Danielle Rose Russell Warns Legacies Fans That Hope's Touch Decision Might Frustate Them In Season 4

She's going to 'revert' in some ways

In Season 4 of Legacies, Hope must die. Or at least that's what the trailer and the poster and the past three seasons would have us believe. "Hope" could refer to the literal concept of hope, but it more likely means Legacies' main angsty teen (Danielle Rose Russell) is in for a major life change as she activates the last part of her supernatural superhero self to become the tribrid: part witch, part werewolf, part vampire. Currently, Hope is a witch and a werewolf. She has to die and give up all hope of growing up in order to become a vampire, which is not exactly her first choice in futures. But Hope's unusual lineage was the inspiration for The Originals, and it's been a part of her journey since the beginning of Legacies, so there's no way we'll make it through this whole show without her going full tribrid. The question is about when, and it feels like that question is about to be answered. 

"I feel like we never could have done Legacies without this story arc coming eventually," Russell tells TV Guide. "I think it's a really good time for how it plays out."

Right now and as usual, Hope is focused on saving her on-again/off-again boyfriend Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) from Malivore after just discovering that the evil entity had been masquerading as his son Landon for the past several episodes. She knows that becoming the tribrid is a sure-fire way to defeat the ancient goo monster known as Malivore, but there are a few other plans to try out first, like what goes down in the Season 4 premiere. Russell said that "Hope must die" is a "great tease" for what's about to happen in the next few episodes. 

"You are going to see Hope face some very serious decisions about herself, as well as the people around her, especially those that are closest to her," she says. "She has some really hard things that she knows she has to do, and that sort of shifts her dynamic with herself and everyone around her at school." 

Plus, as the creepy Season 4 teaser ominously promised, Malivore isn't leaving Hope's friends alone either. "In a way, everyone is kind of in danger," Russell says. "It's the biggest threat they've faced so far." 

The Season 4 premiere of Legacies was actually designed to be a late Season 3 episode, which means things are only ramping up towards what was supposed to be the explosive Season 3 finale. After that, everything will change once again. For now, read on for Russell's thoughts on Hope's eventual tribrid transformation and, of course, #Lope.

It seems like everyone else is very concerned about making sure Hope doesn't have to go full tribrid, but how does Hope feel about it? 
Danielle Rose Russell: I think it's something she's always known she's had to do. I don't think that she's ever fully felt like, "Oh, I can get through life without having to fulfill this part of my destiny." They've danced around it for a very long time. They're still trying to fight against it -- we'll see how successful that is -- but I don't think it's something she's really surprised about. And it's nice because I feel like the decision is hers to make. It's not like she's forced into it. She decides whether or not she wants to do it, which is really beautiful.

What do you think would be the thing that convinces her to do it?
Russell:
I'd say to save the people that she loves and the people she doesn't even know. I think she has a really beautiful streak of selflessness in her, and she's always sort of put herself aside for others, and I don't think that this is any different, especially with something like this, because it's facing the biggest threat they've ever faced. She's really driven by her love of saving people.

How do you feel, as an actor, about this major change for your character potentially coming up?
Russell:
I've been more excited about this season than any other season I've done as Hope. I really, really loved Hope on The Originals and I really, really love seeing where she's at now. For me, it's been rewarding because I've been playing this character for five years and it becomes very comfortable and very easy to play a character you've been playing for so long. It's been really fun to redefine her, still in the bounds of Hope Mikaelson, but it's definitely refreshing for me.

She's come so far from where she was in the pilot in terms of her relationships with other people. How will this big decision change things for those relationships? 
Russell: Yeah, I mean her entire story arc has sort of been about being able to have relationships. For a very long time after the death of her parents and all these tragedies that happened to her, it was really hard for her to be able to open up and to love people. And I think that we've seen her do that time and time again, and she's become a very self-aware, emotionally intelligent person that I'm very proud of in a way. Now that we're going into this new season we sort of see her I think revert back to some of those more unhealthy habits because she's just facing so much and she's going to have to make some really, really tough decisions. So, in a way, I think it's gonna be frustrating for the audience to see, but you're gonna see Hope in a completely new light that's going to be very exciting.

One thing I really loved last season was how close Hope got to Lizzy (Jenny Boyd) and Josie (Kaylee Bryant), like in that amazing Star Wars episode. They seem to be really bonded now. How is that relationship evolving this season, especially with what Hope is facing? 
Russell:
In that episode, they had a really thorough conversation with Hope saying, "I think this is what I need to do." The twins were very much supportive of that, and that doesn't change when things start to go a little crazy. But it definitely takes some twists and turns in that relationship that I don't think people are expecting. 

How does it change things for Hope that now she has so many people she's close to and cares about? 
Russell:
I think it's what drives her to do what she needs to do. I think that her relationships with the people she loves is what sort of gives her the ammunition to go, "I know what I need to do to protect those that I love." And when you see what happens in what would have been our normal season finale, it's really actually a very beautiful and so mature and sophisticated decision that she makes in light of what we're talking about, in light of saving the people that she loves. I think people are going to fall in love with Hope in a completely new way. 

We have to talk about Landon, obviously. These two have tried so hard and it just always goes so horribly wrong. Is it worth it? Will she really go to the ends of the earth for him? 
Russell:
You know, it's complicated. My personal feelings obviously are very different from how Hope feels. I think this year, we're going to see Hope independent of that. I'm really excited for people to see Hope as herself and away from these relationships that have taken over her storyline for so long. I'm really, really excited for fans to see Hope just sort of by herself, but at the end of the day, it sort of feels like they will always be destined to be together. I mean, they're just supernaturally...it's sort of endgame material. So I think that there will always be more to that story even if there's a bit of a pause.

Source : TV Guide