The season four finale of Syfy's hit television series "Haven" left viewers with a lot of unanswered questions and ended with a major cliffhanger that left Audrey and Lexie all but gone. Audrey now has a more sinister personality named Mara. So how much of Mara will we see this season? And what does her presence signify for the series?
"Haven" stars Lucas Bryant and Emily Rose answered those questions in a recent interview.
In "Haven," mysterious curses, called "the troubles" affect the local townsfolk. For example, Bryant's character, Nathan, cannot feel anything to the touch. Other characters have similar troubles, such as being bullet magnets or having moods that affect the weather.
Although Syfy ordered a whopping 26 episodes for the new season of "Haven," none of the actors involved knew what would happen going into the new season. The actors shot episodes in pairs, with smaller storylines stretching across two episodes at a time.
"We had no ideas of where we were going or what we were going to do," says Bryant. "I think that in some ways, it kind of developed as it went. There's a larger idea for this double season that we're shooting right now, of course, but I think some specifics were changed along the way because of what was happening in the shooting and what people were reacting to on-screen."
In previous seasons, each trouble is usually dealt with in a single episode. But this season is different.
"I guess what I know coming into this season, was that we would be shooting double-episode blocks, so that was exciting and that it promised that instead of having to deal with the troubles so quickly and simply every week, we had more time to explore the effect that those troubles have on all our characters," says Bryant.
Rose also says that the double episode arcs give viewers a reason to come back and watch the show every week. Every other episode ends in a cliffhanger, which raises the stakes for viewers.
In "Haven," Rose's character, Audrey, takes on a new character often. But her new character in season five, is probably the most challenging for the actress and the series yet.
"It's interesting to come back every year with some of the people playing the same people," says Rose. "It's kind of like they know these characters backwards and forwards and up and down." She notes that having to come back and not play Audrey Parker, but play a totally different entity is definitely exciting. "Giving birth to a new character is always an adventure," she adds.
Mara, however, is not a good person, and both Bryant and Rose laughed about the evil nature of the new character. Rose admitted the character was fun, but definitely different.
"There are moments in this season where she made me really uncomfortable and I didn't like playing her at some points," says Rose. "For the most part, I really do enjoy being that evil. I don't know what that says about me, but yeah, it really was fun, and I do hope to get to play her for a long time. We don't know how, when and if Audrey comes back."
Season five of "Haven" premieres on Syfy on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. EST. Learn more about the series on its official website.
