Unexpected Duo Marisa & Rose Team Up for The Irrational's Return (EXCLUSIVE)
For The Irrational's Season 2, Episode 9 "Lost Souls," Alec's ex-wife Rose and current girlfriend Rose are thrust into solving a high-stakes case together.
After a weeks long hiatus, The Irrational Season 2 returns with Episode 8's "Lost Souls," and it puts an unlikely duo at center stage.
When a noted tennis player goes missing in the woods, Alec (Jesse L. Martin) is tasked with finding and recovering her. However, he's forcibly sidelined when he endures a medical emergency. Enter his ex-wife and FBI agent Marisa (Maahra Hill) and current girlfriend Rose (Karen David) who team up to solve the case, entering the field together as Alec advises from his hospital bed.
"Marisa and Rose, being the strong capable women that they are — and also caring so deeply for Alec — want to give him some assurance that they can handle it. So this is the first time that they’ll be working together," Hill tells NBC Insider.
In most cases, this unusual dynamic is the perfect recipe for an awkward and dramatic love triangle. Maybe even two women fighting over their shared one true love? However, showrunner Arika Mittman reveals that she took the road less traveled when approaching this specific storyline.
"What is it like working with your boyfriend's ex? What is it like working this new girlfriend? They managed to deal with this in, you know, in what I think is a very adult way," Mittman says. "And it's something that you don't see often on TV. People are looking for like, you know, 'Where's the love triangle? How are they gonna sabotage each other? Who's gonna sabotage what?' Like, we're not doing that."
Stars Hill and David echoed Mittman's sentiments when teasing "Lost Souls" — airing tonight, January 7 at 10/9c — praising Alec, Marisa, and Rose's "mature" relationships. You even see the the two working seamlessly as they set out into the forest together in the exclusive sneak peek preview below.
"This is the girl band, the girl duo, that we needed," David tells us. "I was so thrilled when Arika and I were talking about this relationship. I love that we’re celebrating a blended family and what does that look like? What does that mean? It’s something relatable in that a lot of people can relate to now... You have two amazing strong women who have been through a lot as well separately. Rose very much admires Marisa, and knows and appreciates Marisa and Alec’s relationship."
The actress explains that this situation presents the perfect opportunity for her on-screen counterpart to be apart of a blended family. Seeing as Rose lost her mother at a young age and her father left when she was young, she's never had a close-knit unit to call her own. Therefore, she respects the friendship Marisa and Alec have formed following their divorce, and they all three share a respect and passion for their work.
"She’s very grateful that Marisa has been there for Alec all those years because life works in funny ways where we come into someone’s life at a certain point. And it was meant to be at that point, and Marisa helped Alec get there. And so, that’s not lost on someone like Rose," David says.
For Marisa, being put in the position to accept her former husband's new love is a bit more difficult, but Hill explains that Marisa knows it's for the best.
"I think it’s hard... the choice to take the mature route and to be honestly thrilled for Alec’s happiness," the star tells us. "She does not want anything other than that, and she see’s that this relationship affords him that. So I think in that way she’s definitely for it and doesn’t have any problems with it. I don’t think she quite sees a road back for [her and Alec] at this time."
