Anyone else a Hope fan?
Posted by itsascreambaby96@reddit | xena | View on Reddit | 37 comments
Idk maybe it's because I hate the Eve story line and how much of a hypocrite Xena is when it comes to her child but I just love Hope and how complex of a character she is. All she wanted was her father's approval and her mother's love.
RockGodItachi@reddit
I love Hope too gave me chills when she said “hello mother…!” The way Renee played her was just perfect because even from that line you knew she was going to continue to be evil and would want revenge on the attempt to kill her as a child. I would have loved to have seen more involving her and how she could drive a wedge in Xena’s and Gabs relationship. Could you imagine what Gabs face would be like if she found out Hope had gone off with Xena? Or even Joxer? That would have been something to see! I do feel she was under used though as she had so much potential especially when she was working with Callisto. I will say though Renee slayed in this outfit and what I really love about it is it has a Sith robe feel to it and you could easily see this being a screenshot from a Star Wars! Now could imagine Hope as a Sith with a red light lightsaber that would quite a spectacle!
Nike-316@reddit
Joxer would've made for an easy target for Hope to fool into sleeping with her using her mother's appearance. Then Joxer would've had a heavy burden having to live with the fact he slept with a demon thinking he was sleeping with Gabrielle, with the consequences being he was a soon-to be father to a demon hybrid, lol.
RockGodItachi@reddit
Ah yes could you imagine Joxer as the father of the Destroyer!? 😆 “Don’t worry son mommy and daddy love you lots! Now stop trying to kill auntie Xena!” 😂 Seriously though he’d be mortified to find out Hope had used him to get at Gabrielle which would actually be an interesting bit of character development. Could he live with his betrayal? Would he still be the same Joxer we know? Could it lead to him to siding with Hope against his friends? So much potential there.
Nike-316@reddit
Good questions for sure. I think Joxer would try to do anything to make it up to Gabrielle for confusing Hope for her, and maybe Gabrielle would show mercy on him after initially being offended by his lack of discernment, seeing as Hope once used her good nature against her too to break up her friendship with Xena. Hope would probably try to get into his head about it of course, telling him he was wasting his time going after a woman who never loved him and while she herself would always have a place for him and their child. Ultimately this experience would change Joxer, kind of like how Gabrielle was a changed person after dealing with Hope.
Difficult_Jacket202@reddit
I liked the character and was really excited that they made an action figure of her emerging from her cocoon.
Evilbuffy14@reddit
Look, I'm not a Hope fan. At all. However... I can get on board that there was potential for the character to develop more. I would have liked to have seen a physical difference. I know, I know; Hope being identical to Gabrielle was half the point. But I think it would have helped audience 'likeability' if Hope had, I don't know, a mole or some sort of tell. The whole Hope and Ares 'thing' was... uncomfortable, to say the least. I mean...
Hang on. Y'all need to get the syrup, 'cause I'm about to start waffling again.
Ares and Hope completely undermined his pining over Xena. Him and Callisto, ok, I get it. Him and... Boobarella, Tits McGee; what was her name? I get that, too. But him and Hope? He hates Gabrielle, for a start. Numerous episodes of him playing 'oh how I hate Gabrielle, let me count the ways', then all of a sudden they're breeding. Then he's back chasing Xena again. Ugh.
There was potential for Hope to be more of a thorn in Xena's side for multiple episodes. Too much screen time on Hercules, not enough on Xena to really build Hope up as a formidable foe. The writers have assumed that fans will watch both shows together as they aired. That was a mistake and has hurt Hope's chances at audience engagement, somewhat.
Don't get me wrong, Renee O'Connor played the part fantastically. No fault there at all. My sympathies over that white goo. It was the storyline and screen time that let Hope down. Just my opinion, is all.
IseQween@reddit
I thought Renee did a great job giving a bit of complexity to what seemed a plot-device character -- both scary and sympathetic. I would've liked to see more of how she interacted with Gabs' family and Xena before being exposed. Other than that, I was satisfied with what we got.
