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Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made finally joins Shane (Kristin Booth) and Oliver (Eric Mabius) in holy matrimony.
It’s been a long a lovely road for the two beloved characters to finalize their union, and we had a chance to chat with both stars about what you can expect from the movie.
Put simply: you will not be disappointed.
Kristin has been hard at work on various projects, including The Boys, where she’s playing a character from the original Supes, one of the T and T twins (Tommy and Tessa).
Going from that environment back to the world of the Postables, Kristin hoped she hadn’t lost Shane after so long apart.
“I was like, ‘Am I going to be able to find this woman again?’ But I think it’s a testament to Martha’s writing truly. Because as soon as we were in the hotel ballroom, sitting around the table, reading the script aloud with everyone, it just happened. She was there.
“And I think that’s because Martha’s just such a genius writer. And as soon as the words started to come out of my mouth, I was like, ‘Oh, there she is,'” Kristin said.
For his part, Eric just couldn’t stand the waiting. Three years is a long time. But he’s very excited for fans to see the movie because it’s everything they have been waiting for.
“Martha [Williamson] had that time to fine-tune the script in a way that she never has before, which is really kind of exciting,” Eric said, marveling at what Martha can achieve with her writing.
He’s also thrilled that “She’s really sort of honoring the canon and hopefully propelling us into a whole new phase of the show.”
Within the Signed, Sealed, and Delivered storylines, sometimes Shane and Oliver’s love story move to the back burner, but The Vows We Have Made reminds us of their journey, how far they have come, and why they’re perfectly matched.
Kristin talked about what she’s enjoyed about their journey. “Certainly, I would say as an actor, I really enjoy the moments that Shane and Oliver disagree. I enjoy the moments where they challenge one another. And those aren’t always comfortable, and they aren’t always welcome.
“But ultimately, what I love about these two characters is they have enough love and respect for each other, that even if they do see things differently, they eventually are able to come back to one another and figure it out and find sort of that balance of how they each feel or how they each want to contribute to whatever challenge that they’re faced with.”
Even being perfectly matched doesn’t mean their trip to the altar is smooth sailing.
Kristen weighed in. “Much like their entire relationship, their journey to the altar in this one is fraught with obstacles, whether they be physical obstacles that the world throws in front of them, or they are emotional ones.
“And I think I love the way this story highlights the different sort of things that Oliver has worked at getting over or worked at getting through. A lot of that kind of stuff is revisited in fear of being abandoned again like he has been in the past. And I think that’s a beautiful theme, and I think Martha wrote it so well.
“Because I think those hurts that we carry with us, they’re always there. They’re not gone. Someone in your life new can certainly help heal in a sense or suture, but they’re still there, those hurts. And I think it’s an interesting way to see that transpire in Oliver.”
Eric expanded on how Oliver has grown and why he’s been so cautious with his relationships. “Well, he, like anyone, nobody gets married with the intention of getting divorced. That’s the thing that I find so funny, and yet the percentages aren’t very great for couples staying together.
“And yet, you sort of start to question what… I get that question sometimes, would you remarry? Why, why does one remarry? What can be gleaned from the first experience? What is it you’re trying to get out of going down that literal, figurative aisle again? What can you bring to the experience? Why didn’t you get it right the first time?
“All those things, and Oliver in so many ways has had to be a loner for a good part of his life. And this is part of a, really, much bigger, very difficult process for Oliver of learning, how to let go, learning how to trust, because he did it without guile and so completely jumping in with both feet.
“The first time he was married to Holly, played by Poppy Montgomery, and she destroyed his psyche the way in which she left him. In his mind, all the women in his life that he gave his heart to or tried to love destroyed him. His mother abandoned him; his wife abandoned him.
“There are many instances of that, and this is a process of discovery, really difficult discovery for Oliver, learning what to hang on to and what to let go of, going into this experience, this unchartered experience with Shane.”
Eric believes that Oliver’s gentlemanly behavior and old-world ideals have allowed him to move beyond his hurt, still treating women with deference and respect even if those closest to him didn’t always do him the same favor.
“I think the strongest moral compass is the one we can establish internally, as opposed to looking to someone else for how do we assemble who we are and how do we stick by the choices we make. And how do we, in spite of all the things that are done to us, continue to try and put good out into the world.
“I mean, we can hold in on ourselves, we can become bitter and negative, or we can stay the course and continue to try and treat people the way we want to be treated so that we can sleep at night, knowing that we did our very best, even if that is not returned.”
As we know, it is returned, and he and Shane will walk down the aisle. Before they get there, there is one new addition to the family with whom you will fall in love. Sherry Miller has been cast as Sharon McInerney, and it feels like casting magic.
Kristin couldn’t be more excited with Sherry’s addition, as casting Sharon has been in the back of everyone’s mind since The Road Less Traveled. It offers a new understanding of Shane and why she’s attracted to Oliver.
“And what I love about their relationship is that it’s not an easy one, again. I think Shane, in a way, gets more satisfaction out of her relationships that aren’t so easy. She and her mother are so different yet so similar.
And that’s what I loved about their interactions with one another. And that even though they very rarely see eye to eye, there is just this mutual love and respect there, that in the end, we realize has always been there.”
The wedding itself isn’t the focal point of the episode, but rather the culmination, and it might be one of the best weddings we’ve seen on TV in years.
Kristen was thrilled to hear that. “We really worked hard to make that day. We shot the wedding in a day, and we had a day, which is great because you don’t usually get a lot of time. But we did have one day dedicated to the wedding. And I think it paid off because we really wanted it to be special and a unique TV wedding.”
The wedding was larger in scope than it was in existence, and Kristen shared her thoughts on that perception.
“I think that the reason that is because we have waited so long. Fans of the show have waited so long for Shane and Oliver to make it down the aisle. And then I also think the journey of this movie that the characters take to get there as well; it’s just … I think the wedding really, really supplies that reward. And that’s why it feels so much like it has so much more screen time.”
Of course, we have no idea whether the Signed, Sealed, Delivered franchise will continue. But both Eric and Kristen have ideas for the future nonetheless.
Eric said, “I believe if we get enough people watching the show that they will have no choice but to consider continuing because there are quite a lot of stories left to be told because they’re just starting.
“It’s almost like we’re just coming to the starting point because these people have been so, I won’t say broken, but sort of incomplete in so many ways.
I sound like Jerry McGuire, but they’re kind of amazing, but incomplete as individuals that formed a greater whole, not only just with their union and their marrying but now that they’re two couples together, taking things on is a whole new filter with which they can take on the challenges of the dead letter office. It’s really just a jumping-off point, I think.”
Kristin has some specific thoughts that she’d love to see unfold. Now that Hallmark has been filming movies internationally, she thinks that would shake things up and open the franchise to more diversity, as well.
“I think International Postables would be just the thing where this show could go. I think it would open it up to so many different cultures. It would bring in more diversity.
“It would challenge the Postables in a way they’ve never been challenged before, to be out of their element and still doing the good work that they do. And I just think it’s ripe for that kind of evolution, that they branch out and start traveling the world.”
And with that, I’ll leave you to mull over what lies ahead for you on Sunday, October 17 at 9/8c as two characters you adore begin the rest of their lives together.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.