Hope Edwards

* Early 20s
* Late teens

"*I used to dream about what life in the Old World was like. How people lived. How they built their cities, their communities. Then one day I decided that I had had **enough** of dreaming. I decided I would start **living**,*"
—Hope Edwards to Lucian[src]

**Hope Edwards**, occasionally referred to as **Mistress Hope**, is the protagonist of the '*New Age*' Extension of *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*. The granddaughter of Harry Edwards, Hope spent most of her youth alone or taking advice and wisdom from her grandfather. In her teenage years, she became an intern at the Medical Union before joining the fight against the Republic of David. After losing her twin brother, Jacob, Hope left the Commonwealth of New Graystone alongside her girlfriend Florence and her best friend Six on a pilgrimage her grandfather had set out to find his final secret.

After a lengthy battle against the Biters, Hope became a senior figure in the settlement of Freedomtown, alongside Six and her friend Denver, with her primary priority being combat training. She became a co-leader of the Alliance and married Florence after the war with the Patriots.

However, after she faced her cousin Ben it was revealed that the New Buckingham Corps had transformed the Columbian Commonwealth to the south into a dictatorship and, worse still, Florence was a spy for the Corps. After learning of this betrayal Hope began a relationship with Lucian and became a soldier in the newly independent Columbian Commonwealth, leading the growing nation in the resulting war with the Corps despite her young age.

When the Corps was defeated, Hope took over leadership of the Columbian, cutting off all contact with its allies and transforming it into an entirely independent and self-sustaining state. According to limited reports, she remained leader of the Columbian for decades, transforming it into one of the few stable societies on the east coast.

## Overview

### Personality

Born the granddaughter of the Veteran of Pain and Suffering, Hope was always faced with great expectations from the moment she was born. In many ways, she is very similar to her grandfather, often setting herself unreasonable goals. From a young age, Hope desired to be independent and often spent her time training herself for this.

Despite her young age, Hope is a skilled and capable survivor, able to safely hold her own against dead and living threats. Unlike her twin brother, Jacob, Hope grew up numb to their father's absence and spent most of her time reading and talking to her elders about their experiences in a post-apocalyptic world.

As a result, Hope is resourceful even in the most scarce of situations, and despite growing up on a relatively safe ranch, Hope is shown to be strong-willed and determined, ready to do what's necessary, as such when she volunteered to put down her grandfather's reanimated corpse. She becomes consistently resolute after this tragedy, enrolling in the Volunteer Militia in order to fight back against a force to the south called the Republic of David.

Hardened by her time on the road, Hope has nonetheless remained open and optimistic, being by far the most welcoming of her group. She has gained significant leadership skills and keeps her group inspired. Her time as a soldier has allowed her to develop essential skills, such as using an assault rifle and even driving, being the current owner of Drew's red Mustang, and navigation. She has an amazing deductive mind, allowing her to read people with exceptional skill; as a result, she is a very good judge of character and knows when to trust people or not in a short space of time.

Hope rarely lets her emotions get the better of her, always seeing the bigger picture no matter the situation. She knows when to show mercy and when to show wrath and she rarely loses her temper, even with twisted individuals like Dino, The Governor or even Joel. She is also a strictly honest individual and hardly ever lies, not even to protect her loved ones. She always thinks clearly and logically, developing her own mind palace like her grandfather, and even handled her emotions upon realizing she was bitten.

As a child, Hope was often confused about her attraction to Florence and often felt shame about it. However, thanks to her grandfather and the lengths she has gone to prove herself, she has become surer of herself and is not afraid to be with Florence in public or admit her sexuality. Like her grandfather, Hope appears to hold no religious beliefs, but also like her grandfather is willing to listen to religious sermons and is tolerant of others beliefs, especially Gideon.

Upon taking leadership of the Columbian Commonwealth, Hope struggles with being placed upfront in the approaching war with the New Buckingham Corps. She hardens yet further as the war accelerates, learning from those around her and wanting to settle down after her long life on the road.

As she faces the possibility that the Columbian will follow her as their leader, she forces herself to become harder and more aloof to others, struggling to maintain her cold exterior as she prepares for war and the love and acceptance she receives from those around her.

Upon discovering that Florence, her own wife, had been betraying her and working for the Corps during the entire time they knew each other, Hope begins showing little compassion in harming or dealing with people mercilessly. However, she finds solace in those around her, forming a new relationship with Lucian and seeing her group as her new family.

With the war's conclusion, Hope realizes that the people of the Columbian need her more than ever and decides to keep her promise of making it an independent state, totally isolated and self-sustaining. She earns the loyalty of the entire Columbian militia and banishes her father and the Commonwealth from the Columbian's borders forever. Although little information is subsequently available, she remained the leader of the Columbian for decades to come, carrying on the legacy of the Veteran of Pain and Suffering.

