Legacies, the second spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, features the supernatural children of both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals characters as they try to navigate the world and the powers they inherited. While Hope, presented as our main character in the first season, is an orphan, the Gemini twins are not. Alaric, their father, is the heaster of the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted where supernatural students are safe to practice/learn their abilities.
Meanwhile Caroline is still alive, but she has been off-camera. We have seen other characters talk about her or talk to her on the phone (although we have never heard her voice). But largely, Caroline is missing from Legacies. Should she come back to the show or not? In what ways would her return be good for the show, and in what ways would it not?
For The Better: Deepen the Connection to Mystic Falls History
Why have Legacies in Mystic Falls if they aren't going to build on the town's history? Mystic Falls was almost like an additional character in The Vampire Diaries. For a small town, it had a rich history of the supernatural. The population was also connected to it, so much so that they weren't blind to the possibility of vampires. Currently, Mystic Falls serves as merely a surface backdrop. Really, the school could be anywhere.
Caroline could help the show connect more to its setting and the history present in the town. After all, she is from one of the original families.
For The Worse: Stir the Suspicions of the Locals
Caroline, being a vampire, hasn't aged. While she may dress like she is older, she looks the same since she became a vampire. Since she is from an original family and was a popular Mystic Falls resident, this would stir suspicions. The locals could look at her picture when she was crowned Miss Mystic Falls and notice that she doesn't look much different. Knowing that she is the mother of two teenagers wouldn't fit with her still-teenage look.
While the locals may at first dismiss her youthful appearance to good genes, it would raise suspicions and may threaten the safety of the students in the school, something Caroline would never want to do.
For The Better: Give Her Credit for Starting the School
Alaric keeps on telling people that he started the school, not giving any credit to Caroline. They started it together to keep their girls and other supernatural children safe. Additionally, the school is housed in the mansion of Caroline's deceased husband, Stefan. On top of this, Klaus donated a lot of money to Caroline to help with the school, and it was because of Caroline that Klaus felt comfortable having Hope stay there. Klaus would never have done that if the school had been just run by Alaric, and without that money, as we saw in one of Lizzie's visions of alternate timelines, the school wouldn't have functioned well.
Caroline is still helping to run and maintain the school from afar. She deserves some credit.
For The Worse: May Not Fit the Tone of the Show
The Vampire Diaries was darker and more dramatic than Legacies. It's not that Legacies doesn't have its moments, especially with Dark Josie, but overall, it comes across lighter in tone. We have had a parasite-infested unicorn and a villain that seems more camp than drama. Caroline comes from a darker show and a dark origin story.
After she was turned into a vampire by Katherine in a power move, Damon almost killed her. Prior to being turned into a vampire, Damon used her. Later, her best friend, Elena married Damon. While Caroline was often funny and had light moments, a lot of her story is very dark.
For The Better: Bring Back Cameos From Other OGs
Elena is in Mystic Falls, but we don't see her. Bonnie is still in with Caroline, but we don't hear much from her. If Caroline were back, she could bring back other original characters to the storyline. It would also be interesting to see if the best friends are as close as they once were or if their friendship has faded due to time.
Also, we could see Caroline sharing stories and flashbacks of Klaus in order to help his daughter, Hope. If Caroline were on the show, she could allow us to see our favorite characters, what happened to their lives, and how connected they all still are to each other either in real life or in memories.
For The Worse: Would Make Us Long for More OGs
On the other hand, while bringing back OGs could be good, it could also take over the current show. Legacies is a young series, and we are just getting to know the characters. The squad is just coming into its story and power.
If too many OGs flood the show, it might make it The Vampire Diaries Two, rather than Legacies. The OGs might take the storyline and attention away from the supernatural students, overshadowing them.
For The Better: See Her Connections with Her Daughters
We know that both of her daughters love and ire her, looking to her for guidance. Caroline helps Lizzie keep in control of the Gemini-crazy gene that threatens her. She serves as a model for Lizzie, showing how to be a good person. In season two, Josie calls Caroline for guidance when Josie is tempted not to return everyone's memories of Hope. This is when Josie was stepping into darkness, just a little. What Caroline told her made Josie realize that she needed to return everyone's memories.
Now that Josie is Dark Josie, this is an important time for Caroline to come back. She has helped Lizzie constantly control her darkness, and she could help Josie.
For The Worse: Could Overshadow Alaric
Alaric is the one in control of the school for its everyday functions. Discipline issues come to him as do dealing with everyday horrors. The students seem to have a connection with him. Alaric also has made some very bad decisions, such as sending problem students to the prison world where Kai resided.
Caroline is very pragmatic. We could see her maintaining the school to a better degree than Alaric, and we doubt that she would ever send students to the prison world, especially since Kai was still there. Because Caroline could be better at making these decisions and is a very interesting character, she could overshadow Alaric.
For The Better: The Threats to Her Daughters
Caroline loves her daughters. They have been threatened by Kai, and still, she didn't return. Josie is now Dark Josie, and still, she hasn't returned. All of this doesn't make sense for her character; Caroline, a dedicated mother, would be there for her girls.
Now, Dark Josie threatened the Merge, speeding it up. Thankfully, Hope came up with an alternate plan, halting the Merge. Still this is a threat that will come back. All Caroline's days researching must have amounted to something, we don't want the twins to have to deal with the Merge again when they turn 22.
For The Worse: Could Take Over the Show
Just like Kai, Caroline is more interesting than many of the other characters. We saw her change on The Vampire Diaries from a shallow side character into one of the most empathetic and kind characters of the show. At the end of the show, she was a fan favorite.
If she were on Legacies, she could take over the series. The supernatural students are still developing their character arcs; they haven't had the time to reach the level of growth Caroline's character had on The Vampire Diaries. Additionally, fans may want to focus more on Caroline than the supernatural students, changing the focus of the show.