[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the finale of Midnight Mass.]Kate Siegel’s got quite a few heavy scenes to tackle in Mike Flanagan’s latest, Midnight Mass, but one of the most unforgettable of the bunch has to be the boat scene at the end of Episode 5.
After being turned by the “angel” in Episode 4, Riley (Zach Gilford) decides that the best possible path for him to take is to bring Erin (Siegel) out on a boat in the middle of the bay, explain what just happened to him and then have Erin watch as he burns alive in the sunrise. It’s a beautifully performed moment, but it’s some of the most gut wrenching material in the entire show and, ultimately, it could leave one wondering, was that necessary? Did Riley really have to put Erin through that?
During a paired conversation with Gilford and Siegel, Gilford explained, “[Riley] knows, ‘Look, what am I gonna run around being a vampire for the rest of my life? No. And the only way I’m gonna be able to convince Erin is if she sees it.’” He also added, “I hate to traumatize her, but the only way she’ll ever maybe take my advice and just row to the other shore is if she sees it.” While on Collider Ladies Night, Siegel took a moment to dig into that concept more, further justifying Riley’s choice. Here’s how she put it:
“I think because of the day they spent together in the ‘what happens when we die day,’ he had a sense of her inner steel and he knew and he says in the boat, ‘I was never as strong as you. I know you’re gonna go back. I want you to leave, but I know you’re gonna go back.’ So he knew, and I just took that as gospel, because at that point Erin and Riley are honest with each other.”
As though seeing Erin watch Riley burn alive isn't tough enough, Flanagan took it a step further to make sure the horror of that moment sinks in and stays with you long after the episode wraps up. Siegel continued:
“Mike and I talked a lot about how long it would take somebody to burn alive, and what that would smell like and what that would look like. The real authentic moment to moment of what was gonna happen in front of Erin, which is why they run that scream over the credits, to give it a sense of time, how long it takes.”
While discussing the aftermath with Siegel, I noted that Erin does eventually “come through” and do what she needs to do in order to essentially save the world. Siegel didn’t look at it precisely that way though. Here’s how she put it:
“It’s funny you say she comes through it because I never felt that. I felt that from that moment on, you never see Erin smile again. She doesn’t come back until she sees Riley again. And so what has happened, in my opinion — this is what's the beauty of art is it’s completely up to interpretation and your opinion, the viewer, is as valuable as mine, the performer — is that Erin in that moment knows she will be sacrificing her life for the community. And she has gone through something so traumatic that she is in shock for the next two episodes. Time wise, it’s only been a day. And she knows this thing and she will be in that rowboat in my mind until she’s in the church, and then she starts seeing this thing happen and you kind of see Erin wake up when people are holding the cups and she’s like, ‘Wait. No. No! We have to do something.’ Because before that, she still had not fully digested, and in some cases maybe literally because there’s a lot of ash that flies around, she hasn’t digested Riley. And then she is the reluctant hero. The ashes burned away and Erin looks around and she’s like, ‘Oh f*ck, there’s no one else but me. I guess I have to do the things.’ And so she’s not a Ripley. She’s not a Xena Warrior Princess. She is a reluctant hero who finds herself unable to do anything but save the people she loves.”
Looking for even more from Siegle? We’ve got you well covered in that department! You can hear loads more about Midnight Mass and also revisit some of Siegel’s past credits in our uncut conversation in podcast form below:
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