Mistletoe Murders Season 2 has officially wrapped up with its sixth episode, the second part of “Twas the Fight Before Christmas,” and Gissane Sophia sat down with Sarah Drew to not only discuss the jaw-dropping cliffhanger but also to break down why Emily Lane is such an important character.
From the moment she steps onto the screen in Season 1, Drew makes it abundantly clear how deeply she cares about the character, which in turn allows us to love Emily Lane just as much. In addition, the second season heightens all the emotions to great lengths and makes everything juicier as the romance between Sam and Emily takes center stage. It’s also so important for us to address vulnerability and the amount of emotions we consistently get in a show like this, and it’s gratifying to hear Drew talk about how much it also means to her.
Parts of this written interview were edited and condensed for clarity. You can hear the full audio down below.
Lady Geeks Media: First, this show feels so specifically tailor-made for me because I love Christmas and murder mysteries, and romance. So all three of these are just like a perfect tree topper.
Sarah Drew: [Laughs] It’s got all the stuff.
Lady Geeks Media: It’s so delicious, just in every way. One of the first things I wanted to say is that this season, you really got to explore more of Grace. And we had it with like all the way into her past and High School, and then you even got to step in. Did you do anything different to sort of get into her headspace versus Emily’s?
Sarah Drew: Oh, yeah. I mean, I think she’s a totally different person in a lot of ways. And what was really interesting was, we had so many conversations about what Grace’s look was gonna be at that particular stage of her life. There were conversations about whether it was going to be like a purple wig or like black with purple streaks, and there were so many questions like, Who is Hacker Grace? And then, we came up with this really great plan where we still had the red hair, but straight with bangs, and we kind of smoked out here eyes. And a little nose ring. [Excitedly] Kind of like ’90s grunge wardrobe with Doc Martens.
Once I was in that wardrobe and hair and makeup and all the things, I just walked differently. I talked differently. I just felt this completely different essence of her, which was so much fun to explore. And the day that Aaron [Ashmore] and I got to play all those scenes together, it was one of my favorite days on set because I really didn’t even expect to feel so different in my skin, but I did.
And like he’s so good also, so creating the dynamic of a slightly manipulative relationship where she’s much more naive and is all of a sudden just coming to awareness of sort of being betrayed and things like that. It was really fun. She’s so much more savvy now ’cause she’s been through what she went through, you know, in those flashbacks. [Laughs.]
Lady Geeks Media: For sure. And it fleshes out Emily so much more, too, when you see where she really came from and like who she was and how she behaved.
Sarah Drew: And why it’s so difficult for her to let anybody in. That her trust was broken so tremendously.
Lady Geeks Media: Speaking of her trust, then, going into that final moment where, like, her walls are finally down. She lets Sam in. Everything is just like glowing and lovely, and all of a sudden, in he comes. Boom. What was that like for you to read that in the screenplay? Did you know ahead of time that we were getting him [Aaron] this season or?
Sarah Drew: I’ve been in conversations with Ken [Cuperus], starting when the writer’s room was open. So he already had a plan months out for what the big, massive cliffhanger moment would be at the end of Episode 6, and it just came out so much more delicious than I thought it would. There’s so much exchange in just those two lines between me and Aaron in that finale moment. It was so fun to play. We played it a few different ways. And the one that was the moment that was chosen for the episode, I think, is really great because there’s this total shock and then fear and then rage, you know? And then you just go, “Oh, what are we gonna do now?” [Giggles]
Lady Geeks Media: There were some words. [Laughs] Like, I jumped ’cause I had a feeling. I was like, everything’s too lovely. Something’s gonna happen … we’re gonna get that wrench. It’s coming. And then in he comes. So the fans are going to love that.
Sarah Drew: And I also think that the moment between Sam and Emily and the gazebo is so deep and beautiful and so, of course, something needs to come and mess it up ’cause we still need to keep making this show. [Laughs]
Lady Geeks Media: Which I need a Season 3 renewal like yesterday.
Sarah Drew: So do I!
Lady Geeks Media: And also just, going back again to Sam. That scene was just so lovely and so warm. And I personally always love it when a character who’s so guarded and has all these trust issues and like a mountain in front of her finally lets those walls down, and we see the depth of love that Emily is capable of. What was it like for you to finally be able to organically turn that switch? Because the progression is what’s so lovely from the first episode to the last. And everything that happens in the freezer and all that vulnerability. What does it mean to you as an actress to channel all of those emotions in one season?
Sarah Drew: It’s so satisfying, and I have to hand it to Ken [Cuperus], who is, of course, this is all his brainchild, and he really did tease and create so much. I mean, it’s kind of amazing how much he was able to accomplish over the course of six episodes. I think there are some really beautiful moments of clarity. There’s a scene, and I think it’s in Episode 4, where he [Sam] makes some offhanded comment about how “I’m basically a liar,” but he’s sort of joking, and I get so hurt, and he’s like, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.” And I’m like, “I can’t trust you because I actually know what you’ve been doing. You’re behind my back. You’ve been investigating me.”
