At the start of this freshman dramedy, Scott Speedman‘s titular ex-con private investigator was sent to prison for two years after Emi (Jaina Lee Ortiz), the daughter of corrupt senator Victor Ochoa (David Zayas), lied on the stand about witnessing him punching her brother Lucas (Maximo Salas), at her father’s behest. (And she did this all right after sleeping with R.J.)
At the end of the penultimate episode of R.J. Decker‘s first season, Emi reveals to R.J. that her father wasn’t just behind the break-in at his ex-wife Catherine’s (Adelaide Clemens); Lucas had been sent to steal the camera he was when the now-PI confronted him.
Below, Scott Speedman previews the finale.
Heading into the finale, how is R.J. doing when it comes to his PI business and just life in general?
Scott Speedman: I think life in general’s been a highly stressed situation. He’s trying to get a business off of the ground, which is always tough. And he’s been met with Emi’s father, Victor; that gauntlet’s been thrown down, so he’s in a tight spot with that for sure, getting threatened to go back to jail. I don’t think he’s sleeping all that much. I don’t think he’s worried about the state of his financial business. I think he’s worried about the state of his life in terms of having to go back to prison. So that’s weighing on him and the need to figure out [everything] is front of mind for sure.
Disney/Justin Stephens
How is R.J. handling learning the truth about what happened on the day that Lucas stole his camera?
The information that comes to light is very revealing and actually is very helpful for him and ties a lot of things together. And it puts a lot of things to bed really, things he’s been carrying as well. A lot of emotional turmoil that he’s been going through about what he did way back when, that fateful day when Lucas stole his camera equipment and how he reacted to it and what kind of place he was in. And all that gets sort of … I wouldn’t call it resolved, but [there’s] a big weight off of his chest so we can go forward and really figure this whole thing out.
R.J.’s inner circle — including Emi, Catherine, her wife Mel (Bevin Bru), and his former cellmate Wish (Kevin Rankin) — is going to be helping him take down Victor Ochoa. How does he feel about the people around him being involved in this?
I think he feels a tremendous guilt and stress about that, that he’s brought everyone he loves into Victor’s firing line. I think that’s really scary for him. At the end of the day, R.J.’s a helper, especially now in his life. He really wants to push things forward and I think he wants to really help the people that he loves instead of bringing them into this place that they’re in now, which is in a really threatening position. I think what’s really interesting also about everybody working together is we’ve been going through the season and everybody has their own storylines and all that. And towards the end of the season, it’s really nice when we can bring the five main cast members together in kind of a group and see what we can do to bring down Victor.
How does R.J. feel about having all those people together? Because there are parts of those life that have been pretty separate from each other.
Yeah, totally. I think that would be challenging for me. I think it’s challenging for him. There’s a lot of cross stories there and a lot of relationships that have been building over these nine episodes and not always in the healthiest ways. I think there’s some animosity between the characters. So to bring them all together is not without risk. And I think it’s really interesting to see what happens when we do. It kind of works out in this great way. It’s one of my favorite, if not my favorite script of this season.
Speaking of Victor, what can you say about the R.J. and Victor scenes?
It’s so good. And way back when in New York, me and my best friend saw David Zayas on stage and fell in love with him as an actor, and to see what he’s done with his career has been tremendous. So when I found out he was coming on the show and I got to read the scenes that we were going to do together, I was thrilled. And obviously he’s a very, very, very cool guy, but more importantly, he’s an incredible actor. And to go head-to-head with somebody like that, I just love those scenes and I think they really pop in the episode. As you can see in the end of Episode 8, there’s some stuff going on underneath that’s right there. And then into Episode 9, it’s front and center. So, some exciting scenes to watch for sure.
What does this mean for Emi’s relationship with her father, given the R.J. of it?
Well, I think that’s what makes an interesting character, too — to put a character that we’ve come to love and trust over these nine episodes, mostly, in a real position of having to choose between essentially right and wrong and family versus love. And the Ochoa family has a deep … That’s what they’re all about. They always rest on, “We’re the Ochoas, we do this together, we’re family,” and it leads them down the wrong path many times. So it’s very interesting to watch her try to make the right decision after she made the wrong decision a couple years ago with regards to R.J.
Disney/John Merrick
What does this mean for R.J. and Emi?
That’s the crux of it, isn’t it, coming to the season’s end is to see what she chooses and to see where their relationship goes from here. Are they going to continue on like this and what are they? We get to the heart of R.J. and Emi for sure.
What can you say about the finale and where it leaves them?
Just that they’re coming together. There’s something that’s gripping them underneath with this family thing with her. But I really think this is going to be a great episode for both of them to see where they go from here. But look, we’re doing nine episodes. We’re not tying anything up right here. We’re not ending any story. It’s a continuation to see where we’re going to go. I don’t think anything’s really been decided by the end of this season. It’s more of how they’re going to come together, how they’re going to work together, and are they going to come together as a team here?
Is anyone’s life put in danger in the finale?
Yeah, sure. [Laughs]
What can you say?
There are high stakes, I will say, that really come to a head here, but I won’t say who’s it for and I won’t say what plot point it’s regarding. This is a fun show. We all have a fun time making it and it’s a light show at times and it’s a funny show at times. But towards [Episodes] 7, 8, and 9, we really get into sort of this longer term through line story that has some darker elements and I think that comes out in the season finale.
How worried should we be about someone dying?
I’m not going to give you odds. I don’t think you’re too worried, but we’ll see what happens.
Who is R.J. the most concerned about being involved in all of this in the finale?
I think he’s really worried about Wish because Wish really goes out on a limb for him and Wish can get emotional and get into it and get ahead of his skis, if you will. So, yeah, no, I think he’s a little worried about him. But he’s worried about everybody.
We heard early on about that history.
Right. Wish is his lifeline. Wish saved him in jail and I think they really helped each other in jail, but Wish was really his lifeline when he was in prison. So it’s key. I mean, he’s his best friend and I think they’ve got grown even closer when they come out and Wish just wants to be involved, wants to help. If we come into a dangerous situation, I think he puts his heart before his head sometimes, so that’s always worrying.
What can you tease about how the season ends to set up a Season 2?
It sets up the show continues, but I think it wraps up some stuff, too.
How’s R.J. feeling at the end of the finale?
I think he’s feeling really good. I do. I think he feels really good. I think he’s really happy where he’s at with his life and business, but more things to figure out as we go here.
What else can you preview about the finale?
Just that it really is high stakes. It really is kind of right down to the line. What I love about it is there’s these amazing long scenes with really important characters and I think these scenes really pop. There are some real confrontations that have been a long time coming that come to a head in the season finale. It’s really high stakes and I think people are going to really love it.
R.J. Decker, Season 1 Finale, Tuesday, April 28, 9/8c, ABC
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