[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Fate: The Winx Saga.]In Season 2 of the Netflix original series Fate: The Winx Saga, the fairies at Alfea are trying to find their footing while they’re being pushed to their limits under the harsh authority of Headmistress Rosalind (Miranda Richardson). As Bloom (Abigail Cowen) and her Suitemates – Princess Stella (Hannah Van Der Westhuysen), Aisha (Precious Mustapha), Musa (Elisha Applebaum), Terra (Eliot Salt) and Flora (Paulina Chávez) – become suspicious about who’s behind a very dangerous threat, they realize that they must learn to strengthen and unite their magic, in order to save the Otherworld.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Freddie Thorp (who plays Riven, Alfea’s resident bad boy whose cockiness really masks his own insecurities) talked about getting to see a more sensitive side to Riven in Season 2, what he’s enjoyed about playing his character, the trio of Riven, Dane (Theo Graham), and Beatrix (Sadie Soverall), whether he views Riven as toxic or misunderstood, playing such a physical role, the dynamic with Musa, what it was like to shoot the finale, and what he’d still like to explore in a possible Season 3.
Collider: I enjoyed Season 2 tremendously. I had a lot of fun with the first season, but this season seems even bigger and it seems like there are a lot of things going on for your character.
FREDDIE THORP: There are always a lot of things going on with Riven.
The first season of a show is when you’re figuring out who the character is, what the relationship dynamics are, and how it all fits into a larger world in the story that you’re telling. How different did it feel to go into Season 2, having that foundation of the first season?
THORP: The first season, you’re always getting a grasp of the character because we’re only given episodes, two by two. Sometimes we don’t even know the narrative arc of our character. Through conversations with the showrunner, and maybe a few guesses, you have to figure out where you are guiding your character. But by the time you get around to Season 2, it was pretty much stepping into the same shoes, but really exciting to take him on another journey. I definitely had a bit more of an understanding of who Riven was in this world and in this telling of the story.
By the time you got to the end of this season, do you feel differently about him now? Do you see him differently now, than you did in the beginning?
THORP: Yeah, 100%. We get to see a slightly more sensitive side of Riven in Season 2, whatever that means in the Riven-sphere. I still think he’s riddled with insecurity and that makes him act out, but he acts a little less like a delinquent in Season 2. He steps into his role as a specialist and a soldier, although he’s still navigating plenty of love triangles and social dynamics. Thus is the world of Fate.
What have you most enjoyed about Riven, as a character, since day one? Are there qualities, especially after doing two seasons, that you’ve seen develop in him that you didn’t necessarily know were there in the beginning, but that you think fondly of now?
THORP: I think it’s always fun to play the bad boy. You get to explore and act in a way that you perhaps wouldn’t in real life, and of course, that can be fun. It’s my job, I suppose, to find similarities in myself, and that’s the stuff that comes easily. It’s the stuff that’s different from me that’s where I put work in. But yeah, over two seasons, I’ve discovered the slightly more sensitive side of Riven. It’s been both a challenge and a delight to perhaps engage in the more bisexual nature of him. I know that that has given a lot of people something to relate to, and I’ve been very happy to be part of that.
The trio of Riven and Dane and Beatrix is so interesting because Riven pretends not to really care about anyone, even though that’s clearly not true. What were those scenes like to do? Are there a lot of conversations about figuring out the choreography of intimate scenes that involve three people, and not just two people?
THORP: In a show of this nature, when it comes to the choreography of the more intimate scenes, we handle that with a really delicate approach. We have an intimacy coach that comes in, and we spend as long as we need to, choreographing the scene, so everyone feels comfortable. But outside of that, of course, we, as actors, were talking amongst ourselves about what would we feel most comfortable with and what we wanted to present, and it’s somewhere in between the two. Hopefully, it tells the story it’s needing to tell.
It’s a very interesting dynamic because it’s not a relationship that we see on shows very often. Sometimes there will be a one-off threesome that’s meant to be titillating. But with this, it’s a serious relationship.
THORP: That’s definitely something we talked about, as well. It’s not gratuitous, in any way. Riven loves attention, and that can come from a boy, a girl, or whatever. And although I think his feelings are sincere with whoever he might be engaging with, perhaps he might have misled one or two of the characters.
What do you think that relationship meant to him? Beatrix really blows the whole thing up, but do you think that surprised him, that she was the one to betray him?
THORP: Yeah, exactly. He was pretty hurt by it, and he makes it clear that he wasn’t expecting to be betrayed. Beatrix just adds to a long list of people he’s trusted, who have betrayed him. That’s quite an important pillar of his character. Some of the character work I did, before we even started Season 1, is that this guy’s been let down a lot. He knows the score. It’s happened to him enough. But he certainly did not expect it, and he was very hurt by the betrayal.
Do you see Riven as toxic, or do you see him as misunderstood?
THORP: Especially when taking on a role, as an actor, you have to try to find a way to empathize with the character. In Season 1, with what he was up to, it felt straight-up toxic. But as a performer, I always tried to find more of an underbelly of why he might behave in the way he does. It’s something that I can relate to. He was acting out because he’s misunderstood, and I think that’s really true to life. Especially at that age, someone who is overconfident can often be masking a deeper insecurity. He actually means well, but often gets it wrong. And then, he might back himself into a corner, and out of defense, he might lash out. That was more interesting for me to explore. Through Season 1, there was a little bit more toxic behavior. But as we get into Season 2, you see him step into himself a bit more and mellow out a bit.
This is a high stakes show that includes a lot of physical work, whether it’s fight training or life-or-death moments of survival out in the field. What do you enjoy about that side of the character? How do you think his skill defines him, and what has it been like to pull some of that off?
THORP: We spend so much time in between shooting days, when they’re shooting the girls, or whatever. I spend a lot of time with our stunt team, who are fantastic and all very experienced, in martial arts, stunt driving, and sword fighting. Purely as an experience for me, that was so exciting because it beats cooking pasta by myself in my lonely apartment. As a part of his character, it’s one of his defining features. With a lot of the specialists, they take a lot of pride. Their hierarchical system within the specialist school is who can take who down, and that is how you get respect. Riven, perhaps cockily so, holds himself in quite high esteem, when it comes to his skill. He knows he’s good, so it’s a point at which he can feel pretty seamlessly comfortable and confident in himself.
What was it like to shoot the fight scene at the ruins, with Riven and Sky against Andreas? That seemed like an intense scene.
THORP: It was actually scripted a lot longer, but for whatever reason, in the edit, they brought it down a bit. We spent a good two weeks, solidly rehearsing that fight and getting it right. There’s so much heightened emotion in it, probably more for Sky than me. It was amazing and epic to shoot because we did it in these old ruins, on top of this hill. It used to be where the Hellfire group used to meet, which is an old cult that had meetings in Ireland. It had this insane history. All the Irish crew knew about it because there are all these myths and tales, so of course, they were trying to freak us all out. It gave it this gravitas that was really exciting. And then, it just felt gloomy, we were wet, and it was a miserable day outside. It really helped heighten the scene. Shooting these things can be quite technical and exhaustive, but that one was a pleasure because it’s fun to bring something alive that you’ve been working so hard on for a few weeks.
It’s also really fun to watch the fighting between Riven and Musa throughout the season. There are a few different moments with the two of them, from the first time they fight together, to him trying to teach her a lesson that it’s more difficult than she thinks it is, to them just having fun and playing with fighting each other. What was it like to do those scenes?
