Expect some resolutions, a wedding and an ‘insane’ Season 1 cliff-hanger
By Lie Shia Ong
MSN TV
Fans of ABC Family’s “The Lying Game” have been trying to figure out the mysterious plot lines on the show since the first episode aired last year, and while some questions have been answered in recent episodes, Alexandra Chando, who plays twins Sutton Mercer and Emma Becker, teases that Season 1 is going to end in quite the cliff-hanger.
For those not familiar with “The Lying Game,” the story revolves around long-lost twin sisters Emma and Sutton. Emma grew up in foster care, moving from home to home, never finding the loving parents and family she longed to have. Meanwhile, Sutton grew up in privilege, and learned to manipulate things to always get what she wanted.
After the twins meet, Emma agrees to stay in Phoenix while Sutton travels to Los Angeles to try and find information about their birth parents.
The twins have been unsuccessful in finding their birth mother, but in the process, we’ve watched Sutton’s father, Ted, and godfather, Alec Rybak (who’s also the father of Sutton’s best friend, Mads), try to desperately to cover up the truth about Sutton’s adoption. There have been bribes, a lot of lying, a murder, and now, in the season finale, Chando tells us there’s going to be a dramatic wedding.
MSN TV: Fans still have a lot of questions surrounding the show, and there’s only one episode left. What can you tell us about the Season 1 finale?
Alexandra Chando: I think a lot of the fans’ questions will be answered. There are definitely some resolutions from the whole season. I would say everything that’s been going on with Ted and Kristin kind of comes to a head. There are new discoveries. Kristin kind of calls Ted out a little bit on what’s been going on. The locket that we showed on the last episode comes to play for sure. Ethan is still struggling. He tries to get [Emma] back and it’s not that easy this time for [her]. She’s having a really hard time. She’s heartbroken. There’s a wedding between Alec and Rebecca—as we saw in the last episode, they got engaged—and a lot goes down at the wedding. [Laughs] You can never have a non-dramatic wedding on television, and the cliff-hanger is insane. So I think people think they know what the cliff-hanger’s going to be, but it’s definitely going to blow their minds.
I’ve heard Alec might not be the bad guy that everyone things he is.
I think we don’t know who the bad guy is.
I think the writers don’t even know who the bad guy is. [Laughs]. …it just keeps changing to keep it fresh, to keep it from being predictable. So, I don’t know. We’ll see.
As a cast, do you know what the future storylines will be? Or do the writers keep that pretty under wraps?
It’s kept pretty under wraps. I mean, we get the scripts for the next episode that we’ll shoot like a week or two in advance. We can always try to pry it out of the writers, and sometimes they’ll give a little hint, but for the most part we don’t know anything.
Poor Thayer has been so good to both Sutton and Emma. Is he ever going to get a nice girl, a love interest who’s going to make him happy?
God I hope so. [Laughs]. That poor guy. I keep saying he has to a) find somebody his own age, and b) someone who is not Emma or Sutton.
Who do you think Emma should end up with? Ethan or Thayer?
I would say Ethan. I know they came together a little bit unconventionally, but I would definitely say they both have a great relationship. Emma and Thayer are more—they’re better friends.
What has been the most challenging part of playing both Emma and Sutton for you, and who do you love playing the most?
Recently I’ve really loved playing Sutton because she’s been a real, real trip and she’s been a blast to play. It’s challenging as far as the hour as really long—like 15-hour days. If, on the call sheet, it says I have three scenes, it really means six if I’m Emma and Sutton in a scene because I have to do both sides. That just gets challenging. Since I’ve been doing this now for six, seven months, I’ve really been able to differentiate the characters a lot more easily and they’ve come to me a little quicker. In the beginning it was a little bit more challenging.
Has there been any news on a Season 2 pick up?
Thank you. There’s been a lot of positive news floating around about a pickup. We’re just kind of waiting for the official news. The ratings have been great and we’ve been doing really well, and it’s a well-received show, which we’re all very proud of. We’re just waiting on the network and hoping they see everything we see in the show, but we’re excited for Season 2 and are ready to get back to Austin [to film].
So, do you have a favorite scene you shot this season or a memory that really sticks out in your mind from filming?
Gosh, there are a lot of good memories these last couple months. Wow. [Laughs] That’s a tough one. Everybody is so fun to work with. There were some really good trailer scenes that I loved. I love the trailer. That’s one of my favorite sets. Just being in Austin and being with that group of people has been a really fun time.
Any message you want to send out to “The Lying Game” fans out there?
Just to watch the finale on Monday night. It’s going to be a good one. It’s really great. I haven’t seen the finished product yet but I’ve heard it’s fantastic and it’s a great episode. You’re going to be shocked, I think.