The second season of NBC’s Revolution begins tonight at 8PM (ET) on NBC, with a series opener that is a perfect jumping on point for new viewers.
This summer at Comic-Con, we spoke with actor JD Pardo (Jason) about what we can expect as the show charges into Season 2. Some spoilers are discussed so be warned!
“What’s so great right now is that the story has really separated everybody this season,” Pardo says about the start of Season 2. “It’s great, because now you really get to explore their individual lives. It was so tied to Monroe, that now that that situation is gone, my character, with Tom, we’re looking for Mom. The bombs have dropped, and she’s missing. Is she dead? Is she alive? Has she been taken?”
This common goal means that Jason and his father, Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito), will be spending a lot of time with one another. “We’re always on the same side because we’re father and son, but I also think that they’re tied together, obviously through that family bond – that blood bond – but it’s more about acceptance now,” JD explains about the relationship. “I think there was so much disappointment for Jason in the first season, because this is his dad, and he wants to do the right thing. That’s why it’s funny, because when people ask me ‘Is he good? Is he bad?’ I’m like, well, you see him betray Charlie. You see him betray his father. But the reason why he’s betraying people is because he really hasn’t found his own voice yet, but he wants to do the right thing. So now I think it’s more of, he knows exactly who his father is, but at the end of the day, that’s all he has, so he has to accept it for who he is. And once you accept somebody for who they are, you’re not going to be disappointed if they betray you, because I probably expected that. But it’s nice. I think that it’s a complicated relationship that sometimes is lost in TV – a real father-son relationship. Not everything’s nice. It’s very real.”
For JD Pardo, working with an actor of Giancarlo Esposito’s caliber is a privilege that he is well aware of. “I love it,” he enthuses. “He is just so committed to the work. For me, that’s why I got into this. I didn’t get into the acting business for business; I didn’t get into it because I wanted to be anything… I discovered acting because I loved all of the elements of it. I loved the fantasy of it. I loved creating. I loved being a different character and telling stories. And so when you’re working with somebody who has made a career of doing that, and then you see the work in products like Breaking Bad… that’s a joy. Because that’s integrity. He’s a man of integrity, and I really love that.”
Even with working with such talent, there were frustrations for Mr. Pardo in the first season — like a majority of the fan base, he, too, became frustrated with Jason’s ever-changing alliances.
“To be honest, it was a bit frustrating for me, because I wanted to move on from that,” he admits. “It’s like, man, now Jason has to go here. Now he gets tossed over here. I wanted Jason to have some legs, and I wanted him to be his own man. There’s only so many times you can be betrayed by somebody, and you’re like ‘Okay, I get you. I know exactly who you are, and it’s not gonna happen again.’ And it’s worse when it’s your own parent. But, looking back at it, what I love about that now, is that now that we get to see him stand up for himself and be his own man, people who have stuck through it and watch the second season will be like ‘he’s this way now because of the first season.’ 
And to have that back story is great. To show it, is great. Because you’re going to know exactly why he’s choosing to do what he’s doing. As far as he’s concerned, Charlie and Miles betrayed him at the end of it, you know? They closed those doors. He doesn’t know what happened on that side of the table, but he just saw those doors close, and they abandoned him and took off. So, he has to be his own man. That’s really all he has.”
Season 1 also gave Pardo a surprise – the character he knew as “Nate” wasn’t a “Nate” after all! “I had no idea. I was Nate!” he exclaims. “I’m there at the table read, and I’m reading Nate. We come to Comic-Con, and we go back to filming, and it’s Nate. And then next thing I know, everything is Jason. I didn’t really know that much. I think that’s why, as an actor, you really have to just focus on the truth of the scene. You build a little bit of a core for your character, but at the same time, you have to be open. You have to be flexible,” he says, appreciative of the work of the show’s writers.
Now, Season 2 of Revolution is about to begin — check it out at 8PM tonight, and if you’d like, you can find some photos from the Season 2 premiere here. Our thanks to JD Pardo for taking the time to talk with us!
