Mason Ashford is the ultimate good guy, and he’s facing some serious romantic woes in the last few episodes of Vampire Academy season 1. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Andrew Liner ahead of the October 27 finale about Mason’s future with Rose, that showdown with Dimitri, and more. So, what’s the deal with the Mason-Rose-Dimitri love triangle?
“I think that love can ebb and flow in a bunch of different ways. Maybe at one point, she did love him in the way that he loves her, but I think that love can grow into its own thing,” Andrew said about Rose’s feelings for Mason. “When you genuinely love someone, it won’t ever leave. It will just morph into something else. I think that’s an important thing to look at. I think they are friends and that love will never die. But I think because Dimitri is in the picture, I think that’s the love that we’ll have to be for right now. I think Mason’s okay with that, or he will be eventually.”
Meredith pleaded with Mason to end things with Rose because of Rose’s feelings for Dimitri. Meredith event told Mason that Rose didn’t love him. Andrew weighed in on whether or not he thinks Mason ultimately believes Meredith.
“It’s actually interesting. We had a very similar scene in [episode] 8 that got cut with me and Meredith, and it was kind of a precursor to the scene in 9,” Andrew explained. “I do agree with them for cutting it, even though I loved the scene in it. We’re both crying in it, and it’s just super emotional. But I don’t think it’s necessary because I feel like you can kind of see that Mason knows and he has known forever. It’s just that constant denial and that constant I don’t want to believe it, so I’m not going to even give it a chance. I think he’s definitely aware. He just is trying to make excuses for himself. But it’s a tricky place to be in because, at the same time, Rose isn’t giving him a flat-out answer. It’s tricky and just heartbreaking.”
Mason and Dimitri did have a confrontation about Rose, and it ended with Mason delivering a big “f**k you” to Dimitri’s face. “That scene was really tricky for Kieron [Moore] and me because it was the first time that we really spoke to each other. We’ve had these glances at one another the entire season, and then this was our first time speaking. I think it was for the most part all respect. The subtext of that ‘f**k you, Dimitri” was more like, ‘I’m hurt because she picked you.’ I don’t think it’s more outwardly like, ‘F**k you, Dimitri. You’re a piece of sh*t.’ I think it’s more inward and more just situational because I don’t think Mason has anything against Dimitri besides the fact that he and Rose are obviously in love with one another. That was a tricky scene. Marguerite [MacIntyre] and I were talking about it a lot. Why does he say “f**k you?” I think that we went back and forth with it a lot, but I think we landed on the subtext just being like this is what heartbroken is.”
But how much more can Mason take? “I mean, I’m fed up with it at this point. Andrew Liner is,” the actor quipped. “No, I don’t know. I think a lot of us have been there, so when you’re that tied up in someone you’re not really seeing straight. And then you open your eyes and it’s like, oh, it’s been two years of my life. What is going on? I want to say he’s fed up, but I don’t know.”
He added, “I think you’ll see in episode 10 if he’s fed up or not. I think that’ll be a very big point because I feel at least in my past relationships I fought for them, I fought for them, I fought for them until a certain point where I do my last big I’m fighting for you. If it’s not received then I’m done. I’ll give you everything and that’s my last thing, and then I’m done. I think Mason might be getting that point at some point soon.”
Fans of Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy novels know all too well about Mason’s fate. However, showrunner Julie Plec revealed at NYCC that the show will approach Mason’s death differently than in the book.
When asked if Mason survives the season, Andrew replied, “I don’t know. You’ll have to see episode 10. I think people will have to make up their minds if he makes through. Episode 10 is a cliffhanger, so we’ll see. I’d love to do a season 2. We’ll see if that’s permitted, but sh*t goes down in episode 10.”
If Mason does live to see season 2, Andrew wants to see less of “sad boy Mason.” He told HollywoodLife, “I’d like to explore why was top of the leaderboard, why he is one of the most promising novices. I don’t want to see him hung up on, like Meredith said, a girl who doesn’t love him. There’s a lot to explore. I’d like to explore a lot of man-on-man friendships. That’s something we don’t really get too much of. We get some moments between Mason and Christian and Dimitri and Christian. There’s a lot of potential for exploring these different types of relationships, but I want to see more of the tougher, less emotional parts of Mason.”
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