00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 I'm either going to kill myself or something's
00:14 going to change, but I don't want to be like this anymore.
00:17 I just don't know how to stop.
00:19 You lied to me.
00:20 We all have secrets, right?
00:22 You need to think long and hard.
00:29 About what side of this thing you're going to be on.
00:31 You know, seeing the trajectory of all these characters,
00:41 but specifically looking at Jackie,
00:43 it's about, you know, obviously the choices made,
00:46 you know, temptation, desire, but also
00:49 sort of empathy for her journey.
00:52 Could you talk about finding those notes
00:54 as you went into this season and tried to wrap up the story,
00:58 in terms of giving each of these characters, Rebecca,
01:02 a way to show their sort of perspective,
01:05 but Monica, bringing sort of Jackie's sort of trajectory
01:08 to a sort of specific point, if you will.
01:12 You go first.
01:13 Oh.
01:15 Yeah, well, I think the key to this season
01:19 is that I kind of knew where I wanted them to end,
01:25 and sort of that they would take a kind of final form,
01:29 if you will.
01:30 And so I kind of worked backwards from there
01:32 to where do they start and what's the arc.
01:36 And so, but especially with Jackie,
01:37 I think I really wanted to take her on a ride.
01:40 I really wanted to put her through her paces.
01:42 And I think all the characters sort of get
01:45 the ending they deserve.
01:47 And you can take that to mean whatever you want.
01:49 But yeah, I'm just really excited for you
01:53 to see what that means.
01:55 For you, Monica?
01:56 Yeah, I mean, I like--
01:57 you know, there's the word empathies
01:59 is resonating today for this show and these characters.
02:04 Understanding like that it's--
02:08 none of this is linear, that they're constantly
02:10 weaving in and out of darkness and lightness.
02:14 Like Rebecca said, hopefully by the end,
02:17 they've come into their final form,
02:19 whatever that means for each of them.
02:20 I know for me, for Jackie, she wants so much
02:23 to redeem these women who've been murdered
02:27 and to bring that to everybody's attention,
02:29 to find justice for that.
02:31 And I think by way of doing that,
02:33 she also finds redemption for herself.
02:36 And hopefully, she can learn how to keep that and grow from that.
02:43 It's messy, huh?
02:43 [MUSIC - MADELINE, "DOWNING"]
02:44 Well, if you told me you were drowning,
02:50 I would not lend a hand.
02:54 Jackie, can we talk to you for a second?
02:56 You know why you're here?
02:57 I've seen your face before, my friend.
03:01 But I don't know if you know who I am.
03:05 No idea.
03:07 And I can feel it crawling in the air tonight.
03:12 I'm working a missing persons case, which left me here.
03:16 I'm on to something big.
03:17 A murder big.
03:18 You say?
03:19 You should be ready for what's coming.
03:25 Listen, our entire case is about to go down the drain.
03:28 Well, yeah, all these characters are flawed.
03:30 I mean, that's the great thing watching Jackie.
03:32 She'll screw up, and then she'll come back,
03:34 and she'll try again while beating herself up.
03:37 But this is true of Renee's character as well.
03:41 We always try to do the best.
03:43 But it's where your heart's at.
03:44 Could you sort of talk about that heart of Jackie
03:47 as she's evolved over these three seasons?
03:49 Yeah, I mean, Jackie, I think she's a very passionate person.
03:57 And I don't think she's one thing.
03:59 I mean, yes, she's messy and an alcoholic,
04:02 and she can be hurtful or inconsiderate of others,
04:05 or selfish.
04:06 But she also has this huge heart.
04:08 She does want to save the world.
04:10 She does want to make things better.
04:11 So it's not one or the other.
04:16 These things are always existing within her.
04:18 And she does--
04:21 I say this in the most loving way possible.
04:23 She makes it about her.
04:24 She personally invests in everything
04:26 because it makes her feel a certain way,
04:29 a certain way to help people.
04:30 And it makes her feel a certain way to fail.
04:32 So she's always wearing her heart on her sleeve in a way
04:36 and making it about the feeling.
04:41 And she invests so much feeling in every case.
04:43 It's never just a case.
