The Order's Jake Manley spills the beans on why he is blond in Season 2, says show will 'get people thinking'
Spoilers for 'The Order' Season 2
In 'The Order', Netflix's supernatural drama, Jake Manley plays Jack Morton who joins Belgrave University in the first season hoping to become a part of the mythical Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, a secret society whose leader he blames for the death of his mother. He soon learns that the titular Order is a magical secret society. Throughout the first season, Jack also becomes a member of the Knights of Saint Christopher, a group of werewolves dedicated to fighting evil magic.
When the show returned for Season 2 earlier this year, Jack did not have his memories. However, he soon got them back and started on a quest for revenge, which led to a strained relationship with his love interest, Alyssa Drake (Sarah Grey). The season ended in sorrow when Alyssa was killed by Gabrielle Dupres (Louriza Tronco) who had taken on Midnight's werewolf hide.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) caught up Manley during the isolation period to talk about 'The Order', its second season, and his hopes for the future of the show. One of the first things we had to ask was about Jack's new blonde look in Season 2 which left fans divided. Manley tells us that the look was for his movie 'Infamous' (also starring Bella Thorne). When he Skyped into Comic-con while on location for 'Infamous', the team for 'The Order' saw it and decided it would be cool to "take advantage of this look and wrote it into the first couple of episodes." Manley tells us that it was fun to play around with his hair for the second season.
We also asked Manley if his preparation for Season 2 changed given that Jack's and the other Knights' memories were erased by the Order. He tells us, "It was interesting to take a step back with the character and see what they would be like as normal students." Though the Knights were on different paths and striving in their ways, they still had "kind of a linkage that keeps them together." Manley found that it was a fun challenge to bring to the role when Jack started to get flashes of memories and even when they did get it back, the Knights had to pretend otherwise — which Manley thought was a great way to start the season.
Viewers may have been shocked at Jack wanting vengeance against the Order — in particular, Alyssa — for his memories being taken away but Manley reminds us that Jack also has a strong moral backbone and moral compass that makes him empathic and understanding. He also says that it is interesting that Jack changes his perspective on the Order — while in the first season he was convinced it was evil, in the second season, he thinks that the Knights can make them good and champions that perspective.
Many viewers found Alyssa's arc to be surprising — including that shocking end — and it was the same for Manley who thought it was interesting to see her turn sides. He says, "I thought it was great. I love Dennis Heaton, the showrunner who came and told us what was going on. He told us Alyssa was going to be attacked, but we did not know how that was going to happen until closer to shooting the finale," adding that he liked the big cliffhangers the show ends the season on.
Manley also tells us that he thinks Jack will do whatever he can to bring Alyssa back, but that there will be a cost to it, adding that the consequence or the sacrifice to bring her back would bring in an "amazing story" to flush out in Season 3, something he is excited for.
The potential season 3 — which has not been announced by Netflix yet, but here's to hoping it will be — will also see some big changes for the Knights, with Gabrielle being a part of the group and Lilith Bathory (Devery Jacobs) now being a demon. Manley tells us that he's looking forward to seeing how they will stick together considering there might be opposing views and values now. He says that Jack might not be able to trust the other Knights given that Hamish Duke (Thomas Elms) is romantically involved with and devoted to Vera Stone (Katharine Isabelle), the Grand Magus of the Order, and that Randall Carpio (Adam DiMarco) might be inclined to side with Gabrielle as well.
However, Manley tells us that he enjoys that group sticking together and having fun and hopes for more of it, even though he is not sure. He tells us that with the Knights, the actors have fun behind the scenes as well, "even more so sometimes [that] we can't keep it together for a take and have to literally stop because we're laughing so hard." He adds, "We can't be serious and we can't keep it together because we just have so much fun like that. The cast and crew are like a family of just fun people and there's not really any stress." Manley tells us that his friends and family who have come on set tell him that 'The Order' is "such a special environment' and that he is lucky to get to do it.
Netflix aficionados are probably aware of the streaming service's three-season curse when even beloved shows like 'One Day At A Time' and 'Santa Clarita Diet' are canceled after three seasons. We asked Manley that if 'The Order' does find itself in the same fate, how he would like the show to end. Manley tells us that the show will go out with a big cliffhanger that "gets people thinking and is kind of provocative." He says he would not necessarily go for a happy ending, but one that is action-packed and extreme.
Season 2 of 'The Order' is now streaming on Netflix.