TV Fanatic had the opportunity to speak with the lovely Meaghan Rath, who starred in Accused Season 1 Episode 12.

"Morgan's Story" was intensely suspenseful and intriguing, and we got to speak to her about how she approached the character and her opinion on that cliffhanger ending.

Check out the full interview below.

Hello Meaghan, I have to fan-girl for one moment. I remember watching you on Being Human, and you were so great on that show. I remember those moments when I lived for the vampire, the ghost, and the werewolf!

Wonderful. Thank you. That's always so nice to hear. Because that show meant so much to me, too, so I love it as much as you do.

I've been following this show, and most of the episodes have been very heavy, tackling some controversial social issues -- some that we speak about loudly and others we don't.

This one shined the light on emotional abuse and controlling and manipulative relationships. So it was fascinating to see that dynamic because many people can't recognize abuse unless it's physical. What drew you to this role?

Originally, it was the creative team that was involved. First and foremost, before I even read anything, they're television legends that put it together.

Howard Gordon is leading the charge. It was amazing to be included on a list of talent with the caliber they brought together to do all the episodes.

Then having read the script too, I felt that I could definitely do something with Morgan and create something. And there were so many elements of her that I really liked and responded to.

And it just seemed like a really exciting challenge. I was coming off doing comedy, and I love to mix things up. And this, this was certainly not a comedy. It scratched that itch for me.

Do you have a preference between drama and comedy? Because you have great comedic timing even in this show. You gave her a sense of humor.

I like them both. I could never decide. I love that I have the opportunity to go back and forth, which I've done in my career. And also, a lot of times, when I do a drama, I tend to be the person with the levity.

But it's really important to bring those layers to a character, even in the darkest situations. We talked about it a lot when we did Being Human. In the direst circumstances, comedy is how you cope.

I mean, it's a coping mechanism. It's how you survive. It's a huge part of a person, especially a person in the situation that Morgan is in.

Definitely, I agree with that. It's such a serious subject matter that you must say," If I don't laugh, I'll cry." You know?

Hundred percent. A hundred percent.

I liked your portrayal of Morgan. I love the dimensions of character that she had. You did not play her as a battered woman. And she came across with the strength of knowing her options. How did you approach her as a strong character?

Thank you for saying that because that was important to me too. I didn't want her to come off as weak because she's not; she's a really intelligent woman who has her own life -- had a life, you know, before Jason.

They got together when they were young. But I think Morgan, at her core, is independent and has her interests. She's not someone who was absorbed by her marriage.

Interestingly, there's a confrontational scene between her and Jason when she asks him for a divorce. And I was very, very lucky that Milan Cheylov was our director. He's also an actor, and I felt in safe hands with him -- where I was in full control the entire time we did it.

I trusted him enough that we could try this scene a hundred different ways. We did it like I was scared he would hit me any moment. 

I didn't know what it was going to end up being. And it was a lesson in trust for me as an actor because so many times, especially when you're doing one episode of something, your performance ends the second they yell, cut.

And what they piece together after is someone else's job, and I've seen that in many things that I've done. So it was a lesson in trust for me to be like, all right, I'm going to give you all the colors, and then you decide what makes sense in your story.

And I love that there was a mix of all the different ways we did it. And I love that the takeaway is not that she was, you know, meek and the battered wife that we often see on TV and in movies.

The question now is, why do you think this character, being as strong as she is, chose to stay?

You know, it's so hard to say. I think that it's such a personal choice for everybody. You know, many people are in toxic and abusive relationships, and you wonder why you stay so long.

I mean, she has a young kid. She's trying to get it together. They lived very separate lives for a long time, even within their marriage. When we pop into this story, it's at a very volatile moment that is their breaking point.

People get comfortable, and it's terrifying to be able to leave the life you live, no matter how bad it is, you know? So, yeah, it's such a personal choice. And I think I think for Morgan, a lot of it was trying to maintain a family for the sake of their kid.

It supports the idea that when people realize there's hope outside of their circumstances, they feel free to let go. And it was great that Kashir stuck around.

