Murder in a Small Town Boss Says There Were Dozens of Versions of Finale’s Romantic Cliffhanger: It’s a ‘Key Turning Point’ for Karl and Cassandra

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Murder in a Small Town’s Season 2 finale.

Murder in a Small Town wrapped up its Nightshade mystery in Tuesday’s episode, but it was the Season 2 finale’s romantic cliffhanger that left one of the main characters speechless.

After celebrating Holly’s photography exhibit, Karl thanked Cassandra for everything that she’s done. Cassandra observed that while Karl is “it” for her, she thinks they don’t really talk about big things. “I feel like I know you, but I don’t know anything about you,” she explained. So Karl asked what she wanted to know, and Cassandra questioned him about his dad. But before they could get too deep into that topic, Karl surprised his girlfriend by asking, “Theoretically, could you see yourself marrying me?” A stunned Cassandra wondered if he was actually asking her. “What if I said, ‘Yes’?” he replied, to which Cassandra responded, “What if I said, ‘Holy crap’?”

“Will you marry me?” Karl then asked as Cassandra looked on in shock. So willshe?! PasarModern.comchatted with showrunner Ian Weir about Karl’s impromptu proposal and whether Cassandra is going to accept in a potential Season 3 (the series has yet to be renewed).

PasarModern.com: I suspected that you might end the season with Cassandra’s life in jeopardy, so I was pleasantly surprised that the episode concluded with a romantic cliffhanger. How did you decide what the final moments of the season should be and the feeling you wanted to leave viewers with?

The heart of the show is the Karl/Cassandra relationship, the love affair, and it just felt that was what we were following over the course of the season. And given what they overcame over the course of the season, and the discovery, the mutual realization, that they’re simply stronger together, we just thought this would be the note to leave the season on, just their step towards making a different kind of commitment to one another.

PasarModern.com: In Episode 9, Karl had the ring, but at that point, he was just planning to ask Cassandra to move in, which he never actually got around to. What prompted him to now propose?

In terms of what they’ve been through over the past two seasons, it simply felt that this was something he’s wanted since he met her, and it’s finally to the point where, feeling that he has the blessings of his daughter Holly, it was time to take the next step. I think that as he proposes, there’s still a part of him that is wondering if Cassandra is going to react in the way he’s dearly hoping she will. But it just felt like the culmination of where they’ve been going, and given what they’ve been through over the course of Episode 10, in which Cassandra’s life actually was in jeopardy at one point, bringing them to the mutual realization of how much they mean to each other, and how much they would lose if they didn’t have each other.

PasarModern.com: Is it safe to say that this was a spontaneous proposal, not a planned one? He didn’t have the ring on him, right? So was this a spur of the moment decision for him?

This was. I think it’s been something that’s been in the back of his mind for a while. But I think just given the emotions of the day, leading into the evening, yes, absolutely, [it was spontaneous]. And I must confess, sort of lifting the curtain a little bit, we must have written about 12 or 14 versions of that final scene before finally landing on what actually felt right, and in the editing, it went through another 12 or 14 versions before we got that landing just the way that felt right. Because it really does feel like, not the culmination, but a key turning point in a two-season long story of their relationship.

PasarModern.com: In the other versions, did he also propose, and it was just different dialogue? Or was it different scenarios completely?

There was always the movement towards proposal, but in terms of what they got through before getting to that moment, it changed quite a bit, just trying to find the tone between the two of them, and in discussing it with Rossif [Sutherland] and Kristin [Kreuk], as well. We’re blessed to have two actors who are extremely intelligent, as well as extremely committed to the show. So we went through a lot of discussing as to what felt right for the characters and what felt right for the moment.

PasarModern.com: What did Rossif and Kristin have to say about that scene? Did they have any specific things they wanted to see or for their characters to say in that moment?

They weren’t looking for absolutely specific lines, but they really wanted the integrity of that moment to shine through. In a way, they were urging us not to try and get too cute, not to try and be too clever in the way we were handling the buildup of that scene, and just to honor the commitment between the two characters and the love that they have for each other. So they were both great in terms of keeping us on that track.

PasarModern.com: Something that I was wondering leading up to the finale was, when Karl proposes, how can he ever top the moment earlier this season when he told Cassandra that their relationship was like magic, and that he didn’t see her coming and he didn’t know to look for her. Because I thought that was one of the most romantic things I’d heard on television this year.

I’m so grateful that you said that. That earlier moment was one of my favorite moments in the season, as well…. It really was a moment that sort of clarified for Karl how he feels, and for Cassandra, as well, I think. And given where they were at the end of Episode 8, with her reaction to the realization that she came very close to losing him today, the realization that he’d made that phone call before going into the confrontation with Tommy Cummins, not knowing whether he’d come back out of it again… For me, that’s one of the moments in their arc [that was] a moment of real clarity for both of them.

PasarModern.com: Cassandra’s reaction to the proposal is more concerned and shocked than thrilled, judging from her facial expression. What’s going on in her head in that moment?

For me, what’s going on for Cassandra is the realization that with this proposal, Karl has taken them to the moment where she actually has to say yes or no. She actually has to look at what he means to her. There’s no more evading, there’s no more sort of hiding behind the defenses. And I think that, for her, is the shock of the moment, which gives way to the joy.

PasarModern.com: Are they on the same page in their relationship? In some ways, Karl has skipped over several steps here and gone straight to, “Let’s get married!”

Yes, that’s a great question. I think that in her heart, Cassandra is on the same page as Karl is on. I think Cassandra has more misgivings about this than Karl does, not because she doesn’t love and trust Karl, but just because it’s a huge, huge step that she’s never taken before. I think Cassandra is a more cautious person when it comes to emotions than Karl is. So I don’t know that they’re exactly on the same page going into the scene. I think by the end of the scene, there is for Cassandra the realization that, holy cow, she is on the same page as Karl is, in terms of her feelings of commitment towards him.

PasarModern.com: But is she ready to say, “Yes”? That’s a big commitment.

It’s the ultimate commitment. I think she’s ready to spend the rest of her life with him. Whether or not that actually involves picturing herself walking down an aisle just yet is another question. But yeah, I think she’s there with him.

PasarModern.com: I was a little bit concerned when she said she felt like she didn’t know anything about Karl. That’s kind of an alarming thing to say to your boyfriend of six months.

Yeah, and I think that that speaks to the sense that Cassandra does have more defenses up than Karl does in terms of the relationship. She has her guard up in a different way. I think Cassandra has spent the past number of months dreading the thought that somehow another shoe might drop and she might discover that it wasn’t everything she thought it was or hoped it was. I think for Karl, much earlier in the relationship, he was ready to say, “You are the love of my life. I don’t need to think anymore. I just know.” I think for Cassandra, stepping over that last hurdle is a really big deal. But I think once she’s there, it just feels right.

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