See returns to Apple TV+ on August 27 for its second season, which promises to be more epic than the first. Fans have already gotten to know Jason Momoa’s (Aquaman) Baba, and the remnants of the Alkenny tribe of which he is chieftain – including his long-trusted advisor Paris (Alfre Woodard, Luke Cage). Now it’s time for the series to expand its horizons even more.
Not only will season 2 introduce Baba’s brother Edo (Dave Bautista, Guardians of The Galaxy) and the painful past they share, it will also uncover some more secrets of Paris’ own past. The family dynamics are sure to grow ever more complicated as tensions swirl and the harsh environment doesn’t let up.
Woodard spoke to Screen Rant about what to expect from Paris in the next season of See and how she relates to the evolution of the parental role over the course of a child’s life.
Screen Rant: I know you’ve said that you like to challenge yourself and don’t like to do the same thing over again in roles. After having to adjust to the use of different senses in See’s first season, what has changed for you when playing Paris in season 2?
Alfre Woodard: I don’t separate the seasons, really. Because once I discover the character, she lives, and I just get to wake up another day as Paris.
That’s kind of how this season takes off. We’re moving across the countryside, the same family that has been moving after the Alkenny were completely obliterated. We’re moving across the country, and you’re gonna see us coming out of the wilderness – well, there’s still plenty of wilderness. But within that dystopian future, you see the ruins of cities, and how we might have been before we were with hidden tribes. We’re coming into places that are more populated, and we learn how they have made a civilization after the downfall.
You’ve always had something of a parental role with Kofun (Archie Madekwe) and Haniwa (Nesta Cooper). But now it’s more so because there’s so few Alkenny left and Maghra (Hera Hilmar) is elsewhere, and at the same time they’re adults now. Can you speak about that changing dynamic and the evolution of your relationship with them?
Alfre Woodard: I always felt a responsibility. And you will find out even more in season 2 about how I came by that responsibility. Yes, I was the midwife who was there who helped Maghra bring them forward and [got] surprised by the fact that they were twins. But I was charged to watch over them by their bio dad, and there’s a mission that he has set out for them to accomplish. And I have sworn that I would do that. Well, you find out even more.
The relationship is a little dark – all the relationships – because they are family. They get dark and intense and complex because that’s where we learn how to be loyal and discover what makes us disloyal. I think that’s in [all] family relationships.
They are grownups now, especially in our world. In the old world, you are an adult sooner than we in 2021 allow our children to be adults. But I was just with my children, and I remember saying every age, “This is the best age,” when you can smell them, and they smell like fresh bread. I’ve said this is the best age all their lives. One just turned 30 this summer, and the other is 27. I was on holiday with one for eight days, and I still say this is the best age – and they’re adults.
I have to find what my relationship is [with] this adult. There is still that relationship of, “You taught me how to keep my hands out of the sockets, so I will confer with you on things.” But I also find myself saying to them, “Mom needs to really know this. Give me some advice.” It’s a great thing.
With Kofun and Haniwa, there is respect on both sides. I’m still on a mission, but I know I have to allow them more rope and more tether. So that they don’t even have to say, “I’m grown now. I think he needs to back off, Paris.” There’s still that there, so it’s lovely and wonderful. But our reasons for being together are clarified even more in this season.
I especially think they need me because they are facing adult trials and tribulations with the meetings of their dad Baba Voss and Edo, his brother. The clash that comes from a big hurt when they were tiny boys, and it shaped them as men. That thing is playing out all across the characters.
See season 2 premieres August 27 on Apple TV, with new episodes following every Friday.
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