‘Virgin River’: Annette O’Toole Loves Playing Hope Because the Character Isn’t ‘Boring’
Virgin River has been winning over Netflix viewers since it first premiered in 2019. The show centers on Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) and her now-fiancé Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson). Though their relationship is the show’s focal point, the other Virgin River residents are also major players in the show.
Hope (Annette O’Toole), the town’s mayor, has been the glue that holds the small town together. O’Toole says she enjoys her character because Hope isn’t “boring.”
Things will change for Hope in ‘Virgin River’ Season 5
In season 4, Hope had a challenging time recovering from her head injury from the car accident she was in. The injury caused a ton of frustration for her. However, by the end of the season, she appeared to be on the mend. As a result, O’Toole says she believes the character will return to her roots, being the town’s mayor and being in the thick of everything.
“I would like to see her — and I believe this is going to happen — be more of a mayor, be more involved in her work,” O’Toole told The List. “We see her walking around, showing up, and she can go anywhere.”
After all, Hope’s no-holds-bar attitude and wit drew the Smallville actor to the role in the first place.
Annette O’Toole says she loves playing Hope because the character isn’t boring
We all know that Hollywood has an age problem. In the past, as soon as an actor turned a certain age, she was regulated to elderly or sideline roles. O’Toole, who is currently 70, says everything about Hope shatters those stereotypes.
“That’s why this character was attractive because I could help form her into something a little more real than a lot of the stuff I read for characters my age, grandmothers and the sweet kind of homebody,” she told ABC News. “That’s boring; I’ve done that.
Instead, O’Toole helped shape the character into everything she wanted her to be. “I just wanted her to be complicated, a woman who even at her age doesn’t have the answers,” she explained. “She doesn’t have, at the beginning, a relationship that is steady. It’s very rocky. That’s interesting to me, somebody who has gone through most of her life and hasn’t figured it out yet. She’s impulsive and headstrong, and also very generous and can be very kind and loving. She’s just a person. I just wanted a full person.”
‘Virgin River’ fans are convinced that Hope will die in Season 5
We may be getting Hope back, but it could also be her last season. Fans have been convinced that Hope will die in season 5. “Hope is going to pass away,” one Redditor explained via Express. “It was hinted throughout S4 that her health was deteriorating, and with the home health aide thing, I’m thinking she will die surrounded by loved ones, and Doc/Denny will live together.”
Henderson even hinted at a character’s demise. “Obviously, I’m speaking without having read any of those actual scripts,” he told Glamour. “A lot of stuff gets wrapped up, and then there’s a whole bunch of new beginnings, new storylines. I can’t give too much away. I know someone might move away. Someone might leave.”
