‘Transparent’s’ Judith Light says Season 3 flashbacks will be devastating
The notion that we carry the scars of our forebears was an underlying theme in the second season of Amazon’s “Transparent,” and it seems the forthcoming third season will continue that exploration.
At least that is what Judith Light indicated when she stopped by the Los Angeles Times studio to discuss the Emmy-winning series, in which she plays Shelly Pfefferman, the neurotic matriarch and ex-wife of Maura, her husband who came out as a transgender woman.
In reflecting on the journey her character took in the second season, which saw Shelly grappling with her fears of abandonment in relation to her complicated relationship with Maura, Light said it’s still only the beginning of the story.
“It’s going to be very interesting for people, I think, to see the third season, which we just finished filming, because you’re going to go back in time and you’re going to see the younger Pfeffermans,” Light said. “And you’re going to find out where the actual pain and loss actually comes from. And it’s going to be really fascinating for people to watch that. ...”
The second season, too, made use of a series of flashbacks, which showed the Pfefferman’s struggles with gender identity and queerness pre-date the emergence of Maura. In a number of 1930s Berlin-set flashbacks, viewers were introduced to Maura’s mother, Rose, and her brother Gittel, who is a transsexual in prewar Berlin. Their mother, Yetta, struggles to accept Gittel’s sexuality. The flashbacks come full circle in the season finale when Rose gave birth to the child that we now know as Maura.
Light, of course, was careful not to spoil the upcoming season — but she said enough to pique our curiosity.
“You’re going to learn a lot more in Season 3,” Light said. “And some of the information is devastating. You begin to understand where all that emotion has come from.”
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But could there be a moment that challenged or induced the same type of hesitation in Light as the so-called “bathy time” scene from the second episode of the second season? Yes, according to Light. And it’s the last episode of the season.
“And you will know exactly what I’m talking about when you see it,” Light said. “It was huge for me.”
For more on what Light had to say about the second season, including its portrayal of mature women being sexual beings and the how the character of Shelly is different from others Light has played in her career, check out the video below.
Judith Light of “Transparent” discusses the bath scene she shares with Jeffrey Tambor and how terrified she was to do it.
But could there be a moment that challenged or induced the same type of hesitation in Light as the so-called “bathy time” scene from the second episode of the second season? Yes, according to Light. And it’s the last episode of the season.
“And you will know exactly what I’m talking about when you see it,” Light said. “It was huge for me.”
For more on what Light had to say about the second season, including its portrayal of mature women being sexual beings and the how the character of Shelly is different from others Light has played in her career, check out the video below.
Judith Light of “Transparent” discusses the bath scene she shares with Jeffrey Tambor and how terrified she was to do it.
Follow me on Twitter: @villarrealy
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