As “The Righteous Gemstones” charges ahead through its second season on HBO, the bond between Jesse (Danny McBride) and Amber (Cassidy Freeman) is stronger than ever.
Of course, their marriage has been afforded time to heal since the climactic events of the first season, in which Amber was shown a blackmail video of Jesse snorting coke and consorting with strippers. Confronted with this incontrovertible proof of her husband’s philandering, and the embarrassment of lies he’d told to cover it up, Amber responded by retrieving a rifle and shooting Jesse in the buttocks. He lived.
Jesse’s subsequent pilgrimage to Haiti, where he reunited with his estranged son, Gideon (Skyler Gisondo), helped smooth things over at home, but gone are the days in which Amber could turn a blind eye to her husband’s errant behavior. Instead, the new balance they’ve struck in Season 2 has kept Jesse and Amber on more equal footing, to the degree they lead a church group focused on giving marriages a second chance.
Furthermore, the pair are on an upswing after meeting with Lyle and Lindy Lissons (Eric André and Jessica Lowe), two smooth operators they consider kindred spirits. Taken in by the promise of their luxury Christian timeshare, Zion’s Landing, Jesse and Amber fancy themselves a power couple about to score a major win for the family business — though family patriarch Dr. Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) is less than moved to indulge this fantasy, since it will require him to make a $10 million investment.
This being “The Righteous Gemstones,” the threat of violence is never far from all the bureaucratic business bumbling that makes up Jesse’s everyday life. And the McBride-directed Episode 4 — “As to How They Might Destroy Him” — ended with a particularly shocking cliffhanger, as Jesse and Amber came under heavy fire from the mysterious cadre of armed motorcycle riders who’ve spent this season gunning for the Gemstones.
As per last season, Episode 5 — the David Gordon Green-directed “Interlude II” — hit pause in the midst of this ambush for another episode-long flashback, set on Christmas of 1993.
But in a recent episode, Jody Hill-directed installment, “Never Avenge Yourselves, But Leave It to the Wrath,” immediately dives back into the fray, as Amber leaps into action in order to save herself and her husband.
To debrief one of the new season’s most exciting moments thus far, and to more broadly discuss her role on “The Righteous Gemstones,” actress Cassidy Freeman sat down with The Playlist to discuss the psychology and continued success of Amber Gemstone.
I adore the depth that you bring to Amber, and Season 1 gave you such a terrific arc to play in terms of her. Coming back for Season 2, what was your understanding of where Amber is right now in terms of her relationship to Jesse and the rest of the characters?
First seasons of shows are often made to set characters up, for you to get to know them. I think Amber had really a lot to do in Season 1; she had so much to explore about her marriage and her relationship to Jesse, even after they’d been together for so long. Season 2 is really fun for her because, in the wake of that static at the end of Season 1, she gets to make a decision whether or not to strengthen her family, or to walk away. And, if anything, she’s not a quitter, so she decides to strengthen it but, I think, in a different way. Because there’s been some trust that needs to be regained, and that evens the scales a bit between them, making them more of a team rather than her being some kind of accoutrement.
The Gemstones are a dynasty led by a fearsome patriarch, and that structure doesn’t always empower Amber as directly as it does other characters. Season 2 feels, in some ways, like a collision course between the Gemstones clan and Amber as someone who’s not going to be told what to do or denied the credit she deserves.
I love your perspective on this. It’s awesome to hear. What’s different between Amber and Judy, who I think are both incredible women in the show, is that Amber did not come from this background. She’s not privileged. She wasn’t handed things, so she had to fight for stuff.
And I also think she’s really smart. She knows how she’s supposed to be. She knows how people expect her to be. She knows how she’s seen by everyone. And she knows that her husband isn’t perfect. As much as she deeply loves him and is always going to choose him and her family, his imperfections are the crack in his armor that she can help heal. She can come and be the one that’s — maybe — better with firearms. She can, without the need to be celebrated in that way, come to his aid. And I think that sense of purpose is really gratifying for her, but it also solidifies that she’s not going to lose the place that she has worked so hard to have in this status family.
