The Originals: Riley Voelkel on Freya's growing connection with Keelin

When Freya Mikaelson first came to The Originals, she was the secret Mikaelson sibling that viewers weren’t sure if they could trust. However, years later, she has not only proven herself as a loyal sister, but she’s arguably the protector of the Mikaelson clan.

And with her role as the witch of the family, she’s going to play an important part in taking on this season’s villain: The Hollow, a mysterious magical force. EW talked with star Riley Voelkel about Freya’s journey thus far in season 4 and what comes next.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Freya finally got some bonding time with her siblings in those five years. Do you feel like that’s changed her?
RILEY VOELKEL: Definitely. Even though it was bittersweet because she didn’t have Klaus, she had this dream world that she created, and that was her dream — to be with the family and spend time with them and have those moments that she didn’t get when she was little. She didn’t grow up with them and have those bonding moments that they all had together, so when she’s given that, I think it was a bittersweet time for her. But I do think it bonded them even more coming out of it. She’s definitely without a doubt now part of the family, will do anything for them, and they know that and trust her now fully.

When you started this season, were you curious about what happened in those five years? Did you talk to the writers about it at all?
It was kind of left unsaid that they made the best out of it, they were able to spend time together but there was always the pain of knowing Klaus is in pain throughout all of that. I think she was preparing the whole time while she was in the dreamscape so that as soon as Hayley finds what she needs to bring me back, I’m going to be right back to work. And hoping that she would save us all.

From the moment she woke up, I feel like Freya’s been in “fierce” mode this season.
Yep, she’s all business and no time for fun at this point. She just wants to make sure everyone is back together. I think the goal is to get the family back together, including Hope and Hayley, and avoid what the Mikaelsons are always dealing with, but unfortunately that never lasts long.

Considering that this season’s big bad is magical, what kind of impact will that have on Freya?
Because it’s a magical being I think she has even more insight. This is something they’ve never dealt with before and they’re definitely going to need Freya very involved in order to figure it out being that she’s the witch of the family. And we got a little witch now, Hope, and we don’t know her strength yet. We know that she’s even stronger than Freya could be, but you’re also going to start seeing another side of Freya of seeing her be somewhat vulnerable and because she’s usually on her own, needing maybe help or wanting help for once.

The thing I enjoy most about her relationship with Keelin, even though it started off a little rocky, is simply just the fact that Freya has someone outside of the family.
Totally. She’s usually very much on her own and all about the family and doesn’t mess around with anything outside of it, and I think when Keelin’s first brought to her, Freya originally is just using her, but not expecting her necessarily to be so willing to help. I think that shocks her a bit. You start so see that Freya does have emotions. She does have a side to her that we don’t really see. She feels too.

How will this week’s episode affect Freya and Keelin’s dynamic?
They made a deal and Freya is really letting Keelin decide. [Keelin is] free to go. I don’t think at this point Freya’s necessarily expecting much. Keelin also has to decide if she even wants to deal with the Mikaelsons. They go out for a drink and that is not really normal for Freya. She has some type of connection to Keelin, which is the start of some kind of connection that she wasn’t expecting, and I think we’ll see whether Keelin also feels that or if she doesn’t want to get mixed up with this mess. We can see that Freya’s disappointed that Keelin could possibly leave and she’ll never see her again. There’s some disappointment there, but Freya again is trying to focus on her family and not let her own desires or wants or a friend get in the way.

I feel like if anyone deserves a drink, it’s Freya.
I think so too. I’m always happy when Freya gets to drink. You see the family often having a drink or having relationships or some other stuff and I’m like, ‘This girl does not sleep!’ She has a lot of responsibility. I really think she deserves a drink, for sure. [Laughs]

We also know that this week, Freya gives Klaus a weapon to kill Marcel. Unlike the other Mikaelsons, Freya doesn’t have a history with Marcel. What are her feelings toward him? Would she be upset if he died?
She definitely cares about her family to the point where, because they care about him, I think if it’s something that’s avoidable, fine, but if it comes down to Marcel or her brothers, there’s just no question. I don’t think she has that connection to him. She feels like she has to make the hard decisions sometimes, just like she did with Davina. It’s her family or nothing. And having Klaus start to be affected by The Hollow, he and Marcel are seeing these visions that are putting them up against each other, and Freya knows that The Hollow’s going to possibly want them to destroy each other. So when Klaus is going to go into this with Marcel, she wants him to be protected.

The Originals airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.