From the second For All Mankind Season 5 introduced us to Ines Asserson as AJ Jarrett, we were hooked. AJ, originally known to viewers as Avery Stevens when she was a baby, doesn’t just have Danny Stevens’ less-than-great (being kind here) history—she has the legend of Gordo and Tracy hanging over her, too. Then, there’s Uncle Jimmy. Basically, being a Stevens is a lot. No wonder she took her stepdad’s last name.
So, to kick off Fangirlish‘s interview with Ines Asserson, we asked her what it was like building a character who has that extremely heavy and complicated family legacy, when so much of that struggle has to be internal because none of these people are around anymore. Consider it a case of art and life imitating each other. According to Asserson, “it kind of works perfectly with also me coming into the show, in a way,” because “there are already four seasons of [For All Mankind], and it’s such a great show. And it has a fan base that is so committed and loves it. So, it’s like, ‘okay, I gotta really pull my weight here.'”
Also, “watching the show was a really good way to have an emotional memory of everything that has happened. And then, I think…Ines coming into the Sony lot to act felt similar to Avery stepping into the Marines,” thinking, “I want to do well, I want to do well.”
As we see in Episode 8, AJ’s approach to Mars is incredibly difficult. She isolates, she has that difficult history swimming around in her head, she has the pressure to do well…and then, her first experience with Mars is a major loss. Then, Sgt. Ruiz—the one person who helped her get out of her head and focus on the mission—dies when the Marsies blow the platform. “She’s already lost people she loves…Now, she’s found this new family, this new friend group in the Marines and in OPEF. And then, suddenly she’s not, you know, safe from loss and safe from…suffering there either.” This latest loss causes “a complete…revisiting these feelings that she probably wants to avoid.” Obviously, “anyone would want to avoid…loss and grief like that. But she especially has kind of worked so hard to suppress a lot.”
Just as Jarrett’s “opened up to talking about her family history and…is kind of more open there,” that’s when “there comes the impact of losing a close friend. And I think with that, she tries as best as she can to control what happens next. But unfortunately…the harm has been done. That person is gone, and she can’t change that. And so…all that anger comes out, and it is directed…just anywhere that is in front of her.” As Asserson pointed out, “she’s unfortunately…on her trajectory to Mars as this is happening.”
For a character who’s been “working with these tendencies that she’s had since she was a child, you know, like, ‘oh, should I deal with this on my own? Am I alone in this world? Or should I do it with people? What if I lose someone? Oh, I lost that person, then…’ My God, it’s just [a] complete, kind of, tornado of experiences for her as…we’re stepping into that—the closing act of the season.”
MORE: Mireille Enos on Celia Boyd’s “moral compass.”
Speaking of that closing act…some teases
There’s another legacy character at the center of For All Mankind Season 5. While we can’t spoil anything specific, with the M-6 forces and the Marsies being drawn together like magnets as we head into the last two episodes, the third-generation FAM kids…pretty much have to run into each other.
So, what can viewers expect? “I mean, it doesn’t start off great, does it,” Asserson teased. Also, expect “a collision of worlds…and it’s definitely…by definition, a season finale with…everyone coming together.” Again, without saying what “it” is, “I think it’s something that’s bound to happen for Avery. I think she needs to have it. It’s kind of like her final boss in a way…with all the…fire that she comes in to Mars with, having…lost Ruiz.” Also, “what happens becomes kind of a new opportunity for [Avery] to redirect herself.”
To wrap up, we asked Ines Asserson what’s been both the most difficult and the most rewarding couple of part of bringing AJ to life in For All Mankind Season 5. “I think, similar to Avery [needing] to accept that she’s on an individual journey a little bit…All the things that have come before her is kind of wind in her sails, even though it is also this kind of weight that kind of anchors her down, to be very poetic about it. So, as an actor to kind of—to know that…I have something specific, that is specific to me as an actor, that I can bring into this to expand upon this character….while also, you know, honoring all the incredible work that’s been done before and to…have that help me into this character and into the season.”
MORE: Check out our Ruby Cruz interview from earlier this season!
Watch our full Ines Asserson interview here
Find out what on Earth—rather, what on Mars—happens next! Don’t miss Ines Asserson in For All Mankind Season 5. Episode 9 premieres Friday, May 22 on Apple TV; the season finale drops May 29. Episodes 1-8 are now streaming.
