[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Equalizer Season 4 Episode 8 “Condemned.”]
Surprise, Dante—you have a brother!
That’s what Tory Kittles‘ character learns in the latest episode of The Equalizer, with his estranged father, Big Ben (Danny Johnson), dropping that bombshell when the two come under fire after being tricked into traveling together to the latter’s former partner’s funeral. It’s something he’s struggling with even after Robyn (Queen Latifah) and the others show up to help, and his father’s taken to the hospital to treat serious injuries; he’s in a coma at the end of the episode.
Below, Kittles opens up about how Dante’s feeling about that shocking news, his relationship with Robyn (something major’s coming!), and more.
Dante has a brother, and he walks away when his father’s in the hospital at the end. How is he feeling about everything?
Tory Kittles: He’s very confused about his whole life, and the things that he thought his father were now with this secret out of the bag. He does not know how to deal. He’s struggling this whole episode—add to the fact that his father is now in a coma, and so he has all of these feelings he’s trying to process. His father could potentially die after telling him this secret. He doesn’t even know yet who his brother is. So all of these things are playing on his mind while being on the run, first of all, after being attacked, trying to survive that. And it’s a very action-packed episode. And so all of these things are happening simultaneously. So you have all of this action with the big attack, you have them on the run with the big car chase, and then you have the emotional component of him just trying to deal with who his father really is and what he thought he was. It’s not solely that. It’s not just that. His life has gotten more complicated while all of this is going on.
Talk about filming Dante and Ben’s scenes. They were pretty emotional at times.
Danny Johnson is just such a great actor, and anytime we can get him in, it’s just great because he adds so much to Dante’s personal life and the storyline, and he’s a lot of fun to play with. These scenes were very emotional and very long, but the way we shot them, in a lot of ways, it felt like a play. A lot of time you don’t get to do [this with] a network television because things move so fast, but they carved out a lot of space for us to just be in these moments and really talk to each other, two men talking to each other and dealing with each other and being honest and open about their feelings. And it was a beautiful thing to be a part of. And our crew was just incredible until the point where they started clapping after the scene—that got me choked up.
Is Dante in a position where he’s even ready to think about meeting his brother?
Not yet. I think he’s first dealing with the fact that he now has a brother and what does that really mean? And it’s a betrayal to him. It’s a betrayal by his father, that he’s spent his whole life not knowing about this. His father has had another family out there, how could he not know? And so he’s not ready to dip his toes into those waters just yet.
Michael Greenberg / CBS
There’s also Dante and Robyn’s relationship, which is complicated. I love that smile at the beginning when he’s talking to you on the phone because clearly they’re one step away from something happening. But how does he feel about her? We did get that confession at the end of last season that has not been addressed…
They’ve come so far in their relationship, Dante and McCall, and she does absolutely put a smile on his face, even in the most insurmountable circumstances. There is so much trust between the two of them now. And obviously, we had that truth serum confession, which they are now finally going to confront going forward, and they’re going to continue their flirtations as they move forward and figure out if they’re ready for what could come next. But McCall will have to take a leap of faith, and they both will have to make big, big, big, big choices about their future.
Is Dante really in a position to make a decision like that right now because of everything going on with his family?
He’s going to have to.
Robyn’s conversation with Vi (Lorraine Toussaint) at the end of the episode made it seem like Dante and Robyn would be perfect for each other. They understand each other’s jobs…
I think for them both, it’s put up or shut up time.
What does Dante need from his father at this point to make a relationship work?
Honesty, truth. Like every great relationship, the foundation of it has to be truth. It has to be trust. And right now, Dante does not trust his father—for good reason. His father has purposely kept all of these things away from him his entire life. So to get to any form of relationship, there’s going to have to be some trust, and where Dante will go with that, we’ll have to see, but the basis of it, the foundation of their relationship has to start from a place of truth.
Dante’s work with Robyn is starting to affect his work with the NYPD. What’s coming up there?
Dante’s getting a lot of pressure from Captain Watkins, who’s his boss inside the precinct, and he’s been skirting this line where he’s been completely morally conscious of how he’s operating within the system, but he’s also now working with Robyn and the team, which is a conflict with the system, and he’s getting a lot of pressure from Captain Watkins. All of that is going to come to a head at the end of this season as well.
The logline for the finale teases he’s offered a position in Los Angeles. Does that play into that offer?
Well, Dante is squeezed into—his whole life, everything just sort of closes in around him and the relationship with Robyn and what’s going to happen with that, his relationship with his boss who doesn’t like the way he operates within the system, all of those things are going to force him to make some serious choices.
I have really enjoyed seeing Dante working with and being part of the team. What have you enjoyed most about that?
Working with the other actors, Queen Latifah, first of all, Adam Goldberg and Liza Lapira. It is a lot of fun to play with such professionals who are at the top of their game and we get to challenge each other. And then we have these great scripts that Joe Wilson and the rest of our team put together. So just being a part of that and being a part of the crew and all of that, when we’re all together, it creates such an energy. And so that’s one of the things that’s a real joy about going to work on this show. Then to get to see the effect that it has on the fans and the people that are watching the show making us a top 10 primetime broadcast show… I get stopped all the time on the streets and people tell me how much they love the show and how much they love Dante’s relationship with Robyn. That is pretty special, the way it’s touching so many people.
Dante and Harry have become a partnership I didn’t know I needed.
Yeah, they bring some humor to their relationship, which is very cool.
The finale logline also teases that Mel is kidnapped. What can you preview?
I can say that we get led into some very dangerous waters and everything is closing in around the whole team. Everybody’s forced to make decisions, big life decisions, big changes about how we’re going to go forward or if we’re going to go forward. No one is immune to the dangers that are coming the team’s way.
Does it end on a cliffhanger?
Well, it is great writing.
Compared to last season?
Well, I can tell you that it’s not fire this time.
What are your hopes for Dante in Season 5?
I think we’re getting to expand Dante in a lot of ways. His world is widening. His relationship with Robyn is broadening in a lot of ways. They’re getting down to some of their own personal truths. I love that. I love digging into that. I love going deeper with Queen Latifah with these two characters. So I’m excited about that.
What are you enjoying most about who Dante is this season?
I love that we’re finally going to confront the thing that audiences have been wanting us to confront. We’re going to deal with Dante’s confession, his true serum confession. People have been wanting that, and so now they’re going to get it.
The Equalizer, Sundays, 8/7c, CBS