[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 6 “An Ear for an Ear.”]
“Kaya sees where Elsbeth’s heart is and she’s willing to follow her a little bit more,” says Carra Patterson after the latest Elsbeth episode sees her character follow Carrie Preston‘s and see her meet with Agent Fred Celetano (Danny McCarthy).
Rather than go to Wagner (Wendell Pierce), however, Kaya tells Elsbeth he asked her to find out why she’s looking into him. Elsbeth tells her that the DOJ believes Wagner’s taking kickbacks for blocking investigations. While Kaya’s worked under him since the academy and he’s been nothing but kind and upstanding, she admits that she no longer knows which side she’s supposed to be on. Elsbeth urges her to be on the side of the truth. But what they don’t know is Lieutenant Noonan (Fredric Lehne) takes an envelope for someone who wants to speak with Wagner directly. Noonan claims that Wagner’s keeping his hands clean, but we can’t help but think that the captain has no idea about this.
Below, Patterson discusses what Kaya learns, where she stands, and more.
Why does Kaya still trust Elsbeth enough that she talks to her instead of bringing what she saw to Wagner first?
Carra Patterson: I think Kaya is following her gut, and I think she makes a rash decision. I don’t think she plans on bringing it to Elsbeth because she’s known Wagner longer and he’s someone that she respects and I think she admires him. But there’s something about Elsbeth and she’s seen that Elsbeth’s instincts are spot on and I think she makes an impulsive decision to give her one last shot to see who’s going to tell the truth. Kaya is very loyal, so once she sees that Elsbeth really is trying to do the right thing, I think she’s hooked in from then on.
Elizabeth Fisher / CBS
Does she truly believe that Wagner could be corrupt?
I think that she can’t deny that there are questionable things and she can’t just put him on such a pedestal that she ignores the evidence. And I think that’s all that Elsbeth is bringing forward, like, “Hey, I know we love this guy, but we have to acknowledge what’s really going on here.”
How is Kaya feeling now that she’s also questioning who she’s working and which side she’s on? It’s all connected for her, right?
Yeah, I don’t think she knows. I think that’s the answer. She doesn’t know. She’s kind of a fish out of water and she’s just taking it one day at a time. But Elsbeth kind of comes in and blows everything up, so to speak, and I think she is scared. As I was filming those scenes, I was like, I think Kaya’s scared. She doesn’t know how she’s going to keep her cool when she’s in the office with Wagner and not blow her cover, and she’s navigating uncharted territory.
What’s Kaya and Elsbeth’s relationship like going forward? Is it the same as we’ve seen it? Is there a little hesitance, because with Elsbeth investigating Wagner, who knows where that could lead? Is Kaya worried she could be investigated?
Oh, yeah, I think Kaya is definitely worried, but I do think that she still trusts Elsbeth. I think after they have that heart-to-heart, she’s like, “Okay, I’m going to ride this wave with you a little bit longer and see where it goes, even though I have no clue where it’s taking us.” It is becoming a little bit of a ride-or-die friendship. [Laughs] We’re in it together.
What’s next in the investigation to Wagner? Is Kaya now helping in a more active role? Is the DOJ going to know that Kaya knows?
No. She’s going to do things by the book. I think she’s letting Elsbeth take the lead on really doing the investigating, but Kaya’s kind of having her back and supporting her and doing her best not to blow Elsbeth’s cover.
But the end of the episode certainly put some suspicion on Lieutenant Noonan and that he could be using Wagner’s name without his knowledge or working with Wagner. What does Kaya think of him?
Noonan’s in the office, also a superior, but I think Kaya feels like if Wagner is suspicious, then everybody is suspicious. So I think once she kind of opens her mind to accept that her superior’s hands aren’t clean, then I think she’s on the ride. I 100 percent don’t think she trusts Noonan either.
What have been your favorite scenes to film this season?
The scene that I did this episode might be my favorite scene, when I got to lay on the office table and Elsbeth is poking my ribs. That was really fun. It was one of those scenes you don’t really have to act because she’s literally poking me and we’re cracking up laughing and the director was laughing. We had a really fun time shooting that. But honestly, there’s so many because Carrie’s so fun to work with.
Elsbeth, Thursdays, 10/9c, CBS