SolidSnakeMGS2@reddit
I think the problem with the exploring was time and growth. Hope was growing so rapidly within weeks! My concern was that if she reached old age within n months, what was the purpose? Dahak had her created to be able to grow and age rapidly I wonder why, I’m sure it had a sick twisted purpose. In sure if she didn’t have such rapid growth Gabby would have deff spent more time nurturing her and allowed Xena to ease out a bit but Xena saw what we all saw!!
Consistent_Cake_6927@reddit
Dahak just wanted her to grow to be come of age to bring people to her fathers following also to give birth to like their version of the apocalypse four destroyers to get rid of the other gods.
SolidSnakeMGS2@reddit
Dahak is bad news that’s one evil dude. Even Aries sided with him out of fear. The way it promises oblivion but doesn’t say anything about the soul not being tortured since that’s the only reason Callisto joined forces with Hope. Seems like Dahak wanted to keep on living. So maybe it had no intentions to destroy all after all. Hope was doing exactly what Revelations on the Bible says “she brings all nations and all peoples to the beast for eternal desolation and perdition”
SakuraTacos@reddit
I can imagine the warm welcome Gabrielle’s family must’ve given Hope when she first showed up. I wonder if Hope enjoyed being part of a family, even if it probably made her sad/disgusted knowing that love was meant for Gabrielle
RotaVitae@reddit
She always had her father's approval, that at least never went away. The question being, if Dahak takes over the world, is Hope really of any lasting significance, or is she just another disposable tool in his grand scheme?
Consistent_Cake_6927@reddit
She definitely just a portal into the world to prepare the way and afterward i dont think hed care what she did. Most likely shed be used to control her children to put down rebellions because besides the telekinesis she was pretty venerable.
itsascreambaby96@reddit (OP)
Well considering he never mentioned her when he got Iolaus' body to possess I'd say she was just a tool to him as well
Consistent_Cake_6927@reddit
I think at first when she was born Xena seemed a little too quick to want to destroy her. I mean Evander sent a dragon to destroy a town and he was a demi god, his father was Ares. I think if she had a little guidence and some actual time with her mom, then maybe Gabrielle could have tempered her will. I mean there were alot of demi gods who were babies ,creatures who didnt understand their own strength and hurt people and villages before someone stepped in usually Hercules( who himself a demi god didnt know his own strength) Meanwhile Eve goes on a spree and was excused because shes Xenas kid. She was even gonna let her daughter expire her just to prove her love but when Gabrielle sent Hope down the river its a problem?
Nike-316@reddit
Yeah, her storyline is the most popular in the show's history.
No_Gear2665@reddit
YES, someone gets it! I really do feel like Hope could've been a good person but due to her being a vulnerable child groomed from birth to be a killer and alienated from her mother, she wasn't given the chance. Honestly I feel like Hope was a self fulfilling prophecy for Xena. Xena only viewed Hope as becoming a monster, so she (unintentionally) created the conditions for Hope to be the very monster Xena feared. I think a redemption arc for Hope would've been so much cooler than an Eve redemption arc tbh.
Beautiful_Prior_5062@reddit
No! It was fine. But then they kept dragging it on and on and on!!
OrangeClyde@reddit
Not child Hope’s hwig 🤣
CandyLove9@reddit
I enjoyed Renee’s performance of Hope, but Hope made me an even bigger fan of Gabrielle actually.
Hope is interesting because she’s almost pure evil yet still yearns for love from Gabrielle as well as from her own child The Destroyer.
NoReach1699@reddit
I love her!
itsascreambaby96@reddit (OP)
When Hope and her son were dying what did Xena stop Gabrielle trying to do?
Ok_Kangaroo_2160@reddit
I'm not sure if this answers your question, but I got the impression that she was trying to protect her from becoming more emotionally involved in the situation, so she felt the need to physically hold onto Gabrielle's arm and hold her back. It's desperate and a little aggressive - that's just Xena's protectiveness shining through.
Pop_Stensbold@reddit
That moment really bugged me on Xena's part actually.
