Tell Me Lies Star Cat Missal on ‘Damage’ of Tom Ellis Season 2 Relationship

[This story contains spoilers from season two, episode six of Tell Me Lies, “Do Your Dirty Words Come Out to Play?”]

Cat Missal is fully aware her character is going through it this season, especially in episode six, which sees Bree get “just wrecked” by the end of it.

Throughout season two of Meaghan Oppenheimer’s Tell Me Lies, which follows Grace Van Patten, Jackson White and the rest of the ensemble caught up in their own messy situations, Bree finds herself romantically involved with a married professor, Oliver (Tom Ellis), after learning that her boyfriend Evan (Branden Cook) cheated on her, back in the college-set timeline of the show.

“In this new situation that we see her get into in this season, although I may not necessarily agree with most of the choices that she makes, I see the kind of desperation and motivation that pulls her and guides her,” Missal tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s definitely not the best angel-devil shoulder situation.”

But as the situationship “kind of spirals and grows” between Bree and Oliver, it only makes things more complicated, especially with so many hearts at play. And it also leaves viewers wondering about the impact it’s going to have on Bree and Evan in the future, as their characters are set to get married in the flash-forward 2015 timeline.

Below, Missal talks with THR about what it was like working with Ellis, that chaotic Friendsgiving, which features an “intense” game of slap shots, and where her character stands with Evan. She also teases “how much damage” is ahead in the final two episodes.

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What was it like returning to work with everyone again after such a hit first season?

We’re all really excited to be able to work on a show that’s as dynamic and compelling as this one. There’s so much drama that goes on, and we’re all really great friends outside of work. So with the break and then getting back to work, it was just really exciting to kind of show up with this energy and excitement. 

Your character seems much more naive and impressionable this season. How did you navigate that shift compared to season one?

We see some of those personality traits play out in season one. But it’s interesting playing a character like her with her background. I think she’s smarter than people may necessarily pick up on. And a lot of the time I approach the material with this kind of knowing of the character, which is that she’s a sort of a chameleon and can easily manipulate herself into being what it is other people need in the moment, whether it’s towards her friends, towards her boyfriend. And I think that’s why she’s left so disappointed, because she so often tries to meet those expectations or that view of her. And she’s not getting the results that she’s wanting. But she’s trying her best. 

Do you think Bree was searching for any form of connection when she pursued Oliver after being hurt by Evan?

I think playing on that thing I said before, which is she’s just let down most of the time, this is just another example of that. I think she feels hurt, but it’s happened to her so many times before that maybe she’s trying something else. She’s saying, “OK, well, I need something for myself.” So she goes out and searches for that, and that’s not to say that Oliver doesn’t manipulate her and play on her naïveté — the dynamic is clearly there. It’s such a power play. But as much as that is the key dynamic there, I think there’s an underbelly of — especially later, towards the end of the season — an undercurrent of her just trying to manipulate the situation to get him to stay in any capacity. 

We see Bree going through all the emotions this season, notably when she starts comparing herself to Oliver’s wife Marianne (Gabriella Pession). How do you handle taking all that on as an actor?

Just keeping myself grounded. I had great castmates to be able to turn to and we’re all going through the same type of deal, you know, shooting this show that has to deal with a lot of traumatic situations. I was really lucky as well. As an actor, it’s amazing to get to sink your teeth into this type of material and really throw yourself into it.

Your character has a lot more intimate scenes than in season one. How did go about preparing for that?

Having intimacy coordinators on set is a must. It helps so much, because it’s such a technical thing. And so in the rehearsals of those types of scenes, it can get mechanical even. And the intimacy coordinator is there not only to help us navigate the tough situations, but also to make sure that it like looks passionate and real and sensual. It’s so helpful. As an actor, it’s something that comes along with the job, especially on this show. It’s such a big part of the show. But I think it’s really integral to the storytelling as well.  

What was it like working with Ellis so much this season, as I know he’s also showrunner Oppenheimer’s husband? And, did you learn anything from him as an actor?

It’s definitely an unprecedented situation, but I felt lucky and grateful to get to work with such an amazing actor who, again, just approached the material with caution and care. We both really wanted to just do a great job. And for the audience to be on this journey along with us, not only seeing the toll that this relationship was taking, but seeing these two people have this connection that maybe wasn’t expected. I think Bree obviously goes out of her way to make this situation happen, but as it kind of spirals and grows, the affection and the care grows as well.

Can we also talk about that chaotic Friendsgiving? What initially went through your head when you read in the script that you’re going to be playing slap shots?

We were so pumped! We were like, “Oh my God, we get to slap each other,” and then of course we got on set and it’s very technical as well. But it was so much fun! We shot it for a really long time, we shot it over like two days. So it was intense, but it was such a good time.  

In episode six, Evan also learns Bree is seeing an older man and he’s very concerned. How much do you think it impacted her seeing his reaction to it?

I think Bree is smarter than maybe people can tell from the outside. Especially because she’s so internal. She has a lot of mystery surrounding her point of view, she’s not outspoken. I think about the other characters and how they lead with their defensiveness, and Bree leads with her heart and that kind of edge of defensiveness lives underneath, and it’s kind of repressed. And so I think Evan is saying something she knows to be true and that’s why it hurts her so badly, especially coming from the person that she felt sent her into this position. It definitely affects her. You see at the beginning of the episode her start out so confident and she’s feeling this new version of herself, and then by the end of the episode, she’s just wrecked. And then the trajectory playing out throughout the rest of the season, I think the next two episodes, you’ll really be able to tell how much damage has kind of been done and can’t be undone. 

Is there anything you have taken away personally from your character this season? 

Definitely, she’s a great friend. I would say also there is a time to forgive and forget, and there’s a time to accept a sort of behavior from the people around you. If you’re really loyal, you’ll stick through the hard times but know when the time is to leave. I would say if any of your friends in your real life are acting like any of these characters on this show, run away as fast as possible. 

The first six episodes of Tell Me Lies season two are currently streaming on Hulu, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday. Read THR‘s interviews with Grace Van Patten, co-stars Sonia Mena and Alicia Crowder, and showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer, who teases a major season two moment, here.