We do see Amber’s skill with firearms come into play across the Episode 4-6 cliffhanger, from the end of “As to How They Might Destroy Him” to the beginning of “Never Avenge Yourselves, But Leave It to the Wrath.” You have this incredible moment in which Amber unleashes absolute hell on this motorcycle gang. Tell me about filming that.
Oh, gosh. Well, thanks. [laughs] It was pretty fun to read, and it’s an interesting cliffhanger because it’s from Episode 4, and then Episode 5 is all flashback, and then you pick it up in Episode 6. It’s a direct time cut. We actually shot those two scenes back-to-back, Danny directing the end of Episode 5 and Jody directing the beginning of Episode 6. And, look: these dudes love moments like this. And they do nothing but champion me in those moments. Even those cyclists are actually incredible; they’re circus performers. Those guys are the real deal. It’s always fun to watch people who are really good at what they do, you know. And, obviously, there’s been a lot of concern with firearm usage and whatnot on sets. I’m always very happy with how safe and thorough we are, and how it can be used in this fun way instead of something that’s scary. But I think Amber’s a total badass, and I think it’s a part of her character that deepens who she is, rather than just [making her seem like] a trophy wife.
You also see that tension crackle between her and Jesse in the aftermath, as he can’t bring himself to give her credit for saving their lives. What can you tease about what’s going through Amber’s head, when she sees that Jesse cannot just give this victory to her?
Funnily enough, that moment after she fires and then the camera racks to Jesse behind Amber, looking at his gun, it’s one of the funniest moments in the season, to me. But I think her love for her husband is just so much more important to her than having other people know what happened or even having him admit it. He knows it. And she knows he knows it. And she’s not gonna let him say what’s not true, but at the same time I don’t think she really needs him to tell everyone. That’s where she takes the graciousness of stepping back and allowing him to be the man of the family. Because those dynamics are still really strong between them.
Between “Succession” and “The Righteous Gemstones,” HBO has found success in recent years by examining these upper echelons of power in media and politics. Having seen your series evolve in Season 2, what element of the show’s critique of these chambers of power do you find most compelling, personally? What is it that most entices you about the idea of the Righteous Gemstones?
You have these people who supposedly believe in this idea of religion — this religious idea of giving, of caring for people, the beliefs that they hold true to themselves — and who then allow the capitalism of that to start to take hold, to start to become more important than what they believed in at the beginning. And this started long ago, in “Gemstones,” with Eli’s story. He fought really hard, because he did not come from privilege, the same way that Amber did not. And I think that that journey is an interesting one. All of the significant others have different stories than those three kids — Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin — and their stories are different and challenging in their own ways.
But I do think that we are struggling as a people, as a world, with this dichotomy and with this gap in power. And I think this is the way that we deal with it, is by creating stories about it and talking about it and bringing it up. And I really love the way that Danny and the whole team do it, because they do it with humor. I think that’s a much easier door [to open] than hitting everyone over the head. It allows for more conversation.
The dynamic between Amber and Jesse is such fun to watch. What’s your other favorite dynamic to play with a co-star on the series?
I love playing with everyone, though I don’t get to do a lot with everyone. I really enjoy her relationship with Gideon, [played by Skyler Gisondo.] I think that’s a really interesting relationship that we got to do a lot with this season as well. I have a feeling Amber had him pretty young. And there is something really interesting about a mother growing up along with her child. And they have history. Her other two kids live at home. They’re at home and, though Pontius doesn’t always, they listen to what they’re told to do. But Gideon is really trying to find his own way. And there is a letting go in some of our scenes, a growing up for both of us, that is really fun to play. And Skyler is just a joy, maybe the nicest person in the world. So I’d say Gideon.
“The Righteous Gemstones” Season 2 is currently airing Sunday nights on HBO.