Ok_Kangaroo_2160@reddit
It really irked me initially but I don't think she meant any harm. Her tendency is to act rather than to ponder deeply especially in the feelings department.
It's a lot more forgivable than her trying to blatantly kill Gabrielle's baby, without even trying to understand the situation from Gabrielle's point of view. Blind obedience is what she expected but when has Gabrielle ever just blindly done as she's asked?
Pop_Stensbold@reddit
I've always been behind support and proper justice for Hope as must seem pretty obvious from the many comments I've made here about her. For a show that prided itself on the theme of redemption I feel Hope's ultimate fate was very unfair. Renee did a great job of conveying a genuine longing and sadness under the surface for the love of her mother as the character too.
Ok_Kangaroo_2160@reddit
The stuff with Eve was fairly lackluster imo, she was more interesting as Livia than Eve.
Hope was more interesting because she was born from evil and rather than loathe the sight of her, Gabrielle loved her completely as she was. She deserved a fair shot to raise her.
LilyofTheValley_7@reddit
Bruhhhhh I love her, she's my baby when it comes to this show. Made a post the other day about how she is one of the characters I wished got redemption. The whole Eve arc was bull, and just felt hypocritical after the hope arc.
itsascreambaby96@reddit (OP)
and Eve had a soul imo she's worse than Hope; Hope at least had the excuse of being a demon.
LilyofTheValley_7@reddit
Exactlyyyyy, Xena, Callisto, and Eve were all out here committing genocide, and selling people into slavery. (actually not really callisto, but she did have a decent kill count) But sure Hope is the monster here, she's half human, Xena really had no idea how Hope was gonna turn out.
Part of me always wondered if Xena held resentment towards the baby, because she was a reminder that Xena brought Gabrielle there. And put her in that situation.
itsascreambaby96@reddit (OP)
and Eve human trafficked the amazons for kicks but Hope was the evil one...
LilyofTheValley_7@reddit
I love bringing up the fact, that both Xena and Eve were supposed to be Amazons, but ultimately either murdered them, or sold them as slaves. 🫠🫠 Love Xena, but girlie was toxic at times
itsascreambaby96@reddit (OP)
Eve was just so fucking self righteous and Xena's behavior annoyed me sm that scene in The Abyss when Gabrielle hallucinating Hope felt like a course correction from the writers
itsascreambaby96@reddit (OP)
also the reason why I hate Eve so much is because her arrival brought forth the end of the Xenaverse; no Callisto, no Autolycus, no Iolaus or Hercules, no Cyrene. Eve murdering Joxer
Adult Eve was not worth it
SolidSnakeMGS2@reddit
She was impressive but man she was evil and I wanted her destroyed!! Haha sorry just omg she was absolutely evil!!
stopstatic27@reddit
I think Hope has a little bit of nuance like most villains but is still largely one dimensional. I find the equivalency that some fans draw between Eve and Hope to be partly false. Both were mystical pregnancies. However, the rate at which Hope developed is more monstrous than human. Her father is an evil god, and her children were human eating monsters. Just like with her son, I don't think a few tender moments with their parent make them complex
Sure, I can understand wanting her father's approval. But if she wanted her mother's love so badly, murdering her mother partner's child wasn't exactly the way to go. As a child Hope murdered another child and manipulated her mother to do so. Even if Gabrielle had been in her life from the beginning, I don't think she would have been able to have much positive influence on her. In the Sacrifice episode she basically tells her mother to join us or die. The fact that she gave mother an opportunity to join and wasn't violent with her is an extraordinarily low bar as far as character complexity goes imo
Ok_Kangaroo_2160@reddit
A bit, yeah. We saw her willing to do her father's bidding while secretly hoping to be loved by her mother, which was exceptionally conveyed by Renee's performance.
I'm not a fan of Gabrielle's ill feelings towards motherhood being brushed aside later on, but I thought it was a clever idea for Renee to portray an older Hope, and for her to be given a chance to play a character so different from Gabrielle.
It also helps that Renee playing an evil character is so hot, so, that definitely fuels my bias 😮💨