Is Laura Dead? Robin Wright on Finale, Season 2

[This story contains major spoilers from the season finale of The Girlfriend.]

Robin Wright was lured back to TV by the dual narrative at the center of The Girlfriend, Prime Video’s deliciously naughty limited series that pits the House of Cards alum against Olivia Cooke, who plays the unwelcome girlfriend to Wright’s only son (Laurie Davidson).

The psychological thriller, which has become a Top 10 global show for Amazon since its Sept. 10 release, centers around the twisted triangle of son Daniel (Davidson), his fiery new girlfriend Cherry (House of the Dragon‘s Cooke) and his obsessive mother Laura (Wright). Throughout the six episodes, viewers are intentionally misled about which woman is more sympathetic, as the series flips back and forth between Cherry and Laura’s conflicting perspectives on the first months of a whirlwind romance between Daniel and Cherry.

Though adapted from the 2017 novel of the same name by Michelle Frances, the series changed the ending entirely. Instead of Cherry falling to her death and Laura emerging victorious like in the book, it’s Laura who dies in the series. In the season finale, Laura drugs Daniel in hopes he will finally hear her evidence that Cherry is dangerous, but he emerges in a drug-induced haze, breaks up the two women fighting in the family’s pool and accidentally drowns his mother.

Delivering a Greek tragedy-style ending for the Oedipal tale was Wright’s idea, as the star, executive producer and director pushed to surprise viewers with Daniel killing Laura, instead of the more obvious Cherry. What Wright didn’t anticipate was that people still wouldn’t believe Laura is dead by the end of the finale, which concluded with a one year flash-forward of Daniel finally hearing the evidence and fearing now-wife Cherry, who is pregnant with their child.

“People were like, ‘Laura could have been resuscitated. Daniel is a doctor,’ and also, ‘He could have let her die,’” says Wright about viewers being split on if Laura could have survived the accidental drowning. “It’s kind of fun that people are wondering about what happened in the end [that we don’t show].”

With The Girlfriend now in awards contention for limited series, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Wright about the buzz around the show and, even though she says there aren’t talks at the moment about a second season, she weighs in on how the changes to the ending could pave the way for more. Still, “if it didn’t get a second season, I would be completely satisfied,” she says.

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The Girlfriend has become the No. 1 most-watched new scripted series in the U.K. for Amazon, and a Top 10 show for the streamer globally. Were you expecting this show to pop like it has?

No (laughs), you never do. I don’t like to put myself in that position. This could be a total flop or people could love it — don’t pick a lane. So when it launched and it was so immediate that it was watercooler with people saying they already binged it, I was like — great, amazing, fantastic. Thank you. Because it really was challenging wearing three hats and making it. It was a lot of work, so I feel very relieved.

By directing the first three episodes, you set the tone for navigating the competing narratives with your character, Laura, and Olivia Cooke’s Cherry. What was the trickiest part about directing and acting in those beginning episodes, when we don’t yet know which one of you is the psychotic one?

Right, exactly. (Laughs.) It was like doing algebra. That’s what it felt like, where you go, “OK, this is the protocol we have to achieve for this perspective. So we want to make sure we get this beat and this beat.” So you have a great script supervisor who keeps notes of when we flipped from one perspective to the other, because then on another episode, Laura would start the episode and Cherry would finish. So we were just trying to do the math. Did we get enough scenes? Did we get enough beats that are different? You’re in the same scene, so it’s this subtle thing of showing if it’s the way Cherry or Laura perceived it. And then [in the end], you realize that Laura was right along!

You had a long and respected TV run on House of Cards. The Girlfriend is a limited series, but as is common with buzzy limited series, there’s clamor for a second season. The ending also begs the question, since you changed it and kept Cherry alive. When you signed on, was doing a one-season series part of the appeal?

Actually, it was sort of a collective. Amazon greenlit a limited series of six episodes adapted from the book. When you’re moving forward with one season in your head, that’s all you’ve got to complete — it has to come full circle and has to shock at the end. So it could go both ways, right? You could close the show out. I don’t know what their [Amazon] plan is, to tell you the truth. I don’t know. I think they’re all so excited that they have a hit show on their platform. I know they have others, but I think this one gave them another escalation. Because Amazon has a lot of content, as we know, but they didn’t have anything like this.

