After seven episodes that have not only kept us tuning back in week after week, but sitting on the edge of our seats and shouting at the TV, ABC’s The River is wrapping up its first season this Tuesday night, March 20, at 9 PM.
But if you think the crew has gotten into some tight situations already, well, the worst is yet to come. PCM’s Allison caught up with series stars Joe Anderson (Lincoln Cole) and Leslie Hope (Tess Cole) to get a last-minute sneak peek at what to expect from this sure-to-be-terrifying season finale!
The show has always been multi-layered, with plenty of questions and relationships left lingering in the in-between, but at the end of the last episode, not only did the crew finally find Emmett, but he woke up and kind of saved the day. So with the possibility of just about anything happening on this show, what can we expect to find in this finale? Will it focus more on discovering what happened to Emmett or surviving the journey home?
“Actually, kind of equal amounts there,” Joe Anderson weighed in. “We definitely try to find out what happened to Emmett, but things kind of go awry and we have to deal with something that is pretty nasty. But equally, I think, we learn about Emmett as he deals with the situation and that, in itself, especially between Lincoln and Emmett, there’s some stuff revealed… or possibly some things that are resolved…” he teased.
Leslie joined in, “I would say that the journey home is not just literally getting out of the Amazon and back on North American soil, but there’s a bigger journey home in terms of the family dynamic. And the worst possible thing happens to thwart that.”
“And I think there is more information to be teased out of what it is Emmett has seen by being so close to The Source,” Leslie hints. “What we do know from this last episode is that it’s changed him. The extent to which it’s changed him? I think we’d find out more if we’re so lucky to get a season 2.”
But it’s always tricky when a show has yet to be renewed for another season, especially a show with so much mystery and intrigue as this one. So, will we get a few of long-sought answers we’ve been waiting for? Will we be kept on edge?
“I think that, by design, and this is something that our bosses talked about specifically, after the pilot, was it’s a satisfying conclusion to eight episodes, with the door cracked just enough for a second season,” Leslie explained. “So, if we’re so lucky to go forward, we can go forward in good conscience because there’s more questions to be answered, but it’s not going to be one of those ‘What the )#$*?’ situations where you’re just left completely unsatisfied and unanswered and that’s quite specifically by design.”
With that in mind, we’re looking forward to the finale even more than before. The episode description that’s been circulated has informed us all that one of the crew members is shot… by someone on the Magus. So between the return of Emmett (but can we really trust him just yet?) and the fact that someone on board just killed another individual, dynamics are sure to change and allegiances are sure to be called into question.
“I think at this point the question is, is there anyone that can be trusted? Someone’s been shot and the killer’s on board, so somebody did and somebody did it on that ship,” Leslie affirms.
“But more to the point, why did they do it?” Joe piped in. “And I think that one of the interesting things that this show is going to deal in, hopefully, if we go for a second season and possibly further, are some real big issues and some large questions about life and religion and all sorts of things.”
“I don’t think it’ll touch on religion, per se, but it’s going to raise some large questions, so yeah, I think it sets that up to a certain degree and it sets that up, especially with Emmett and what he has possibly found or what has been in search of,” Joe explained. “[That is] something that is truly something that we as a species, as mankind, we’re all secretly in search of it. And I think that’s the appeal, you know? That we’re all kind of searching for the same thing Emmett is and once we understand what he’s looking for, everybody hopefully will be on board for the ride.”
But Joe and Leslie also revealed that Tess and Lincoln’s relationship is “dramatically affected” by these new dynamics in the finale. In fact, everyone’s is, but it is the one between Lincoln and Emmett that comes most to the fore.
So how did Joe and Leslie feel when they first got their hands on the finale script? “I was pretty terrified, to be honest,” Joe laughed. “When I read the script for the first time, no, I didn’t think this is where my character would end up. I dreamt, maybe, that it would end up there, prayed that it could possibly end up there, but I didn’t think that it was going to. And it did! And it exceeded expectations a little bit in terms of how far they go with Lincoln, in terms of changing him, so I was very excited.”
That certainly sounds promising in terms of the development of the relationship between Lincoln and his father, but Leslie also revealed that she had quite the task before her in the finale.
“I can say that just when I thought maybe the character would take a breath, the most inconceivable and terrible thing happens to Tess and as an actor, certainly I was nervous about playing that. …But if I could step outside of it, I would say that the show offered me the opportunity for all eight episodes to touch on big, dramatic, operatic emotional life that is hard to come by in a courtroom drama if you’re a series regular.”
It is these big moments and displays of emotion and life-questioning that make this series so riveting. And Leslie, Joe and the rest of the cast are calling on us all to help keep The River on the air. “If this is a show you want to see stay on the air then let ABC know,” Leslie urged.
So be sure to let ABC know you want more of The River, because who doesn’t love a little Tuesday evening scare in their TV line-up? After all, with Joe’s advice to Lincoln that included nuggets of advice like “Get the hell out of here! Go home! What are you doing?! Run! Swim!,” we know there is plenty more danger and drama that could be headed his way.
And Leslie had her own advice to Tess, “Keep your eyes on Lena.” Joe jumped on this right away, “Yeah, keep your eyes on Lena. And keep them on her neck, you know what I mean?”
We know what you mean, Joe! And if you’ve been watching (even through your fingers covering your eyes), you’ll know what he means, too!
So be sure to let ABC know how much you love The River and enjoy the finale, because with a season already filled with shocks, scares and plenty of lore, the finale is sure to be unforgettable.
“Turn the lights out,” Leslie suggests.
“Just enjoy it! Have fun!” Joe added, “It is what it is. It’s good TV. Just enjoy it for what it is and hopefully if you’re watching the last one, you’ve been watching all of them and you’ll have some sense of satisfaction hopefully by the end and a little bit of a cliffhanger, as well, so yeah, just enjoy it!”
The season finale of The River airs tomorrow, March 20, at 9/8c on ABC.
For more information on The River be sure to visit: www.abc.com/shows/the-river
