Warning: This article contains spoilers about Tuesday night’s episode ofBig Sky,“The Big Rick.”
Kicking it loose with their feet, they made a hole large enough for Grace to wriggle through.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:Grace has been a fighter since weve met her.
Credit: Darko Sikman/ABC
She doesnt succeed in her escape, but has it chastened her or just redoubled her determination?
JADE PETTYJOHN:It goes in waves.
I obviously have never been in a situation as intense and traumatic as this particular one.
But I would imagine that it would go in waves.
That really fuels her getting out.
She’s furious at her abusers and her captors and that ultimately is what pushes and propels her forward.
That’s an asset in this particular sense.
Grace ends up having toShawshankit through a pipe.
Did you talk about that famous movie scene as a reference point at all?
What was it like filming that?
It was very, very tight.
They were like, “Are you claustrophobic?
Do you have any issues with this?”
It was really interesting going into shooting not knowing if I had a fear of it or not.
Luckily, it was very smooth and really fun and a definite adventure.
When you first read the script, were you hoping or expecting this escape attempt would be successful?
It’s impossible not to.
Each page gets your blood pumping, and you want to know what’s happening next.
When I was reading it, I was definitely hoping that she’d get through it and make it.
It also makes interesting television when she’s got a lot of obstacles.
But I will tell you this is definitely not over.
She doesn’t give up, that’s for sure.
How much of that is inherent to her personality and how much is fight or flight response?
It’s a little bit of both.
Ingenuity and thinking analytically is inherent to Grace and who she is.
There are other ways of reacting to situations instead of breaking.
At a certain point, she’s running off of instinct and survival.
It is a little bit of fight or flight.
But it also poses a deeper question of what are we really capable of in moments of distress?
I love exploring that with her.
I am very uninterested in playing a damsel in distress.
She takes two arrows to the leg.
That looks brutal and the wound is left untreated.
The other girls note it could need stitches.
How concerned about that should we be?
The audience should be very concerned.
Because not only did she get hit by an arrow in the leg, it wasthroughher leg.
Both of those arrows went completely through her leg.
She has no medication or any way to clean the wound.
Obviously, they can’t get stitches.
That’s something that all three girls have to navigate.
Were you surprised she didnt venture to escape Legarski again?
Or was she just in too much shock/pain at that point?
And she is bound and gagged at that point too.
She did see this man kill someone and drop them off in a sulfur deposit.
So, she’s aware that if she tried to escape again, he might kill her.
Who should Grace hate or fear more Ronald or Legarski?
I think she should hate Ronald more and fear Legarski more.
But that might change a little bit in future episodes.
There’s reasons to be afraid of and hate both of them.
What was the most difficult stunt for you here?
We shot it up in Squamish, and I thought it was cold at that point.
I did not know what cold actually meant.
At this point, there’s snow on the ground and on the rocks.
I think you see it in the episode, there are snowy rocks she’s running on.
That was definitely a first for me.
What does that mean?
What might Grace try next and how far is she willing to go?
She’s willing to go very, very far.
I definitely don’t want to spoil anything.
I want to keep the audience on their toes.
Now that Grace is debilitated to a certain degree, they use other tactics to get out.
There’s this very interesting mental warfare going on in future episodes.
But Grace is right we’re just getting started.
If I were a betting woman, should I bet on Grace?
You absolutely should bet on Grace.
She’s a woman that doesn’t give up easily.
How would you tease episode 4?
Episode 4 really explores the next tactic for getting out.
Grace has to deal with her injury.
It’s all a mental war game.
It’s definitely intense [and] emotionally demanding.
I’m really, really excited for people to see what Grace has to offer.
