As the first season of Sanctuary came to a close, our cast of characters (Helen Magnus, Will Zimmerman, John Druitt, Nicola Tesla, Clara Griffin and John Watson) had succeeded in finding the last remaining vial of pure Vampire blood, but not without a cost. The machine keeping Watson alive was damaged and he succumbed to the effects of his unnaturally long life. Additionally, Ashley Magnus and Henry Foss, having been captured by the Cabal, had escaped seemingly unharmed. All was not well, however. The Vampire blood was needed to counteract a virus that was lethal to abnormals and Bigfoot had become infected with the virus. Then, in the closing moments, Ashley grabbed the vial of blood and teleported it away to Easter Island delivering it and herself into the hands of the Cabal. To be continued…
The season two premiere, “End of Nights Part I”, picks up six weeks after the end of season one. Helen and Druitt are aggressively searching for their daughter, Ashley. Will is overseeing things at the Sanctuary where Tesla has come up with a cure for the Cabal virus, however Bigfoot refuses a treatment devised by humans. Clara is now working at the London Sanctuary and Henry is using his computer skills in assisting…well, everyone. Meanwhile, Ashley is being experimented on by the Cabal for a nefarious purpose. All of the characters are quickly being pushed to the breaking point by the end of this episode. To give you an idea of the tone, basically you know things are dire when John Druitt is being the reasonable and rational one. Amidst all of this we are also introduced to new regular cast member Agam Darshi, who plays con artist Kate Freelander, initially working for the Cabal. Things definitely come to a head by the closing moments, but, hey, no spoilers here.
Speaking in a recent conference call about the upcoming season, lead actor and executive producer Amanda Tapping spoke about the different tone as compared to the first season. “I think because it’s our second season you’re going to see a lot of changes in terms of the interpersonal relationships. I think season one was very much about introducing everybody – introducing the Sanctuary itself, the creatures, what everyone does and where they come from. And so now season two is just – now we get to play within those parameters.”
I asked Amanda and Robin Dunne how it was acting-wise to jump right into these characters being on the edge, to which Amanda said, “It was scary. It felt like trial by fire in a lot of ways. We were I think – for all of us we were exhausted by the end of the third episode because it was this emotional, insane rollercoaster that we went on.”
Robin concurred, “Yeah, there was really no kind of ramp – like slow easing into it, it’s basically just push off the cliff and away we go. But it was weird, there was a duality to it. It felt shocking to be sort of into this intensity right away. But at the same time it felt completely normal and like we never had a break between two seasons. It was like we never left almost.”
Speaking further about the characters this season, Amanda said, “There are changes and we are bringing in new characters. You’ll see a lot more of Henry this year than you did last year. We’re bringing in a wonderful new character named Kate Freelander. The relationship between Druitt and Magnus changes and most importantly the relationship between Magnus and Will becomes, I think, so much deeper and so much more intense”
Robin added, “I think it’s because everything is really falling apart around us. There’s going to be, you know, more of a blunt relationship, more of a brutal honesty between all of the characters, particularly Magnus and Will because really, you know, kind of our lives depend on it.
We can’t afford to be anything but brutally honest with each other. And I think there’s going to be definite strains in the relationship over this season. But because of those strains, I think all the relationships will get stronger because of that.”
Joining the cast in season two is Agam Darshi as Kate Freelander, a con artist and thief who finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus. Agam was born in England and raised in Canada. Throughout her travels she developed a curiosity for people and a love for life and art. Agam graduated from the University of Calgary in April 2002, with a BFA in art and theatre. She’s backpacked across Europe, moved to California, and finally decided to settle down in Vancouver BC to pursue her dream of acting. She has appeared in RenegadePress.Com, Tru-Calling, and was a supporting lead in Pink Ludoos. Listen to my recent interview with Agam here:
[powerpress]
Here’s a sneak peek at “End of Nights Part I”, the second season premiere of Sanctuary, airing Friday, October 9th at 10:00PM on Syfy! And check back next week as we will preview part two and have more comments from Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne, plus we talk to Damian Kindler and Martin Wood!
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