American Rust Star Julie Mayorga On Henry’s Overdose & Lee’s Guilt In Season 2

Season 2 of American Rust dropped on Prime Video on March 28, featuring 10 new installments. The newest batch of episodes is subtitled “Broken Justice” and picks up four months after the events of season 1. “Denmark” left off on a grim note, as Julie Mayorga’s character, Lee, returns home to discover that her father has suffered from an overdose.

The credits roll before Henry’s death is officially confirmed, but Mayorga corroborates that the character is gone. Season 2 will see Lee attempt to cope with her father’s passing while helping her brother and Billy navigate the aftermath of Pete’s murder investigation. American Rust serves as Mayorga’s breakout role, but she has also worked on the short It Is Decidedly So and Katie Holmes’ original film, Rare Objects.

Screen Rant interviews Julie Mayorga about Henry’s overdose and Lee’s conflicting feelings for her husband and Billy in American Rust season 2.

Lee’s Grief Over Her Father Will Linger In American Rust

Screen Rant: Lee’s father overdosed, and we’re assuming that he didn’t make it. How is Lee going to cope with the aftermath?

Julie Mayorga: I think at the top of the season, [you see] that doesn’t go away. Grief doesn’t go away. And the actions that Lee partook in with Billy and trying to save her brother, we see that unfold. We see a lot of guilt, we see a lot of her dealing and trying to get her footing into something she can control.

It was hard to get a read on Lee since she was confused herself, but Billy and her brother could both go down for Pete’s murder. Where was your headspace at? Who was Lee trying to protect?

Julie Mayorga: See, that’s the problem. I think she was wrestling both nonstop. And at the end, [it was about] who needed it the most and it was her brother. She had to choose her family. I don’t think that was an easy decision. She wrestled with it until the very end. But also, you have to understand that that’s all she’s got. Her mother’s not in the picture. She also passed away. And then, at the end of the season, Bill Camp’s character, Henry, is also gone. So it’s just the two of them. I think it’s an impossible position to be in.

Will there be more scenes between Lee and Isaac? He was gone for most of season 1, so we didn’t get to see them interact too much.

Julie Mayorga: Yes, there are. There are some scenes with both of them, finally.

American Rust Season 2 Will See Lee Explore Her Purpose

Lee wanted to go back to school and get away from her hometown, but she has a change of heart by the end of season 1. I’m curious what you want for her. What do you think the best choice is for this character?

Julie Mayorga: I think she has to find what makes her feel grounded and alive—not necessarily a person—which she does start exploring. So much of what she was and who she felt proud of was the person that made it out of Buell, who went to Yale, and that kind of stopped.

When you’re having all these other family issues that are happening, I feel like there was no way she could ground herself. In the second season, she does have that. It’s related to what she wants to do. She’s working at a law office, and she’s trying to help people, and she feels purposeful. That’s a beautiful driving force for anyone.

We also have a love triangle between Lee, her husband, and Billy. What can you tease about that? Do you feel she’s leaning one way more so than the other?

Julie Mayorga: I can’t say one or the other. I think there’s love for both. Both exist. It’s complicated when you’ve known someone your whole life, and you’ve loved someone, and that’s your first love, and you’ve done wrong by them and you feel guilty, and it’s not a clean slate. So to move on from a relationship like that and think it’s going to go perfect, it’s just not going to happen. I think she really tries, but I think in so many ways she feels so conflicted and loved and just doesn’t know what to do. That helps breed the back and forth sometimes, but I think she cares about both.

About American Rust

American Rust: Broken Justice takes us back to the fictional small town of Buell, Pennsylvania. Del Harris (Daniels) and Grace Poe (Tierney) try to rebuild their lives after the harrowing events of Season One. Season Two picks up with a string of seemingly unrelated murders, hinting at a much larger conspiracy that threatens everyone in this small, tight-knit town.

Based on Philipp Meyer’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name, the first season of American Rust premiered on Showtime, exploring the tattered American Dream in a Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania through the eyes of police chief Del Harris. Harris becomes compromised when the son of the woman he loves (Tierney) is accused of murder, and he is forced to decide what he’s willing to do to protect him.

Check out our other interviews with the American Rust: Broken Justice cast:

• Jeff Daniels & Maura Tierney
• Mark Pellegrino & Alex Neustaedter
• Luna Lauren Velez & Rob Yang
• Dan Futterman & Adam Rapp