Warning! Spoilers for The Haunting of Bly Manor below.

The Haunting of Bly Manor held onto a lot of secrets before its release, but the best-kept ones in the show pertained to the reveals of Kate Siegel and Carla Gugino in very special roles. Their Hill House castmates—Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Henry Thomas—were publicly teased as part of the cast. Siegel was only vaguely mentioned as coming back in a secret role, and Gugino's return was a complete surprise to fans of Mike Flanagan's The Haunting series.

The Haunting of Bly Manor borrows Hill House cast members for a brand new ghost story. The new season of the show follows Dani (Pedretti) as she becomes an au pair to two orphaned children, Miles and Flora. She slowly realizes there's something very wrong with the children and their home. Thomas plays their uncle Henry, and Jackson-Cohen plays his associate, Peter. Bly Manor opens by revealing Gugino as a nameless narrator, and takes eight episodes to introduce Siegel's character, who is an integral part of Bly's history.

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By the time audiences reach Bly Manor's ending, Gugino and Siegel's characters are revealed to be two of the most important in the season. The show is about ghosts and haunted people, and both of their characters are extreme examples of that theme. By slowly revealing their identities, that theme's power was strengthened. Not to mention, both actors were perfectly splendid in their respective roles, which wouldn't have been the same if played by anyone else.

Why Kate Siegel & Carla Gugino's Roles Were Kept Secret

Kate Siegel and Carla Gugino in Bly Manor

The main reason for the secrecy surrounding Siegel's and Gugino's roles is simple — it was for the fans. Hill House was a very contained, character-driven story, laser-focused on its main ensemble. It quickly became a hit for Netflix, since fans responded so well to the characters that Mike Flanagan created. Gugino played the doomed matriarch of the Crain family and Siegel was the middle child. Gugino was a star before she joined Hill House, so naturally, fans gravitated toward her. However, Siegel's tortured and feisty Theo Crain quickly became a fan favorite. Flanagan wisely knew that fans would welcome both actresses back with open arms.

The secrecy does go a little deeper than providing fans with just a surprise, though. Gugino's Olivia Crain was central to the plot of Hill House. Her death fueled the events of the show. If her Bly Manor return was revealed ahead of time, it likely would've been a hint that her character was more than just a nameless narrator. Siegel may not hold the same level of gravitas as Gugino, but her role was kept under wraps to ensure one of the most important plot points of the show stayed secret.

The Lady In The Lake & Narrator Were Crucial To Bly Manor's Story

Jamie and the Lady in the Lake Bly Manor

Revealing details about Gugino and Siegel's roles would have spoiled crucial plot lines of The Haunting of Bly Manor. The show is all about emotional trauma and the way it haunts people. That's why ghosts are so important to The Haunting series — not only do they provide the scares fans have come to expect from the show, but they're also the perfect personification of this overarching theme. Siegel and Gugino's characters are strong representations of both physical and metaphorical ghosts, carrying much of the emotional burden on their shoulders.

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Siegel plays the original and most menacing of the faceless ghosts at Bly Manor — the Lady in the Lake. She was the original lady of the house in the 17th century, once known as Viola. She gets sick and dies young, which—along with her resentment and bitterness—leads to her becoming a vengeful spirit. Viola remains tied to Bly Manor, so she haunts each subsequent resident of her former home. Bly Manor is a ghost story on the surface, and Viola does the vast majority of the haunting.

Gugino's narrator is revealed to be the older version of Jamie, Bly Manor's gardener, who falls in love with Dani. The show is full of emotionally haunted people, but Jamie ends up being the most haunted of all. Every other character dealing with emotional trauma eventually finds peace, even if that is through death. Jamie never does. In Bly Manor's ending, Dani allows the lady of the lake inside of her body, which breaks the curse put on Bly Manor. That act of courage came with a hefty price as Dani realized her actions meant Viola would eventually claim her soul. Dani and Jamie have a handful of happy years together, but Dani's instinct is eventually right. For the rest of her days, Jamie is haunted by the loss of her wife.

The secrecy surrounding Gugino's and Siegel's roles allowed the deeper meaning behind their characters to pack a stronger emotional punch. Jamie is the broken heart at the center of Bly Manor's story, and Viola is the reason why it's broken. The Haunting series stands apart from other horror content because of its emotional core; revealing details about Gugino's and Siegel's roles would have taken that experience and emotional impact away from fans too soon.

Gugino & Siegel Were The Best Actors For Their Roles

Gugino established herself as a talented actress before The Haunting series, but her work as Olivia in The Haunting of Hill House proved why she was the perfect choice for an older Jamie. Hill House follows Olivia as she slowly transforms from a loving wife and mother to someone who began to mentally unravel. She was the glue at the center of her family, and her death tore them apart. As an older woman, Jamie shares some similarities to Olivia, just in a less straight-forward way. Olivia's death is the focus of Hill House, and Jamie's loss is the focus of Bly Manor. Jamie unravels in a quieter way than Olivia, but it's still just as meaningful. Gugino's acting chops gave her the capacity to handle such heavy emotional work even if she was only seen periodically as the narrator.

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In a way, Siegel convinced Flanagan to write the role of Viola for her. The Hill House and Bly Manor creator is also her husband, so she was privy to information about Bly Manor before most. She felt that early versions of the script didn't include a character that was right for her. As she told Entertainment Weekly, she jokingly asked Flanagan to write a part for her in which she could "wear beautiful clothes and lounge around all day." That, of course, eventually became Viola. As a frequent collaborator of her husband's, Siegel is no stranger to bringing horror characters to life. That said, it was the fierceness shared by Viola and her Hill House character, Theo, that made Siegel the perfect fit for her Bly Manor role. Both Siegel and Gugino brought a level of depth to The Haunting of Bly Manor that no other actor could have done. Hopefully, both actors will return for The Haunting season 3.

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