Warning! SPOILERS for Legacies season 4.Legacies appeared to have killed off a major character when the Salvatore School headmaster had a brain hemorrhage, but does Alaric die in Legacies season 4? The second spinoff series of The Vampire Diaries, Legacies had somewhat of a tumultuous few seasons as it struggled to get out from the shadow of TVD and previous spinoff The Originals to forge its own identity. Where the teenage characters of Vampire Diaries always felt like adults, Legacies takes care to ensure its teenage characters are actually treated like teenage characters in their adventures, with Alaric often being the only adult in an episode. That's why the decision to kill him off partway into season 4 seemed so shocking. As usual, though, the incredibly hard-to-kill Headmaster proved once again that for Alaric Saltzman, dying is something that happens to other people. Here's everything about Alaric's possible death in Legacies, from why his season 4 stroke was so shocking to what TVD and Legacies' future may be.
Alaric has cheated the Grim Reaper multiple times and come out the other side unharmed. It's why his apparent death in Legacies season 4, episode 5, "I Thought You'd Be Happier To See Me" was so shocking. One way the show has established the teenage bent of its characters is through the adult Alaric, the headmaster of Legacies' Salvatore School. The character went through enormous growth and change during his years on The Vampire Diaries (and appearances in The Originals). Alaric started out as a mess, a borderline alcoholic who turned to vampire hunting to avenge his wife having been turned, but grew up. Now, he's the steady hand that guides the Legacies ship. Without him, his supernatural students would surely be lost, not only for his vast wealth of knowledge about monsters and lore but also because he has become a father figure to them all.
Related: Legacies: Alaric's TVD Relationship With Damon Explains Why He Saved Kaleb
As such, it was always hard to believe that Alaric was truly dead in Legacies. There had been no hint or indication that actor Matthew Davis had planned to leave the show, and IMDb showed him listed in upcoming episodes after "I Thought You'd Be Happier To See Me" aired. However. The Legacies season 4 episode went the distance in making Alaric's death certainly seem real and permanent, making some fans genuinely believe Alaric Saltzman would return. Unlike previous deaths on the series that have all been through supernatural means (meaning there's a loophole) or that have immediately cut to show the character in an alternate prison world, Alaric's death in Legacies was framed as medical, not magical, with him dying after sustaining what seemed to be extensive brain damage. Still, longtime viewers of The Vampire Diaries shows rightly doubted that his death was permanent, considering Alaric's history. Sure enough, Alaric returns from the grave once more later in the season, though not before having a whole misadventure with Ted (a.k.a. the Necromancer) in Limbo. Does Alaric die in Legacies? Yes, but only so the show could explore more of the afterlife. Here's all you need to know.
Dying and then coming back to life was Alaric Saltzman's thing in The Vampire Diaries. That show quickly saw a number of its human characters become supernatural creatures or gain magical abilities. Alaric, however, remained an entirely non-magical human and thus mortal, but his saving grace was that he had a ring that protected him from death by supernatural means. As a result, Alaric dying and then coming back to life a few hours later became a running joke and storyline in the show. Even when he was killed after losing his ring, Alaric was resurrected. In fact, he died so many times throughout The Vampire Diaries' timeline that it was a little surprising that he hadn't died in Legacies before season 4. Alaric's death in "Thought You'd Be Happier To See Me" definitely wasn't the standard half-jokey event fans had expected. A stroke was a surprisingly down-to-earth and realistic turn of events for a show like Legacies. Moreover, it also meant Alaric didn't enjoy the protection of his notorious ring. As far as the lore surrounding Alaric and The Vampire Diaries universe was concerned, the recipe was definitely there for a permanent end to his journey.
However, Alaric's passing was fuel for the season 4 narrative within Limbo and concerning Ted, the Necromancer. It's also revealed in the next episode that Alaric's death wasn't so much a death as it was a cliffhanger bait-and-switch. Despite his brain injuries after Legacies' underdeveloped season 4 Hope attacked him, Alaric wasn't dead, just in a coma. Hanging in the balance between life and death, Alaric was able to navigate Limbo and find his way back with the help of The Necromancer and Landon. This lasts several episodes until Alaric is finally released by the Necromancer in season 4, episode 12, "Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost." He wakes up in his hospital bed, confused but otherwise unharmed. This is a vast oversimplification of Alaric's route back to the living world, which involves many twists, turns, betrayals, and even a riddle-giving Sphinx. In typical TVD franchise fashion, Alaric goes on an exposition-heavy adventure through the supernatural underworld which builds on much of the lore established around Limbo in The Vampire Diaries. Sadly, though, this return to its mystical franchise roots was too little, too late for the canceled Legacies. It was announced the show had been canned by the CW in 2022. Season 4 ended with Alaric leaving the Salvatore School behind for new adventures and still very much alive. If Legacies is ever renewed (or The Vampire Diaries gets yet another spin-off), there's still scope for Alaric Saltzman to return - and likely to die and come back yet again.