Megan Holter’s relationship with her brother is a big focus on the series, and the most interesting dynamic may be how their roles shift throughout their life. Kyle used to be the big protector for his sister, but, as time goes on and Kyle’s life takes such a dramatic turn, Megan starts taking on a stronger role in her brother’s life. “I think they’re both…these very strong figures in each others’ lives.” Schmidt describes their relationship as a see-saw, saying that when one person goes “out-of-whack,” the other steps in to help level things back out. Now that Megan doesn’t really need a physical protector, she can be a big help to her brother in his life, and Wrenn believes that has a lot to do with the fact that Megan has tried to move on from her past experience. “If you’ve had a traumatic experience, one way of dealing with it is by pushing it out and helping other people with their own flaws.” She also thinks that’s why Megan is a child psychologist, something that makes a lot of sense when you consider the character’s evolution.
One of the other major storylines in the season has been Megan’s relationship with her husband, Mark (played by the always wonderful David Denman). Because of Donnie, the couple’s relationship has really been put through the ringer all season. In both last week’s episode and tonight’s, though, it seems that they’re finally getting back on track, which is an assessment Schmidt agrees with. “They’re a couple that’s weathered a huge storm and [made it to] the other side to move forward, and they’re holding onto each other a little tighter now that they’ve come back together.”
Episode 9 ends in tragedy, though, as [SPOILERS FOR TONIGHT’S EPISODE] Mark is killed by Megan after she experiences her own possession. Seeing the path their relationship has taken and the big way that they reconcile (culminating in Megan’s latest pregnancy) makes the tragedy even harder to experience, and Wrenn describes it as “devastating to see their happiness ripped away in such a violent way.”
Regarding this huge arc for the character, I asked if Schmidt knew ahead of time which direction the story was headed. She reiterated that she likes being “blissfully ignorant” about the story path, telling me that she likes to stay in the current script so that she can be surprised and ensure that her performance isn’t affected by anything coming up. She was “spoiled” about what would happen, though, but she never wanted to see the comic panels so that she could do her own thing with the event (there was a big joke on set where the showrunner would have screenshots of the panels on his phone, but Wrenn would always avoid him when he mentioned it).
Before the call wrapped up, I asked Schmidt what she thought the message of Outcast is. While the story is about possession and themes of mental and physical abuse, she told me that she thinks it’s up to the viewer to decide what the message is. “The character [to whom] a person most relates can determine what the message is. It’s up for the viewer to decide.”
Having seen the season finale of Outcast, I can assure that viewers are in for a big episode where this final arc plays out in some surprising ways, and fans want to be sure to not miss a moment. I want to thank Wrenn for taking the time to speak with me about the show and her character, and I want to remind everyone to tune in next week for the season finale.
Outcast airs its season finale next Friday on Cinemax. What are you looking forward to most? What have you thought about Megan this season? Let us know down below!
[Photo Credit: Cinemax]
Follow Us
