THE UNICORN Post-Mortem: Walton Goggins on Wade’s Pivotal Moment and Season 2 Hopes

[This post contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of THE UNICORN.]

THE UNICORN season finale had Wade (Walton Goggins) take a big step forward in his grieving process, as he went to visit his wife’s grave and have a frank conversation with her about the state of his life.

“That’s the scene that I pitched the writers about three months ago. I said, ‘We haven’t been to this place where we go in the finale,’” Goggins recalls. “And I want to have this conversation, but I want it to be the inverse of what people expect. So then, what is the conversation? I really wanted it to come from a place that took into consideration everything that he has learned. There is sadness, but really, for me, it’s coming from such a place of love and gratitude, that it’s uplifting.”

“Look, the reason why I did this show from the very beginning is to say that we all grieve, but we’re not alone [while it’s going on],” he continues.”That was the great lesson that I had to learn in my own life. That we all need each other. And on the other side of that, whatever that great transition you go through in your life, there is a new normal; there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

For Wade, some of that light might be in the form of Natalie Zea’s mysterious “The Woman,” whom he befriended at the cemetery. After helping her rescue a wounded skunk—and getting thoroughly sprayed in the process—Wade admitted to his friends he couldn’t stop thinking about someone he just met.

Though THE UNICORN has never been a show about Wade, specifically, getting back into the dating world—though he did dabble with a number of relationships in season 1—Goggins is intrigued to see what a coupling could look like.

“What does it mean to actually be okay with where you are in life? Well, I think you have to get to that place in order to be open to the potential of love and letting love really blossom in your life again,” he says. “That will create a whole lot of conflict. Not just for Wade—and Wade may experience less conflict than everybody else. That will usher in a whole new set of obstacles for his friends, his daughters, and perhaps for this woman that may come into his life. We’ll see kind of where that goes; we have a pretty good idea.”

If Wade does move forward with the relationship, Goggins has a few things he wants to see happen in a potential second season.

“What happens the moment when someone who has lost someone—and is finally open to having that close connection again—realizes, well, she’s going to die, too, because that just happens,” Goggins asks. “That always happens. What does that moment really look like when it lands? I’ve experienced that. And I know a number of people that have gone through this have experienced that. And that’s really scary. It’s very real and grounded. And that’s definitely a moment that I would like to hit; I think a lot of us would like to hit something like that.”

On a lighter note, “I would love to see the interrogation from Delia,” he says with a laugh. “A girl’s trip with Delia and Michelle for a long weekend, a spiritual weekend, with whoever comes into Wade’s life. And whoever this person that comes into his life, she’s going to have her own baggage. What are the things that she has in her life? It’s not just Wade; it’s not just about him. It’s about everybody involved.”

But even though Wade was able to make significant progress in his grieving, he won’t be magically fixed. “Grieving is not linear,” Goggins says. “It pops up the way that it kind of pops up. And so we don’t want to do a disservice to that process. So there will [still] be moments. You know, I’m sure the story will kind of dictate whatever those moments are.”

“But, for my money, I think there’s also an opportunity to even up the level of comedy,” he continues. While the show has never gone for the traditional sorts of laughs, “Everybody in the show is just so damn funny and Wade now has the wings to find his sense of humor again. These last three or four episodes, he’s starting to kind of hit his stride and find that it’s okay to be fun again. There will be profound moments of adjustment, but it will also usher in a level of deep laughter, hopefully, that will be relatable to people. That’s how I that’s how I see it.”

Which is part of why Goggins has hope for the show’s future. “If we can do this, and we can continue to walk this [line] and make people laugh, make them feel, that, for me is a recipe for success.”

THE UNICORN, CBS

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