Rachael Taylor on the possibility of Trish becoming Hellcat in Season 2
While Trish didn’t become Hellcat in Jessica Jones: Season 1, there were certainly notable hints at what she could become, as we saw the character learning some intense self-defense and fighting skills – and then, at one point, taking one of the super soldier pills that enhanced her lover-turned-enemy Will Simpsons (AKA Marvel’s Nuke) to help Jessica fight him.
At the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, Taylor spoke about the possibility of Trish actually becoming Hellcat down the line, on the heels of Jessica Jones getting renewed for Season 2.
Question: They had a lot of fun with the hints at what her future could be. Was it exciting for you to see that development - not just Trish working out and training but when she took the pill to fight Simpson and all those nods of where it could go?
Rachael Taylor: Right. One thing I like so much about Jessica Jones is that the comic book is called Alias and I think all of the characters have an alias in the series. They have an “also known as” or a shadow personality. They have the character that they portray to the world and then they have the character that they maybe don’t confess to even themselves or to their friends. For Trish, she’s kind of stuck in a place of reconciling the fact that she used to be a child star and a celebrity very much used to being in the driver's seat in terms of public persona and being the special one. Then, of course she meets her best friend, who is extra, extra special in superhuman ways. I think the gesture of taking the pill -- for Trish, part of her shadow personality is that there’s a certain covetous part of her. I think she covets some of the things that Jessica has. There’s an unholy ambition that sits just under the surface. She declares it in the show! Jessica says “What else could you possibly want, Trish?” And Trish says “To save the world, of course.” Which is kind of an unusual thing for her character to say. I do think there’s a part of her that would love to make it right in the way that she thinks Jessica could make it right if she was just to overcome her dysfunctions and put down the bottle.
Let’s say in Season 2 we go there and you do find out she is going to become a full-fledged superhero. Are you excited at that prospect? Is that something you want?
I try not to get ahead of myself and think about it too much because it’s easy to get carried away and think about things. You don’t want to count your eggs before they hatch. We just found out about the second season today and this is my first show that’s gone to a second season so I’m super stoked. I already feel like I have more than my share, in a way, being on Netflix, being in the Marvel Universe, being on this show that has resonated so deeply with people. But, of course, it would be amazing! [Laughs] It’s already a privilege to play a history that has so much lineage within the Marvel universe and to take it that one step further, is something that, yeah… I’d love to get my teeth stuck into whatever happens to the character.