WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Astrid and Lilly Save the World Season 1.
The new Syfy series Astrid and Lilly Save the World has followed the titular characters as they are bullied at school for not subscribing to traditional beauty standards. After being fat-shamed by one of the popular boys, they perform a ritual meant to be empowering. Instead, they open a portal where several monsters come through, as well as their monster hunting guide, Brutus (Olivier Renaud). It is then on them to take down all of these monsters to save not only their community but also the world.
Astrid and Lilly Save the World Season 1 has come to an end, and along with delivering a diverse portrayal of bodies, Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lilly (Samantha Aucoin) have come so far as heroes and friends. With the season wrapped, Morrison and Aucoin sat with CBR to talk about the end of this season as well as how far these characters have come and what the show's impact has been on them.
CBR: The show tackles so many different issues teens go through over the season. What was your favorite one to tackle and why?
Samantha Aucoin: I love the way the writers wrote Lilly's coming out because it was such a sweet moment. It was something that my character was, I think, nervous to tell her best friend and say out loud. I love that moment between Lilly and Astrid, and I love the way it was written. I thought it was so nice that it wasn't this huge deal and that as soon as Lilly said that she has interests in a girl, not a guy, it's accepted immediately. There was no big fuss, and it's just so accepted. That was something that I was excited to tackle, and then when I got that scene, I was so happy that it happened the way it did and that it was written the way it was.
Absolutely.
Jana Morrison: I have a lot of favorites, but one that sticks out is friend jealousy. I've definitely gone through this, and I know a lot of people go through having a best friend but they kind of want to like venture out to have other friends. That was really hard for Astrid to take in, especially since [Lilly] really is her only friend. Trying to balance being a best friend but also being a little bit of a side friend, it was really hard and sad to Astrid. A lot of us go through that, so it's kind of cool to just embody that. I'm excited for the future of Astrid, Lilly, and Candace [Julia Doyle]. I feel like they can make a pretty good little team.
Looking toward the future of Astrid, Lilly, and Candace, what would you guys like to see the most from them moving forward into the future, especially after everything they've gone through in Season 1? What do you hope to see these characters tackle next?
Morrison: I loved Astrid and Candace a lot. I feel like they have a good amount of stuff in common and will probably get a kick out of each other, so I hope for more love between those two.
Aucoin: I think it'd be so beautiful how to do a sleepover, like with Astrid, Candace, and Lilly. Maybe Brutus tags along for like a second and then leaves because one of the girls. I would love that. I really hope that happens in Season 2. I think that would be so cute -- Candace trying to get Astrid to put a face mask on or something or do her makeup. I don't know. I just think that's a fun scene. I'm gonna pitch it and hope it happens.
That sounds like so much fun. One thing that stood out to me about the show, especially when it came to the issues that these teen characters are facing, is how they translate into the monsters your characters are also taking on head first. I've got to know, with the season wrapping up, what's been your favorite monster to go against and why?
Morrison: Favorite monster to go against would have to be... I really like Episode 9. It was so creepy. A mannequin is the creepiest thing ever, and I really liked that sickle -- just felt nice to chop a head off.
Aucoin: I think the most satisfying for me was Episode 5 when Lilly's in her... She's in her memories, and she kicks open the door at Candace's house. Candace is a kid. It's Candace's birthday, and Christine [Geri Hall] is there. She's posed as a Memoragatu, and I get to scream at Christine. I think that was super therapeutic for Lilly. It was therapeutic for me, as well, just because getting to face your past is something I think was needed for Lilly. She had remembered this awful incident in the wrong way. I think coming to terms with the fact that it didn't happen the way she imagined it was really... We get a nice breakthrough from Lilly from that episode. I definitely have to say my favorite monster was Episode 5 for me.
We've talked a little bit about the friendships here between you guys, as well as with Candace. I would love to know, in your opinions, what relationships in the show do you think have come the farthest and why?
Morrison: Obviously, the relationship between Candace and Lilly has gone from zero to 100. I love their story so much. There's so much going on between those two, as we all are as humans -- so many feelings, like social construct and being queer and not being too sure about it. That is a huge hurdle, so I think they just grew so beautifully.
Aucoin: I'm excited to see what happens. I think I'd also say the relationship between Astrid, Lilly, and Tate [Kolton Stewart], because we start the season being bullied by him, being fat-shamed in front of everyone. He's literally the reason we opened this portal. Now we are working with him. He's working with us and helping us, and he's doing kind things for us and giving us advice out of the kindness of his heart. I think I'm split for Tate, so I'm really interested to see where that goes in Season 2. I think there's a lot more fun that the characters will go through hopefully in Season 2. I'm really looking forward to that developing.
Absolutely.
Morrison: Also [I] just wanted to mention the development between Christine and The Guardian, because you can actually see the physical growth. It's really creepy to see someone believing in a being [where] she doesn't even know what they are, but they keep growing. I'm ready to see what happens for The Guardian.
With this being such a groundbreaking series in terms of representation, what do you hope other series can take from Astrid and Lilly as you guys close out Season 1?
Morrison: I'm hoping for getting rid of those tropes as much as possible and putting people who look like everyday people in movies and have them be the protagonist and not have it be the center of it, meaning like, "Oh, this person is diverse or whatever." I think it'd be really great [if] in future series and movies this ends up the being norm, to have someone who isn't the sort of stereotypical, Western beauty standard. I think that would be amazing. If they could promote more body neutrality, I would really, really love to see that. I really think the show actually does a great job of doing that.
Aucoin: I think other shows can take away how excited people were to see regular bodies and LGBTQ representation. The amount of people that were so excited to see this in our show is really wonderful to watch. I feel like a lot of people are inspired by that, and I think inspired people really help the world change and grow. I'm hoping that they see how much inspiration people have felt.