04:46 For you, Monica, and finding that right feeling
04:48 and when it feels exactly right within her skin.
04:52 Yeah, I mean, yeah, being able--
04:54 she has a hard time being able to separate her feelings
04:56 from the case without imprinting or projecting her own desires
05:01 on what comes of it.
05:02 And then also, Jackie gets in her own way.
05:06 She really does.
05:07 And Monica does too.
05:10 That's something we have in common, where
05:13 Jackie has an idea of what needs to happen to correct it
05:18 or to find justice or to help people.
05:21 But then she ends up getting so invested
05:23 that she actually hurts herself and hurts the case.
05:27 So it's really finding that balance is really her burden,
05:32 I think.
05:33 Sometimes it's through addiction.
05:35 Sometimes it's through her relationship to the people
05:38 who are involved in the case.
05:39 So it's really about, how do I get to that place of balance
05:43 where I can not only help other people, but help myself?
05:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:50 [SCREAM]
05:53 Oh, my god.
05:55 Oh, my god.
05:56 Where'd you get that?
06:01 I think we should go look.
06:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:06 Don't.
06:23 Don't do that.
06:26 Don't do that.
06:27 [SCREAM]
06:32 What the fuck?
06:33 For the both of you, can you talk
06:38 about understanding the gray and sometimes accepting the gray?
06:41 Because every single character has that gray element of it.
06:45 But even the area itself is all about gray,
06:48 about those quiet little corners or the places
06:51 where people don't go.
06:52 Can you talk about that?
06:53 Because the environment takes on a certain level
06:56 of that on the cape.
06:59 Right.
07:00 Well, in terms of the gray, in terms of character,
07:03 I would say that's--
07:06 I mean, that's what it's been from the beginning.
07:08 And I think every single one of them
07:11 has a moral gray area that they're willing to exist within.
07:16 And honestly, I mean, as the writer,
07:18 sometimes I forget, like--
07:20 in my mind, some people react, like, for example, to Rey.
07:23 And they go, oh, he's such a creep.
07:25 And you go, oh, really?
07:25 I kind of like him.
07:27 I forget how different people have different moral compasses.
07:30 And some things cross a line for some people
07:32 that don't for another.
07:33 And so sometimes I don't even know.
07:36 I can't even do black and white.
07:38 I don't know what I'm defining for the audience.
07:40 They're all taking their own personal experiences
07:44 when watching it.
07:45 So and then in terms of the location, I mean, yes,
07:49 season two was in the winter.
07:51 And it was very desolate and gray.
07:54 And then season three, we're back to the summer.
07:56 We're back to P-Town in the summer.
07:58 And yeah.
08:01 I'll tell you what.
08:03 I might have something you want to talk about.
08:06 Frankie's trial is coming up.
08:08 Figure we got a common interest in keeping him inside.
08:11 So you got any information on the murder of Jorge Cuevas?
08:16 Doesn't matter.
08:17 I ain't a snitch.
08:18 Bullshit.
08:19 You're the reason why Frankie got arrested the last time.
08:22 Nah.
08:23 I got no problem with the man.
08:24 Really?
08:26 Is that why your cellmate stuck metal in his gut?
08:29 Prison makes you do crazy things.
08:32 Good thing I got out.
08:33 You got out on bail.
08:35 And bail is not out.
08:38 Still got a trial hanging over your head.
08:40 Hey, look.
08:41 I got the best lawyer money can buy.
08:44 My trial's pushed.
08:45 But you can't push it forever.
08:47 We'll see.
08:49 But right now, I'm a free man.
08:53 So unless you need a car, I got nothing for you.
08:56 If you want to, Monica, talk about the gray of the character.
09:00 Because that's what makes her so interesting,
09:02 is that she goes and ping-pongs back and forth.
09:04 But the one thing I always liked that you brought to her
09:07 was a sense of humor.
09:08 Well, Ray has it.
09:10 Everybody has a sense of humor.
09:11 But I think there's one scene where you're driving.
09:12 You're like, I'm going to Beyonce this.
09:14 And you're on Molly.
