Early on, you get a great episode with Christina that deepens Shauna and Misty’s vigorous a bit. How did you find working with her a little bit more
Early on, you get a great episode with Christina that deepens Shauna and Misty’s vigorous a bit. How did you find working with her a little bit more intimately?
I really like that vigorous. Jonathan [Lisco], who directed the episode—he’s one of our creators—kept coming to me and being like, “I think you’re being a bit too nice to her.” I was like, “I want to make an effort.” I really want this to be Shauna just being like, You know what? It wasn’t fair of me to ask her to come babysit Lottie. That’s not great. Let me just do my best to have this lunch with her.” She’s frustrated, but I didn’t want to just play from the get-go, like, “Oh my God, Misty.” I want her to be pushed to the point of just being like, “Here are all the things that I cannot believe that you’ve done, including things in the wilderness.” Shauna is harboring a gigantic resentment, and what it triggers for Misty was also really captivating.
When we talked way back in season one, we discussed your desire for answers from the creators about some mysteries of your character. I’m wondering where you are with that right now—how is that evolving as you get deeper into it?
It’s kind of like if I need a knot untangled, I’ll go to them and I’ll say, “Can you untie this?” If something’s tripping me up in a scene that we have to shoot, I will still ask them to facilitate me get to the bottom of it—if there’s things from the past that haven’t been revealed yet in the show. And they’re always very, very accommodating and very helpful. Plots and what’s going to happen and things like that, I’ve let go of a little bit because I do really trust them. It’s just more emotional dynamics that sometimes I have questions about.
Is there anything that is now in the rearview where you did need that kind of clarity?
Way back in season one, there was a huge mystery of Jackie’s death, and I had to be very, very specific with it. I was like, “Exactly how does she die, and how responsible is Shauna?” It just got to a point where I was like, “Did I push her off a cliff? What happened?” And then this season it came up a lot because there’s a lot of scenes with the other women from early on in the show—like more than there were last season. I just had to keep checking in, like: “In the wilderness, what happened exactly with Lottie at this stage?” I just had to keep asking them questions about that.
How much are you tracking audience feedback at this point?
I’m always curious. I’ve read, of course, every single review, and it was really captivating. And then I’m curious to see what people say. I don’t look all the time, but then sometimes I’ll be having a difficult time getting to sleep and I’ll be like, What if I just look at Reddit? And there’s always something I see that makes me regret looking. I keep having to learn that lesson. But it’s also fun. I love that people have theories. I love that people care.
One reason I ask is that being on a show that has developed that kind of fandom—it’s so immediate. You don’t get that with every show.
Yeah, it was not this way with Togetherness. [Laughs] This is still very, very fresh for me.
The arrival of Hilary Swank will likely only get people more excited. What can you tell me about her joining the show?
Do you know what? Nobody’s told me what I’m allowed to say. That is so unsafe. [Laughs] I guess I’m not allowed to say anything. It was very exhilarating for all of us. The first episode she’s in is a very, very huge episode for her. It’s 50% of the episode. I think it’s a great episode. It was a lot to ask of her just coming in right from the get-go. I was like, Ooh, that’s not an effortless beginning at all.
That’s the Yellowjackets way, right?
Also, she has two Oscars. She’s equipped, you know?
This interview has been edited and condensed. This story has been updated.
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