Will Trent’s Erika Christensen Talks Her Directorial Debut and Angie’s Impending Pregnancy Drama
Will Trent always ends its season with massive cliffhangers, and its penultimate episode, Will Trent Season 3 Episode 17, was so exceptional.
Erika Christensen made her directorial debut, and her work was cut out for her in this high-stakes, emotional installment.
TV Fanatic chatted with Christensen about being on the other side of the camera, Angie’s pregnancy drama, and how relationships have changed on the series.
Hi Erika. It’s great to talk to you again. This was your directorial debut on Will Trent. What was it like being on the other end of the camera?
Well, now I get to say all my opinions out loud. One of my favorite aspects about working in film and television is collaborating and feeling like I’m part of a team.
This was the ultimate feeling of being on the team, and I got to work directly with more departments than I got to engage with us as an actor, specifically. I just engaged socially with everybody, but engaging artistically with everybody is enjoyable.
I enjoyed this episode.
Thank you, so did I. I was blessed with a killer script. They pulled no punches.
Will Trent always has big season premieres and finales. What were your thoughts about tying a terrorist and Will meeting his biological dad into this cliffhanger?
I loved that we have our case closed, as you know. The initial murder is solved, and then it points up a much larger problem, which I kept saying is a Will Trent Season 3 Episode 18 problem.
I love it when we do more than one episode arc of a story. The bio weapon, of course, and then Will’s paternity and Angie potentially becoming a mother were bombshells., They’re also setups for Episode 18 and potentially beyond.
I was thrilled to explore all those things and do Will Trent justice. We always have heavy scenes, but we also have a lot of humor, and we balance out all of that.
The writers do such a good job. It’s just that they tee it up. I had to bring it home. And they write for our actors and so forth. So, it was such a pleasure.
Absolutely. Family is a big thing for the show, and Angie has been through the wringer. I never expected we’d see Angie’s mom again. Those were some of your best emotional scenes.
It’s so funny, too, because in a stroke of scheduling irony, we had to shoot Will Trent Season 3 Episode 15 after Will Trent Season 3 Episode 17. We shot this episode that I directed without the benefit of having gone through those scenes where we played out that relationship and ultimately her death.
In Will Trent Season 3 Episode 16, Angie fell off the wagon, tried to get it back together, and got beaten up in a bar fight.
I was lucky that this scheduling worked out, so we shot Episode 16 first and Episode 15 right afterward. It’s all incredible material for Angie. She can take a lot.
How much is her past with her mother and her mother’s death affecting her decision to have the baby?
In a big way, she has to make sure it’s a differentiation. If she decides not to have the baby, in some way, she feels she will continue the cycle. If she feels she doesn’t deserve it, then that’s letting Mom win.
But she doesn’t want to have the baby purely to prove someone wrong — someone who’s not even around anymore.
It would have to be for herself, Seth, and the child they would bring into the world. So, she’s weighing a lot of things in the future here.
On that note, she talked to Will and Faith about her mother. I like how the characters have developed different friendships. How much do you think these talks will influence Angie’s decision? I liked what Faith said about how Angie’s good with people.
Oh, it’s such a simple way to put it. And it’s so beautiful. It doesn’t overcomplicate an issue that could be very complicated. I think it’s great that Will and Angie have such a shorthand and such an understanding of the context of everything, and then he inadvertently says something so hurtful.
This is not to say that he knew what Angie was facing and the decision she had to make. But it’s interesting how incredibly different the conversations are with Seth, Will, and Faith.
Faith is the only one who’s a parent, so her point of view carries a lot of weight because she knows what she’s talking about.
She does, and I’d like her and Angie to become better friends. They’ve become friends, but we haven’t seen much one-on-one time with them.
Yeah, it will be lovely. It’s always really nice when we get to see our female characters together. In Episode 18, Angie and Amanda do some cool stuff together.
That will be fun. So, with everything happening with Angie leading into the Season 3 finale, what would you like to see for Angie in Will Trent Season 4?
Full disclosure. While the writers certainly reserve the right to change their minds, I have an inkling about some things they’re considering for Angie. I’m open to anything.
I think she’s so interesting because she’s such a survivor. She tries to balance owning who she is without putting her walls up too much with everyone all the time. It’d be fascinating to see what it brought out of her to be a mother.
I would like to see that. Does that mean you think that Seth is going to stick around?
It wouldn’t be surprising for Angie to do any of the numerous things. But no spoilers.
I wonder if they have this baby and if he’ll stick around.
Well, he’s an incredibly emotionally evolved person. It seems that I would hope for them. It’s a different relationship than what she and he have had romantically. I have hope for them.
I was always Team Will in the past, but I am thrilled that Angie and Will are still friends, because I’ve always enjoyed the connection that you and Ramon Rodriguez seemed to have, and you can tell that there is a friendship whenever you guys are on screen.
I’m glad that comes through.
So, I’m very open to whatever happens.
I’m open to whatever happens. It’s all an adventure. And, you know, the more drama, the better it makes for television. Not for real life, but for television.
Are there any other storylines you hope Angie has or doesn’t have besides being a mother?
I love how we find personal connections to cases. There was her case with Lenny, her mess with Lenny and Crystal, and a little insight into her relationship with her mother. So, I’d be hopeful we can delve more into her personal history through some case.
That would be fun. Thank you so much for chatting with me again. I always love chatting with you and learning more about Angie, my favorite character on the show.
Oh, thanks, Laura. I love her, too. I’m grateful for this whole Will Trent chapter of my life.
Will Trent airs at 8/7c on Tuesdays on ABC and streams on Hulu the following day.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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