Hello, my Darling Readers and welcome to this week’s Femme Fatale Friday! I have chosen Freya Beauchamp from The Witches of East End as this week’s topic. Freya is one of the primary figures of the television series and the books upon which it is based. In the novels, the story specifically states that each of the witches is actually one of the Norse Goddesses, while in the television show, it is left ambiguous, only stating that they came from a land named Asgard after having been banished.
Freya is therefore literally the Norse Goddess of Love and War in the books. They reincarnate after being killed, but unlike the television show, Freya and Ingrid do not need to die on the same day and do not always die young, that was a choice to add drama to the television show. Freya has a great inclination for love magic and potion work. That is why she prefers to work as a bartender in the books, as she can remember her past lives and is actively practicing magic at the beginning of the book. In the television show, Freya is a bartender who unknowingly is mixing magic into her amazing drinks. I love the way this was adapted from one medium to another, both versions are using the magic whether they realize it or not. This is a great way to format a television series, as it is a great way to world-build, by having two women discover they are witches and figure out how magic works in their world. In opposition, already knowing is something that works in a book, as the world-building can be explained by the character’s thoughts.
Freya’s main plot points in both the series and the books are wrapped up within her love life. This is right on point for a Goddess of Love and Sexuality to always be wrapped up in her love life and emotional ties. I love the way that the love triangle unfolds for her, with her conflict over who is the reincarnated version of which past Norse God lover is which in the books. Yet, I also really love the way that the television series chose to adapt this love triangle. Having a more settled ending with an obvious choice between her two lovers speaks to my hopelessly romantic nature! I really do love the relationship between Freya and Killian in both versions, but I have a huge soft spot for their true love story in the television version.
Freya is flirty and a social butterfly who is very empathetic and adores playing matchmaker, which is right on point given her Love Goddess nature. She is the one who happily accepts her father back in the series because she believes in her parents love and in her father’s love for her. Her relationship with her brother is very sweet in both versions, as well. I was happy they kept Freya’s twin in the plot, referencing her having a twin in mythology. In the series, they gave Freya’s ability to change into a cat to the character of Aunt Wendy, who did not exist in the books. However, I am okay with that because I truly loved the character of Wendy. Finally, the last thing I want to mention about Freya as a character and her arc is that I adored the time traveling in the television series especially. Although she time-traveled to Salem in 1692 in the books, I was happier to see her, Wendy, and her mother going back to the Victorian period in the series. That is because I adored that they showed her as being in love with Killian back then and that Killian was Edgar Allan Poe in that lifetime! As a huge Poe fan, this makes me very happy.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my thoughts on Freya Beauchamp. Did you enjoy Witches of East End? What do you think of Freya? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a promo poster of Freya from the first season of the series. I found the image on https://ew.com/article/2013/09/12/witches-of-east-end-exclusive-photos/.
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Further Reading/Watching
- Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz
- Serpent’s Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz
- Winds of Salem by Melissa de la Cruz
- Witches of East End (2013)