## Post-Apocalypse

Hope was born on Veteran Ranch in 2048, just four years after the end of the Commonwealth-Government War as the daughter of Dominic Edwards and Eveline Edwards and just a few minutes before her twin brother, Jacob. She was born when both her parents were just in their mid-teens, with her father being just 15 when she was born. According to her grandfather's journal, she learned to walk at just 8 months old and could talk a month later. Unlike her brother, Hope took more of an interest in the philosophies of peace rather than war and combat. She spent most of her time reading and speaking to her grandfather, becoming very well educated. She learned the basics of weaponry at the School of Defence, where she met her future girlfriend - and later wife - Florence.

### Season 5

#### 'A Path Too Long'

A year after the surrender of the Republic of David, Hope and her group are in the Deadlands, still on the search for the third clue within the vast valley. In the meantime, they've been staying at an inn located in a clear-patch within the valley run by a man named Denver.

### Season 11

#### 'Mr Blue Sky'

It has been two years since the Alliance defeated the Patriots. In that time, Freedomtown has expanded to encompass almost all of Roosevelt Island. The walls have been expanded, allowing space for orchards, crops, livestock, and living space. A new day dawns and notable members of the community awake and get dressed: Denver, now sporting a short haircut, puts on his prosthetic leg; Henry puts on a new prosthetic arm that lets him play guitar; and Nathaniel trains in the gym and is greeted by Martha.

Hope awakens, having got a lie-in after a week of early awakenings. She grabs her wedding ring from the bedside cabinet and gets dressed in the bathroom; in the last two years, she has repaired her hat. She examines the two scars on her face given to her by the Governor. She exists the bathroom just as Florence wakes up. Hope reminds her that their anniversary is in a week, to which Florence reveals that she has a surprise in store. Hope says she looks forward to it and kisses her before heading out for the day.

### Season 15

#### 'The Final Stand'

Hope heads to the back room and cries over the loss of her allies. A tall figure appears behind her - "Hello, sweetheart", it says - and asks her to come with him. Hope realizes the figure is her grandfather and takes his hand. Her grandfather leads her to a door, revealing a thriving Old World on the other side.

### Ending

*"..As for Hope Edwards herself...well, not much is known. After she exiled her father, Hope cut off all contact with her family to begin the process of state-building. A few reports say she settled down with Lucian, and maybe even had a child with him, but nobody can know for sure. People say she leads the Columbian to this day,"*

## Killed Victims

This list shows the victims Hope Edwards has killed:

* Harry Edwards *(before reanimation)*
* Tyler Dixon *(alive)*
* Archibald *(alive)*
* Gregory David *(caused)*
* Carmen *(caused)*
* Dino
* Six *(indirectly caused)*
* Damien Blake
* Henry Korvac *(caused, alive)*
* Joel
* 3 unnamed members of the Republic of David
* 5 unnamed members of the Biters
* 7 unnamed members of the Patriots
* Numerous unnamed members of the New Buckingham Corps
* Numerous counts of zombies

## Relationships

### Harry Edwards

"*Do you know why you are named "Hope"?"
 "Papa never told me,"
 "Because your mother knew that you would be a **light shining in darkness**. I know you will be strong, Hope. You'll be some kind of something,*"
—Edwards to his granddaughter as to why she was named Hope[src]
Hope was very close to her grandfather and aimed to become just like him.

### Florence

"*Don't you **dare** leave me again,*"
—Florence is reunited with Hope[src]
Hope and Florence have a loving relationship.

## Quotes

* *"I've learned not to believe in magic or luck,"*
* "*I think, and then I do,"*
* *"You aim that gun at me, you best think about pulling the trigger,"*
* *"We can do this together, but we can only do this together,"*
* *"It's time to be brave,"*
* *"As a wise man once said: 'may my **mercy** prevail over my **wrath**',"*

## Trivia

* Hope is the second LGBT protagonist, the first being Mark Watson.
	+ She is also the first LGBT character, alongside Florence, to get married.
	+ She is the first bisexual protagonist.
* Hope's primary weapon is her grandmother's knife and a handmade bow. She later uses Manticore's engraved pistol as her primary weapon after being gifted it as a sign of respect.
* The EDStudios writing team has said that Hope and her twin brother, Jacob, were both protagonists of *Season 1* in order to decide which one of them they preferred and therefore become the sole protagonist of future seasons.
* At 21, she is the youngest leader in the '*New Age*' Extension and the youngest military leader.
* Hope is often referred to as "Mistress Hope" by the inhabitants of Veteran Ranch and the Columbian Commonwealth. EDStudios confirmed that this was never originally intended to be her nickname, but they came up with it in passing while writing her character.
* She is the sixth character in the '*New Age*' Extension to lose a limb and the third to lose their leg, the others being Denver and Sarah Terringham.
	+ She is the second member of the Edwards family to lose a limb, after her grandfather, with her left leg being bitten and subsequently amputated by Thomas Granger.
* An older Hope returns alongside Lucian and her family in the Extended Universe.

* Original Series Characters
* TWD World Characters