Things are getting much witchier on the new horror-mystery crime series YAGA. In season 1, episode 4, titled "Dance With The Devil," Rapp and Carson collected clues about Henry Park's disappearance (and Logan's death) that are unlike any they'd ever found during investigations before. From talks of drinking chicken blood and potion books to fertility manifestation rituals and creepy carved wooden masks, the duo is becoming more convinced that Henry got caught up in some kind of local cult.
But the real supernatural twist in the investigation comes in the final moments of this week's episode. Carson leaves Reid to interrogate Olena Yaha in the hospital about Henry's disappearance, and when he demands to know who the "devil" is that Olena says Henry wanted to dance with, she answers his question with two words: "Baba Yaga."
The presence of the Baba Yaga witch has obviously been teased in the show from the beginning, but now the table is set for the character to come alive in the second half of the season. Most of the female characters we meet in Whittock seem to know more about what's going on than the investigators themselves—and sleuthing duo Rapp and Carson might think they're just seeking clues to solve a murder (or two), but they can both benefit as people from what Baba Yaga represents.
Clark Backo, who plays Sergeant Carson on YAGA, spoke with Show Snob earlier this summer at San Diego Comic-Con on how she approached the character. Backo shared that showrunner and playwright Kat Sandler didn't want the cast to watch any footage of the play prior to filming this series, and Backo agreed it was the right call.
"I think that was an incredible and very trusting decision because [Sandler] wanted to give me space to bring myself to Carson," Backo said. "This show is a lot about female intuition and trusting the little voice inside, and whether you call that magic or just intuition is up to you."
So where is that intuition leading Carson in the second half of the series? Here's what Backo said about Carson's path on YAGA and why the character is so crucial to the story.
Clark Backo teases how the Baba Yaga mystery impacts Carson
In the first half of the series, we've seen Carson as more of a grounded and no-nonsense detective who's a bit defensive and protective of her role as a female police officer in a small-town boys' club. Notably, Carson serves as the every-woman or every-girl on the series—she shares the audience's unfamiliarity with the supernatural happenings in the town, and we uncover the mystery along with her and through her eyes.
For Backo, that every-woman role is exactly what she loved about the character, especially because Carson is someone who isn't clued-in on what's happening with these unusual gatherings in the woods or why women in town are drawn to them.
"I think Carson represents the woman who would misunderstand Baba Yaga and not understand the power of Baba Yaga or if [her power] is even real," she shared.
Backo wants women watching the series through Carson's eyes to learn about this empowerment along with her.
"In a patriarchal society, there's internalized misogyny," she said, and it's something that's affected Carson to this point. "The very challenging, yet exciting thing about playing Carson is that she is incredibly smart and capable and disciplined. And there's so much room for her to learn and grow as a woman.... We learn as women, through [Baba] Yaga, to not ask for permission."
It feels like a safe bet to say that Carson will be personally affected by what she uncovers about Baba Yaga over the course of the investigation, and I'm looking forward to following her on the journey.
New episodes of YAGA air weekly Fridays on AMC+.
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