Disclaimer: This FROM interview contains plot spoilers through season 3 episode 6.
Loss is inevitable for the people trapped in the FROM town. Nonetheless, Kenny Liu’s story is especially tragic. After losing his father to a violent death in season 1, he similarly lost his mother in the season 3 premiere.
Actor Ricky He joined us for an exclusive interview to give insight into Kenny’s losses and what now drives him.
Kenny’s Father Figure
LadyJenevia: Last season you and I had an interview in which you mentioned that Kenny looks up to Boyd as a sort of surrogate Father Figure. How has your understanding of that relationship shifted now that Kenny has lost his mother?
He: It shifted in the sense that he’s truly all he really has left, in a realistic kind of surrogate father or adopted father relationship. With the death of his mom, it’s hard for him to talk about all these things and go through all these feelings. Even towards a father figure, maybe especially to a father figure.
He needed someone to lean on but I don’t know that he’s gonna go right back to being able to talk to Boyd about it. I think he’s gonna try to shove it all down.
LadyJenevia: Kenny has a really great line where he says something to the effect of how everything that he thought he was fighting for is gone, as is everything he thought he was going home to. What would you say is driving Kenny now at this point in his journey?
He: What’s keeping him going at this point is a sense of duty that he feels like he owes to his mother. Even before she she died, a character choice that I made up in my head was that after the blow up outside of the diner with Sarah, he had a conversation with his mom. He said, ‘I promise I won’t do that again. I cannot blow up in front of the town because this this is not what they need. This is not the best way to support the people of town.’
Now with his whole family gone, what is keeping him going is the promises that he made to his mom, and the energy and the mission that she was on, which is to provide for the town, to support the town, and to make this a comfortable liveable place. He might get a little too obsessed with the mission but he’s just trying to provide.
Kenny’s Vengeful Side
LadyJenevia: It’s interesting that you bring up that blowup because Kenny wanted to go after the monsters. He loaded up these jugs of liquor and he was ready to start a fire. Would you say that Kenny is a more angry and vengeful person now than in past seasons or is that a facet of his personality that’s already been there?
He: I think that’s a facet of his personality. Kenny’s a young guy that’s gone into town and we’ve all experienced near the end of your coming-of-age where you’re really trying to figure out where you are, where you stand in the world, and things like that. Unfortunately, he had to do all that figuring out within town. That’s always been a piece of him, which is this person that shoves down this rage that he has boiling underneath.
We see it with Sara, we see it with these monsters, we see it in season one when he’s dealing with Ellis. I think that’s just a part of who he is because it’s all the dichotomy, right? He’s this really sweet, eager, earnest guy but he’s also this person capable of rage.
LadyJenevia: It’s an interesting juxtaposition, definitely.
LadyJenevia: I’ve seen episodes one through six of season 3. Episode six ends with Kenny asking Donna if he can go and move into the Colony House. The house no longer feels like a home without his mother. What can you tease about what Kenny’s going to get up to in that last chunk of the season?
He: After Donna says they can make space for Kenny, I think I asked, “Hey, you’re not still throwing those weird sex parties up there, are you?” Maybe Kenny gets up to some of that! I don’t know, that’d be kind of cool.
LadyJenevia: [laughs] You’re making jokes but you should tease something for the audience to look forward to.
He: Well, he puts on the the deputy hat up in Colony House. He’s going to put on the deputy hat. I don’t know if he does a very good job but he’ll try.
Watch my full interviews with FROM stars Catalina Sandino Moreno and Ricky He here:
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