Thanks to Ivan for the heads up.
Warning: Major spoilers from Monday’s episode.
THR: Was Mayfair’s death the plan from the start?
Martin Gero: There was always a plan in place for Mayfair to be removed from the head of the FBI. That was always going to be in there and to be honest, it made the most sense for the character to die. I really fought it in my own brain for a long time because when you have Marianne Jean-Baptiste on your show, you should keep Marianne Jean-Baptiste on your show. She’s so, so amazing. It will make more sense when you see season two, but I came up with some scenarios where she could still be in the show but they just didn’t feel right… I made Marianne a deal in the beginning that I would give her great stuff to do every episode and I just felt like I couldn’t do that and have her not be at the FBI. It just made sense for that character, especially leading into the second season. Even though it’s totally insane to remove somebody that great from the cast.
When did she know that was the decision?
It was something I internally resisted admitting to myself was the best thing to do and I told her that we were going to kill her episode around episode 16.
Martin Gero: There was always a plan in place for Mayfair to be removed from the head of the FBI. That was always going to be in there and to be honest, it made the most sense for the character to die. I really fought it in my own brain for a long time because when you have Marianne Jean-Baptiste on your show, you should keep Marianne Jean-Baptiste on your show. She’s so, so amazing. It will make more sense when you see season two, but I came up with some scenarios where she could still be in the show but they just didn’t feel right… I made Marianne a deal in the beginning that I would give her great stuff to do every episode and I just felt like I couldn’t do that and have her not be at the FBI. It just made sense for that character, especially leading into the second season. Even though it’s totally insane to remove somebody that great from the cast.
When did she know that was the decision?
It was something I internally resisted admitting to myself was the best thing to do and I told her that we were going to kill her episode around episode 16.
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EW: Talk about shooting Mayfair’s death scene. What was the atmosphere like on set?
Martin Gero: It’s always a little tense. It’s not a pleasant thing. It’s a really hard scene emotionally for the actors to do. It’s not a comfortable scene physically for anyone, because it’s all on the floor and there’s blood tubes. But it has been one of the privileges of my professional career to work with Marianne. It was really important to me that we got that character right. I can’t imagine anyone [else] having done it. Like I’ve said before, we got our first choices for everyone on the show. I thought she handled herself with such extraordinary grace, charm, and charisma throughout those final episodes. It was an amazing thing to watch, because it’s not fun being let go of a show, but she did it so magnificently. The episodes leading up to her death are some of her greatest performances on the show, and that speaks to what an extraordinary professional performer she is and class act.
How far will Jane go to get justice for Mayfair?
She’s willing to go the distance. She’s as horrified as we as viewers are. It’s a defining moment for her character, it’s a defining moment for the series. For Jane, this really spins her around. She’s been testing the water with Oscar and her former self, but we needed something cataclysmic and emotional to really make her make up her mind.
Martin Gero: It’s always a little tense. It’s not a pleasant thing. It’s a really hard scene emotionally for the actors to do. It’s not a comfortable scene physically for anyone, because it’s all on the floor and there’s blood tubes. But it has been one of the privileges of my professional career to work with Marianne. It was really important to me that we got that character right. I can’t imagine anyone [else] having done it. Like I’ve said before, we got our first choices for everyone on the show. I thought she handled herself with such extraordinary grace, charm, and charisma throughout those final episodes. It was an amazing thing to watch, because it’s not fun being let go of a show, but she did it so magnificently. The episodes leading up to her death are some of her greatest performances on the show, and that speaks to what an extraordinary professional performer she is and class act.
How far will Jane go to get justice for Mayfair?
She’s willing to go the distance. She’s as horrified as we as viewers are. It’s a defining moment for her character, it’s a defining moment for the series. For Jane, this really spins her around. She’s been testing the water with Oscar and her former self, but we needed something cataclysmic and emotional to really make her make up her mind.
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TVLine: What kind of ripple effect will her death have in the finale?
Martin Gero: Mayfair’s death, and Weller’s father’s revelation, completely inform the entire finale. There’s no case [of the week], so to speak. It’s all about fallout.
Let’s talk about what Weller’s dad revealed at the end of the episode. Given how much his relationship with Weller has progressed this season, why upend it with this big secret?
That’s been something we’ve been moving toward since the first few days of planning this season. You’re looking for those end-of-year big twists, and we feel like we’ve laid the groundwork for that. Because [Weller’s dad] is not exactly lucid, that’s something Weller’s going to struggle with in the next episode — trying to figure out if this was true or not, or if his father had just gone crazy. But for us, Taylor Shaw has been a real focal point of this season, and this will hopefully feel like, once and for all, we know what’s true. In fact, every conversation that we’ve written between him and his father — you could go back and rewatch them, and they’re even more satisfying when you know this.
Martin Gero: Mayfair’s death, and Weller’s father’s revelation, completely inform the entire finale. There’s no case [of the week], so to speak. It’s all about fallout.
Let’s talk about what Weller’s dad revealed at the end of the episode. Given how much his relationship with Weller has progressed this season, why upend it with this big secret?
That’s been something we’ve been moving toward since the first few days of planning this season. You’re looking for those end-of-year big twists, and we feel like we’ve laid the groundwork for that. Because [Weller’s dad] is not exactly lucid, that’s something Weller’s going to struggle with in the next episode — trying to figure out if this was true or not, or if his father had just gone crazy. But for us, Taylor Shaw has been a real focal point of this season, and this will hopefully feel like, once and for all, we know what’s true. In fact, every conversation that we’ve written between him and his father — you could go back and rewatch them, and they’re even more satisfying when you know this.
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