Secret Circle Interview: Jessica Parker Kennedy on The Devil's Spirit Inside Melissa
Matt Richenthal
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Her boyfriend is dead. Her best friend is a power hungry witch. She's a teenage girl trying to navigate high school.
Can Secret Circle viewers really blame Melissa for wanting to loosen up?
When we last saw this member of the coven, she was buying more of the Devil's Spirit and Jessica Parker Kennedy says we haven't seen the last of her character ingesting a substance that she really doesn't believe is bad for her.
"Callum kept saying it's herbal, it's natural, it's just a way to loosen up and have fun," the actress told me over the phone. "Melissa really doesn't think it's a dangerous drug."
Which is why she introduces it to Diana on tonight's anti-Valentine's Day themed episode, the results of which you can see in this clip.
Kennedy says she acts like she has "cotton candy" in her head when on the drug, justifying it for Melissa as something "deeply comforting," which makes sense given all she's been through.
"She's trying to fit in," the actress explains. "Her best friend is sort of a jerk to her, she's cautious around Cassie, she has this bad girl element to her, but she's also like 99% of teenagers, waking up everyday and worrying about the right thing to wear and the right thing to say."
Fans can look forward to a lot more of Melissa, too, especially her background and home life, as Kennedy admits we really only knew her character "through Nick" for awhile. And now he's gone, of course.
"We don't know a lot about her parents or what makes her who she is," Kennedy says. "But her history will get explored a bit over the next few episodes."
Might we also see her get closer to Callum? Kennedy would only tease that, yes, Melissa "likes the bad boys."
As for what else viewers can look forward to, a certain estranged, presumed dead father returns next Thursday night.
"That's gonna be huge," the star teases. "There's a lot of explaining that goes on starting this week and continuing then."
Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.
