By [ad_1]
For the first time since Dickinson launched, Henry and Betty are own their own. Like many of the characters on the show, the couple found themselves torn apart by the Civil War — literally. Henry headed down to South Carolina in the dead of night to help the Union and the Black cause, leaving Betty and their daughter Helen behind in Amherst, Massachusetts. Now, both characters must find their own strength to survive the conflict and their time apart.
Speaking to CBR, Dickinson stars Amanda Warren and Chinaza Uche broke down the way this separation impacts their characters. They explained how Dickinson inadvertently mirrored real life in Season 3 and why they consider Henry’s cause to be “bigger than their very strong, loving family unit.” They also shared their pride in the way Betty and Henry’s love story unfolds, how their characters express themselves through art and more.
CBR: For the first time in the series, Henry and Betty are experiencing a real separation from one another. How does that help these characters forge a new piece of their identities moving forward?
Amanda Warren: I think, for Betty, it’s been a negotiation of a lot of emotions running through her. The thing about Henry’s journey and his fight for this cause, for the Black cause, for equality during this time, is that she knows that yes, it is bigger than their very strong, loving family unit, but it’s also necessary. It’s for our strong, loving family unit.
So she has to reconcile a lot of things about that, knowing that he’s out there — where? She doesn’t know. It’s really about being at peace with that, and peace is not what anyone gets when the love of their life is away [and] you have no clue where they are. So that’s the conflict that really stuck with me, especially in the beginning of production.
Chinaza Uche: Yeah, I think for Henry, it’s a forced separation. So I think it clarifies that he’s fighting for a future where his family can be together. I think not being with them helps him fight extra hard for that, because the distance makes the heart grow fonder, and you go, “Wow, no one else should experience what I had to experience. What can I do to make sure no one else can experience what I had to experience?”
Despite being set in the mid-1800s, Dickinson touches on some modern day issues. How did this non-traditional period piece allow you to explore your character in a way a more traditional one couldn’t?
Warren: Well, we weren’t expecting to meet these extreme parallels. I don’t think anybody was expecting that! We just let it inform us and stayed in it, because we went home to it, with quarantining and staying to ourselves, but I think that can the level of compassion and respect for the way of life for these characters in this time period was not lost on us. There was a deepening in the connection between actor and character. Yeah, I would, yes, boldly stand by that, that each of us led with more compassion and respect in relating to our characters.
Uche: Yeah, I would say with, a non-conventional period piece, I think it just kept you open, because you know that anything is accessible with this show. So I think that even as a person, you’re like, “Well, how different is this?” I think, in other work, you need to be like, “It’s different.” But this allows you that that constant conversation of like, “I don’t know, what if this was just me? What if they thought and felt like I do now? How would this feel? Where would I be?”
Both Betty and Henry are artists in their own right: Betty through her designing, and Henry with his words. What do you think Season 3 says about art through your character?
Warren: It’s an energy that is to be released and to be shared, and to strengthen our differences and our commonalities.
Uche: And that it can take many forms. I think, for Henry, he’s taking — at least in his storyline — it to its final spot. He’s taking the words and he’s making them action. That can be with a pen; that can be with a sword. It feels all connected to that same intrinsic, artistic expression of what I believe, what I need, what is important.
Chinaza, we find Henry in this completely new situation. He’s gone from all that he knows Amherst, Massachusetts to South Carolina, where he’s more of a fish out of water. Tell me a little about that transition and how that helps him find his voice.
Uche: It was really fun. It really was. The writing is really good, and the new cast members I work with are as fun as they seem in the show. [laugh] I say that because I think, with what Henry was dealing with, he needed to be shaken out of something. He needed a new inspiration. He needed new energy, new questions and this new community he finds, they bring all of that. It wakes him up, I think. This stuff is different. These guys are different. They also challenge him to prove himself to them, to be like, “Hey, you say you can help us! How?”
Now that Dickinson has come to an end, what do you hope viewers take away from this story and your part in it?
Warren: Oh, lead with love. Lead with love. I just loved their love on this story and their family. When you lead with that, as challenging as it gets, you come out on top, more than more than you can ever anticipate. So lead with love.
Uche: I agree. I’m really proud of Henry and Betty’s relationship in this show. It’s just a nice sending off for them and all the other characters, so I hope they just keep thinking about us. I hope that it makes them curious about someone else who might’ve been forgotten in history and be like, “I wonder what their lives were really like. What great love story have we not discovered yet?” And maybe you’ll be the person who writes it and tells it to the world.
New episodes of Dickinson release every Friday on AppleTV+.
About The Author
[ad_2]
