One of the most highly anticipated debuts of the season is next Monday at 9pm, when Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell makes her first appearance on the hit NBC drama Heroes.? It’s hard to contain the joy when these two very popular cult shows join forces. Bell herself, alongside Heroes mastermind Tim Kring, held a conference call today to talk openly about her role on the show and what else to look for in season 2.

Among the topics covered: details on Kristen Bell’s character, including who she interacts with and how long she’ll be around; the structure of season 2 and the possibility of seeing more of the Group of 12; Bell’s offer to be on Lost; and Bell’s favorite TV shows and whether she stays in contact with her Veronica Mars co-stars.

!!! WARNING: Heroes season 2 spoilers ahead.

About her character, Elle, Kristen Bell described her as “a little bit off” with very duplicitous motives, which she relishes.? Elle has a lot of information about Peter’s past, though Bell was reluctant to say more without Tim Kring’s approval.? He chimed in, stating simply that she is looking for Peter and it’s a good bet that she finds him.?

When pushed, Bell spilled a lot more about Elle.? She kept up the line about how she has “a very cool power.”? Also, Bell said Elle “has ties to HRG and to Claire.” describing that it’s a very interesting dynamic she has with Claire, and that it’s a deeper relationship than most people would think.? Elle also has some smaller ties to Mohinder, and Bell described her again as “a little messed-up in the head” with few boundaries,? Kring added that Elle was raised within the Company, and that her character is a cautionary tale about what happens when a Hero is raised with an awareness of her power, rather than discovering it on her own.? She hopes fans will root for her character, even though Elle has trouble differentiating between good and evil, because her upbringing inside the Company really messed with her moral compass.

The next episode is a bit of a tease, according to Bell, because even though she appears in episode 5, her character is not in the two after that.? However, Bell assured viewers that she returns for episodes 8 and 9, which feature a lot of great Elle stuff.

Bell spoke a little about her friendship with Hayden Panettiere, which goes back a while, and may have let something slip when she said the two always joked about playing sisters or best friends.? She quickly backtracked, saying their characters on Heroes aren’t necessarily either of those, but it definitely sounded like her defenses were down for a moment.? She said she’s more than willing to join the show for the long-term, though right now she’s only signed up for 13 episodes of this season, and at the end of those, she’ll have a meeting with Kring and other producers to determine whether or not her character is worth keeping around.

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