As season 4 of Mayor of Kingstown continues on Paramount+, fans are learning more about the characters. Some of them aren’t as bad as they seem. Meanwhile, others are worse than anyone would have thought. However, after my conversation with Necar Zadegan, who plays the amazing A.D.A. Evelyn Foley, I now have a different perspective about the show and the characters in Mayor of Kingstown.
Initially, I considered Evelyn one of the few characters on the show who was good. Zadegan brings up a great point that even Evelyn isn’t as “good” as I thought.
“I don’t think any of the characters are that way. Perhaps because my character is trying to uphold a legal precedent in a society that’s upside-down, it seems that way. But, since the beginning, she’s been bending rules and making all kinds of concessions for Mike and the guys she grew up with. So I wouldn’t say she’s upholding anything moral, or anybody is. I think there’s a real law of the street and the environment that they’re in, and I think that that’s exhausting for people who live in it. Like, any law, you know?"
“For reasons that are so specific to my character’s own journey. It’s become important for her to really try and uphold something to make sense of all this craziness that’s always unfolding. So it feels complicated to play that role in this environment," Zadegan noted, discussing the importance of her job and why it’s a struggle.
"I think for Evelyn’s character, there was so much bending and so much capitulating one way or the other for her because of her personal feelings. There are endless amounts of toxicity and resentment inside these relationships that inform one’s decisions.""
Ian, the hospital scene, and what's next for Evelyn
In episode 4, Ian continues to show that he’s willing to do anything to stay out of jail by dropping a brick on Evelyn’s car. Zadegan explains that, while what Ian did was awful, it shows that people can change for good or bad.
"I think that the events unfold piece by piece just like they do in life. And, moment by moment, the characters, and one’s emotions…people are complicated. Somebody might go left one day and then suddenly go right. And you think it’s for no reason, but there’s always a reason."
"In the opening episode of this season, he (Mike) says, ‘You're dead to me,’ and he means it. Because the perceived betrayal is so great. She certainly doesn’t see it that way, but, to Mike, this is family. And who abandons their family? And it’s hard to get your head around. From her perspective, she's not abandoning her family. She really wants the best for Kyle, their collective kid brother," Zadegan continued, noting the complexities of the characters by using the scene with Mike and Evelyn in the hospital.
"In that scene, the fact that he showed up, the fact that he came, the fact that she was so alone. She had nobody, and he (Mike) came in spite of it all, shows up, that means there’s a crack in that. And, sometimes, in any kind of toxic relationship, all you need is a little glimmer. She’s so vulnerable, you know? She’s been attacked, she’s injured, and that mask of strength she tries to keep, and keep everyone away. You just can’t have it.”
"I love that scene very much. Leslie Hope directed that scene and it was very tender and I really love those moments in this show because there's so much aggression and violence," Zadegan noted.
"It’s very personal, and that’s something that I love about the writing, and the way the writers have developed the characters is that the motivations are personal for all of the characters. And Evelyn is not different from that."Necar Zadegan
Lastly, we asked about Ian dropping a brick on Evelyn's car changes how she looks at her career.
“You know, I think Evelyn has been walking on eggshells for a very long time. Remember, in the prior seasons, the D.A., her boss, was shot and killed in cold blood. Murdered…assassinated. Even before that, everybody she knows has been in prison, in and out. This is their world. So, the seriousness of the consequences is always something that’s very real to her. After the DA was assassinated, I think she’s been afraid of this very thing. And the fact that she survives it, as we see in episode 4, I think the entire season is going through the wave. Not trying to avoid it. Ian does try to kill her."
She also mentions something about Ian that we should have seen coming. Because, even though they’ve all grown up with each other, Ian’s aggression towards Evelyn isn’t surprising because “Ian’s always been a hothead.” And while the hothead is fun as a kid, as an adult, they're “a dangerous person.”
"Nobody in this world is safe. And I think that’s what makes it so fun. It pulls on the heartstrings," Zadegan warns of Paramount+'s Mayor of Kingstown. As season 4 continues, fans will learn how true that statement is.