I know that Daniel being the one to kill Laura was your idea. Why did you feel like it should end that way, and did you have to do some convincing to get everyone on board?

There were a lot of discussions around how many iterations [of the ending] were available, as there is for any ending of a show. I loved the Greek tragedy aspect of it because it’s so unexpected. Because you would definitely think that Cherry would have killed Laura, or Laura would have killed Cherry. You’re going through what you know as a reader of novels, and I was like, “Let’s just flip it on its head.” But it’s also left open. People say that to me.

Yes…

You don’t know after cut, when Daniel is holding Laura in the pool, could he have resuscitated her? He’s a doctor.

Right.

So, they’ve got options.

Did you think the ending was that open ended when you were making the show? Did you intentionally leave the door open for Laura to be alive, or were you thinking everyone would assume she’s dead?

The latter. Then when we were getting feedback from the spectators, it was half and half. People were like, “Oh, she could have been resuscitated.” And also, “He could have let her die.” So it’s kind of fun that people are wondering about what happened in the end [that we don’t show].

Cherry did try to stop Daniel while he was drowning Laura, which was a surprising turn of empathy for her. Was that a moment you talked about and debated?

Yes. When we were rehearsing in the pool — we were all freezing cold! — I think it just happened. I said to Andrea Harkin, who directed the latter three episodes [including the finale], “Wouldn’t it be interesting to do one take, just so you have it in the editing room, of Cherry trying to stop her drug-filled fiancé, who is drug-filled by his own mother?” Cherry is saying to Daniel, “Don’t do that; you and I will just escape.”

A lot of these things were added at the last minute, because we were in the scene and able to rehearse: “How do you get to that emotion? How do you get that beat? Let’s talk about it. What would come out of Cherry’s mouth based on this conversation we’ve just had?” And that was so invigorating, to work with such pros. All the actors are really good and they loved the chat. When you’re acting and you get to hang out with all of your costars it’s like a beautiful therapy, because you discover things together and everybody throws their idea on the table based on coming from their character personally.

Was there another version of the ending you came close to doing?

I’m sure there were a couple of other ideas. Think about that triangle. We probably talked about, “Should Daniel kill Cherry, and then he wakes up and realizes what he did?” That could have been one idea. There were many, many discussions about all of these things, and how did we want to drop crumbs? And not go into the melodrama, but base it in reality that this shit can happen.

Do you feel satisfied by the ending or are you itching to continue?

If it didn’t get a second season, I would be completely satisfied. We had such an incredible team building this architectural game. You’re as good as your team around you. I couldn’t have done it without them.

I don’t know [about a second season]. They’re [Amazon] going to decide what they want to do, and then we’ll have a conversation. You know Scenes From A Marriage, the five-part series with Jessica Chastain? I loved that so much. That’s what inspired me to do a limited series and wear three hats. Because it’s a lot of work. I’m so glad I had the [one season] to think about, and our team rocked it. We’re so pleased and thrilled beyond. Can you imagine doing all of that work and then you have a flop on your hands?

How closely have you been following the response to the show? Has it surprised you that there is Cherry fandom; did you think viewers would tilt more to Laura’s side?

It doesn’t surprise me because that was the intention — to have the viewer ping-pong for six episodes and go, “I’m Team Laura today. Oh shit, now I’m Team Cherry. And now I’m Team Laura again.” Think about if that limited series was 13 episodes. With House of Cards, we did 13 episodes every season [except the final season]. [If The Girlfriend had that many episodes], the show would be regurgitating the same vein, just a little bit different in the white lie or fabrication of truth, and stretch it out more. I think this worked in a truncated fashion.

How do you feel about Laura by the end, in terms of what she deserves. Is she the psychopath or is Cherry, or are both of them?

They’re both in the same position, in separate boats, which is two alpha females in a room — that’s tough already. They’re both very strong-willed and determined to get everyone to believe their story and get what they want out of it. So their trajectory is the same, and they both think they’re in the right, and the other thinks they’re in the wrong. And that is what we experience in life a lot.

