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The Royal We, the second episode of AmazonsThe Romanoffs, is a story about a collapsing marriage.
I have to say, first of all, that Im a hugeHalt and Catch Firefan.Oh good!
Its always nice to meet one of the eleven people who saw it.
But we eleven are really committed!And we appreciate it!
Lets talk aboutThe Romanoffs.
Shes really self-conscious and dressed up like a princess, and then all the pageantry starts.
Shes skeptical, and then she sees it and cant help but be completely beguiled.
Its magical and fascinating and she lets herself be taken in by it.
Which is a very Romanoff thing.
Its also a very human thing.
And so it hits her.
When shes watching the little people perform, its like …Right!?
What a great detail.
Because then you get to be like, Am I …
I meanthisis, I have to … but then …
I shouldnt … You know?
When she gets off the boat, she tells her husband, I really understand you now.
And she thinks she does understand Michael better.
But not, clearly, well enough.
At the end, shes clearly reinvigorated.
Janie [Bryant] did the costumes and I think shes a genius.
My costumes in the whole first part before I go on the cruise make me laughsohard.
Theyre really frumpy!Theyresohilarious.
When I saw her put on that pink coat, I thought, Oh, I see.I see!
Not trying, looks terrible, goes to sleep wearing her You Had Me at Merlot shirt.
And then I get to be a little Disney princess on the boat!
And I think everybody should have it and women should enjoy it.
But Shelly got what she needed.
She didnt need sex that wasnt the thing that she was yearning for in her relationship.
Michael needed danger and a visceral sexual encounter.
Shelly needed emotional intimacy.
And you could look at that as being as big a transgression as having sex with somebody else.
The things that Im drawn to are more specific than that.
What I love about her is all of the ways that shes a complete, full, fallible being.
I love that shes got a temper and shell let him fucking have it when he needs it.
She hides her cigarettes because he doesnt approve, and shell vindictively smoke one.
She can kick back and smoke pot with one of her co-workers and have a good time.
So its not helpful for me to generalize about what they are in terms of gender politics.
Im obviously interested in playing characters who have autonomy, who drive the story.
More important to me is,Is this a woman who makes choices?
I thought we were watching a man misbehaving, and really we were watching a woman discovering her worth.
At the end, theres never a moment where she thinks, Wait, did he push me accidentally?
She knows immediately.[Laughs.]
Which is such a thing women would say.
You tried to kill me, but Imfine.
Im going to my car.Hes like, I dont know what you think happened.
And Im like, Ill tell you exactly what I think happened!
You tried to fucking kill me!
And he did it in the stupidest way![Laughs.]
Oh, its so funny.
And to me, the very end makes the whole story make sense.
I didnt really know what we were saying, or what it was about, until that event happens.
And thats something I can relate to.
[Weiner] told me.
He told me when we were filming it, and I was like, Cake?
Theres a lot in this episode about power dynamics in relationships.
I think the audience is going to be thinking a lot about that specifically with #MeToo.
Im not interested in political theater.
I want to make art that is helpful, thats useful to people, that starts fruitful conversations.
That makes you think about a question that you hadnt considered before.
I hope people have a whole broad range of feelings and thoughts and conversations about the work.
This episode, this show, all the work that I make.
I am sick to my stomach, just all the time.
What does agency and autonomy look like?A character that drives the story.
So, not necessarily something behind the scenes?I also write my own material.
Im developing a TV show with this data pipe called Shudder, which is extremely gratifying.
So, making my own work.
