SDCC 2019: 'Legacies' star Danielle Rose Russell teases heartbreak, new love triangle for Hope in season 2
Danielle Rose Russell's character Hope Mikaelson is Klaus Mikaleson's (The Original vampire) 17-year-old daughter and she arrived at Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted at the beginning of 'Legacies' season 1. Since the time she was introduced to us in 'The Originals', Hope has been through some really tough time, especially after the finale of 'Legacies' where she is 'erased' out of everyone's lives after she figured out that her Tribrid blood could be the key to stopping Golem. In a conversation with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) before the panel at the San Diego Comic-Con 2019 (SDCC), the young actor revealed what Hope was going through currently and how her character will deal with being 'erased' in season 2.
Russell said that "Hope's character is very strong, very resilient and very brave," and she also sympathized with her character. She said, "Poor thing. But it is great for me as an actor." Russell felt that playing a character that is struggling is more interesting. Speaking about the upcoming season and which of her parents (Klaus-Hayley) Hope is like, Russell explains that Hope is more like her mom Hayley. "She knows what she wants. She wants to protect those that she loves. I think she definitely tapped into the more Klaus side while sacrificing herself, getting darker as she knows why she did and what she did. She knows what she needs to do to protect the people she loves."
Russell was then asked if she would help her friends Lizzie and Josie Saltzman in dealing with the powerful Gemini coven or if she wouldn't take part in this as she would want her friends to face their fears and Russell said she did not know a definitive answer to this. She explained, "I think that if she thought it would help then she would do it. Hope has proven that time and time again."
Now that Landon Kirby has forgotten Hope after Alaric erased everything about her, will there be someone new that she would begin to get closer to in season 2? "I feel like if you had separated Hope and Landon last season it would make no sense. Separating them now, and exploring other people now is something really interesting, and it is refreshing." After mentioning that we now know Hope sees Landon with someone else in the upcoming season, Russell added, "Hope knows that she cannot be mad at him. She knows it logically, but it is still hard for her and that is something that you are definitely going to see that it is one of the most heartbreaking things."
Russell is also open to exploring Hope's sexuality at this point. While she is unsure if it will happen in the upcoming season, she did say that now would be the right time to do something along those lines.
Russell will return as Hope in 'Legacies' season 2, set to premiere on October 10 on The CW.