THORP: Even in the choreography and the discussions around it, it’s a completely different flavor. We would joke that this would be the flirty fight. It’s a completely different dynamic. Although you need a healthy level of aggression. in the sense that neither of these people will be walked over. I love that because it shows such a strong side of Musa, and it shows a strong side of Riven. They’re both stubborn in their ability. But of course, there are these flirty notes that are very interesting to watch, especially for fans of the show, because we all know how much they love the idea of Riven and Musa getting together. Hopefully, we’re planting some seeds.
If there is a Season 3, do you think anything could actually happen between them? Is that anything that Riven could even handle, at this point?
THORP: That would have to be a question for our showrunner, just because I have no clue. Of course, there are some seeds being planted, but that could go any way. That’s all in the mind of Brian [Young], but it’d be great to see.
What do you think Riven actually thinks of the choice Musa made to give up her magic? He’s the only one that’s aware of exactly what happened with her, so how do you think that shapes the way he thinks about her?
THORP: I think he respects it. What it does is it creates a secret between them, and through secrets comes vulnerability, and through vulnerability comes connection. I think it’s a really important dynamic for them to have, to create a little bit more of an understanding and intimacy between them. I think Riven respects it and understands, and she is thankful for that.
This is a big finale with various battles, throughout the episode. What was it like to read that finale script?
THORP: We all get sent the scripts whenever they choose to send them, but those episodes had been sent to us, probably two-thirds of the way through the shoot. We didn’t know what was gonna happen. The producers are always dropping us little hints and trying to make us curious. And then, we read them and we have a group chat. We’ll say, “Oh, God, this has happened!” And then, we usually do a table read, which is where we first get it off the page, all in a group. When you first hear it come off the page, that’s when it hits home, as far as what’s what.
Did you get extra time to shoot the finale, or did you still have to get it done within the same time frame that you shoot all the other episodes?
THORP: It all depends on how well we’re doing on our schedule. By the end of the shoot, things usually start getting pretty tight. But we’ve got a great team of producers, and they always make sure there’s enough time to shoot each piece. On that one, particularly, we had two units, so we had one unit that was shooting some of the more dialogue-y stuff with the girls, and then there was a second unit with another director that knew exactly what they were doing. We were shooting in conjunction, so it was just about maximizing the time and making sure everything is done, and done well.
Was there a biggest challenge in shooting that finale? Was there one scene that was most difficult to do, or was it all a challenge because there was so much going on?
THORP: We create such a bond with the stunt team, who are all in it, by the way. They’re all there, dressed up as extras and fighting with us. And by that point, we’ve all been working together for six months, so although everything is a challenge, you just all get in it together. You’re all just working as a team. That’s really what gets you through. It’s good fun, in the end. The trick, at least from my perspective, is to try not to take on the stress of anything that might be happening around you. I’ve got one job to do, and I try to stay light with it.
There’s a moment at the end of the episode when Riven gives the cuffs to Musa to stop her magic. Did you have any conversations about whether that was his idea to give them to, or if she asked him for them? Did you talk about how that came about?
THORP: We didn’t actually talk about that, me and Elisha [Applebaum], but I think we both assumed that it was her idea. It came from Musa, and he just is helping her achieve what she wants.
Have you thought about what you would still like to see with and learn about your character? What aspects of him would you still like to explore, in another season?
THORP: Well, of course. I think about it all the time. Personally, he’s got almost the most amount of growth to have, between all the characters, so I’d like to see a bit more and to understand a bit more about who he is and where he’s come from. I think that would be fascinating. Also, just as his insecurity wanes, and he steps into himself more, I’d like to see a slightly more generous and loving Riven.
I love a show that has an ensemble of characters that are all so interesting that you want more of all of them.
THORP: Yeah. We’ve got such a strong cast. Ensemble pieces can often be so fascinating because who you love most changes. With Friends, one day you loved Ross, and one day you loved Rachel. That happens with so many ensemble pieces, and hopefully, that happens with Fate too. It gives Brian and the writers a lot of scope to further explore whoever they feel they want to.
Fate: The Winx Saga is available to stream at Netflix.
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