Do you think Laura would have chewed up and spit out anyone her son brought home?

No, we collectively decided that shouldn’t be who Laura is at her core. Yes, she’ll be aching in her heart because she’s going to lose her son to a woman he falls in love with, and he’s going to move out of the house — even though he’s still living at home at 29. But no, I don’t think she would have. From the get-go, she just suspected, “This girl is not to be trusted.” You feel it; you feel that as a woman, “Something rubbed me the wrong way about that person. I don’t know what it is, but…”

Had you and Olivia Cooke met before making this show?

No. And she was always my first choice.

Was there a piece of her prior acting that caught your attention?

I’ve followed her since the beginning. She was great in Sound of Metal. Her performance in that really got my attention. And then in the movie she did with Anya-Taylor Joy, Thoroughbreds, she was fantastic. I liked that there was a cool confidence about her. And when she smiles, what a sweetie pie. You just want to hug her. Look at her in Slow Horses, she’s great.

How did you two find your chemistry?

In the rehearsals that were very short, I said, “I think it’s beneficial if we can get the characters of the Sanderson family — Daniel, Mom, Dad [played by Waleed Zuaiter] and Cherry — in a room.” We started talking about the scene, “What do you think for your character?” They pitched it, and then I could respond based on what they were going to do. The most important thing with what little time we had was that I said, “Give me something different every take, because we may only get two takes.” They did, and I had so much material in the editing room to play with to morph and mold. We would take things we shot from our algebra list of what we were going to achieve in Laura’s versus Cherry’s perspectives, and I would steal some of Laura’s reactions or lines and throw them into Cherry’s perspective. And you’re like, “Oh, it’s much better over there.” We’d do that Rubik’s Cube a lot.

I saw shades of [House of Cards‘] Claire Underwood in how Laura carried herself. Did Laura remind you of Claire; who was your inspiration?

I think Laura is just an overly protective mother who really believes her son is potentially going to be in peril with this woman in his life. And her belief is that it’s evident Cherry is a gold digger. From Cherry’s perspective, that’s not something she believes in. She’s like, “I just happened to fall in love with a young man who’s from a very wealthy family, and I get the perks on top of it. Amazing.” She just wants for a better life. What’s wrong with that? So we’re back to the dual perspectives. Olivia and I talked about that a lot, how you have to like your character, no matter how venal they are.

You were on one of the first streaming shows with House of Cards, when viewership data was unknown. How do you compare the beginning of the streaming era to now, and the feedback you get from Amazon about The Girlfriend?

Just to preface being at the helm of an unestablished show — because The Girlfriend was from the ground up — my prep was very full with Amazon. A lot of meetings, a lot of discussions. You send scripts; they give notes; you do those notes; then you deliberate and try to fight for what you believe is better or should be omitted or modified. There were a lot of weeks doing that, and that’s very different from [director/executive producer] David Fincher establishing the style of House of Cards and deciding to get onto the streaming train.

He said to me, “This [streaming] is going to be our future. There’s no doubt about it. And cinema is going to die-ish. Because it’s half the cost.” He established the tone, the look, he oversaw the writing. I came in as a director [on House of Cards] having to follow a style, which was such a great way to start directing. You had restrictions and you had to find a way to bring your style within those restrictions.

The Girlfriend was a very different beast. We didn’t even have the scripts written; they were writing as we were starting to shoot. There were always discussions about script with the writers, and we had some great writers. So it was about finding together what’s going to be the most gripping, cinematic, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, can’t-wait-to-get-to-the-next-episode story. That’s your main goal: How do we get people to watch the next episode?

So to wrap it up, what would say to viewers who want The Girlfriend season two?

I truly don’t know. There are a lot of people involved and if you’re working for a platform, you have to wait until the execs figure out the what, why, when and how. We’re not even there yet.

I’m just really wondering if you’re dead or alive.

Keep wondering!

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All six episodes of The Girlfriend are now streaming on Prime Video. Read THR’s digital cover story with Olivia Cooke on the series.