‘Outsiders’ Postmortem: David Morse on That Big Asa Reveal and How Big Foster Was Supposed to Die
SPOILER ALERT: This interview for the “Banishment” episode of Outsiders contains storyline and character spoilers.
Yep, you heard him correctly … when Big Foster referred to the late Asa Farrell as “my boy,” he meant it literally. Asa was Big Foster’s son, which he revealed in a very out-of-the-blue way upon learning of Asa’s death in Tuesday’s episode of Outsiders.
David Morse, the man behind Big Foster, talks to Yahoo TV about the big surprise — which actually isn’t such a shock when you think about the animosity between the two characters — and another one that is a bit more surprising: Big Foster was supposed to die himself — by Asa’s hand — at the end of Season 1. Morse also talks about Big Foster’s plan for ingratiating himself back into the Farrell clan, how he can be a key figure in G’Win’s and the clan’s future, and whether or not the Asa/paternity reveal will continue to play out in the series.
We saw at the end of last week’s episode that Big Foster made it back to the mountain. He’s made some internal changes, he says, has a new outlook, just wants to be able to remain a part of the Farrell clan. We also know that he’s too smart to return home without a plan, given everything that has happened. What can you say about that?
I’m not sure really if he has a long range plan. His immediate plan is, he knows he’s not [welcome]. I mean, he’s not stupid, he knows what he’s done. If he’s going to survive there, he really has to devote himself to G’Win, so he’s discovered a love for her, which he never expected. But at the same time, she’s his ticket to remaining in the clan. And when he says, “Look, you can throw me out,” he’s serious. He knows he deserves to be banished from the clan. The only way he’s going to survive in the clan is by coming clean and kind of laying himself at their mercy.
G’Win is very smart. And she recognizes that, whatever bad things Big Foster has done, he also has knowledge of the way the mountain works, the clan works, that she doesn’t yet have.
Yeah, clearly, when they get fenced in on the mountain, this is a whole other level of escalation of this thing. She can’t afford to lose anybody. And Big Foster is probably as good a warrior as there is on that mountain. You know, he saw it early, in the first season, he was really the one who saw the danger they were in. Whether you liked how he went about things or not, he really got it, and he really was about the survival of the clan. And G’Win needs that … someone who’s willing to go all the way.
We get a very big reveal from Big Foster about Asa in this episode. Everyone probably said to themselves, “Did I just hear what I thought I heard?” Asa was Big Foster’s son. When he refers to Asa as “my boy,” he meant that literally. Were you surprised when you read this, or was this something that you had discussed with the writers and knew it was coming at some point?
Very early on, in the first season, the two Peters [Tolan and series creator Mattei] and I talked about this, that this was how it was going to play out. And I don’t think they really knew what was going to happen with Asa at that point. But that whole season, I knew that he was my son, and the pain that I had with his betrayal. There’s a whole backstory that we never got to. But I was doing the whole season with that backstory [in mind], and hoping it would be revealed at some point. … Originally, Big Foster was not going to survive the first season. That was going to be the end of him. And, like, halfway through the season, everybody was starting to feel like, well, do we really want to do this or not? And it was a unanimous feeling the character was just too much a part of this world, and stirs things up, and it would be hard to get rid of him. And everybody decided, it was too soon. … Who knows what will happen in the future, but it was just too soon. We still wanted to play out the story where he gets killed, and then, “Let’s figure out what happens in the second season.” So that’s what we did.
How did you feel about that? Obviously, a job is always a good thing, but you went into the series thinking that the character was going to die in Season 1. When you found out, did you agree this was the way to take the character forward?
Originally I was told he would just be there for a season, and I said fine, I think this is a really interesting role, and it’s a funny character, and I thought it’d be a challenge for everybody to create this world. But they wanted me to, even though I was just going to be there for a season, WGN wanted me to sign a seven-year contract, like every series does. I said, “Why don’t we wait and see what happens at the end of the first season,” but they weren’t comfortable with that, so we compromised, and I signed for three seasons. Somehow our producers didn’t know that. They laugh about it now. I actually told them halfway through the season, when we talked about whether I wanted to stay or not. I said, “Listen, I have a contract for three years, so whether I want to stay or not, I have a contract.” And they said, sort of, “Oh, goodie.”
How did you feel about the death of Asa? It was shocking, and then again it wasn’t, because as G’Win says, he really never fit in either world. Where do you go when you don’t belong anywhere?
Yeah, I think that’s right, and I think it was the challenge of the character, and the tragedy of the character. For the guys who are writing it, it just felt like, it’s a cool idea, but it was also a logical idea … story-wise it makes sense. He was so disruptive without having his heart in either place, so, you know, sorry to see him go, but what a way to go.
Did any of the other characters know Asa was Big Foster’s son, before he says it in this episode?
No, nobody knew, just Big Foster.
And will the issue be addressed again?
I don’t want to give away too much. … it’s definitely going to be a part of the story as it goes along.
Outsiders airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on WGN America.
