Peacock's new streaming series Ponies, starring Emilia Clarke as Bea and Haley Lu Richardson as Twila, is taking the world by storm. The 1970s Cold War-era spy thriller is an intense, yet unexpected, adventure that ended Season 1 with a massive twist.
Throughout the series, Cheryl hasn't been much more than a housewife to Nicholas Podany's Ray. In fact, most of those suspicions were aimed at her nanny, an obvious red herring in hindsight. However, in the closing moments of the spy thriller's freshman season (which isn't Peacock's only new spy show), it's revealed that the CIA has a second Russian mole: none other than Vic Michaelis' Cheryl. Needless to say, this absolutely shocked audiences and perfectly set the stage for a possible Season 2.
The Direct's Russ Milheim sat down with Ponies star Vic Michaelis to break down Cheryl's exciting twist, why she might have ever turned her allegiances to the Russians, and what it might mean for a possible Season 2.
Michaelis revealed that they had no idea about Cheryl's twist at the end of Season 1. In fact, they only found out on their flight over to Hungary, where production for Ponies took place. "As I get to Episode 8, I scream on this airplane," Michaelis revealed, leading them to immediately text the showrunners, David Iserson and Susanna Fogel. Both admitted that they forgot to tell them that part when they got the role.
As for the twist, Michaelis explained how "the groundwork is there from day one" for Cheryl, and "it does make very logical sense." They elaborated on how Cheryl is "somebody who's hypercompetent" and "in any other world would probably be running some sort of very successful business."
"This mediocrity and the fact that she is not living the life that she believes she deserves is literally eating her alive," Michaelis noted.
Michaelis said that Cheryl "really thought that she was going to marry Nicholas' character and that she was going to be a Kennedy," "have the beautiful outfits," and sort of "live parallel but separate lives and do photo shoots together." Though clearly, that "is not what ended up happening."
Despite all of that, Vic Michaelis does "think that there is love in that marriage" between Cheryl and Ray, though "both of them are just kind of taking the way in which they're handling it in a very different direction."
As for who exactly Cheryl's Russian lover may be, Michaelis was tight-lipped, though they did reveal that the details were discussed.
More of The Direct's interview with Ponies star Vic Michaelis (Cheryl), alongside their co-star Nicholas Podany (Ray), can be read below. Season 1 of Ponies is now streaming on Peacock, and a Season 2 has not yet been confirmed.
Vic Michaelis Explains Cheryl's Russian Allegiances in Twist Ending
"And As I Get to Episode 8, I Scream on This Airplane..."
- The Direct: "Vic, you have some explaining to do. I had a feeling that the nanny was a red herring, but I'll tell you, I had no idea it would be Cheryl. Did you know that twist the moment you kind of signed on to the project?"
Vic Michaelis: No! So, I believe I was one of the last people to sign on to the project. And so, I am on a plane to Hungary. I am finally—I've been sent all these scripts to read literally as I am flying over to film this project. And as I get to Episode 8, I scream on this airplane. And then the second that I land in Hungary, I text David and Susanna, and I'm just like, 'Oh my God.' And they were like, 'Did you just get to Episode 8?' We forgot. We realized, as you got on the plane, that we didn't tell the sort of arc for the character.
- The Direct: "How did knowing that kind of play into your performance throughout the season?"
Michaelis: I think once you look at it logically, and you look at the way in which David and Susanna have created the arc for the season, along with all of the incredible writers, the groundwork is there from day one. And also in Cheryl's character, it does make very logical sense.
I think she's somebody who's hypercompetent. Who in any other world would probably be running some sort of very successful business, or maybe in politics herself... This mediocrity and the fact that she is not living the life that she believes she deserves is literally eating her alive. It's like burning a hole through her.
And we talked a lot about this with David, and I think she really thought that she was going to marry Nicholas' character and that she was going to be a Kennedy. Like that really was what she thought she was going to do. She thought she was going to be Jackie O, and she was going to get to have the beautiful outfits and the foundation, and they were sort of going to live parallel but separate lives and do photo shoots together.
And that really is not what ended up happening. She's living in these countries where she's having to do a lot of the work herself. And yeah, again, it's just like the mid-level-ness of it all is literally burning holes through her stomach.
- The Direct: "Who's your Russian lover? Who is this man?"
Michaelis: An amazing question. You know, I don't know how this would play into the future of the show, so it was discussed, but that I'm gonna keep under my little pork pie hat. But it's like, bedazzled. That's kind of, I feel like, Cheryl would really be into like, a jeweled hat. So I'm keeping that under my jewels, my sort of jeweled beret, I guess.
