Aaron Ashmore and Luke Macfarlane Break Down Family Dynamics in Killjoys “Johnny Dangerously” [Exclusive] 

[Warning: General spoilers for “Johnny Dangerously.”]

Well, THAT was something. Y’all know I’m not a fan of D’av being slapped around, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that he’s mostly unscathed. As the episode closed, we had a batshit sort-of Hullen Johnny jonesing for his next fix. What? Does? It? Mean? I took my questions to the source when I spoke on the phone last week with Aaron Ashmore and Luke Macfarlane, the Brothers Jaqobis themselves, about this evolving/devolving family unit that now doesn’t just involve them (and Dutch and Aneela) but also Delle Seyah and the soon-to-be Hullen baby.

The flashback scene of the boys and Delle Seyah was a one-off that we almost didn’t get. “That’s the only glimpse [of that time],” says Ashmore. “There’s so much story that has to be told [this season]. It was really fun to shoot those things. I read that stuff almost got cut, but I’m glad it stuck around. It’s a fun, cute excerpt.”

Macfarlane says we will see more weaving in and out of time in Season 4. “[They] start to set those up in this season quite a bit,” he adds. “We play with time in this episode…with flashbacks and then flashforwards and it definitely becomes a big part of this season.”

It’s a safe bet that Johnny’s aggression toward D’av once he’s Hullenized could be seeded in his worry about where he stands in the pecking order of their “new” family. “I think what you’re trying to say is that John is a wuss,” Ashmore laughs.

“I think he’s loyal to the people he’s known the longest and suspicious of new people entering in and it’s a very protectionist kind of thing,” says Macfarlane. “And I think D’av is a little bit like that too, actually. I think he worries about his position in the family.”

“We’ll see the hierarchy shift and change. Moving forward, the prioritizing becomes quite complicated as far as the child is concerned because then it becomes [about], ‘Where do my loyalties and priorities lie?’ When you become a parent, you have a different obligation to someone.”

Those considerations aside, the boys are also still worried about getting Dutch back. “I think Dutch is always at the forefront. [In this episode], being that we get ourselves into so much trouble, we have to deal with that immediately. I think for both of us, Dutch is where our minds are,” explains Ashmore.

Another dynamic that may potentially shift is that of the larger group with the castaways *whenever* they reunite, but Ashmore explains that they begin again where they left off–in a pretty good place. “There’s a bigger story going on that everybody becomes aware of and that’s the only choice,” he shares.

“Even at the end of Season 3 [when] we were going to war, and we had that last supper scene, everybody was on the same page and they continue to be There will always be conflicts because there’s a lot of [big] personalities but I think everybody’s [committed] to fight this war and follow Dutch.”

While it was great fun for us to watch Johnny go dark, Ashmore says he was a little worried that he took it a little too far. We say pshaw! “It was really fun to get to play bad. Also the way it was written and structured allowed me to go pretty big. I’m not exactly sure how totally happy I am [with the performance],” he admits.

“I do like aspects of it. I feel like I was doing a little more mustache twirling than I intended to do. There’s still some dark stuff we get to see continuing into [Episodes] 3 and 4 [and] it gets even darker. It was nice to play the bad guy a little bit because I haven’t gotten to explore that on the show.”

“I think the writing was really fun and interesting and I got to play some stuff. When you step outside the tone of what you’re playing and you only have an episode or two to do it…you do it and you keep moving. I’m looking forward to seeing them and how it all comes together.”

Killjoys airs Friday night at 10 pm/9c on Syfy and Space Channel. ICYMI, all of our Season 4 coverage so far is here.