Revolution Q&A: Tracy Spiridakos On The ‘Dirtier’ & ‘Grittier’ Tone Of Season 2

There’s a new world order on Season 2 of “Revolution.”

Picking up months after the bombs launched at the end of Season 1, there were some big changes among several of the main characters when the show premiered last week.

Rachel Matheson (Elizabeth Mitchell) returned as a shadow of her former self, plagued with guilt over being unable to stop the destruction in the Season 1 finale. Monroe (David Lyons) is now going under an assumed name and getting paid to fight (shirtless). And Charlie Matheson, played by actress Tracy Spiridakos, was off on her own, sewing her wild oats, before a run-in with Monroe set her on a new path.

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It’s a brave new world, and Charlie is taking it all in and all on — by herself — something the actress chatted with AccessHollywood.com about during a brief break in her intense shooting schedule.

AccessHollywood.com: So, I’ve got a bit of a fun question to start out with… Last week Charlie was walking through town and one of the tents housed a performance by ‘David Schwimmer,’ described as the last surviving member of the ‘Friends’ cast. Do you happen to know what kind of show he’s doing in there?

Tracy Spiridakos: (Laughs) I don’t. I think the whole bit was he was performing scenes from ‘Friends.’ … I think [which scenes he’s doing] should be up to everybody’s imagination.

Access: From the season premiere, it feels like the show has been injected with a huge shot of adrenaline. Do you feel like that way as well?

Tracy: I feel like all of a sudden we got dirtier, grittier, it’s faster, harder and yeah, it’s got a different vibe to it this year, which is cool. It’s been really fun.

Access: How fast-paced is it going to be this season?

Tracy: All the episodes that I’ve read so far have been to that level of intensity. It’s pretty crazy.

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Access: Charlie is completely fearless now. How exciting was it for you as an actress to see this new Charlie?

Tracy: I think it’s an absolute blessing to get a character with this many layers. … I’ve had a blast playing Charlie from the beginning, from this innocent, wide-eyed, naive girl to getting stronger and stronger with all of her experiences and really learning from the things that she experiences throughout the episodes, throughout the year and then finally getting to a place where now, she’s on her own, she has nobody else to save her. She has to rely on her wits and what Miles taught her and everything she’s [learned] all along the way to get through it and it’s been really, really interesting and really fun to play for sure.

Access: What does she take with her this season that she picked up from Miles? Clearly he taught her to kick ass.

Tracy: Yeah, the swordsmanship and how to fight and defend herself, but also how to read people, how to understand the situation, read a situation when you’re being threatened. … The experience of being with Miles and experiences in general have taught her how to be independent and strong and [she’s] really molding herself into being a warrior.

Access: What’s propelling her journey at this point? Was she after Monroe or did seeing him change her course?

Tracy: She was on a bit of a soul searching journey. … Everything had happened and her mom’s… really just emotionally distraught and she just knew that she couldn’t be around that and didn’t know where to be, where to belong anymore. Everybody that she loves and all her family is in that one little home and everybody else [has] passed away, so she takes off… [and] just goes to figure herself out, to see what she wants to see and just exist and then Monroe screws [that up] by being there and it shifts her entire mission.

Access: What’s coming up with that arc? Charlie is really after Monroe.

Tracy: She gets to confront him and it’s an interesting thing this year, getting to see this other side of Monroe… and Charlie gets to be one of the first to see it. I don’t want to give much more than that, but she does actually get to be face-to-face with the devil so to speak.

Access: Another side of Monroe… could he be a little cuddlier than he’s been in the past?

Tracy: (Laughs) I don’t think I would use ‘cuddly’ as the right term for him ever…. I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s just a different quality in Monroe that we [didn’t get] to see very much of last year. … Every episode that I’ve been reading that’s been coming through, it’s just been really exciting to see the first of the dynamic shift within all the characters, even the development with the Nevilles and just to see that whole thing and how Jason really steps up to the plate and saves his [dad’s] life in this first episode coming back when he’s trying to commit suicide. All that stuff. Everybody’s relationships have really shifted [in] a really, really interesting and cool way. … There’s a lot of twists and turns throughout this year and a lot of things that happen. It’s quite a fun ride.

Access: They made your character a little sexier this season. She gets together with a guy in the season premiere. Is she just throwing herself out there because she doesn’t care or is she still hurting over things with Jason?

Tracy: I think it’s a combination of everything. … I kind of pictured [it as] one of those things where [when] you go through something really intense, one of the first things I want to do is just go away and just be on my own and sort through everything. And she’s trying to figure out where her emotions lie. There’s a big part of her that’s shutting down emotionally, but then there’s also another big part of her that wants to do the right thing and be the good person. … And then yeah, with Jason being her first love, and what’s happened with that… all the different relationships and everything that’s happened with her, it’s just really soul searching and finding who she is, where she lies. … It’s a bunch of that and just trying to find the basics again on her own two feet and how to stand up and how to be.

Access: What were the reactions to the season premiere from fans?

Tracy: Everybody’s been freaking out. Everyone’s really, really loved it and I’m so thrilled. [They’re] just really liking the — like you and I were talking — the pace of everything, and also, the story line. It’s quite interesting. It leaves [Episode 201] on quite the cliffhanger and really pulls everybody in with what’s happening. Everyone’s about Aaron and what’s going on with the fireflies and, ‘What were those all about?’ … I just can’t wait for everybody to see what we’ve got in store.

“Revolution” continues Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

Jolie Lash

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