Perry Mason S2 finale - Hope Davis on Camilla's one regret (Exclusive)

Perry Mason Season 2 is in the books, and the irony isn't lost on those who watched the show. While Mason, who defended the Gallardo Brothers, was in jail by the time the show ended, the mastermind behind the murder, Camilla Nygaard was likely to go scot-free.

SK POP had the opportunity to speak to actress Hope Davis about her character's motivations, whether Camilla would go to jail, and how early in the filming process she knew that she was the murderer.

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Hope Davis reiterates Perry Mason's message about justice not being equal for all

Even though the dream team of Perry Mason, Della Street, and Paul and Clara Drake find conclusive evidence about Camilla Nygaard's involvement in Brooks McCutcheon's murder, she is unlikely to go to prison. Davis explained:

"I think that this is a really important point that the show makes is that justice is not justice for all people right? In the world, in the early world of Los Angeles, certainly having white skin, you would face a different fate than the two who were convicted of the murder. The idea is that Camilla has friends in high places."

The Succession star made a point of highlighting how Nygaard is tight with the District Attorney. She added:

"I think if they wanted to throw Camilla in jail, they would have done it. They didn’t choose to end the show that way."

An interesting parallel may certainly be drawn between the Lydell McCutcheon-Perry Mason showdown from last week, and the Della Street-Camilla Nygaard confrontation on this week's show. Davis feels like Camilla's only real regret is losing Della's friendship:

"I think that’s the only sadness. Is that Camilla has lost Della’s friendship and that she’s lost respect. Because I do think Camilla wanted Della nearby because she wanted to know what Della knew. She wanted to keep an eye on the investigation. But I think that she genuinely also saw Della as a peer. As someone that she could be a friend of. Camilla doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends."

Hope Davis, who has been on a roll lately with critically-acclaimed performances in shows like Your Honor, knew early on while filming Perry Mason that she was behind the murder. The artist that she is, she thrived on taking the audience along for the ride. She explained:

"I knew when they first asked me to join the cast. I knew that Camilla was involved. They didn’t want to tell me too much but they kind of dangled that idea. And I thought that that was really exciting. And then it’s really fun to try to keep the audience from even imagining that Camilla could be involved in any way throughout the episodes."

The Perry Mason star reiterated through the interview that she did not feel like Camilla Nygaard was a monster. On the contrary, her character felt like she did the world a service by killing off the oil scion, Brooks McCutcheon:

"And as far as dispatching with Brooks, you know, he’s not a good guy. The kind of things that he did to the women. She sees him as a kind of scourge that needs to be stopped from doing anything to any other women. So, I think Camilla thinks that she’s done the world a service."

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When SK POP mentioned the dream run she's been on lately, Davis asked us if we thought it was all downhill from thereon. Considering the form she's in, one can only expect her to set new benchmarks with her exemplary acting. Stay tuned to this platform to find out what's next.