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The Expanse‘s fifth season has been a roller coaster ride for many of his protagonists, and few have taken more emotional hits then Drummer. After losing her close ally, Klaes Ashford, in the season 4 finale, Drummer has now been forced to work for the very man who killed him. Everything she does is for the sake of the Belter people, but Marco’s methods may put them in even more danger.
Things took an even darker turn in last week’s episode “Hard Vacuum,” as Drummer learned she had been a breath away from her beloved friend Naomi Nagata and failed to stop her from ejecting herself into space. Throughout the hour, Drummer struggles with the possibility of having lost Naomi for good and with keeping a brave face up for her family and Marco’s associates.
Actress Cara Gee, who has done a spectacular job bringing Drummer to life, spoke to Screen Rant about the whirlwind of emotions she went through in that episode and how it sets up her precarious position going into the finale and Season 6.
You went through a rollercoaster of emotions in episode eight. Can you take me through Drummer’s emotions when she finds out Naomi might be dead?
Cara Gee: Oh, my goodness. Drummer, back in season 3, has this line where she says, “All the optimists I know are dead.” And she says that to Ashford and Naomi. And now both of them are gone, taken from her by Marco, who she had in a fucking airlock but didn’t kill when she had the chance. She feels this immense – almost Shakespearean or Greek Theater – epic grief. The only way to express it in that moment is to just scream; scream and knock that bottle back.
I will say, though, the actual execution of that moment was shot it very quickly. I think we only did two or three takes of it. And I was eight months pregnant, so there’s something like kind of hilarious about pretending to be a giant baby belly? Very absurd.
How did you and the crew work around your pregnancy while shooting?
Cara Gee: It was crazy. It was wild. We shot all of the Drummer scenes back to back well before the end of the shooting schedule, so that I could get out of there and have a baby. I was extremely pregnant. It was really wonderful. I was very well supported in the shooting of it, and I think that’s one thing that I really appreciate about this show.
If you want to have a bunch of powerful female characters, I think that doing the right thing behind the scenes is just as important as portraying these strong women. I was so supported, and I wish that every woman who is pregnant while having to work could be as well supported as I was on the set. It’s such a model for how to be in the world.
Drummer’s dynamic with Oksana is so warm, and of course the whole crew, who have this very caring communal love. Can you talk about Drummer finding this connection?
Cara Gee: Thank you for asking. I was so excited that we got to represent this polyamorous Belter family. I think that respectful representation of polyamory is nowhere to be seen in the television landscape, and I’m so proud that we did that. I think that for our queer fans to see Drummer finally get hers is so satisfying.
Nobody shipped Drummer and Naomi harder than me and Dominique. But that was brutal. It’s brutal to have the girl get away again, the heartache of being in love with a straight girl is a trope that we’ve seen. So, to finally see her – I wouldn’t say happy under the circumstances of the show – but happy with the relationship, is really beautiful. The relationship between all of those polyamorous characters is so tender and vulnerable. And I’m so delighted with how it’s coming across how it’s turned out.
I think another one of my favorite moments was the bubble slurping scene, because you get to see just how comfortable the crew are with each other. What was it like filming that scene, and are you really slurping bubbles?
Cara Gee: I am so glad you asked that. Because no, there are no bubbles. You just have to throw all of your faith into the VFX team, that they won’t let you look like an idiot. That’s a theme in the show: you have to do so many things that are so ridiculous in regular Earth’s gravity. And you’re like, “Please just don’t let me look as stupid as I feel right now.”
The actors and actresses who play that family, we’ve actually become really, really, really close in real life. In fact, we still have a very active group chat. We were all like, “Oh my God, the bubbles looked amazing!” We’re really happy with how that turned out.
On the flip side, there’s so much tension in the scenes with Karal. Especially as she’s waiting for you to slip up and reveal your intentions. How do you play off each other in those scenes, and what’s simmering underneath for you?
Cara Gee: Oh, my goodness. Actually, I’ve known [Olunike Adeliyi], who is the actor who plays that role, for a while. It’s funny because Toronto is a small acting community and, for people of color, it’s a very small world. Anytime there’s a role that could be any ethnicity, we all know each other from audition rooms. So, I’m so thrilled at the chance to work with her, because she is extremely talented.
I think that the gravitas that she brings to that role is incredible. She’s giving Drummer a run for her money. To be able to have that kind of an actor to play with and push back against so fiercely makes for really great storytelling.
By the end of episode 8, it’s possible that Naomi is still alive from Drummer’s perspective. Where does this leave her, and how much more of a tightrope is she walking as she heads into the finale?
Cara Gee: I think that Drummer is at a point where, if she didn’t have her family and didn’t have her love, she would be dead. I think she feels dead inside, and the only thing that she is living for is to secure the safety of her family.
She has this strange feeling, like you have your foot on the gas and on the brake at the same time. Because she has nothing left in her soul, but she has everything to fight for.
It makes me queasy to even think of it, because she’s like a shell of herself. Politically, she’s just backed completely into a corner, and strategically, it’s the worst-case scenario for her.
Speaking of the political aspect, though, she still believes in the Belter cause and yet Marco’s methods are beyond the pale for her. How can she find the space to move forward with her people?
Cara Gee: It’s so complicated, and that is what I love about the show. Everyone’s perspective makes sense. If you look at Marco, his methods make her sick, and she is worried that it will cost more about her life in the end. How strategically sound is provoking war with the Inners? How is this going to end?
But at the same time, if Marco wins and this is the beginning of a Belter nation state, you can’t help but think – especially for me, as an indigenous woman- about what other great nation states we have in the here and now that are founded on what would be considered acts of terrorism. How much slaughter do you have to be comfortable with to build a nation?
What has surprised you most about Drummer’s journey this season, or about how the show’s story has come together?
Cara Gee: Well, this is a dream role for an artist to get to continue telling this story for as long as we have. You get to explore different facets. The season, each script I got was like Christmas Day, where I’m thinking, “What do I get to do next?”
Especially in Episode 3, which was the first time that we really see Drummer grappling with how to be vulnerable in a romantic relationship. That is such a joy to get to explore, because for so many traumatized people, the releasing of that hold and that tension is one of the greatest risks you could ever take. So, to get to explore that was amazing.
What are you most looking forward to, in terms of either storyline or just excited for fans to see?
Cara Gee: We’re obviously in the middle of this epic battle with Marco, and I think that you never ever, ever know what’s going to happen. You can expect to be on the edge of your seat and surprised at every turn.
Episodes of The Expanse‘s fifth season drop weekly on Amazon Prime Video.
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