09:15 And it's just sort of a beautiful thing
09:17 that she can laugh at the situation,
09:20 even though she has to be razor sharp.
09:23 And she does.
09:23 She gets back to that point.
09:25 Can you talk about finding that gallows humor
09:27 with both her friends, but also her fellow colleagues?
09:31 Yeah, gallows humor is sort of like a survival mechanism.
09:35 You have to find the funny in the sad.
09:38 Otherwise, how are you going to get up every day
09:40 and do your job?
09:41 It's something that I've learned over my years,
09:43 actually, as an actor working as different roles
09:46 from first responders, is that gallows humor
09:49 is a part of the culture of police, law enforcement.
09:54 That's very much a part of the culture and lifestyle
09:56 between coworkers.
09:58 So that has to be there.
10:00 Otherwise, it's just too sad.
10:04 You need to have some fun.
10:05 But like you said, she gets back on her razor edge.
10:07 She does take the job seriously.
10:10 It's not about that.
10:11 She just has a really hard time, I think,
10:14 sometimes taking life seriously and finding a balance
10:19 in all of that.
10:20 [PHONE RINGING]
10:23 Close the door.
10:26 I'm going to ask you one question right now.
10:28 Are you [BLEEP] serious, Jackie?
10:30 I know. I'm sorry.
10:30 You're going to be late for your first day off desk duty.
10:32 Throwing a debrief with the major?
10:34 It will happen again.
10:34 I promise.
10:35 It's just my car was stolen.
10:40 What?
10:41 In P-Town?
10:42 For real?
10:43 Yeah, I mean, I think so.
10:45 You think so?
10:46 You think your car was stolen?
10:47 Or did you forget where you parked it?
10:49 Really, dude?
10:50 I get p-tested like every other day.
10:51 If I was partying, you would literally
10:52 be the first person to know.
10:54 I had to ask.
10:56 OK, want me to start over?
10:57 I'm going to start over.
10:59 Welcome back to the field, Agent Quinones.
11:00 You are off desk purgatory.
11:02 And I absolve you of your sins, my child.
11:05 See?
11:05 Good.
11:07 And my last question, finding the edge,
11:09 you know, that's the thing.
11:10 It's like in storytelling, it's all about legacy.
11:12 You can look back on this 20 years down the road.
11:14 Is it still pertinent?
11:16 Can you talk about that, about the legacy of a series
11:18 like "High Town," in what it was able to say,
11:21 what it was able to do, and how it spoke to people?
11:25 I mean, I think--
11:28 I don't know what the statistic is, but something like,
11:30 you know, the number of overdose deaths from fentanyl
11:34 has only gone up since we started the show.
11:35 So we're clearly not out of the woods, which was--
11:40 sort of that was the backdrop.
11:41 That was the sort of impetus for the show.
11:43 I mean, the sort of--
11:44 not the impetus, but like, that was the backdrop of the show
11:47 from the start.
11:48 And I don't think that's going anywhere anytime soon, sadly.
11:53 So I think it's still very relevant in that way.
11:56 But I hope that it also leaves a legacy of the idea
12:00 that recovery is possible, you know,
12:05 redemption is possible.
12:06 I think there are all--
12:08 there's-- I think people who can relate to that struggle
12:11 will see a lot of hope in the show.
12:13 I do want to say something, actually,
12:14 because I think it's important that, like--
12:15 and I think this is a huge testament to Rebecca,
12:18 and I think people at Starz is putting a show like this
12:21 with such a female-forward-driven project
12:26 that stays in-- rooted in the characters.
12:28 But to be able to see, like, a queer Latina or people
12:32 of color, such a diverse world, too,
12:36 of people who are struggling with these issues that
12:38 are going to keep going till, you know,
12:41 as long as we all live.
12:43 To be able to be a part of that and represent
12:48 those communities, that's a big part
12:50 of the legacy for the show, too.
12:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:54 Do you think the day will come when you feel like enough's
12:59 enough?
13:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
13:04 There's no bigger lie we tell ourselves
13:06 than it's just business.
13:08 It's always personal.
13:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]
13:12 [SCREAMING]
13:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
13:19 [SCREAMING]
13:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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