The Originals: Hope's Anger Will Manifest in "Explosive" Ways

Beware: Angry super witch on the loose.

Everyone inside the French Quarter onThe Originalsshould be very scared for their lives considering that Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) has a ton of dark magic and a lot of anger issues currently building up inside of her. Most of that anger is targeted at her Uncle Elijah (Daniel Gillies), who accidentally ended up aiding in the murder of her mother. While Elijah tries to make amends for a crime he hasn't even forgiven himself for, we'll see a newer, angrier side of Hope than we have before.

TV Guide talked with Russell about how Hope is dealing with Hayley's (Phoebe Tonkin) death and the "eruption" that seems imminent from her.

How is Hope going to deal with all this dark magic being inside her again?
Danielle Rose Russell: That combined with her mother just being killed -- you see Hope definitely go through some difficult times in these next few episodes. She kind of grows up too. I think that with this dark magic inside of her, she's battling a lot of inner demons, too.

The Originals: Is Hayley's Death Permanent?!

How is her grief over her mother going to manifest not just in this next episode, but episodes moving forward as well?
Russell: Well, I mean, she just lost her mother so that definitely is heavy enough in itself and I think that will stay with Hope for forever, the fact that she lost her mother so young. Because it is so fresh in these next few episodes, you definitely see her struggle and try to deal with it in the best way she knows how. Hope has never really had to deal with this kind of trauma before. Like I said, you see her really begin to mature.

It seems like she's definitely in the anger stage of grief where Elijah is concerned. How does she feel about him and the part he played in Hayley's death at this point?
Russell: Yeah, she's definitely in the anger stage right now. Her anger obviously manifests itself in very explosive ways. You definitely see that she's got a lot of conflict within herself too, so when she... sees Elijah for the first time, really this entire season, she does end up taking out a lot of how she's dealing with herself, with her mom and with him too. He didn't mean to really kill her, but he ultimately ended up being kind of the nail in the coffin. You definitely see that erupt this next episode.

How do you think Hope really feels about Roman at this point, given that he played a big part in Hayley's death too?
Russell: You do see that as well, kind of come to its finish line in the next few episodes. I'd imagine she's extremely angry at Roman. Even though you did see his compassion because he didn't really know what his mother was doing...he did have a huge part to play in her mom's death. So I'd imagine she's immeasurably angry and upset, and feeling very betrayed by the first person she ever really let in.

The Originals' Phoebe Tonkin Talks Hayley's Death and Legacies Spin-Off

Now that Klaus (Joseph Morgan) can really be in her life again, how is their relationship going to develop in the final episodes of the series?
Russell: I think that's something that the fans are going to enjoy a lot, this relationship. She gets to explore with her dad now without limits anymore. They're kind of getting to know each other still. They haven't been in each other's lives very often and Hope really needs her dad. So, they're kind of getting to know that dynamic and know each other, but it's really sweet, the dynamic between Hope and Klaus. It ends up being very family-oriented, the show, kind of towards the last... four episodes that we have left. The dynamic between Hope and Klaus being explored in these next couple episodes I think will really bring a lot of warmth to peoples' hearts.

These vampire purists are still sorta hanging out in the background, but how much danger is Hope in from these people and their movement?
Russell: This is very dangerous group. Hope, you know, Hope is like, one of the most powerful beings in this universe, I don't think she realizes that she has not much to worry about. [After] exploding a couple times in the last couple episodes, she gets to see what she can do for the first time, and so I don't think she's very worried about these vampire purists. I think she almost feels like she doesn't care anymore, she's in such an emotional state that whatever comes, she knows that she's just going to tackle it. She's gonna destroy it.

Phoebe Tonkin mentioned in our interview with her that the last scene she shot for the season was actually a Hope and Hayley scene. Is there anything you can tease about that final scene?
Russell: It's a sweet scene... It definitely was the best way to end that relationship, and I think Hope gets a little bit of closure from that scene too. I think the fans will as well.

The Originals airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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