True Blood's Ryan Kwanten: It's Do or Die for Jason Stackhouse in the Finale
The final two episodes of True Blood are upon us, and if the promos are any indication, the vampire war is about to reach a fever pitch in which no one, even our favorite characters, are safe.
True Blood Exclusive: Jim Parrack on whether Hoyt is gone for good
For example, a recent promo for the HBO series sent fans scouring to find out if Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) would actually meet his maker before the season was up after he was spotted seemingly lifeless in a grave alongside Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll). To (hopefully) help you breathe a little easier, TVGuide.com turned to Kwanten to get the scoop on that grave scene, along with the events in store for the final two episodes: A reunion! More death! A jaw-dropping cliff-hanger! Check it out:
Any chance you can calm fans' fears that you're going to die in Sunday's episode? Jason lying in a grave alongside Jessica doesn't seem to bode well. Is it a mislead?
Ryan Kwanten: There's actually not that much of a mislead there. The stakes are as high as it gets. I mean, the guy is not just fighting for his life, it looks like he's dead and he's surrounded by vampires, so his chance of survival does not look good. He's just a mere mortal after all, or a mere Stackhouse, I should say.
How will his relationship with Jess change because of that?
Kwanten: It's funny because his relationship with Jess changes because of other factors, such as his viewpoint on vampires. We saw where he started in Season 1: He was very much of a closed-minded, narrow-minded type of person, and through the course of the seasons, he's opened up his mind and his heart to a vampire to the point where he's come close to loving them. Now, hearing that vampires may be responsible for killing his parents, it twists everything he knows in his head, so he has to really consider everything in his life, including the ones that are close to him who are vampires, like Jessica.
Now that they know Sookie (Anna Paquin) is essentially promised to a centuries-old vampire in that contract, what will Jason do to protect her?
Kwanten: Anything. He's willing to put the relationship with Jessica on hold, if not put it aside completely, for the only remaining member of his family, which I think is a noble thing for Jason. You really see the guy, even though he does ridiculously stupid things, there is a heart underneath it all and a big one, and he realizes that this is his last chance to keep the family together.
We see in the promos that Jason will interact with Russell (Denis O'Hare), who's on the hunt for faerie blood. What part will Jason play in that?
Kwanten: Well, he's the only one that knows where they are, so Russell needs Jason to get that elusive blood that he needs, the faerie blood, so he plays a very big part.
Will Jason Stackhouse die on True Blood?
Since Russell is coming after Jason, we'll assume Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian) is with him. What kind of interaction do Jason and Steve have?
Kwanten: You know, it was one of the most fun scenes to shoot with the three of us together because those two, both Denis and Michael, are absolutely hilarious together. So putting the character of Jason in the middle of them, it was a really interesting thing to play because you're playing the obvious comedy that's there, but then there's a lot at stake.
How does Hoyt's (Jim Parrack) departure affect Jason going into the final two episodes?
Kwanten: Obviously that's his best friend and has been for some time and he feels very much responsible for Hoyt leaving town. I think that's another reason for him to fight for what he believes in. Maybe he left it too late with Hoyt and he feels responsible for the crumbling of the relationship and that's even more reason to put Jessica aside for now and deal with a priority list in his life. He's so used to jumping around in his life and never really organizing, or having a strategy. With Hoyt leaving, I think it's been a nice slap in the face for him.
We miss the original trio of Tara (Rutina Wesley), Sookie and Jason. Will we get to see them together again in the final two episodes?
Kwanten: Yes, you will. As in most seasons, towards the end, most of the story lines come together and you will definitely see the three of us together. This particular season has one of the best cliff-hangers I think we've ever shot, which definitely involves Sookie, myself and Tara -- perhaps we're all working together.
What can you tell us about the season finale and what role Jason plays in it?
Kwanten: Well, a very big role. Like I said before, it's his family he's fighting for. It's the town. It's for the answers to his parents dying. It's pretty much do or die for Jason. This finale actually takes us all the way up to a huge cliff-hanger in [the final episode] where you're not quite sure who's going to live and who's going to die. In previous seasons, we had the so-called cliff-hanger in either Episode 10 or 11 and then, Episode 12 is answering that cliff-hanger and then setting up the new season, whereas this one very much leaves us on a big "Oh, my God," moment.
Missed an episode of True Blood? Catch up by reading our recaps
Is there a lot of death in the final two episodes?
Kwanten: Yes. No one is safe. That's the best way to put it.
Was there anything in particular for you as an actor that really challenged you this season?
Kwanten: Yeah. There was a really nice, perhaps the greatest, evolution for Jason this season. I mean, he had a lot to deal with and a lot of it was coming to terms with the fact that sex wasn't the be all and end all with him, then losing a best friend, or cheating on a best friend first and then coming to terms and then, opening up and dealing with that situation. Then, the fighting for your family. I mean, there are three pretty big things to deal with in the space of whatever it is, a couple of weeks, on the show.
What are you doing over the hiatus?
Kwanten: I'm actually in Canada as we speak, shooting a film called The Right Kind of Wrong, one of the best scripts I've read in a long time. So I'm really excited. We start our first day of photography actually on Monday, but it's absolutely gorgeous here. I thought I'd been to beautiful places before here in the world, but this puts most of them to shame.
True Blood airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
Check out two sneak peeks from Sunday's episode:
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