Be aware that there are somespoilersdiscussed.
JOE POKASKI:I think we had a really strong pilot.
Episode 4 was our transition.
Im really happy we earned it.
And then, once Episodes 8, 9 and 10 came, that was our Act 3.
I felt like thats where I knew the show would always be.
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POKASKI:Its really a combination of all three.
For example, I always wanted Tandy to get back into ballet.
It challenges us to give them crazier things to do.
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Has making a second season been more or less challenging than the first season?
POKASKI:Its a little of both.
There are certainly easier parts.
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Going into the pilot, I did not know what Olivia and Aubrey could do.
It was a crapshoot.
We had hundreds of people read, and we cast the best two.
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It was never a question of whether it was something physically challenging or subtle, or whatever.
Origin stories are tough, but you should probably pull them off right.
Now, we got to take the training wheels off.
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To watch what Emma could do with both sides of the coin has been amazing.
Its so fun that we get to see Mayhem causing some mayhem this season.
POKASKI:Mayhem is Bridget OReilly, whos a cop and an ally to Tandy and Tyrone.
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Because we dont have glass containers that big, we changed her story a little.
What we got really excited about was having a friend turn into an enemy.
Thats universal, and where good stories come from.
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What are you most excited about, as far as what Emma Lahana brings to the character?
The choices she was making were not only inspired but really consistent, and I think thats really cool.
The other thing thats really interesting is the physicality.
We didnt wanna give Mayhem crazy superpowers.
Because shes actually a trained ballerina herself, she took to it really well.
And Emma would be half-way through it, remembering everything and throwing a guy across the room.
It was just interesting to see how quickly she took to it and how well she did.
POKASKI:Thats the beauty of it all.
Mayhem, honestly, wont think much about Tandy and Tyrone unless theyre in her way.
How they feel about her is really one of our touchstones of the whole season.
What was it like to explore that, for the writers and the actors?
POKASKI:Its been fun.
We have a great writers room.
If we lined up all of our family experiences, itd look so differently.
We all have different perspectives on mothers, on fathers, and on responsibilities with children.
Theres a vulnerability to Aubrey, which is unlike any other actor.
How much will that test Tandy and Tyrone, this season?
POKASKI:I think that you might have just sold the poster for Season 2.
We all want to do good, but real life and complications get in the way.
One of the beauties of our show is that we remember our kids are young.
I was going to say teenagers, but theyre not teenagers anymore.
Wheres the worst slavery?
Why not shine some light on those motels that you drive by and wonder whos staying there?
POKASKI:I dont wanna give away too much.
Its a color we paint with quite a bit.
Its not necessarily driving the plot, entirely, but itll be a fairly big part of it.
Its a third rail that were gonna touch and electrocute ourselves with, a little bit.
What I want people to do is understand that its there.
POKASKI:A little bit.
We definitely want to verify Season 2 is a beautiful thing, unto itself.
I think about Season 2 a lot.
Marvels Cloak & DaggerSeason 2 airs on Thursday nights on Freeform.
