Caroline Dhavernas on Crossing the Line in Mary Kills People Season 2

Mary Kills People is finally back tonight on Global TV! When I sat down with star Caroline Dhavernas as production wrapped on Season 2, we discussed higher stakes, more suspense, and a new adversary for Mary.

Find out everything that Caroline Dhavernas shared about Season 2 of Mary Kills People, and come back following the premiere when she joins me for the return of The Televixen’s MKP Post-Mortems!

(WARNING: MAJOR SEASON 1 SPOILERS AND MINOR SEASON 2 SPOILERS AHEAD.)

What can you share about what Mary is up to when Season 2 begins.

In the last episode of Season 1, she ended up killing Grady because he was a menace to her kids and her life, so she went from mercy killings to crossing that line. In Season 2, we find her working on her own for a bit. She is also taking more liberties because she got away with so much. There are greyer zones of who deserves to die and who she decides to help die with dignity. The waters murkier, and she will get in trouble with the law again, as you can imagine. Her friendship with Des — and that’s an interesting part of how the season kicks off — will be tricky because they start having different views on who deserves to die and who doesn’t.

Mary and Des were definitely at odds with each other at the end of the first season with him falling back into his old habits.

And wearing the wire.

Indeed. In addition to that conflict, I found it really compelling that Mary had an “out” once Grady was gone. She could have walked away with her family and never revisited this world again. There’s something about it that she can’t resist.

You mentioned Des’ addiction, and I think this is Mary’s addiction. It’s something that she needs in her life to feel alive. There’s a moment in Season 1 when she says to her sister something about being with [people] when everything matters and doesn’t matter. That really summarizes the need that she has to be there. She’s very plugged into life when she’s helping with those deaths. As much as she’s compromising and sacrificing her family and everyone around her,  she’s blinded by this need to be there for these people. It’s part compassion and part addiction.

There’s immense power, and perhaps a bit of a god complex that really started to come out in Mary.

Maybe it’s a bit of that. It certainly does give her control, and she doesn’t love authority. She got away with so much.

Season 1 hinted at issues in Mary’s life growing up during the conversations with Nicole and what happened with their mother. They haven’t come right out and said what happened, but they’ve alluded to it. Is part of what motivates Mary that she felt out of control with what happened to her mom and what’s happening in the rest of her life? Is this is Mary’s way of being in control?

Definitely. Part of her feels a bit of guilt for helping her mother die because she was so young when it happened. She didn’t fully grasp what it meant. And now as an adult, she’s doing it over and over again, whether it’s to deal [with what she did] or fully understand, or be close to her mother again in that moment [of helping someone take their life].

Now that Grady’s out of the picture, I understand there’s a new adversary in town for Mary. What can you share about that dynamic?

I don’t know how much we can reveal, but it’s a woman this time, someone who loves power, probably even more than Mary. She’s the dark side of someone who [thrives on the same kind of power that Mary does]. Mary still has empathy and compassion, but the other character is much darker.

Ben is back this season. Is he still in the dark, or is he becoming more suspicious of Mary?

We’re going to cross paths again in a very surprising way. Everywhere he has to be, it seems like he runs into Mary. He has to figure out why she always there. Is it serendipity, or is it weird? Is she guilty of something? He’s still trying to figure who this woman is, but there’s a lot of tension between them, sexual [and otherwise].

We’ve already seen Mary in several situations that could have been a breaking point, but she just steps back for a moment and then dives back in, head first. She keeps pushing the boundaries.

She’s bull-headed, that’s for sure. You sometimes see characters on TV or in film that really learn a lesson. Are we like that in life? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes it’s even more interesting to see someone evolving, but not evolving as we would like them to. Mary remains flawed.

You mentioned that Mary is working on her own at the start of Season 2. I’m guessing that Des comes back into play at some point, but does Mary consider bringing someone else in? Her sister did show an interest.

Nicole did ask to be present [during Season 1], and I think Mary will hear her in Season 2 and try to do something about it. They’re bonded that way because of what they did together with their mom. Nicole’s concerned that [what Mary does is] a lot for one person to carry. Nicole, as a sister, is worried and wants to take some of that pressure off by being a confidant, and perhaps being able to be there [with Mary] as well.

There is an element of isolation with Mary. She holds people at an arm’s length, so having someone like Nicole who she can let her guard down with adds a nice little layer.

Absolutely. There are very few people in her life that she could feel comfortable with — her sister and Des and her kids. But her kids don’t know half of who she is.

I watched the reactions to Season 1 unfold in Canada and the US. There was a risk that viewers wouldn’t be able to see past the subject matter, but they embraced the show and the characters. 

We all knew it was tricky subject matter, but the writers found a way to talk about it that wasn’t depressing. It’s funny at times — dark humour, but humour nonetheless. The suspense is very high, and the stakes are even higher in Season 2. The tone is what makes the show surprising and interesting. We go from comedy to drama to heartfelt moments with the patients and Mary’s family. That’s what makes it appealing.

Update 8/6/22: All three seasons of Mary Kills People are now streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku Channel in the US.

Photos Courtesy of Global TV