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What, in your eyes, makes it difficult for Melissa to be married to Nick?
She calls him pathologically passive.I think that phrase is the opposite of whatsheis.
You have someone who can speak for you when you dont feel like it.
You have someone who knows how to start a conversation when you dont.
Melissa has had this affair, and shes in the doghouse.
She has to find her place within the relationship right now because its shifted.
In a way, shes waiting.
Shes waiting for him to be okay and waiting for him to accept her again.
Theyre never saying the thing that needs to be said.
As a viewer, you want to scream it for them.
Thats when a more aggressive person is useful, to pull that out of a passive person.
Neither of them have that capacity.
To me, one of the defining aspects of Melissa is her self-awareness.
She knows it would be hypocritical to treat an affair as unforgivable because she had one herself.
you could see her debating how much shes allowed to feel and express.And how angry shes allowed to be.
Its such a tricky area, not just because she cheated and the hypocrisy of that.
Its not Well, you cheated, and so I cheated, and so were even now!
It doesnt work that way.
The details that sting the most in Nicks relationship with Frances is that he fell in love.
And falling in love is a whole other betrayal.
Its also something he cant help, which is the biggest heartbreak of it.
Its something he didnt dotoher.
Its very easy to be angry at someone for something they didtoyou.
Its much harder to be angry at someone for a feeling.
Her goal was to show that Frances had bitten off more than she could chew.
She wasnt going to make this easy for Frances.
She was going to throw her into the deep end of what it entails to be in any relationship.
The person you are choosing is going to be flawed and is going to be somewhat mismatched for you.
Shes trying to show her,Im stronger than you.
Its impossible that shes this selfless.
There has to be something that serves her in choosing the high road, in permitting the relationship.
Its a big part of why she is friends with these girls.
It doesnt make sense, not just because of the age difference but the difference in views.
The couples are from different worlds, so why is Melissa forcibly bringing them in?
Having people around to entertain them, this silly, adorable, 20-something couple with these fresh perspectives.
Theres a ton of exploitation going on.
I love it when the house is full.
Theres a dinner party every night.
Its a way to avoid being alone with each other.
Having that distraction is really important for her right now.
The whole series is shown from Francess point of view.
By the nature of the story, your character has the least screen time of the four.
But I find the character is one of the richest.
But its not a get out of jail free card.
You have to pack so much into every action because every action is so normal and everyday and mundane.
Thats where turning something into film is so enriching.
Theres a lot at stake in doing that because it’s possible for you to really ruin something.
I would say it was expansive to be able tobeher rather than just read about her.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
