`Humans’ Finale: EPs Tease Season 2,
William Hurt’s Fate (SPOILERS)
COURTESY OF AMC
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read unless you’ve watched the season one finale of “Humans.”
The first season of AMC’s “Humans” ended last night with an emotional finale that saw the synths escape from Dr. Hobb’s clutches, Max revived, Laura and Joe Hawkins reunited — and Niska running off on her own with a copy of the consciousness code.
“We’ve got some very big and exciting plans for all of our characters and we can’t wait to get them on the screen for people to watch,” said executive producer Jonathan Brackley, who talked toVariety, along with executive producer Sam Vincent, about what it all meant — and what’s in store for season two.
The finale went for happy endings — rather than a shocking cliffhanger.
Vincent: We were trying to find an ending that was the best of both worlds. We wanted to offer a degree of emotional closure and satisfaction while still making a tantalizing promise to the audience for the continuation of this story.
Will we see the Hawkins family in season 2?
Brackley: We’ve got big plans for the Hawkins family. They’ll be back. They’re very much the heart of the show. They’re our way into the show. That’s partly the reason why the show resonated so well with audiences. They’re the domesticated way into this sci-fi show. They’ll be back along with lots of characters the audience has come to know and love.
Especially Sophie, we hope.
Brackley: She was the first person we cast, way back when.
Vincent: We’ve got a story for her for next year that will ask a lot of her as an actress. But we’re not afraid to do that because we think she can really hold her own against the older actors. We’re looking forward to seeing what she can do next year.
Has Laura truly forgiven Joe?
Vincent: No. We’re really trying to approach things like that in as real a way as possible and things don’t get wrapped up in a pat and trite way. We think that when we come back and meet them again, they’re still going to have work to do on their relationship. It’s a work in progress. Things that went wrong in season 1 in their relationship are not just going to be glossed over. We think they want to make it work. Whether or not they’re going to be able to in season 2 is a different matter.
Why did Laura finally reveal the truth about her brother to Joe?
Vincent: I think what we always had in mind is the emotional awakening of the Hawkins family and particularly Anita/Mia would have a cyclical effect and would awaken the secrets in each other. In episode 6, you see Laura tell Mattie tell the truth about her brother Tom. The intense emotion and all the parallels of having lost somebody at a young age of someone close to you is what cracks open Anita/Mia. And that in turn, the sense of vindication Laura gets in actually managing to help to save someone with the synths would finally give her the confidence and strength and sense of atonement that would allow to finally tell Joe what happened and rid her of the shame that’s dogged her for so long. And wrongly so.
Any chance the Hawkins family will be getting a new synth next season?
Brackley: (Laughs.) Obviously we don’t want to reveal too much about season 2. For them to go out and buy a new snyth would be a tricky prospect for them. But they’ll certainly come into contact with more synths along the way.
Vincent: And they’re not the ones you might expect, either.
Was it always Niska’s intention to run off with the code?
Vincent: That’s hard to say. We always see her throughout the series, when the prospect of what that code can do is raised, we see that kind of frenetic zeal, that shining in her eyes. We always knew that Niska is a complete wildcard and can be unpredictable if she ever gets that chance to have that kind of power in her hands. Was it always her plan to do it? No. But when she saw the opportunity… She’s always been a dangerous, impulsive, volatile character. She’s going to seize the day.
Is anyone on to her? Mattie? Laura?
Brackley: We always wanted to end on the note that Laura is the one that has that little note of realization, which we get across with that shot that lingers on her face. We always wanted her to be the one who has the little inkling that all might not be right when it comes to the flash drive and the possibility that Niska has pulled a fast one.
She was the one who was most upset about seeing the video of Niska.
Vincent: Yes, and I think she has connected those two things in her mind. She knows what Niska is capable of. She’s made the connection in her mind. She’s thinking the wrost.
Where is Niska off to?
Brackley: She’s very much off in to the wild world to experience all the interesting things, all the life she’s missed out on when she’s been a fugitive on the run. She’s led a sheltered life until now. She’s off to experience what she can.
What about Mia and Leo? What’s in store for them?
Vincent: In Mia’s case, the whole experience at the Hawkins’ has been an awakening for her. Her eyes have been opened to other facets of human experience. Season two will have to do with her investigating herself further and finding out who she is, what she can be. As for Leo, we’ve seen he’s a quite traumatized young man. Settling down to a happy life is not in the cards for him. What he needs is a purpose and a mission. That’s what he’s looking for when we start season 2.
You reunited Karen and Peter, but I can’t imagine there’s a happily ever after in store for them.
Brackley: No. We’ve teased the possibility of happiness and a potential relationship perhaps between them but that’s certainly not going to be an easy path for them. That’s certainly something we’re looking to explore in season 2.
Will we see the return of William Hurt?
Brackley: We can categorically say that George is dead. But in a show that people have been revived with technology, we wouldn’t want to rule anything out. But he certainly is dead for now.
Have we seen the last of Hobb?
Brackley: Maybe, maybe not. Maybe there’s a new antagonistic force.
And is Fred still lying powered down in the crypt?
Vincent: No, he’s not. That’s all I’ll say for that. When we come back Fred is not still in the crypt. But where he is is another question entirely.
