“This is the girl duo that we never knew we needed,” Karen David says while discussing the January 7 episode of The Irrational.
The midseason return, “Lost Souls,” sees Alec’s (Jesse L. Martin) ex-wife Marisa (Maahra Hill) and current girlfriend Rose (David) teaming up to find a tennis player who goes missing in a remote forest after a medical emergency sidelines him. Unsurprisingly, it’s not going to be easy for him to not be out there alongside the two women he cares about. “He’s chomping at the bit,” laughs Hill.
He does trust them to get the job done, but he’s also used to being the one in it. “He’s used to being able to help solve the problem, and he’s able to do that still, obviously with experiments that he’s suggesting that they do and he’s coming to conclusions and able to share them,” Hill previews. But there’s also concern from the women. “There was this tension between trying to figure out where this character was, being able to locate her, figuring out who was involved, how is Alec going to do, and also making sure that he feels comfortable with them having the case taken care of. ‘You don’t have to worry. We got it.’”
David loved that Rose and Marisa got to team up for this case. “We were kind of giggling over the fact that Alec is in the hospital in bed and feeling so frustrated that he can’t be on ground zero helping us out and probably worried like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my new love and my ex. How are they going to work together? Are they going to work together? Is it going to be fine?’” she shares. “And of course, it ends up being great and much needed, and I feel like it brings them closer together at the end of the episode.”
Sergei Bachlakov / NBC
Being in the woods, looking for someone who’s missing puts Rose “in her element,” David says. Marisa, on the other hand, is uncomfortable, which Rose attributes to her not being an outdoor person. There’s more to it, however, as the situation brings up “old memories and some things that are suppressed,” teases Hill. “Emotionally, it’s a tough terrain for her to navigate.”
The case is also going to get dangerous. “It was a fun experience for both to go through in the beginning, aside from the fact of the high stakes and there’s a fire as well in the forest and it is very treacherous,” says David.
Adds Hill, “I don’t think they realized until they got into the situation how dangerous it would be.”
Something the episode does well is highlight how mature the show is when it comes to tackling what could be an awkward situation that just gets increasingly complicated: Alec’s ex-wife and girlfriend working together. Showrunner Arika Lisanne Mittman is very intentional about making sure that’s the case, Hill says.
“When you realize that you’ve been able to not just move on from your ex and your divorce, but are able to work alongside his new girlfriend, it’s a sign of growth,” she explains. “You definitely have grown, and I feel like that’s what it says for Marisa in this particular episode, that there’s some growth there. I just love the fact that they are working towards this friendship with these two characters, that both women are strong and capable in their own right, and that there’s a potential friendship that’s budding.”
RelatedWhat’s Next on ‘The Irrational’ for Alec, Marisa, and Rose?
For David, what we’re seeing is more interesting than the two butting heads. “What happens when two strong women come together and they actually get along or try to navigate through this new kind of dynamic between Alec and Marisa and Rose? How does that work? And I just think it’s so refreshing a storyline because we are talking about a new type of blended family,” she says. “Rose knows that Marisa has played a huge part in Alec’s life and she appreciates the fact that these two people have been through a lot together and she wouldn’t want to take anything away from that dynamic.”
David also points out that Rose has “never really had anyone,” since her father left and her mother died when she was young. “She’s never had a sense of belonging. And I feel that her looking from the lens of looking outside looking in at this dynamic between Alec’s ex-wife, Alec’s sister [Travina Springer], this is a family that works, and I feel like Rose is so keen to get involved and to get to know them as a family and she feels a sense of belonging, which she has never had in her life. This is all new for Rose and for all of them, but especially for Rose to have a sense of a family unit that she could possibly be a part of.”
What do you think of how the NBC drama is handling the different dynamics with Alec, Marisa, and Rose? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Irrational, Midseason Premiere, Tuesday, January 7, 10/9c, NBC
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