Not a lot of main characters are killed off shows these days, but for today unfortunately it was the case.

Hayley Marshall-Kenner, played by Australian actress Phoebe Tonkin, was killed off the TV show The Originals after starring on the show since 2013. Phoebe first joined the show in 2013 as a series regular before becoming a guest star this year. Her character was killed off after sacrificing herself in the name of protecting her daughter Hope (played by Wonder actress Danielle Rose Russell) and her daughter’s father Niklaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) who was about to be killed at the stake.

As for the show’s main cast some have come forward in regards to the characters death and brought forward their opinions on it and for some it includes what it means for their own characters. One of those is Joseph Morgan, he has spoken out about the aftermath for his character Niklaus, “He really feels the weight and responsibility of being the only parent,” he then continued on saying, “That’s tremendously difficult for him to deal with. I feel like Hayley’s always been a much better parent than him, and she spent the time — she’s spent the last seven years, while he’s been away, with Hope, and so for him to come back after such a long absence and then to be thrown into this situation where, ‘Hey it’s just you now with your daughter,’ it’s a very steep learning curve for him. So that’s tremendously upsetting.”

Joseph then explained how Hayley went from being an outsider of the Mikaelson family to become an official member of the family and not just because of being Hope’s mother. Then another cast member spoke up which is Danielle and she spoke about the impact Hayley’s death will have on her character Hope and the dark path it takes her under as a result, “It’s going to have a massive effect on Hope and the rest of the family. It’s going to disrupt Hope’s kind of self-journey of figuring out who she is, and so she goes through a really drastic change midway through the season. I think that death really does have a big impact on her.”

Hayley was a werewolf turned hybrid after giving birth to Hope. She was turned after being killed by a group of witches in Season 1. She ended up dying alongside an enemy named Greta Sienna (played by guest star Nadine Lewington) as they burnt in the sunlight as vampires.

 She grew into a brave and selfless woman putting those she cares about, particularly her daughter, first. Film production have expressed that killing Hayley off wasn’t just a random death it is in fact part of the storyline surrounding Elijah (played by Daniel Gillies) getting his memories back. It also happened after Phoebe herself had a number of other projects to attend to resulting in limited amount of episodes and finishing her casting earlier than the rest of the cast.

What will happen next once everyone learns of Hayley’s death? Find out each week on The Originals! Currently airing its final season before its recently revealed spin off Legacies airs next year.