Warning: SPOILERS for Accused Season 1, Episode 12.Based on BBC's award-winning crime anthology, FOX's Accused follows a different defendant every week and dives into the series of events that led them to the courtroom. Season 1, Episode 12 is titled "Morgan's Story," and centers around elementary school teacher, Morgan Knight, who is currently in a toxic relationship with her husband, Jason. After falling for a co-worker, Morgan files for divorce and fights to gain custody of her son. However, Jason has other plans and retaliates by framing his wife for a crime she didn't commit.
Morgan is portrayed by actor Meaghan Rath, who has received several awards for her work in different genres. Rath is most well-known for playing Tani Rey in the television series, Hawaii Five-O. Additionally, she stars as Astrid in Children Ruin Everything and has been featured in other sitcoms such as New Girl and Schitt's Creek.
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Meaghan Rath chats exclusively with Screen Rant about starring in FOX's latest episode of Accused, season 3 of Children Ruin Everything, and her upcoming role in How I Met Your Father.
Meaghan Rath Talks Accused
Screen Rant: Was it difficult to establish such a layered character and tell a full-length story in just 40 minutes?
Meaghan Rath: Yeah, it was. The nature of the show is that every episode feels like a little movie. And so, for a 40-minute episode, it's tough. You want to get everything in there to make sure that your character is well-rounded and feels like a human being, especially when there's so much going on and the stakes are so high. So yeah, it was tough.
Since Morgan didn’t leave her husband for him, why do you think Kashir was the catalyst for that decision?
Meaghan Rath: He was someone that came into her life at just the right time. I think that she had been ready to leave for a really, really long time. Things had been very bad for a while. And he was someone that, when he appeared, represented hope and this new life for her that she could have, whether it's with him or with somebody else, or alone. It was sort of a reminder that there's a life outside of this dark place that she's been living in.
Regardless, do you think she may not have been in the right headspace to have a healthy relationship so quickly? Or do you think being with Kashir had a positive impact on her?
Meaghan Rath: If you're asking if she's ready for a relationship, I don't know. She was definitely ready to get out of the relationship she was in. I also think it was important for her that her son sees what a healthy relationship could look like, or just [see] his mother as a happy person and to be able to see her free, and [being] herself. I don't know. I think that the relationship between Morgan and Kashir does continue. They seem right for each other. I think she was ready to end what she was in.
Shifting gears, what emotions were you feeling when everyone assumed Morgan was guilty? It was frustrating just watching it, so I can’t imagine what it was like to play the character this is happening to.
Meaghan Rath: I think she feels out of control. It becomes such an extraordinary situation that she's in. She's trying to figure out how she even got to that place and I think she realizes who she's dealing with. Her ex-husband is a very powerful, determined man. When he wants to do something, he does it whether it's for his gain or if it's to ruin her life. I don't think he has any qualms about doing that.
I think she's surprised to know that he would do something like that to her. The scenes were...I definitely felt like we were in them. We were shooting entirely at night too, so there's something about being completely sleep-deprived, that really heightens your emotions. When I look back, it does all feel like a blur, similar to what she probably felt.
This may not have been a true story, however, what happens in Morgan’s trial, sadly, is not unheard of. What do you think this episode is trying to communicate?
Meaghan Rath: I think it's just trying to paint a picture of someone who is in a situation that a lot of women or men are in very, very often. It's not really black and white. Obviously, he's a monster of a human being, but the thing with Morgan is she isn't a saint. She's finding her own path through all this discovering what she wants. I think it's just sort of an examination of like, "How did this person, who is intelligent and a good person, end up in a situation like this?" She was surrounding herself with the wrong people.
What was your reaction when you were reading the script, and you found out that Morgan was proven innocent?
Meaghan Rath: When I was reading the script, if I remember correctly, I did think that she was going to end up going to jail, because it just seemed like there were so many things working against her. It's a really funny way of how they declare her innocence—what they end up uncovering. I was very happy for her, obviously.
It definitely left us wondering at the end, so if you had to take a guess, what do you think happens after the credits roll?
Meaghan Rath: I don't know. We did spend some time fantasizing about what part two of this would be because it definitely sets you up for that. I think it would be some sort of manhunt situation. Maybe if Jason kidnaps the kid, which it seems like he's going to do that. It would be an entirely different show, but still high stakes.
On the other hand, do have any updates on Children Ruin Everything Season 3?
Meaghan Rath: I'm about to leave this weekend to go film season three. Half of season two's on Roku right now, and I think the second half of the season is about to drop. We did 16 episodes last year, this year we're doing 10. I really like season 2, so when you see it up there, you should watch it. It's really funny. I think we've really hit our stride with it.
Do you have any other upcoming projects?
Meaghan Rath: Besides that, I'm in the new season of How I Met Your Father, and I think my character appears soon. I think they just had their mid-season finale, so it should be pretty soon. It was really fun. I love that show.
About Accused
Accused is a collection of 15 intense, topical and exquisitely human stories of crime and punishment. Each episode is a fast-paced provocative thriller, exploring a different crime, in a different city, with an entirely original cast. Based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology, each episode opens in a courtroom on the defendant, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.
Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, the show holds a mirror up to current times with evocative and emotional stories. In the end, audiences will discover how an ordinary person gets caught up in extraordinary circ*mstances, and how one impulsive decision can impact the course of that life – and the lives of others -- forever.
Accused airs Tuesdays on FOX at 9pm ET/PT.
