Warning: SPOILERS for Rabbit Hole season 1, episode 7!
Rabbit Hole finally answered questions that had been brewing all season in episode 7, from how far Hailey (Meta Golding) is willing to go for John (Kiefer Sutherland) to what really led to Valence’s death. As the espionage thriller series hurtles towards the season 1 finale, John Weir’s makeshift team is about to go head-to-head with his father Ben’s (Charles Dance) seemingly all-powerful enemy, Crowley. But even as the show fights for Western democracy and the privacy of American citizens, it doesn’t forget to check in on the smaller arcs for individual characters.
Hailey Winton was introduced in the premiere of Rabbit Hole as a lawyer from Pittsburgh who works for the Homeless Aid Network, but eventually, more layers of her backstory are unpeeled. Though John initially mistakes her for a spy sent to sabotage him, and perhaps even the mastermind behind his framing, it turns out her past is slightly more complicated than that. Circumstances have thrust the two together, however, and their feelings for each other continue to grow even as John’s self-sabotaging paranoia gets in the way.
Screen Rant spoke to Golding about Hailey’s growth in Rabbit Hole, the status of her romance with John after the events of “Gilgamesh,” and what to expect from the finale of the first season.
Screen Rant: How has it been for you getting to uncover the different layers of Hailey’s past? Ben still doesn’t fully trust her, and John’s paranoia gets in the way of trusting her completely. How many more secrets of hers will we uncover?
Meta Golding: Because I played Hailey I know a lot of her secrets. For me, it was just really interesting to play someone who is slowly revealing who she is. Also, can she even trust these guys? It was very interesting to play someone who just has a lot of different sides of themselves.
I love the scene with you and Jo Madi, and I was surprised both that Hailey had the idea to go to her and then even more surprised by what Madi did. Was the outcome what Haley wanted?
Meta Golding: At that point, John’s starting to lose it. At the same time, Hailey is also becoming more confident in her risk-taking abilities, because all of these characters have to take risks and play chess. In this episode, I think Hailey starts to become an equal-footing chess player. She’s also going, “This is the situation. This man is clearly not in his right mind. I don’t know if I can trust Ben, and I’ve got to do what I think is best for me.”But the thing I love about that episode is that, ultimately, you get a lot of answers to questions. Not fully, because it’s Rabbit Hole, and there’s always more to uncover. But as I was reading that script, I felt like, “Oh, wow, so that’s who Ben really this,” because up until this point, Hailey has her suspicions. She wants everybody to trust her, but she doesn’t necessarily trust everyone. A lot of things got answered in episode 7, though.
We got our big smooch in episode 6, but it was put a little bit on pause this episode. And yet you’re getting to see all these other vulnerabilities and sides of John. How does that affect Hailey’s view of him and their relationship moving forward?
Meta Golding: It’s a spy genre. The stakes are super high, but it’s still like Hailey and John are almost on a date. You could put a lot of metaphors in that, but they’re still trying to get to know each other. In the vulnerability, it’s almost like they go through this whole big thing together, and are still going, “Can I trust you? Do I like you? Do you like me?”It’s completely high stakes when it comes to saving the Western world and democracy and data, but ultimately, it’s also just two people trying to understand each other. And when somebody’s being paranoid, or when their issues are coming into play, it’s very much like in real life when you’re just worried about being triggered. I always just try to bring it back to being human and getting to know somebody.
I love how quickly we’re seeing Hailey step into these spy tricks and take John’s lessons to heart. What has been your favorite part of seeing her evolution in such a short time?
Meta Golding: I think it’s the risk-taking. Hailey from the get-go is a risk taker, and we have some more of her background, we know that she already took some risks in her professional life and was working with some shady people. That explains why she’s the perfect person to step in with him, because I always say that John was educated by Ben, who’s actually a doctor of this sort of stuff. But Hailey learned all this stuff instinctually, just because she’s always had to be a survivor. Ultimately, that’s why they all find each other. They’re actually very similar in the end.
Speaking of finding each other, I really love the energy of the trio even when John is not in the room. I feel like without Homm there, Ben and Haley might really go at it. What is that melting pot there with the three of you like?
Meta Golding: I do think that Homm and Ben have a special relationship, and sometimes I feel a little ganged up by them. It’s a little bit of a boys’ club, because Ben does have Homm under his spell almost — or so I energetically feel. Ben and Hailey are always trying to make John be on their side. I’m constantly saying, “John, are you seeing what your father’s doing?” And Ben’s always trying to kill Hailey! As fun as it is, I think that Homm is kind of a pawn of Ben’s.
We’ve only got one episode left this season. How many questions would you say are answered in the finale? How satisfying conclusion will it be? How much will we be demanding season 2 immediately after the conclusion of season 1?
Meta Golding: Thankfully, all the questions get answered. It is not one of those series that, at the end, it’s a dream. You get all of it, and it’s a very satisfying ending. I would say it’s a bit of a cinematic extravagant. Those are big words, I know, but I think the finale is really fun. It also answers a lot of questions, and then it still leaves some space for you hopefully return.
If you had Haley’s $26 million procured through extra-legal means, what would you do with them?
Meta Golding: Besides buy my mother a house? I think I would option a few books and put the rest of the money away. Those kinds of things.
About Rabbit Hole
In Rabbit Hole, nothing is what it seems when John Weir, a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage, is framed for murder by powerful forces with the ability to influence and control populations.
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Rabbit Hole is now streaming on Paramount+, with episode 8 dropping on May 7.
