Will Trent Star Erika Christensen on That Chaotic Sting & What If Moment

[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Will Trent Season 4 Episode 3, “Studio 4B.”]

Art sometimes imitates life, and life sometimes imitates art, but in Will Trent‘s latest episode, the art at hand was about capturing death — the exact moment of death, no less.

The case of the day involved a model who was stabbed in an ailing photography studio, which led to Will (Ramón Rodríguez) reconnecting with a former flame, Ava Green (Julia Chan), as he and Faith (Iantha Richardson) tracked down the truth behind the murder.

Meanwhile, Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) and Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) set out for a neighborhood sting involving Albanian mobsters, based on Betty’s instincts, to solve the case. During the operation, their physical limitations — with her pregnancy and his chemotherapy treatment for a brain tumor — came to bear in some unexpectedly hilarious ways. Plus, the two shared a sincere heart-to-heart over his hard work to be the best dad he can while managing his illness.

Despite the subject matter, it was a relatively light-hearted episode to follow the heavy two-part premiere, which brought back James Ulster (Greg Germann) to torment Will some more, while Angie grappled with impending motherhood and her still-blossoming relationship with Dr. Seth (Scott Foley), to whom she’s now engaged.

To break down the latest in Will Trent, TV Insider caught up with Erika Christensen.

In the premiere, Angie didn’t hesitate to accept Seth’s proposal, but then later, we see her kind of second-guessing it and wondering “What if?” Does it help her with that when Will tells her he’s happy for her?

Erika Christensen: I don’t know if she believes him. I think that they both know that that’s what it should be. They should be happy for each other when good things are happening in their lives, and so they’re just gonna try to do that, I think. The way that Seth treats her is so different than anyone has ever treated her, and it kind of forces her to stay present because she’s getting this constant positive feedback, and she’s like, “OK, this is where I am now. This is just a chapter that I never saw coming, but this is where I am.”

Last week’s episode also saw her kind of bucking Seth in a way by going out on the mission to save Will, despite his concerns. How important was it to you, as the person portraying this role, that she did that — that she didn’t sacrifice who she is and what she does?

I didn’t have to fight for it personally, but I was very glad about it, and because I think it’s not her discounting the priority of the baby. I think she said, “I have this priority of my baby. This is what being family looks like. This is all of equal importance, but I’m not gonna also say that I don’t know what I’m doing ’cause I’m good at my job and I can handle myself, and so I’m gonna do what I need to do.” And that is the correct thing to do. If she decides at some later point to sit some things out, I think it’ll very much come from herself. It’s not gonna come from anyone saying, “You better.”

There’s a sweet moment when she talks to the baby, and she says, “I’ve told you about Will.” How do you think she imagines that? Will Will be the fun uncle, or what is she thinking?

I know it seems messy, but in a weird way, I feel like at the end of last season, Will and Angie had one little moment where she kind of acknowledged that, “If we were ever in this place, I thought it would be us,” and I think she thinks there’s a weird vicarious appreciation that can help it because it’s a thing that’s supposed to happen. It’s not how it’s supposed to happen, but it’s a thing that’s supposed to happen, and he was excited about the idea of Angie having a baby. So, now she’s having a baby with someone else. But I do think that people are so multifaceted. People are capable of doing something like that, where they can find a way to enjoy it.

Disney / Lynsey Weatherspoon

Going into this episode, the chase scene with Ormewood and Angie is so hilarious… What was it like for you, this season in general, to play this character as she’s having to hold back a bit, more than we’ve ever seen? She’s more physically vulnerable, and so is Michael, obviously.

I think it’s cool that we’re riding the line between overplaying it and completely being silly and irresponsible about it. In my experience being pregnant, I was super active, and so I’m like, “Yeah, cool, let’s do stuff!” Everyone’s experience is so different. Angie’s is different than mine, but that’s a little connection that we have where we’re like, “I’m gonna go on living my life. Watch me.”

How fun was it for you to get to solve a case with Betty? They’ve had a complicated relationship.

They really built something special. They started out rough, but they got to a really good place. I think it’s great because it is sort of out of character from when we first met Angie, to say, “Betty has a hunch about this, let’s follow this through,” but she’s doing that as much for Ormewood as she is for Betty. And also just that deep-seated drive to like, “If there’s injustice in this world, I gotta try to do something about it.”

There’s a moment in the very end when Ormewood chooses to have burgers and watch Zootopia with Cooper, instead of having a drink with her, and she seems to really, really enjoy that choice. Do you think she’s kind of perceiving him as someone to learn from as a parent and what he’s doing in his own life?

Absolutely, I think that it’s nice to see the other side. She’s seen everything of what not to do and experienced everything of what not to do. So, to see someone clearly who has good intentions and has a good heart still struggling, it’s a really good thing for her to see, that balance and not be unreasonable about setting rules for herself of what she’s gonna do and how it’s gonna be. It’s really like, “OK, I’m gonna come from a good place.”

And she also comforts him in a way, which was interesting, when he’s having doubts about his skills as a parent, and that was fun to see that side of her, that she’s confident enough to give him advice in a way.

I know it’s beautiful, and so much of it is being able to see, “Your children love you, so what else is there? Come on. They really admire you, and then you’re doing something right.”

There’s a mystery in this episode as to how they’re gonna land on a name. So, I’m curious, going forward, is that gonna have to be a game-time decision, or are we gonna continue to see them kind of squabble about this?

I genuinely don’t know. I think we should squabble about it some more.

There’s a moment in this episode that I found really fun. It was really small, but she takes the pickle out of the trash, and it’s a throwaway moment, but it speaks volumes about her and her resilience, and that pickle represents a little bit of her, don’t you think?

Yes, oh my God, that is so silly and so beautiful, I think. “Give it a second chance. Yes, everyone deserves a second chance, even pickles.”

What can we expect from the season ahead? It’s already been a fun season and an action-packed one and a scary one at the same time.

I have to say, it’s a lot of the same. It’s a lot of action. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of danger, and surprises. It’s a big one. I don’t understand how the writers keep stepping it up, but here we go.

Will Trent, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC