Last season on Legacies, Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) sacrificed herself to save the world from Malivore, an act that erased her from the memories of everyone who knows her in the process. Yet even with Hope supposedly being both gone and forgotten it doesn’t seem like either is the case. A recent teaser showed her friends in Mystic Falls sensing something being amiss and showed Hope trying to fight her way back home. If she does manage to make her way back, it looks like Hope may just have a familiar face to welcome her. Riley Voelkel, who played Hope’s aunt Freya on The Originals is set to appear in Episode 6 of Legacies‘ Season 2.
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According to TV Line, no additional details have been provided regarding Freya’s visit so it’s unclear if she’s coming to help Hope or if there is another reason she’s being called upon — the Saltzman twins do have that whole Merge thing they’re trying to both figure out and avoid having to be part of. What is clear is that Voelkel is the latest character from the larger The Vampire Diaries universe to appear on Legacies. Previously, The Vampire Diaries stars Zach Roerig and Steven R. McQueen appeared in the first season, offering a connection between the series and its roots.
Bringing characters from the previous two shows, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals is something that showrunner Julie Plec has talked about previously, noting earlier this year that there are opportunities to see some of those other characters, but only if Legacies‘ story dictates it.
“I think there’s going to be an opportunity this year to see some of the Originals,” Plec said. “I don’t know who and I don’t know when, but the way that Hope’s storyline is shaping up, there’s definitely a link to the family that got left behind … that we will have to address at a certain point. And it would be nice to see a familiar face.”
Seeing a familiar face could end up being very important for Hope. The character has been through a lot of loss and trauma well before Legacies — both of her parents died during the final season of The Originals, not to mention the other things the character has been through — so seeing family might be a way to help Hope process things. At least that’s something Russell has previously said she’d like to explore more of.
“I’d really like to see how Hope Handles situations, traumatic situations, more on-screen,” she told TV Guide earlier this year. “Because after the death of her parents, we kind of did a time jump, and we didn’t really see that process, and I’d love to see that process explored a little bit more. And I’d also love to see the impact that it has on Hope and Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) because she did it for them, so it’s kind of a beautiful and tragic dynamic that I’m really excited to see more of next year.”
Are you excited for Voelkel to reprise her role as Freya on The Originals? Let us know in the comments below.
Legacies returns on Thursday, October 10 at 9/8c on The CW.
