‘Legacies’: Danielle Rose Russell Says Hope Is Ready to Go Full Tribrid in Season 4
Q&A
Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) and the rest of the Super Squad — Lizzie and Josie Saltzman (Jenny Boyd and Kaylee Bryant), MG (Quincy Fouse), Cleo (Omono Okojie), and Kaleb (Chris Lee) — have their hands full when Legacies Season 4 begins.
After all, Malivore has possessed Landon Kirby (Aria Shahghasemi), and of course, Hope wants to save the boy she loves. But it’s a lot easier said than done. Plus, the Super Squad will be dealing with “their darkest and most deadly threat of all… and The Salvatore School will be torn apart in the process,” the CW teases.
“There is a fear of their leader, Hope, dying and they don’t really know what’s going to happen next,” Russell tells TV Insider, referring to what needs to happen for her character to go full tribrid (vampire, werewolf, witch). “And so they’re sort of all trying to fight against this very scary thing for all of them.”
Russell teases what else is ahead in Season 4.
Hope’s facing down Malivore but looking at Landon’s face as she does so when Season 4 begins. How’s she handling everything?
Danielle Rose Russell: You really see her struggle with all the decisions that she’s going to have to make and see a lot of emotions come out of her, just with the people around her who show her a lot of support. So as we kind of get into the season, we’re seeing her really shift and change from being very vulnerable to having to make this decision of whether or not to become the tribrid.
Speaking of, that’s always the question: when will Hope go full tribrid? The ominous “I think Hope’s going to die” from MG in the promo and the poster reads “Hope must die” make it seem it’s happening.
It feels very obvious in all of the promos and everything. I guess I can’t really say yes or no, but I can say that you’re gonna see a lot of Hope stepping in to fulfill this legacy that she’s had. And we’re answering a lot of the questions that we’ve avoided throughout the show. So that’s really exciting.
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So she’s more ready for it?
Absolutely. She’s grown a lot. She’s matured a lot. Her relationship with Landon has been very complicated and I think it all comes to a point where she just knows what she has to do next. You definitely see her mature even more past these decisions.
I was going to say Hope and Landon’s relationship should probably just have a permanent “it’s complicated” label on it. Is there anything you can say about it this season?
I don’t think so, other than it’s complicated. You’re going to see a lot of the questions that have been around for a while finally be answered, especially regarding their relationship, and the things that they felt were holding them back all sort of come to a head. We definitely pick up the season in a place of confusion as far as their relationship is concerned.
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How’s the Super Squad this season? Will we see them more united or fractured?
In the beginning, we definitely see them very united as far as supporting Hope is concerned. There’s a little bit of tension. But as far as Hope is concerned, they are very supportive of her and everything that she’s going through, which has been really beautiful to see actually.
Who is Hope leaning on the most this season?
Herself, I think. She really needs to define a lot within herself especially with these huge transitions that are coming up. So she’s heavily relying on her own self, which has been really nice seeing her so independent and so empowered and kind of badass. It’s been fun.
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It was really interesting to watch Hope and Cleo’s dynamic last season.
That was honestly probably my favorite dynamic last year. I love their relationship, I love where it’s headed and where it sort of ended up at the last part of the season. You’re watching them go through a friendship arc. I can’t really say much about where they’re going to go.
What makes this season’s monsters different from past seasons’?
I don’t even really think we are focusing on monsters nearly as much this year. The characters at the school and their own storylines have really been driving this season thus far. And at the beginning of the season, you see all of the Malivore-related things come to a head.
Because of everything that’s going on in Hope’s life, is she at all thinking about the future and where she wants to settle — stay in Mystic Falls or perhaps return to New Orleans?
That’s a good question. It’s actually one that I really want to explore with Hope, too. I don’t think she’s really made any decisions other than she’s undecided. [Laughs] You see her in Mystic Falls obviously with the school and then as she sort of transitions this year, I think it’s safe to say that she goes off on her own for a little bit to discover things about herself. We definitely see Hope separated from the school for a little while.
Can you say if we’ll see any of her family members popping up?
I don’t know what I can or can’t say as far as that’s concerned. I’m just going to say we’re going to leave it on the table because I don’t want to spoil something.
What are you most excited for fans to see this season?
I’m really excited for fans to see Hope’s journey because her arc feels very driven by her self-discovery and her independence and seeing her in a way that we’ve never seen her before, especially separated from the people that she thinks of as her family. I think that Hope really brings a new and fresh personality to the show this year.
Legacies, Season 4 Premiere, Thursday, October 14, 9/8c, The CW
