All season long on “The Originals,” the Mikaelson family has fought against ancient, evil spirit The Hollow when it took over various hosts. But now, with The Hollow having taken over Klaus and Hayley’s daughter Hope, the stakes are at their highest.
The Hollow is pushing the young Mikaelson further into darkness, and if Hope gives up, The Hollow can take her over for good.
Friday’s Season 4 finale is a big one for Hope, played by Summer Fontana.
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“We knew when we cast this part, it would be a make or break casting choice and if we hadn’t lucked out and got the amazing Summer Fontana, I think it may have altered some of our story decisions,” Executive Producer Michael Narducci told AccessHollywood.com.
“But because we had Summer, who is phenomenal, we were able to explore what it looks like when a centuries-old spirit invades the body of a 7-year-old witch, and I think that’s a fantastic trope of horror films where you get to see a child that starts off innocent and then maybe something starts to emerge within them,” he added.
As Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) tells the Mikaelsons in the trailer for Friday’s episode, he wants to transfer The Hollow from Hope and into four of them, giving the Mikaelson siblings a big decision to make – will they put Hope first or themselves?
“We wanted to put Hope in jeopardy and see how these Mikaelsons would react and Summer Fontana allowed us to explore that character in a lot of different ways because she’s just flat-out phenomenal,” Narducci said.
Friday’s episode isn’t just a big one for the family. Narducci is exiting “The Originals” as showrunner, and it no doubt is an emotional time – something we asked the EP about.
“It is emotional and it’s been a part of my life for seven years. I’ve been writing Klaus since he first appeared in Episode 218 of ‘Vampire Diaries’ and the character I’ve grown to love and feel close to. And Marcel and Hayley and Elijah and Rebekah and Freya– all of those characters — I’m very proud of what we’ve done with them and how the cast has breathed life into them,” Narducci said. “But, the nature of stories is they are these larger than life things and long after I’m gone, I hope people are still enjoying ‘The Originals’ and I don’t just mean from the show, I mean people still enjoy shows from 30, 40 years ago, 50, 60 years ago. It’s fine with me if this is one of the hallmarks of my legacy and the hard work that the writers and the cast and the crew have done. So, you just do the best you can and then you pass the torch and I feel pretty good about that.
“The Originals” Season 4 finale airs Friday at 8/7c on The CW.
— Jolie Lash
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