While Vic Michaelis was filming Ponies in Hungary, they mentioned how their family would visit them throughout production. This led us to ask what they thought about the big Cheryl twist at the end of Season 1.
- The Direct: "Did your family just disown you when they learned your [character's] true Russian allegiances?"
Michaelis: They were pissed. They were so mad. My brother literally texted me, 'How dare you!' It was like, 'How dare you. Ray is so sweet and kind.' And I was like, 'Okay.'
Nicholas Podany Reveals Ray's True Weakness
"That Is a Really Gnarly Instinct to Have."
- The Direct: "Nicholas, obviously, on the surface, Cheryl and Ray seem fine together, but there are issues. One thing I noticed watching the show is that Ray treats Twila with such high respect and potentially even a little admiration. Why is it that you think we don't really see any of that behavior towards his wife, and he's even like condescending most of the time towards her, whether he means to or not?"
Nicholas Podany: It's interesting. We had this scene. I'm not sure if we'll ever see it in the wild. But there was this scene that we did in, I think, the fourth episode, where you got to actually see Ray and Cheryl in a moment that wasn't high stakes, because most times that you see them, they are already in a disagreement. They're already butting heads, which I imagine is a lot of their relationship, given their different personalities and their different combat styles, where Ray tries to appease, and Cheryl tries to go for the jugular. And those two combat styles lead to a lot of tension and a lot of conflict.
But we had this one scene where we just got to be the couple, and you got to see them for who they are when they're actually in love. And it was it ended up on the cutting room floor because there was more plot that we had to get through. But doing that scene was really informative to me, because Ray loves his wife. I truly think he would never, ever cheat on her... I think he's in love with the idea of the marriage and the union, and maybe has lost sight of the actual person in front of him, which is a human thing to do in a long marriage. And I wonder how that's going to come back to play.
Vic Michaelis: I love that, Nick. I think that's so true. It's like, you know, they're at a point in their marriage where it really is, everything's coming to a head... But I do think that there is love in that marriage. Both of them are just kind of taking the way in which they're handling it in a very different direction.
Podany: And it's gained, I don't know, like there's momentum behind that way that they're handling it. And it's comfortable. It's more comfortable than actually confronting the awkward conversations of, hey, I don't like the way you treat me, because anytime either of us would ever say that, it would go nuclear immediately. So it's easier just to stay in the comfort of where we are.
- The Direct: "Do you think there's any part of Ray that could ever suspect her on any level of betraying him? Or is he just so blind to that idea in any world?"
Podany: I think this is the weakness of Ray as a spy. He's way too trusting. He works under Dane, and he is suspicious of everybody. He's a great spy. He's one of the top members of the CIA. There's a reason Dane picked him to be by his side. But his weak point is that once he trusts someone, he trusts them forever. And that is a really gnarly instinct to have...
Ponies Stars Tease What They'd Want To Explore in a Season 2
Vic Michaelis Just Wants "An All Out Brawl Scene In Heels..."
- The Direct: "If a Season 2 does go forward, what is something you would both love to explore with your characters that we just never got to see in Season 1?"
Vic Michaelis: At some point during shooting, I had mentioned to David, they were—David and Susanna were so wonderful about this across the board—but I had mentioned that I grew up doing competitive martial arts, and so then they started Easter egging that Cheryl does karate, and so I would love if we do another season to just have, like an all out brawl scene in heels, Like I think that that would be so fun.
Nicholas Podany: They changed my line. It was supposed to be like, 'Oh, Cheryl's getting back from yoga,' or something. And then they're like, say karate. Yeah, they're Easter egging it...
For me, I've loved Ray being such an anchor in his moral compass, where the entire show is constantly showing shades of gray with all other characters... All other characters are shown to have moral gray areas. And Ray is like stubborn in his moral direction, and what he believes in, and who he's loyal to.
I would love to see that challenged because he's the only person who seems really stuck in his ways and content. And what a weird world to have someone like that exist in it. Which was a joy in the first season. I would love to see how far they want to stretch that loyalty.
Michaelis: It's so interesting too, that I think of that scene with RTM at the end, where they're sort of talking about how, like, how it's Bea and Twila and RTM... But, you know, they're talking about how, especially when you're dealing with, like, spy stuff, there's not really a moral high ground...
Podany: Because we're the good guys, and you think we're the bad guys. And there's a scene where I talked about how I'm loyal to my country, because my country is good. And it'll be interesting to see how they throw a wrench in that with Ray.