And hearing his explanation of that scene, I love it so much. “I care about you, and there’s this mystery, and I want to help you. The only reason I’m so committed to this is so that I can be here for you.” And then her reaction of “I don’t want that. Like you have to let me have some things that belong to me.” And the admission of, “because I just want you to love me.” [Laughs] Like I’m afraid you won’t. It’s so human and it’s so real. And then when we cut back to him processing that it’s not about trust, it’s actually just about, “I want. I want you. And if you know this, I might not get you.” It’s so like piercingly tender. So you have all these sort of stepping stones along the way that we got to that play and build develop so that it’s so satisfying by the time we get to the gazebo scene.
And of course, all the freezer scenes were like so fragile and tender and vulnerable. There’s so much conversation about what to do in those scenes, and like, there’s so much fine-tuning and all the creative conversations about, “how do we pull the most beautiful tenderness out of those moments so that we really have a good payoff by the time we get to the gazebo scene?” And I just couldn’t be happier. It’s so good. As an actress, it’s an actor’s dream to get to tell a story with such beautiful depth that takes such a specific journey that is so satisfying, that isn’t just like zero to sixty, now we’re kissing. Because it feels human. It feels real. It feels authentic.
Lady Geeks Media: It does, and that’s what I appreciate so much about romance that I feel like it gets pushed under the rug as if it’s not that deep, but romance is what’s so deeply human and relatable. Like the one thing most of us know is how to love other people. And one of the things I also admire it’s in Episode 3, where she [Emily] says, “You know I’m an independent woman, I’m happy with my cats, but I’m also lonely.” And that’s also so deeply human. And we get these really big human, fragile, really vulnerable, and real emotions with romantic relationships. So it’s so gratifying as a viewer, as a writer in any way, to watch these things and to be like, look at all of the emotions that this is pulling out.
So, going off of that, because you’ve done romance before, you’ve been in a lot of things, but what was it about Emily and how multifaceted she is that drew you into this role and made you so passionate about it? Because you feel it in your performances and in every interview you give. You can really tell how much you adore her.
Sarah Drew: [Smiles] I love her so much. You know, when I first read the script, well, number one, I’ve never done a sleuthing mystery series. This is a new facet for me, as Sarah Drew, the actress, to get to dive into. And all the way through the first two episodes, or the first episode that I read, I’m watching her like constantly shift gears. So, it’s like I’m gonna pretend to be this person right now because I know what you need, and you need this to feel safe so that you can give me the information I need. And there’s something that is a little manipulative, but it’s all for the sake of the greater good, which is what we have to get to the bottom of this, so that wrong can be righted. And the fact that she has, she’s so facile in her ability to kind of code switch in that way.
It’s like a fascinating thing as an actor to do something that’s like lying—to play on some dishonestly while also remaining full of heart and goodness and truth. So finding that balance where you’re like, you need to take the journey with me. You need to love Emily Lane, and also, she needs to lie. [Laughs] It’s really challenging to walk that line, but it’s also really fun because usually when you play a role, you get to play one role. When I play Emily Lane, I get to play 95 different roles. I’m constantly being a different person for another person. And especially the flashbacks this season were just … chef’s kiss. [Smiles] I had so much fun with them!
But the moment that I was like, I have to do this was at the end of Episode 1 in Season 1, where you go to that flashback, and the building explodes behind her, and you’re just like, Who is she? Where did she come from? What is her backstory? The idea that we’re telling a murder mystery and you solve one every two weeks with a bigger mystery is her? Like it’s a formulate that’s so deep in character development, so there’s kind of like a lovely marrying of these two ways where storytelling comes alive. It’s not just a procedural. It’s a deeply character-driven show. And that’s what I love. That’s what I want to do.
Lady Geeks Media: I love that because you can feel it. As you said, from the first episode to the last, every episode you feel episode and you feel it deeply.
Sarah Drew: That, and when she tells Sam about losing her parents…[Pauses] I have such deep empathy for all the characters I play. But there’s something so… I love Emily so much because she has had so much loss and so much pain, and even still, she is relentlessly hopeful, and moving forward, even in the midst of all she’s lost, she is searching for a home where she can love a community of people, where they can love her. And she doesn’t give up and is willing to fight, and you see it all the way through Season 2. Like the beginning of the second season, she’s like I could have just picked up and left, but I love this place. I’ve fallen in love with this family here, and I don’t want to go. I want to find my place.
Lady Geeks Media: It’s perfect. It’s just so lovely. And just like really quick, rapid-fire random question. What book, movie, or TV show do you think Emily would be curled up with right now? Bonus if it’s Christmas, but it doesn’t have to be.
Sarah Drew: I think she would be curled up reading A Christmas Carol. There’s nothing more appropriate. I know we did it in the first season, but there’s something so special about that story. It’s a ghost story. There’s redemption. There’s loss that moves to wholeness. There’s someone alone and lonely coming to a place of fullness and community. It feels like everything about her journey.
Lady Geeks Media: I love it. Well, thank you so much for talking to me, Sarah. I love this show so much, and I’m so excited to keep covering it and so excited for people to keep watching.
Sarah Drew: Thank you! Shout it from the rooftops. I hope everybody shouts it from the rooftops. So we can get that green light for another season.
Lady Geeks Media: I need it!
Sarah Drew: I love making it!
Mistletoe Murders Season 2 is now streaming on Hallmark+
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