I think it does work out for them. He's so great, and they seem great together, but I think he was just a catalyst. He came in, showing her that nice people are out there. Some men are not abusive and are kind and respectable beings, not monsters. And it just woke her up.

Now this episode could be called falsely accused, right? I thought about Morgan and how she seemed isolated throughout the show until she met the guy. And it occurred to me when she was falsely accused; if she had friends, they would've been character witnesses.

You're right. She has no friends! This has not even occurred to me, but you're right. Morgan has not a friend in the world.

What was your favorite thing about Morgan?

She was able to have a sense of humor still, to find joy in different aspects of her life, her child, and her relationship with her new boyfriend. There was still a light to her that Jason couldn't dim.

What was your, what was your least favorite thing about, about Morgan or about portraying Morgan? Was there a least favorite thing?

I mean, it was just, it was emotionally hard to put yourself in the situations that she was in. You know, these are very extreme emotional situations that I hadn't even realized until we got there filming it; there weren't any moments where it led up.

It was an intense shoot. And so my least favorite thing about it was that, well, you know, you had to go through it every time.

Did you do any research on emotional abuse or toxic, controlling relationships to prepare yourself for the dynamics of how to play her?

I have played characters like that in the past, so it was something that I was familiar with.

I think that her story is more common than we like to think, you know? We all know people in dark situations, whether their relationships are physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive.

Something you said earlier is so true that people think that only physical is abuse, but it's not the case. It's just tapping into those things.

When I read the Logline or the synopsis, my first thought was that her character on Being Human was also in an abusive relationship.

Oh, My God. You're right. You're right. That's hilarious. I mean, not hilarious, but, you know.

What do you want people to get from this episode? Is there a moral to the story?

I mean, I don't know if there's a moral to the story. I think it shows that Morgan was in a "how did this person end up in a situation that's so crazy, so extreme?" I think it was that she surrounded herself with bad people.

Hopefully, people can realize that you can be in a very, very dark situation that seems like there's no way out, and there is always help on the other side. There can be a happy, bright future on the other side -- that you're not trapped. That there are ways that you can get out and escape and start fresh.

Do you think that shows like that have very heavy subject matter and should have a trigger warning?

Yeah, absolutely. One thing I loved while we were shooting, which I found amazing, is that we worked with an intimacy coordinator for many of those scenes.

We filmed some intense scenes where we worked with an intimacy coordinator, and on the days that we were filming those scenes, I saw on the call sheet that there was sort of a trigger warning on the call sheet for the, for the crew.

And so it's not just people who are watching, it's people who are witness to us filming the scenes that are so emotionally intense while we're filming them.

And so on the call sheet, it said for crew members who, you know, this might be triggering, call this number, you don't have to come into work that day, like, protect yourself, which I thought was incredible, and I had never seen before. And it touched me so much, and it's a reminder that it's so essential for everybody to take care of themselves.

The intimacy coordinator that we were working with, it was important for her to ensure that after those scenes, we, as actors, had a self-care routine, and the intimacy coordinator also stressed to the crew that everyone took a moment to ensure they were okay. It's just times are changing, and it's nice.

That last scene when Jason popped up out of nowhere -- Oh my lamb! What do you think would be happening after that? You know, it's a cliffhanger.

It is! The original ending was he goes to jail. I think they wanted to do something fun at the end. It leaves it open for part two -- "Morgan's Story: Jason's Revenge."

Yeah. Twitter is going to light up in the last 30 seconds.

I don't know if any other episode has a cliffhanger quite the same as this.

That one was one of a kind.

Thank you so much, Meaghan. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today. You did a fantastic, phenomenal job. It's still one of my favorite shows, and you're one of my favorite actresses, so we thank you so much.

Thank you so much. That's so nice. Thank you.

There you have it, folks. The actor's perspective on Morgan's Story on Accused. It was a pleasure to speak to Meaghan Rath about her portrayal of Morgan. What did you all think of her portrayal? Was Jason abusive or just spoiled rotten?

Drop your thoughts in the comments.

Brandi Powell was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in April 2023. Follow her on Twitter.