, know how to manipulate, and have a quest for power, but which one is truly the scariest?
Necromancer: Outsmarted Malivore
Malivore is the great empty, a beast that consumes other beasts and makes the world forget about them. Although Malivore isn’t as powerful as he once was, he is still powerful, shown by the supernatural beings still trapped in him. Yet, despite that, the Necromancer is out. It could be as the Necromancer’s companion, Chad assumed: Malivore gave the Necromancer a second chance at life. If this were the case, it would still attest to the Necromancer’s strength, that Malivore would be willing to strike a deal with him.
The Necromancer is actually using the Malivore pit to his advantage, taking monsters from it and getting them to serve him. So, he not only outsmarted Malivore, but he turned Malivore into a tool for his own advantage.
Kai: It’s Personal
Kai has hurt so many people in The Vampire Diaries Universe. He killed Jo, his sister, and the Gemini twins’ biological mom, right at her wedding in front of the groom. He tried to kill her unborn babies, but luckily others from the Gemini coven magically transferred them to Caroline’s vampire womb without his knowledge. Then, Kai killed all of the coven members. He also tricked and trapped Bonnie a few times, even linking her life to Elena in a bizarre sleepy-beauty spell. While Bonnie was alive, Elena would stay asleep.
When he and Jo were teens, he also tried to kill their younger siblings. Kai is cruel and knows how to play human emotion. He can convince people that he’s changed, and then when their back is turned, he twists the knife.
Necromancer: Patient and Calculating
Although the Necromancer wants fame, he’s willing to wait for it. He uses the supernatural beings that come out of Malivore to his benefit. He even uses a zombie’s detached eyeball for his plan so that he can see what happens at the school. The Necromancer is older than Kai, and he knows how to make his return epic. He knows weapons that he can use against the Legacies team, even encouraging one heroine (Josie) to become dark.
While he wasn’t the one to start Josie on her dark path, he sees an opportunity in her. He will also use her for his benefit.
Kai: Is Gleeful in His Malice
While the Necromancer can be excited by his plans, Kai takes absolute glee in his malice. He loves manipulating and hurting people. It makes him happy. He can appear to be sincere or angry or hurt, and it can make him seem more normal. However, this is just a shade of manipulation he’s using. In the end, he will turn, and his malice and ulterior motives become apparent.
The scary part about this isn’t his malice, but his glee. He is most happy when he can hurt others and prove that he is the smartest one.
Necromancer: Trapped Hope
Hope, as a triad and one of the main characters, is a very unusual supernatural being. She’s one of the strongest witches, and she’s a werewolf who can change at will. Additionally, although her vampire trait hasn’t been triggered yet, she was born with that capacity. Aside from her raw power, she was schooled by some of the most powerful and intelligent witches like her Aunt Freya.
The Necromancer actually traps her in a sort of Malivore. He outsmarts her. This is something that Kai never does, to his detriment.
Kai: Has No Loyalty or Affection
Kai isn’t attached to anyone. He tried to kill all of his family beforehand, and he tried to call those who befriended or allied with him. In Legacies, three of Rick’s more dangerous students are sent to the prison-world where Kai is trapped. He has a decade-long relationship with one of them, and when he leaves? He leaves her a note, thanking her for the sex, but otherwise abandons her.
In The Vampire Diaries, he seemed to admire and even like Bonnie just a little bit, but that didn’t stop him from hurting and trying to kill her. While the Necromancer isn’t going to join many groups or hold that many people close, he seems to be attached to Chad, and that shows that he may have more humanity than Kai.
Necromancer: Seems Unstoppable and Wants Fame
The Necromancer possesses powerful magic, not of this world, which makes him seem unstoppable. So far, he is the top of the magic-food-chain unless Malivore increases in strength again. Since information about him was erased when he was in Malivore, the Legacies team won’t know how to defeat him.
On top of this, the Necromancer is a dramatic being who wants fame. He’s enchanted by his own name and power. Ultimately, it’s almost as if he wants to be worshipped and feared at the same time.
Kai: Is a Master Manipulator and Wants Power
Kai manipulates everyone. He’s smart about it, and he can use your humanity against you. As a Gemini, he possessed a rare power that both Josie and Lizzie have–siphoning. This means that while he didn’t possess his own direct power, he could take it from others. He wanted the Gemini power when he was on The Vampire Diaries. It could be that he wants more power in Legacies. Now a heretic, a siphon-witch turned vampire, his powers are stronger and scarier.
He still wants to be king of the hill, and it doesn’t matter to him who he steps on or kills to get there.
Necromancer: Can Bring Back the Dead
The Necromancer can bring back the dead, anyone or anything dead. Not only can he bring them back, but he can bend them to his will. In Season 1, we saw what happened when he brought back Jo, Josie and Lizzie’s biological mom. She appeared to be herself until he made her do something, and she harmed her own daughter due to his command.
Any of the dead can be brought back, and Mystic Falls has some full and very old cemeteries near by. Additionally, many of the students at the Salvatore Boarding School of the Young and Gifted have lost loved ones, and the Necromancer could bring the loved ones back–to hurt and distract the students.
Kai: Has a Way of Surviving and Thriving
Now, after the most recent episode of Legacies, Ric killed Kai. It seemed a definite kill, but who knows. For one, the Necromancer could bring Kai back. Also, there have been many times when it seemed like Kai was bested, only to have Kai survive, thrive, and escape. He was left in two different prison-worlds and managed to get out of both.
We could see him making it out again, only to terrorize his family, making him seem like the skeleton in the closet that they can’t get rid of no matter how hard they try.
