Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers for the final episode of the “Tusk” series, “A Still Small Voice,” currently streaming on HBO Max.
On HBO’s “Tusk,” Maeve Prendergrast (Emilia Jones) captures viewers’ attention. After his uncle Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) murders two members of his group and kidnaps their son Sam (Ben Doherty) shortly after his death, he finds himself embroiled in a cat-and-mouse game with both the FBI and a violent gang called the Darkhearts. Maeve must keep an eye on Sam, but knows that the Dark Hearts or the FBI could find Robbie at any moment.
After Robbie dies in episode 6, Maeve finds herself stuck processing her uncle’s death, while simultaneously figuring out how to survive with her niece and nephew after Robbie’s death. In the final moments of the penultimate episode, Maeve receives the bag of money that Robbie was trying to hide before his death, giving her a chance at a new life if she can escape Darkheart.
Realizing that Darkheart is coming looking for her, it’s up to Maeve and the rest of the Prendergrast family to hide the gold and get as far away from them as possible before it’s too late.
Provided by Peter Kramer/HBO
Jones spoke to Variety about Maeve and Robbie’s family relationship, how Robbie’s death will affect Maeve throughout the series finale, and the final battle scene with Darkheart’s final boss Jason (Sam Keeley).
Robbie dies in episode 6, and in the final moments of the episode, Maeve is given a bag of Robbie’s money on her doorstep. She realizes that she’s the only one who knows the whereabouts of what Darkheart is looking for, and leading up to episode 7, she’s working on that a lot.
Maeve has always been very smart, so the moment she got the bag of money, she thought, “Who would want this?” She knows people will come after her and her children. But at the same time, she’s just glad Robbie’s plan worked. It’s a moment of very mixed emotions for her.
How will Robbie’s sacrifice change Maeve’s feelings for him?
For a long time, Maeve was torn between feeling resentment towards Robbie and feeling deep love for him. She had to pick up the pieces and become a strong adult person in the relationship. When we first meet Maeve, she is very tired of picking up and cleaning up the messes Robbie makes. At the end of the show, when Maeve realizes that Robbie sacrificed himself in this plan and didn’t stop until it was successful, she respects him a lot and knows that Robbie always thought of others no matter what he did. Even when he’s being interrogated by Tom (Mark Ruffalo), Robbie’s like, “Stay out of Maeve.”
Robbie really has a lot of heart, and I think that’s what Brad[Ingelsby]does well in portraying moral ambiguity. Sometimes bad people have good hearts, and sometimes good people have bad intentions. The scene where Grasso (Fabian Frankel) warns her is a really good moment for his character. Because you can see that for all his flaws, he learns from his mistakes. It’s the same with Tom, and it’s the same with making Maeve have money at the end.
The first episode has a scene where Robbie and Maeve are talking on the porch, giving more insight into their family relationships after her father’s death. Deep within Robbie, and now Maeve, is the trauma that has been passed down through generations. So how does her family’s past influence the decisions she makes throughout the season?
She didn’t have the time or space to truly grieve her father’s death, so she pushed it deep inside herself and blocked it out. The porch scene you mentioned is a really important scene for Maeve. Because it was the first time she truly expressed her feelings. No matter what you throw at Maeve, she’s tough enough to take it. For Robbie, it was the first time he realized after losing his father that there was a 21-year-old girl standing in front of him, begging for help. Robbie’s death is so difficult to deal with because Jason killed her father and uncle.
In the finale, the final battle takes place at the Prendergrast mansion, where Jason discovers that Maeve has hidden a bag of money somewhere. What was it like directing the final scene with Sam Keeley and the rest of the cast?
It was very exciting! I was intersecting characters that I hadn’t fully intersected with before. There was immense pressure on us because we all knew this was the climax of the show and we wanted to do the best we could. We did all the stunts ourselves and it was really fun and challenging because we used our bodies in ways we had never used before. Sam is a very intense actor and he gives himself away. It was really great to bounce that off. The scene after we’re in the chicken coop and Maeve runs away and Jason hugs her, I was really trying to run away, and he was really trying to get me, and the team wanted that scene to play out as long as possible, so we just kept filming.
There’s a scene in the finale where Maeve stares at the money, where she says Robbie would have liked to have it so his family could have a better life. At the end of the episode, Maeve and the kids leave the house and head to a new destination. What do you imagine Maeve’s “better life” would be like?
I hope she can create a comfortable and comfortable environment for herself and her children and give them the life they deserve after a rough start. I also really hope she does something for herself for once, since she’s still young and has shouldered a lot of adult responsibilities when she was young. I hope that with Robbie’s help and money, she can start thinking seriously about herself, put herself and her children first, and live a really comfortable life where she doesn’t have to worry.
This is your first time working with Brad Ingelsby, if you were able to work with him again on a future project, what genre would he explore next?
I would do anything for Brad. His writing is so authentic and nuanced and so lovely. Although “Tusk” is a crime drama, it has all the strong themes you can relate to, such as love, loss, family, and forgiveness, but it also has plenty of action, so there’s a little bit of fun for everyone. Every character has a layered backstory, so if a Brad Ingelsby project ever came to me again, I would absolutely jump at the chance to work with him again.
I also learned that when you were filming “Tusk” in Philadelphia, you saw Olivia Rodrigo perform in concert with Fabian Frankel and some of the crew during your off time.
Lo and behold, I did it! You know what’s sad? Mark arranged the whole concert, arranged tickets for everyone, created a group chat and was like, “Guys, I’m going to go see her after this,” and then he had to work. Mark had to go to the filming of “Tusk”, so after preparing literally everything, everyone else had to go to Olivia Rodrigo. Fabian and I got all the goodies. He had purple sunglasses and an Olivia Rodrigo tour T-shirt. He was a big fan of Olivia and sang all the lyrics to “Vampire.”
“Tusk” is quite dark in places, so it felt really nice to go to an Olivia Rodrigo concert over the weekend and switch off for a moment during filming. It was a great experience.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
