Exclusive Interview
‘Hope Valley: 1874’s Bethany Joy Lenz and Jill Hennessy on Rebecca & Hattie’s Bond Over Lost Loves
What To Know
- Episode 2 of Hope Valley: 1874 explores the growing bond between widows Rebecca Clarke and Hattie Quinn.
- Bethany Joy Lenz and Jill Hennessy revealed to Swooon what is to come in their characters’ friendship.
- Lenz also revealed whether there are flashbacks with Rebecca’s husband later in the season.
“Isn’t it wonderful when you meet someone who you know has shared something the same as you?” Bethany Joy Lenz asked Swooon during our visit to the Hope Valley: 1874 set. (Warning: Hope Valley: 1874 Episode 2 spoilers ahead!)
While fans know that Lenz’s character, Rebecca, has a connection brewing with Tom, played by Benjamin Ayres, the second episode of the series focuses on her relationship with Hattie, played by Jill Hennessy. Episode 2, which premiered on March 26, opens with Rebecca dreaming of her late husband, Jim (Jason Tremblay). So far, we only know that Rebecca’s husband was a war doctor. Otherwise, her past is still a mystery.
Rebecca tells Hattie, “Jim and I had this dream to come out west and see the frontier for ourselves. Maybe even start a new life.” According to Hattie, her late husband, Frank, was “a dreamer, too.” Moving forward in the season, Lenz and Hennessy told Swooon that the widows’ connection over their late husbands is what brings them closer together.
“They end up confiding in each other a lot more,” Hennessy shared. “Rebecca’s got a lot she needs to keep under the surface, and Hattie herself is kind of forced to come out of her shell just to reach out to Rebecca, sensing that she’s going through something pretty traumatic.” Of course, this forces Hattie to face her past as well.
“She’s finally found a soul that she can trust, that she can relate to,” Hennessy revealed. “Because she really doesn’t have that. I think Hattie’s very alone in this community in some ways. She gets along with everybody, everybody loves her, and she can be the life of the party, but she really has nobody to truly confide in. I think Rebecca really provides her with that.”
Jeff Weddell / Hallmark Media
Their connection isn’t just limited to their pasts. Both Rebecca and Hattie are now navigating their lives as single mothers. Lenz told Swooon, “One thing Rebecca brings out in Hattie is an allowance to feel her grief and be okay with that. She also allows her to focus on her feelings and not run away from them. This impending dread of her daughter leaving, moving off, even though she knows Olivia has to go pursue whatever dream she has.”
Finding out that Hattie is also a widow creates an “instant bond” between the two women, which will only become stronger as Rebecca plants her roots in the frontier. “I think Rebecca has to worry much less about the trust issue that she has with people when she meets Hattie,” Lenz explained. “There’s an automatic understanding of mortality and the priorities in life.”
Naturally, we had to ask Lenz whether we’ll see her character’s relationship with her late husband in flashbacks. She confessed, “I’ve heard rumors that there will be [flashbacks], but we haven’t shot anything like that in Season 1.” She added, “That’s been a conversation.”
Hope Valley: 1874, Season 1, New Episodes Thursdays, Hallmark+
